Le Newtown

Our second stop for Taste MTL was at Le Newtown. This restaurant is beautifully located in the heart of downtown, known for its themed evenings and large terraces accessible during summer.

On the event menu, there are two choices for each meal course. At the moment of ordering, our waiter has a strong preference on one item for each course meal and gives us good reasons not to take the other item. It seems that the restaurant should at least make an effort to make all the dishes equally outstanding. At the end, we ordered all the dishes on the fixed menu.

Let's start with the appetizers. The raclette was plain ordinary as it looks like a side dish of salad and roasted potatoes coated with a bit of melted cheese. The soup is a must-have. The maple syrup gives a nice sweet note to the pumpkin, and the bacon gives an instinct burst of saltiness to the soup.

The cassoulet chicken confit is what you would expect when ordering a classic cassoulet, well-softened white beans, juicy sausages and well-cooked chicken. But nothing outstanding. The veal slow-cooked in maple syrup and red wine is definitely the dish of the day. Any red meat cooked in red wine makes it fork-tender and luscious to eat. The orzo risotto gives a nice creamy and buttery taste, complements well with the meat.

The rum baba is a sponge cake soaked in rum served with a Chantilly cream. The candied zest gives a sour note to the dessert, balances well with the sweetness of the dessert. The frozen nougat is the perfect dessert to end the meal. The coolness and smoothness of the nougat balanced with candied maple nuts provide a good balance of texture. And it helps cleanse your palate after eating some fatty and heavy dishes.

This is another location to recommend for Taste MTL and considering that the whole meal costs only $19.