Marie-Claude Lortie Endorses Downtown Montreal's Jatoba

The critic for La Presse discovers the reboot of the old Phillips Lounge this week and enjoys her experience, for the most part. Marie-Claude Lortie reminds her readers that while Antonio Park is a partner and menu consultant at Jatoba, Olivier Vigneault is the restaurant's full-time chef. The former chef-owner of Yuzu in Quebec City produces some beautiful plates, reports Lortie, who manages to sample much of the small format menu. Vigneault scores points with the likes of a "spectacular" dish of oyster mushrooms with miso gratin, black cod with sake and miso, and salmon tartare with avocado. Though not entirely original, the food is tasty, the service professional and the atmosphere warm. More than good enough, in other words, to earn Lortie's endorsement: "De façon générale, on se régale, car les plats sont savoureux, satisfaisants, mais ce n'est jamais déconcertant. On ne retrouve pas la précision quasi chirurgicale des grands maîtres japonais ni l'originalité des grandes tables créatives européennes ou latino-américaines, mais tout est à sa place pour nous faire sourire."