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Best Dining Bets
Initiale (54 rue St-Pierre; tel. 418/694-1818): From its gracious tone and subdued lighting to its carefully paced multi-course menus, Initiale exudes silky polish from greeting to adieu. You will dine gloriously.
Laurie Raphaël (117 rue Dalhousie; tel. 418/692-4555): Dazzling. Given the growing local competition, the owners have utterly transformed their setting and shaken up the menu. Service is spot-on and the food creative and artfully presented.
Best Bistros: In a city that specializes in the informal bistro tradition, L'Echaudé, 73 rue Sault-au-Matelot, near rue St-Paul (tel. 418/692-1299), is a star. Classic dishes are all in place, from confit de canard to steak frites. The dining terrace just a block from the waters of Vieux-Port is on a street that is pedestrian-only in the summer. The spiffed-up Le Clocher Penché, 203 rue St-Joseph est (tel. 418/640-0597), offers a 187-bottle wine list and a cozy atmosphere and is a good reason to explore the trendy St-Roch neighborhood.
Best New Restaurant: Amid the cluster of innovative new restaurants that have blessed the city in the past few years, St-Roch's Utopie, 226 1/2 rue St-Joseph est (tel. 418/523-7878), is the one most likely to equal the current champs.
Best Rockin' Hot Spot with Good Food: You don't have to be young and gorgeous to get into the VooDoo Grill, 575 Grande-Allée est (tel. 418/647-2000), but there seems to be a lot of self-selection going on. As part of a complex that includes two bars and the Maurice disco, the noise level gets brutal and the pace frantic, making the surprisingly good food all the more remarkable.
Best Seafood: The owner of Le Marie-Clarisse, 12 rue du Petit-Champlain (tel. 418/692-0857), selects all the just-off-the-boat seafood served at his comfortable bistro at the bottom of Breakneck Stairs, next to the funicular. There's a fireplace inside, 300-year-old walls, and a terrace outside.
Best Sugar Pie: Québec's favorite dessert reaches its apogee at Aux Anciens Canadiens, 34 rue St-Louis (tel. 418/692-1627), in central Upper Town. Think smooth maple sugar with a crust. An ideal end to a traditional meal.
Best View: Revolving rooftop restaurants rarely dish out food as elevated as their lofty venues. L'Astral in the Loews Le Concorde hotel, 1225 Cours du Général de Montcalm (tel. 418/647-2222), on Parliament Hill is an exception. The food is above average and the cost is reasonable.
Best People-Watching: The few outdoor tables at Le Marie-Clarisse -- perched above the main pedestrian intersection of Quartier du Petit-Champlain -- monopolize an unsurpassed observation point.
Most Idyllic Terrace: The main room, all crimson glow and retro lighting, is nice enough, but try to get out onto the leafy enclosed back terrace of Lower Town's Toast!, 17 rue Sault-au-Matelot (tel. 418/692-1334). It's a haven from the bustle.
Best Place for a Family Holiday Meal: The large (it seats over 200) and jovial Le Café du Monde, 84 rue Dalhousie (tel. 418/692-4455), right on the water of Vieux-Port, manages the near-impossible: fast service without compromising quality even on crowded holiday weekends.
Best Breakfast with Locals: Just outside the tourist centers in the residential neighborhood of Montcalm, the outdoor-terraced Café Krieghoff at 1091 av. Cartier tel. 418/522-3711) gets a mix of families, singles, and artsy folks of all ages.
Best Restaurants, Period: Laurie Raphaël, 117 rue Dalhousie (tel. 418/692-4555), has given itself a total physical overhaul and now is both sophisticated and endlessly eclectic. However, Initiale, 54 rue St-Pierre (tel. 418/694-1818), can no longer be denied equal status. It is more hushed and classic of the two. Visitors might have the best meals of their lives at these stellar restaurants, just blocks from each other in Lower Town/Vieux-Port.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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