A terrasse with a spectacular view
Offers lounge fare and a taste of summer vacation
Terrasse sur l’Auberge Fair bet
$$ 97 de la Commune St. E.
(near Place Jacques-Cartier) Phone: 514-876-0081
Website: terrassesurlauberge.com
Licensed: Yes Credit cards: All major cards Wheelchair accessible: No,
staircase to roof Vegetarian friendly: Limited Open: Mon.-Fri. 5 to 11 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 3 to 11 p.m.
Price range: Snacks $6, tapas $10–$20,
desserts $6-$7 My goal setting out this week was to find the ultimate terrasse that would catapult me straight into the centre of summer. And on that count, my destination on a sun-saturated mid-week evening definitely scored. Terrasse sur l’Auberge is quite literally a patio on top of an inn; specifically a moody, stone-walled building on de la Commune St., the waterfront street that overlooks the Old Port. Heading through the centuries-old façade of Auberge du Vieux Port, we took the elevator to a floor of guestrooms and then climbed a metal staircase to the roof. The sightlines were breathtaking, with the tall towers of the city centre on one side and — even better — the river, harbour and historic buildings on the other. As we sat under the awning with a drink list in hand, watching the last of the daylight catching on the South Shore, it felt like the start of a three-hour vacation in our own town.
Good that we were enjoying that aspect of the venue, because on two other counts — namely food and service — Terrasse sur l’Auberge proved to be pretty mediocre. To be fair, this outdoor lounge is not pretending to be a full-service restaurant — that’s for Taverne Gaspar, the self-described gastropub on the hotel’s first level. But customer relations could be improved: A blond guy with a gingham shirt and his hair in a bun, who was ostensibly a floor manager, stood looking blankly at the sky for most of the night. Out-of-towners at the table next to us had to ask if a waitress was their server, only to get “no, but I’ll serve you anyway” as an answer. When I inquired what kind of oysters were available, our waitress shrugged and said she’d asked the cook the day before and he didn’t know. (We pushed the issue and, to her credit, by the end of the night, were handed a scrap of paper with Raspberry Point and Shiny Sea written on it. To my credit, my earlier curiosity would have been somewhat appeased by a general direction like P.E.I. or maybe East Coast.) The platter of halfshells came last, with no place to be set down on a table full of food, and sat slowly and sadly drowning in the melted ice on the tray.
So it was sort of silly of me to think the gazpacho and alou might be some regional variation of the southern Spanish soup. Expectations adjusted, I found the tomato, cucumber and vinegar combo fresh and lively; the arugula garnish did add peppery zing, and the cheesestick was a nice touch as a stand-in for croutons.
The salmon tartare was moist and chunky and topped with a layer of smooth avocado cream and a little mound of celery root rémoulade. Spooning it onto husks of baguette, I found it to be one of the better dishes.
The lobster roll, also the right idea for the setting, was not overkilled with mayonnaise, even if the buns were too crumbly and dry for their purpose.
Niçoise salad with tuna tataki, had a lot of summery potential. The slices of darkred fish appeared to have been pre-seared, which may be why the flavour was so bland. It came with hard-boiled eggs and greens mixed with a sweet dressing. Most plates were loaded with a familiar mesclun mix with the same sweet dressing. We imagined some young guy in the kitchen trying to generously serve up what was expected of him — until we found a grey hair in the food.
We finished the meal with a shared bowl of pannacotta with basil syrup and passion fruit, served with a fork. We agreed that neither of us had ever eaten pudding with a fork before.
Old Montreal has some worthy options on the higher end and some classics on the affordable front — I just keep wishing there was more love in it all. In any city, there are touristy places in touristy areas that serve this type of food, and I really don’t have anything against the Antonopoulos Group, which runs this and a bunch of other addresses in the neighbourhood. It’s good business in a great location; I wasn’t surprised to find out that there’s a surcharge for sitting on the terrasse on fireworks nights.
Drinks are a key part of the equation. There are three colours of sangria, there’s Kronenbourg blanc, there’s a Collins with Hendricks Gin and cucumber. There’s also a raspberry margarita, with Mandarine Napoléon orange cognac, Sauza tequila and the house raspberry purée: fresh and summery and organwarming. It was too girlie a cocktail for me, but my male partner had no problem ordering it. After all, when on vacation …