Restaurant Bonaparte

The weather was warm this Christmas, making a trip to Old Montréal a pleasure. It was too dark for window shopping but we were able to enjoy the many Christmas decorations and lights that adorned cafes and tourist venues.
Bonaparte is a quaint and charming restaurant adjoining an auberge. We were seated by the window, in an intimate room with rough brick walls, a curved archway, and a lovely, decorated tree.
As we reviewed the large menu, we took in the street life, including romantic calèche rides that rolled slowly by. While I could not make out the drivers’ patter, I would like to imagine tales of adventure and romance. It is Montréal, of course.
The restaurant offers several different dining options: à la carte, table d’hôte, and tasting menu. We did not have the energy for the longer tasting menu option and instead went with the à la carte option.
The mushroom and sage ravioli. The filling was wrapped in a delicately thin pasta that melted with every bite. It is a wonderful way to start the meal. Other (unsampled) apps on the menu include snails in garlic sauce, shrimps and scallops in a cheese sauce, and foie gras, two ways.
As entrée, I enjoyed duck breast roasted medium rare, with vegetables, in a savory maple syrup, berry sauce. So delicious.
However, it was the soufflé dessert that earned the most praise at our table. Available with chocolate crumbs, calvados brandy (the chef’s favorite), and Grand Marnier, the impossibly light and airy soufflé was a welcomed treat. Note, since it takes a while to prepare, the restaurant recommended that we order it mid-​entrée — which we did.
Service was warm and professional. The server made good recommendations, although I think there isn’t a bad meal to be had here. With such an extensive menu, we think that a subsequent visit is definitely in order. With the soufflé, of course.

If you’re having one of those early 7pm nights you know and it’s been a day with you craving some fine French dining and cuisine with qualite’ then go to Bonaparte on 443 Saint Francois Xavier in Ville Marie not too far from the Basilique Du Notre Dame of Montréal. The food is good especially when it’s hard to find good French food these days and if you’re talking about price this place is well worth it. The ambience setting is a solid 4.5 out of 5 because the décor is awesome for that formal classic look but yeah the space isn’t huge nor is it suppose to be as its situated in a hotel.
The food now that’s where it gets interesting, when walking the streets of old Montréal I was surprised that the restaurant is like one of its kind local hole in the wall joint. The terrine was flavorful, the braised lamb was definitely rich and dense in taste, yet for escargot I guess this is subjective since I like my escargot in shells on tin plate. But all in all this place was solid so for the place and the food, it’s one of a kind. Because of the unique qualite, I give it a five. Au revoir.

I rarely give 5 stars, but this restaurant deserves it! Our hotel concierge recommended Bonaparte for our 10^th anniversary dinner, and we are so glad he did! The dining space is classic French elegance. Expect a 2 to 3 hour meal. We had a table for two by the front window-​perfectly intimate. We did the tasting menu, approximately $ 75 Canadian dollars per person, which had 7 courses. Portion sizes were great and the plates were almost too beautiful to eat. Everything we had was wonderful, done in traditional French style. The best part for me personally was that our concierge had informed them of my gluten allergy and they not only catered my whole meal to that, they made gluten free bread for me! I almost cried. We ended the meal with sparklers in our dessert course. A truly wonderful dining experience!

I was in old port vicinity and read the reviews and decided to go there on a rainy day. Once we checked in they had the prix fix menu for the restaurant week. We choose 4 course meal for the night. Myself and hubby ordered the lobster bisque which we loved, the next course was foie gras mousse which we both thought was average, for main course I ordered Sole fish which knocked everything out of the park. The fish was juicy, buttery, flaky and the sides of veggies and mash was just right. Hubby ordered the rack of lamb which was meaty and the sides complimented the meat appropriately. The dessert was a symphony of cakes — cheescake, choclate and orange cake. I enjoyed the dessert very much and would recommend in a heartbeat. The wine choices were fantastic and ordered the Prosecco which was fantastic and complimented well with the fish. The ambiance and service was excellent. It had been a fantastic and memorable night.

Overall, the food and the service were excellent! My friends and I went to Bonaparte for MTL à Table. The restaurant was pretty much booked out. The waiters were nice, but they were very busy so they could not really serve us as soon as we called them. I chose the lobster bisque and smoked salmon, and they were both very good. Especially the bisque, it was very delicate. I ordered beef filet mignon for my main. It was not as good as I had expected. It was average, compared to the bisque and the smoked salmon. My friends ordered duck and they thought it was average too. The final dessert was very good. We had three kinds of small cakes and a crème brûlée. By the way, they served lots of bread… lol.

At the heart of old port Montréal.
I came here for dinner with good friends.
The ambiance: very elegant and classy
White table cloths, silver spoons and the B emblem on every plate!
We have a fine selection of red& white wines all kind of other alcoholic drinks. There is a really nice Bar as you enter. The restaurant is connected to a hotel called auberge Bonaparte rated at 9.3 /​10 as indicated on the card.
The service: it was not the best. It was very slow to get our orders written down and ready! The gravlax was not available which very much disappointed my friend. She came here all the way from Ontario just to have it again because it is the best she ever had compared to anywhere else. She was very sad they didn’t have it. Instead, she settled for the «Port wine roasted rack of lamb with ‘ratatouille». She said it was alright but nothing special.
I had rice pilaf with a mix of grilled veggies, sweet potato pure and eggplant chick pea purée.
My grilled veggies were phenomenal. They had a «smokey steak» flavour harmonious to my pallet.
Overall it was alright. Just disappointed they didnt have what we actually came here for and how their service was very slow it took them forever to get our meals!

I had the tasting menu, which was incredible, ranging from the unique and creative foie gras crème brule to the familiar steak. The filet mignon might have been the best steak I’ve ever had.
Service and atmosphere was also excellent.
Prices were reasonable considering the quality.

We went to Bonaparte on a weekend getaway to see fall colors. We were staying at the Westin in Old Montréal so it was just a five minute walk. We arrived around 8:15p and the reservation was at 9p. It was busy so it took a while for them to acknowledge us while we waited at the bar. This place is busy and they seemed a little short staffed. Anyway we eventually got drinks while we waited. The place has a nice ambience, mood and music – I liked that. They took us to our table promptly at 9p and took our drinks for us.
Once at the table the waiter took our drink order which was fine. He asked if we wanted water but never actually brought it. We both ordered the Tasting Menu which seemed a bit pricey at $ 74 but YOLO. The Lobster Bisque came first. For some reason the waiter didn’t offer fresh pepper so I asked. He also brought a half bottle of Malbec which was fine but he never poured it. The bisque was okay but a little bland so I added salt and pepper. I had the Duck Foie Gras Crème Brûlée. Meh (²⁄₅). The next course was Shrimp and Scallop «Harmony» and Mushroom Ravioli. Both were excellent — (⁵⁄₅)! The Pear and Tarragon Sorbet with champagne was okay but no spoons were provided — (³⁄₅). For mains we had the filet mignon and rack of lamb both pink — (⁴⁄₅). The desert course was excellent (⁵⁄₅). This was followed by coffee or tea.
The bottom line is the atmosphere was excellent (⁵⁄₅). Presentation was excellent (⁵⁄₅). Food taste was good (⁴⁄₅). Food value was average (³⁄₅). Service was poor (²⁄₅). In conclusion I think this place is a bit touristy and you can get a better bang for your buck elsewhere.

Very good. Service excellent. Tartar excellent. Fois Gras excellent. Had a great time.

It was our first wedding anniversary. My wife and I were visiting Montréal for the first time. Our server was so professional and courteous. She even surprised us by putting sparklers in our dessert order to celebrate our anniversary. The atmosphere was very sophisticated. The food was wonderful as well. The flavors were complex and the presentation was beautiful.

The service was excellent and so was the food. Good wine list. The place gives an old school feel for ambiance.

I dined here with my bf and we did the full tasting menu. It is not to be missed! The food was wonderfully French but not too out there (I find certain foods too refined for my palate such as escargot and foie gras). Between the two of us, we tried almost everything and not a single thing were we not impressed with. The lamb deserves special mention as it made me a convert. Give yourself plenty of time (our dinner was 3 hours), order a bottle of wine, sit back and enjoy the night. The pace was perfect and made for a truly memorable meal.

Excelente comida y atención.
Nos cambiaron el vino sin dudarlo al mencionar que había algo raro con el.

The more things change, the more they stay the same…
Highly styled and attractive food. Attentive, effervescent service.
Unfortunately, bland and ordinary flavors.
The standout was the duck.
Absent that, it was ordinary with a pretty dress.
The wines were short on fruit and a poor choice as the modest end of the menu.
It confirms my feeling that they missed it on New Year’s Eve.
They missed it in June too.

Food ***** Excellent
Wine ***** Very nice
Service ***** Great
Ambiance ***** The Restaurant Bonaparte is a wonderful establishment. We were fortunate to be seated at one of their front window tables. I felt like we were in France, with horse drawn carriages passing by. It was a great first class dining experience.

I’m from Toronto and was in Montréal twice in a span of 2 weeks.
On my second trip I was checking out the Notre Dame Basilica and was determined to find a great place to eat before my ride back to Toronto. Thank you Unilocalers.
You absolutely need a reservation or get ready to sit at the bar-​I sat at the bar and had superb service.
To drink I had a tasty well presented Caesar (lemon, celery, 3 quality olives).
The presentation/​taste of the bread was lovely, two options baguette or a dense nutty option.
I started with a Lobster bisque soup-​good.
Mushroom Ravioli in a sage cream sauce– melt in your mouth excellence, the pasta was light which I liked
For dessert I went with the chocolate mousse-​it had a bit of a coffee flavor-​just enough and tasty.
I noticed one of the Unilocalers stated the servers look like models-​I picked up on that as well lol.
A great experience in Old Montréal
Older crowd

We were disappointed — not worth the cost. Many better places around.
Ambiance: Crowd was over 45, calm peaceful ritzy.
Food: steak was incredible, best my brother in law has had. Other meals failed, including seafood Rigatoni, chicken with Brie. Do not recommend either of them.

We were there as a big group of 16 people, so we had a pre-​fixe menu. I did request to get their Foie Gras crème brûlée, and they were kind enough to accommodate. It was truly delicious. The salmon was cooked just right, and was one of the best salmon dishes I have had. Dessert was OK.

Bonaparte is one of the classiest, ritziest, most fantastical restaurants I have ever been to. The food, the atmosphere, and the service are fantastic. You will pay for it, but it is an experience and worth it. The Dover entrée is amazing and easily top 5 fish dish I have ever eaten. Foie gras crème brûlée is fantastic and I am almost sure everything served at Bonaparte is as well.
The menu can be a bit confusing but basically you can order a la carte or choose a 5 course tasting menu.

Décor: nice and cozy. A bit dark with a beautiful flower on the table. I would not classify the place as casual and was happy I wore a dress to go there. The restaurant is decorated in a Classic French style and we got lucky to get a spot by a window facing a small stone paved street.
Service: people working there take their jobs seriously. They were all men, all dressed to impress and ALL good looking. My boyfriend made a comment to me after a few waiters stopped by asking: «are they all models here?»
Food: the food was good. I must say that we got spoiled on our first night in Montréal because we dined in one of the top restaurants which was hard to match after. The food here provided classic options that were well executed and presented. The soup was great and I liked the take on the smoked salmon. I was especially a fan of the seafood main course. We had a big selection of courses from a pre-​fix menu in a classy atmosphere and at a fair value. Can’t beat that…

Good cuisine give me a chance for new experience!
There is a saying that a good meal may give one a chance to taste her past and welcome the future. I chose this French restaurant to finish my «past and future» thinking, they did a pretty good job with the food and service and I really have a good time.
But I think people may agree that one will become more sensitive when she is asked about was she eating alone when she is exactly eating alone; and more sensitive when she is asked about «is that price ok with you» after she totally read and understood what was the menu trying to told the customers.
A better service may be giving a proper silence on certain issues.

Le mignon de porc à la sauce dijonnaise est super bon, excellente cuisson, avec ses petits légumes. Pour les gourmands, la tarte au citron et meringue est également délicieuse. Le service est bon, rien à reprocher.

Excellent service, bonne cuisine (bien que le canard soit un peu coriace, mais le filet mignon est incroyable!). Clientèle un peu âgée, mais ça n’enlève rien au restaurant. Si vous aimez la cuisine française classique, vous né pouvez pas vous tromper avec le Bonaparre.

Resto français classique un peu (beaucoup ?) vielle façon comme je les aimes à l’occasion :service professionnel, grande table, nappe blanche. Cuisine sans surprise mais sans faute. La bisque de homard était renversante.

Tres tres bon restaurant dans le Vieux Montréal. Service tres profesionnel. Décor tres agreable. Menu degustation de 5 et 7 services super bon qualite/​prix. Tout ce que j’ai manger etait vraiment bon. Le meilleur filet mignon que j’ai manger a Montréal. Attention particuliere pour les desserts incroyables. Je retournerai definitivement dans un avenir raproche.

Le Bonaparte offre une cuisine française, toujours simple et toujours bien réalisée. En entrée, il faut absolument essayer les ravioli aux champignons, qui sont une spécialité de la maison. Pour le plat principal, j’ai un faible pour le tartare, que je mange relevé, et qui est accompagnée de frites croustillantes et d’une généreuse portion de mayonnaise. La cuisse de canard et le suprême de volaille sont aussi excellents, tout comme le foie gras, qui vaut à lui seul le détour. Si Le Bonaparte n’est pas le seul restaurant montréalais à offrir une excellente cuisine d’inspiration française, il est à mon sens celui où le service est le meilleur. Les serveurs, tous des hommes, comme en France, sont à la fois courtois et effacés. Vraiment, on y retrouve le meilleurs service qui soit à Montréal.