Reviews for Il Pagliaccio, L'Espadon, H4C and More

Manuel Silva's under-the-radar Il Pagliaccio earns praise from Le Devoir's Jean-Philippe Tastet: "Cette petite maison assez discrète de l'avenue Laurier à Montréal est tout ce qu'on aime dans un restaurant italien et, bien sûr, en tout premier lieu la cuisine." [Le Devoir]

Sarah Musgrave considers L'Espadon, a fish and seafood shack on Saint-Hubert, a fair bet: "While this wasn't a stellar experience, I retained some optimism around L'Espadon's seafood shack concept. This was purely workaday when what I really wanted was a different experience. Namely, I wanted fresh regional seafood (think Gaspé-focused, like Atkins et Frères/Les Delices de la mer) and I wanted it to be hot, quick and simply handled." [Gazette]

With Marie-Claude Lortie's positive review, Le H4C has just about done the full Montreal critics' circuit: "Professionnelle. Soignée. Tout en demeurant accessible. L'approche est très actuelle, mais à côté du quinoa et du kale - adorables ingrédients très à la mode en ce moment -, il y a aussi du beurre dans les sauces et du caramel dans les desserts." [La Presse]

Gemma Horowitz sides with the majority on Hof Kelsten: "So, yeah, the hype is warranted. There are a lot of good bakeries in Montreal (the aforementioned Guillaume is one of them), but it wouldn't be hyperbole to call Hof Kelsten the best." [CultMTL]

Finally, Emily Raine cautions not to go out of the way to eat at Mile End's Le Sanbox: "Le Sanbox serves its purpose — it's a clean, forward-thinking cafeteria offering pretty good, portable food for those who forgot their lunches at home but still plan to eat at their desks — but it's not a destination." [CultMTL]
[Photo: Marco Campanozzi]