Saint-Henri's EVOO is More Than A-OK, Raves Critic

The critic for Le Devoir isn't sure why he waited to tell his newspaper's readers about Saint-Henri's EVOO but he's more than happy to do so now. This restaurant punches above weight and delivers "une cuisine très soignée," declares Jean-Philippe Tastet. It's an opportune time to trumpet the virtues of the unassuming spot on Notre-Dame Ouest. EVOO recently won a $10,000 small business grant and management was explicit about what it would do with the money. "Often criticized with regards to the look of its dining room, EVOO would like to invest the grant into a renovation project."

Mission accomplished. In the esteem of the Devoir critic, the room is a better match for Sophie Ouellet and Peter Saunders's cuisine and an elegant complement to Claudie Harvey's front-of-house prowess. Of all the dishes churned out by the kitchen, it's a soup, of all things, that exemplifies the restaurant's bona fides. "Quel choix ! À elle seule, cette assiette contenait toute la beauté de la soirée. Une soupe de carottes soulignée d’une mousse d’amande à se rouler par terre au pied des amandiers et de quelques canneberges marinées, ces dernières subtilement vinaigrées et portant quelques effluves d’échalotes." A dish of venison elicits some serious swooning and effectively sums up Tastet's overall impression of EVOO. "Vous verrez, vous serez bouleversés vous aussi."