Larger Le Vin Papillon Just as Good as Ever, Concludes Critic

The doubled, spruced up Le Vin Papillon earns La Presse's endorsement today. Fresh off a late summer facelift, which saw Joe Beef's wine bar expand into the space once held by coffee shop Lili & Oli, critic Marie-Claude Lortie deems the improved buvette as “impeccablement conviviale et accessible” as ever.

Juice is the focus at Le Vin Papillon, natch, but in lieu of specifics, Lortie writes, simply, that the natural wine list is “rigoureusement triés.” It would be helpful to know, what, for example, the critic drank with winsome plates like celery root ribbons bathed in bagna cauda, fire-roasted leeks, smoked salmon spiked deviled eggs, and delicata squash laced with speck, and fried sage. Alas, not to be. What Lortie discloses about the wines is that they're served “avec originalité et un esprit aventureux par la sommelière Vanya Filipovic.”

You're in good hands, then, with both drink and food at Le Vin Papillon. Other hits from Marc-Olivier Frappier's kitchen include a whimsical hot dog “brioché aux champignons armillaires”, ajvar and feta on grilled bread, and Lortie's new favourite dish of the season, paprikash cabbage rolls—“réconfortants, savoureux, cuits juste assez pour que le chou demeure vif.” A “génial” Baked Alaska caps it all off. And so, Lortie departs a fan of the new Le Vin Papillon. Sure, the critic's not keen on the industrial soap in the bathrooms, and the no-reservations policy. But she'll be back.