Restaurant La Medusa

When you look at this restaurant from the outside it looks like a small quant little place but when you go down its more like an endless maze.
But its wines make up for the charm this place has.
We were going to the Muse concert and time was limited. I rarely eat pasta but being in an italian rest I had to try the lasagna. he told me its his moms secret recipe and we ordered the eggplant as a starter.
Since we were pressed or time everything came together. Eggplant was great and so was my lasagna which cam in a white wine sauce. never seen that before and I just loved it. I will go back just for that dish.
They got 5 stars as my wifes pasta was a little hard maybe under cook as we pressed them for time. But we still enjoyed it.

It is terrible management/​customer service when a restuarant allows customers to book reservations for New Years Eve dinner, then decides to be closed for New Years Eve but doesn’t have the decency to call/​email the customer and let them know. We had our day planned around our dinner plans, which we had made almost a month in advance. We had gotten all ready and arrived at the restuarant to find it dark with locked doors at 830 pm. What a terrible thing to do, especially on New Years Eve… but a great way to lose customers.

Authentic Italian cuisine. Brought my wife and two girls for their first time, certainly not mine. They truly enjoyed the snails with tomato sauce, the beef carpaccio, lamp chop, seafood risotto and lasagna. Top it off with gelato, tiramisu and espresso and grappa.
Salute.

I have been to this restaurant a few times now. Great service, great food, nice atmosphere! This place is a hidden gem, just past the firehall. Most of the restaurant is in the basement. They have a very nice private room in their wine cellar if you are a larger group.
I always start with something off the menu, its a lasagna in a chicken broth — it is out of this world!!! then anything else on the menu is a great encore. They have an excellent wine selection with private imports. Reservations are needed if there is an event at the Bell Center — so call in advance and enjoy.

My daughter and I had to carb load on our pre race night and the other Italian place I’d read about was booked so I made a reservation here. Turns out I didn’t really need one for 8:30 pm on a Saturday night. The place wasn’t that busy.
The atmosphere was very comfortable and intimate. We were seated downstairs at a corner table. I liked that the Medusa logo was casually placed through out (including on the glasses) the restaurant. It had a European décor to it with a modern twist. 80s music played in the background all night and I loved it! Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean and She Bop by Cindi Lauper totally made my night! There was also some Richard Marx in there. Ok.
Our wait staff was very attentive. No water glass went empty. Orders were taken promptly. We got bread and the little pizza appetizer quickly. Our salads were a good size. I found mine quite filling. I had the cucumber & tomato salad and my daughter had the caesar salad. For my meal I had the Cannelloni alla Romana, which was typical cannelloni. I found it to be delicious and filling as well. My daughter got Spaghetti à la Gorgy, which is spaghetti, prosciutto and peas with a creamy white sauce. Not what she expected, but she did really enjoy it. It was a huge serving and far too much for her to eat. Thank goodness for take out containers!
My only issue was after a nice meal I love a little something sweet. We wanted to split something, but they only offered gelato from next door. I had drank a lot of water and the temps were a little cool in the restaurant so gelato was the last thing I wanted. They did give my daughter a scoop for free and I tried a small bite. It was very tasty!

I have to say that my boyfriend and I were treated like monarchs when we visited Medusa. You would think this would actually incline one to repeat such a flattering experience; but the in-​authenticity of it all made me realize my experience would have been different if my boyfriend and I had been dressed differently.
Dressed in business attire having come from the office, my boyfriend and I were welcomed by the owner of the establishment. True story: we were given complimentary appetizers for no apparent reason (not that I’m complaining about that part), and while we waited for our plates to arrive, the owner proceeded to give us a tour of the restaurant, and his other restaurant upstairs (Arlequino Pizzeria). He then proceeded to show us a private banquet room, where he explained that such a hall would be perfect for an engagement party (wink wink towards me) or even a business conference (nudge nudge towards the bf). He capped it off with some information on the priciest wines from his wine collection. He then accompanied us back to our seats as our meals were being placed on the table, and gave us complimentary promo bags.
I wonder if we would have been doted on as much if we didn’t appear to be wealthy young professionals.

Hmm, so many pros and cons, I’m conflicted.
First off, this place was DEAD on a Wednesday night. At the end of our meal I went downstairs to the ladies’ room and saw they had many more tables down in a grotto-​like area but still, only a few tables were full. We sat on the upper floor, overlooking the street. It was nice but they had talk radio blaring a depressing story about some kidnapped child. It really bothered me. I was just about to say something when our server brought us a complimentary pizza appetizer. Ok, a little better. shortly after the radio was changed to dated pop music. Random.
The server was a nice, quiet man. It must be a cultural thing but there are LONG PAUSES between courses with no checking in with us, which annoyed me. Anyway, he was very nice and friendly but still, there was no one there, I felt like he should have doted more?
The food itself was delicious, though portions were very small. I left still feeling hungry. I had the chicken al limone which was rich and flavorful but tiny. Also pricey, I’m still unsure if there was any value to be had paying as much as we did.
I had a nice time here but maybe the experience would have been different on a different night/​time. Ah well.

This is a very solid Italian place within walking distance of hotel row on Sherbrooke. It was quiet on the Wednesday night that I went, so the only noise to be heard was the baffling musical selection — American 80s pop. Bobby Brown’s My Prerogative and She Blinded Me With Science kept me company through my salad course.
Despite this, I had a nice time from top to bottom. The service was prompt and friendly, the portions were small but flavorful (hats off for excellent and tender veal), and the top floor allowed for people watching. My one complaint is that if you ask for water, you’re getting bottled flat water, so make sure to go hydrated.
You don’t need to dress to the nines, but I’d recommend jeans, a polo and nice shoes at the minimum. It’s worth a trip if you’re staying nearby.

Very small Italian restaurant. Traditional Northern Italian cooking — excellent veal. Good wine list.
Friendly staff. Close to Bell Centre and Sheraton Hotel on René-​Lévesque.