Restaurant L'Academie [Montreal]

First stop for dinner was Restaurant L'Academie, a popular restaurant and there are several of them in the different areas of the city. The prices are very reasonable given how fancy the restaurant is!

RESTAURANT L'ACADEMIE
Where: 2100 Crescent Street
Montreal, QC
H3G 2B8
514-664-4455
Price: $$ (Our bill was $93 for 5 people)

Outdoor patio

Main floor is bright and airy with many lights on the ceiling and comfortable seating.

Very elegant interior

Complimentary Bread & Butter

Fried Calamari ($9)

We started off with the Fried Calamari ($9) that was accompanied by a rich marinara sauce and lemon wedge. In my opinion, the batter could have been a bit thicker. Everytime we tried to fork it, it would fall off. The calamari, however, was unexpected tender and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. 

Escargot in butter and garlic ($8)

The escargot with butter and garlic was nothing particularly special or worth getting again. It was not bad but it was just not memorable.

All five of us got the $12.95 special which included your choice of mussels+fries or pasta with the soup of the day or their house salad.

Soup of the day
Sweet potato base with onion and roasted red peppers

The soup was very good and flavourful - all five of us slurped it down in record time and we weren't even that hungry!

Linguini Vongole
Clams, tomato, garlic, white wine

While the linguini vongole was delicious, we couldn't really taste any white wine and there wasn't too many clams especially for a vongole pasta!

Tortellini Crema Rose
Stuffed with veal, tomato, cream and herbs

The tortellini plate was absolutely massive! We definitely were not expecting it to be this large and we had trouble finishing it. The tortellini was very evidently stuffed with veal but as my brother kept eating this he got bored with this dish and had trouble finishing it nearing the end.

Moules et Frites

The special includes less than a dozen sauces for mussels to choose from, although the sauce is more of a broth, light and a bit watery. We got the Madagascar (Cognac, cream and green peppercorns), Flamande (White wine, leeks and cream) and Provencal (White wine, fresh tomato and onions) The Provencal and Flamande were the definite winners of the three. The Provencal had a very, very prominent white wine taste which was lovely with the mussels. The Flamande also had a very creamy texture which was delicious.

Fast fact: In Quebec, they like to eat their fries with mayo, so don't be surprised when you get a small bowl of mayonnaise along with your fries!

Mussels
Cream, Cognac & Green Peppercorn

Shots of the sauce!

Mussels - Provencal
White wine, fresh tomato, onions

I recommend this restaurant for any occasion whether it's an intimate dinner or a group event. Don't forget to bring wine because there is no corking fee there! The price is very affordable as all our meals were under $20 and given the portion you are eating, it's quite worth it. L'Academie should be your choice for a chic evening :).

I was surprised at the surprisingly low rating on Urbanspoon for L'Academie, but after reading some of the reviews, a majority of the restaurant-goers went back in 2009/2010. I certainly do not believe it deserves a 58%!!

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