Le Mousso’s New Little Sibling Earns an Absolute Rave Review

Le Petit Mousso, the latest from chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard earned its first review this week, and it’s a stunner. The restaurant opened in June as a more casual, bar-like counterpart to the tasting-menu-only big sibling next door, Le Mousso — and while the set-up might be less structured, Chesterman finds the food just as high-class. Dubbing it her best meal of the year so far on Twitter, Chesterman writes that she’s “so engrossed” with the plates that she doesn’t notice what else is going on in the room:” a panoply of flavours, colours, textures and temperatures that engage all the senses. I just love it.”

Chef Benjamin Mauroy-Langlais heads up the Petit Mousso kitchen, and while Chesterman notes that it’s pricy for a small plates resto, it’s worth it. She scribes many a “wow” here: for a souffléd potato dish with cheese and truffles, “ethereal” and silky liver mousse, and charred cucumbers marinated and served with goat cheese and violets. Then, a short rib beef dish with a ranch sauce and greens is mouth-melting and umami-laden, and for dessert, a white chocolate mousse with rhubarb granita is extraordinarily sophisticated, the critic declares. Just one dish doesn’t succeed, a walleye crudo that plays too delicate, and the décor is nice but not amazing, yet it’s still a near-perfect three and a half stars. [Montreal Gazette]

Randall Brodeur/Eater Montreal

At Cult Montreal, critic JP Karwacki checks in on Marconi, the Little Italy bistro from Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly, now approaching its second anniversary. He finds a buzzy, “debonair” space, and the food intrigues, with almost every item offering some kind of twist to hook diners in. Arctic char with puffed rice, nori, and tobiko is given a fun boost with dashi jelly — the dish of the night. Other successes include whelks and bone marrow on toast with cheddar, and buttery sweetbreads — while it gets a solid thumbs-up, there a couple of over-salted moments, most notably with a confit turbot dish. [Cult MTL]

Bistro La Cohue/Facebook

Over at Le Devoir, it’s Quebec City critic Catherine Ferland’s week, and she drops by slightly suburban bistro La Cohue. She finds a winner: it’s a warm, woody and welcoming atmosphere, and the food gets a thumbs up, too, from delicate scallop carpaccio to well-textured boudin and duck confit that goes perfectly with market vegetables and creamy scalloped potatoes. The wine pairings are a highlight, too — four stars. [Le Devoir]

• Nothing casual about Le Petit Mousso’s divine plates [Montreal Gazette]
• Marconi epitomizes Little Italy’s new wave of restaurants [Cult MTL]
• Neighbourhood Bistro Marconi Touches Down from ex-PDC Chef [EMTL]
• Bistro La Cohue: ambiance feutrée et plats antigrisaille [Le Devoir]