Montreal: Version Restaurant

Old Montreal, otherwise known as Vieux Montreal to locals and the French, is a charming little area of the city that carries with it quite a European flare. The cobble stone streets, boutique shops and location next to the St. Lawrence River make it a premiere attraction for any sightseer visiting Montreal. On Rue St. Paul Est sits Version Restaurant and Boutique, a restaurant tucked away from all the hustle and bustle of the main street, where except for the fabulous restaurant, Jardin Nelson, a decent meal is hard to find.

Version Restaurant is the epitome of minimalistic modern style. Their dishes they serve their food in is a testament to that. With white ceramic, geometrically shaped oblong plates, your dining experience will be enhanced by more than just the food. I didn’t know this at the time, but Version Restaurant is also a boutique, where you can buy pretty much everything, from the silverware to the tables, chairs and trinkets.

On that particular night, it was hot so everyone including us decided to sit outside. We ordered sangria first, which our server told us was ‘homemade.’ Alcohol is usually not a part of my food pyramid. I don’t actively seek it out and when I do, it must be a drink in where I can only taste a hint of alcohol. This is why sangria is one of my favorites. It’s just like fruit juice with a hint of wine.

Let me tell you, this sangria is one of the best I’ve had in my life. The little fruit shish kabobs on top were delicious as well. If we had known they were $12 a glass, we probably wouldn’t have ordered them. But were on vacation, in Montreal, so we let it slide.

After drinks, we had a light dinner consisting of a vegetarian tapas platter, with four dishes that looked more like art than food. Unfortunately, their website doesn’t have all their dishes listed and that sangria probably impaired my memory to remember what they were. We also had a really great mixed green salad and my favorite: a cheese, grape and almond platter. In my opinion, there is no better dinner then some cheese, grapes and dry cracked bread. A bit of sangria doesn’t hurt either.

We rarely order dessert, but we thought we would anyway. When you’re on vacation, you’re allowed to do certain things you wouldn’t normally do without feeling guilty, like spending more money than usual while shopping and eating ridiculously overpriced meals. Dessert was eaten without much guilt - what a concept! Of course, I never really feel guilty about eating perhaps my favorite dessert, creme bruleé, probably because I rarely eat it.

Version had the queen of creme bruleés, a dish divided into four kinds of the decadent dish, including a maple version and three others that I again, can’t remember and they don’t have listed anywhere on their site. Take my word for it, it was delish.

By the time we had finished eating, it was almost completely dark. When I looked around, I noticed that there were people there who had been enjoying their meals earlier than us. Version Restaurant has the kind of atmosphere that makes it hard for you to get up and leave. You just want to stay there and pretend that you were served amazing meals with amazing drinks at home. Next time you’re in Vieux Montreal and you’re looking for a place to eat, don’t go for the obvious. Take some left and right turns, because the best treasures are the ones that are hidden, like Version Restaurant.

Version Restaurant
295, East St-Paul St.
Montreal, Canada
H2Y 1H1
(514) 871-9135