IMPRESSIVE SIMPLICITY
Reservoir’s modest menu memorable
When driving down the Main recently, I stopped at a red light, looked to my right, and noticed a storefront with yellowed newspapers in the windows.
Upon closer inspection, I realized it was the location of one of my former favourite restaurants, Hôtel Herman. Closed in February, the once-terrific restaurant fell victim to a lease issue. When news hit last winter, Hôtel Herman fans (and there were many of us) were seriously saddened to lose such a superb restaurant, specializing in creative, smallplate cuisine filled with locally sourced ingredients.
This was also one of the first restaurants where I tasted natural wines and orange wines and imbibed many an elegant cocktail. I loved everything about Hôtel Herman — the exquisite food, the solicitous service, the groovy ambience. Seeing it papered up like that brought back a flood of great memories dating back to its opening in 2012. I’ve witnessed a lot of great Montreal restaurants close over the years, and many, alas, for good reason. In the case of Hôtel Herman, although it was going gangbusters, a lease issue was what caused its ultimate demise. Bummer.
But instead of licking their wounds, co-owners Dominic Goyet, Ariane Lacombe and chef Marc-Alexandre Mercier moved from Mile End to the heart of the Plateau to join forces with brewmaster Michel Zabitsky and take over the kitchen at Reservoir.
Opened in 2002, Reservoir is the well-known and much loved watering hole of Plateau hipsters, off-duty chefs, sommeliers and other wine pros, many of whom head there for the craft beers. Of their nine home brews on tap, my favourites are the Weizen, a white beer, and the IPA Citra, described as floral and fruity with a “belle amertume.” Not usually a beer aficionado, I love sampling away at Reservoir, a pastime made easy with the option of 5($4), 10- ($5) or 20-oz ($7) pours. There’s a short and sweet wine list, with a selection of organic wines and cocktails, too. We’re far from Hôtel Herman’s impressive carte des vins, but what’s on offer is fine, considering beer is the heart of this establishment.
There has long been a debate regarding whether Reservoir is a bar or a restaurant, especially since talented chefs like Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly (of Marconi) and Samuel Pinard (of La Salle à Manger) have worked its stoves. The menu under Mercier is short — only five snacking plates (olives, almonds, oysters, etc.), 10 small plates and two desserts. Frankly, I was discouraged to see such a pared-down menu, and our waiter — a nice fellow, but more of a plate carrier
than a skilled server — did little to improve the situation. As I sipped my beer, I looked around the industrial space and thought, yes, this really is more of a brew pub than a restaurant, with its well-worn wood tables, eightseat bar, blackboard menus, steel-beamed ceiling, fermentation tanks, and light bulbs dangling from the ceiling.
The main floor was hopping, so I headed upstairs in search of a more tranquil setting; it turned out to be less raucous, but pretty morbid ambience-wise. Yet that didn’t matter once the food arrived — unfortunately, all at the same time.
First, I had a duo of corn cobs smothered with porcini mayonnaise and grated Parmesan. The local corn season is finished now, but if ever this dish is still on offer, jump. One bite in and I was overcome by this umami bomb, with the sweet corn, woodsy mayonnaise and salty Parmesan culminating in a wave of luscious flavours and textures. I tore into that cob like there was no tomorrow and even insisted on finishing off my friend’s. Major.
I then turned my attention to a salad — a no-nonsense affair consisting of a small head of Boston lettuce sprinkled with sunflower seeds and buttermilk dressing. Nothing complicated here, but perfect just the same.
Next up were two deep-fried dishes: haddock croquettes and fried chicken. Fish croquettes seem to be all the rage these days, as I tasted them in several restaurants this summer. The Portuguese and Caribbean versions (bolinhos and acras, respectively) are often based on salt cod, which gives the croquettes a fibrous texture. The haddock resulted in a creamy mouthfeel and a gentle fishy flavour. We dipped them in the accompanying coriander mayonnaise, enjoying every crispy morsel.
The fried chicken was the dish of the night. Like the haddock, it was golden-fried on the outside and moist within. The accompanying tarragon sour cream added the ideal enhancement, and the chef was smart to use chicken thighs, as the meat remains succulent compared to the oftendry breast meat. Like so many, I adore fried chicken, and this version was outstanding.
If you’re looking for another vegetable dish, the roasted new potatoes with ancho pepper and garlic mayonnaise are highly recommended. The potatoes were crisp and golden, and the mayonnaise managed to up the supreme deliciousness of the spuds. I could have licked that plate clean.
For dessert, there was a perfectly acceptable strawberry semifreddo covered in a dusty crumble, as well as a bowl of caramelized popcorn that was really more of a snack than a dessert, but was highly munchable nonetheless.
As much as I enjoyed every bite of my dinner at Reservoir, we are miles from Hôtel Herman territory here. That said, I was fascinated by this casual meal from Mercier, whose food at Hôtel Herman was far more intricate. For all their simplicity, his Reservoir offerings are equally impressive. A week later and I’m yearning to taste that food all over again. Reservoir is no Hôtel Herman, but so be it. I still can’t wait to go back. You can hear Lesley Chesterman on ICI Radio-Canada Première’s Médium Large (95.1 FM) Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and on CHOM (97.7 FM) Wednesdays at 7:10 a.m. Special to Postmedia News criticsnotebook@gmail.com Twitter.com/LesleyChestrman