Hidden in the former Darling Laundry, Le Serpent serves Italian-inspired contemporary cuisine. Situated at the border of Old Montreal and Griffintown, the restaurant doesn’t have a flashy sign, a GPS is a necessity to get there. I was tempted to explore the menu for a while, but also attracted by the industrial design, and glad that I got to visit with my mother when she was in town!
It was like a completely different world once you stepped into the restaurant. Monotone, exposed brick, bare ducts and pipework, hard edges, vast expanses of old warehouse-style paned windows. The matte windows softened the lights that are coming in.
The menu is clearly divided into few categories, from raw, the lightest, to proteins, the heaviest. They also have a rotisserie menu, which rotates between different kinds of meat every day.
Their homemade focaccia is available upon request. It’s so soft and pillowy! Despite the fact that we know that there are more food coming up, we still couldn’t resist to make a second request.
For starter, we shared a foie gras parfait, served with asparagus, apricot, buckthorn berry, and pistachio, as well as a piece of heavily toasted toast. The parfait was very smooth, and very minimum ducky taste. The acidity from the buckthorn berry, sweetness of apricot, crunchiness of asparagus, smoothness of foie gras, what a well-balaced plate!
Next, we had bucatini with pork flank confit, black garlic, and soy in the size of appetizer. For some choices of their pasta, customers can choose they want it as appetizer or main, which I think it is a great option for people who would like to sample more food. First time having bucatini, and I think it’s my new favorite form of pasta! It’s thicker than spaghetti, with hollow center that fills with sauce!
This is what I came for! Had my eyes on this BBQ duck, served on a bed of soba noodles with marinated cucumber and finished with sprinkles of sesame and green onions, from their rotisserie menu for a while. It’s only available on Friday. The flavor is quite Asian, on the sweeter side. The duck was very juicy and tender, but a bit disappointed that the flavors were quite superficial as the skin was coated with sauce yet the meat was a bit bland.
We were so full that we didn’t have room for desserts. It’s sad that I have to miss the famous pastry chef, Masami Waki, ‘s dessert. But, that means I’ll return and make sure I save some rooms for dessert next time!
Le Serpent
257 rue Prince, Montreal
Tel: +1 (514) 316-4666 (Reservation strongly recommended)
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