L’Academie

A l’occasion du depart d’une colleague de travail, j’ai reservé une table de 10 malgré les très mauvais commentaires sur Unilocal.Le décor est moderne et la grande salle à manger est parfaite pour les groupes. Nous avons tous pris des plats différents allant du risotto, au filet de saumon en passant par les pates. Tous ont été satisfaits. Belle présentation des plats avec légumes frais.
Le service fut impeccable des notre arrivée. Sceaux à vin sur la table, né pas manquer de pain et aucune erreur de commande. Les prix sont raisonnable et le stationnement est très grand.

Nous avions une réservation pour 12 personnes pour 20h30 et avions demander d’être à côté des toilettes (pour raison médicales). Lorsque nous sommes arrivés nous nous sommes fait dire que la table n’était pas prête et que de toutes façons les tables né sont pas garanties… Alors que nous avions appelé 2 fois pour vérifier et que par 2 reprises nous avions été assurés de la table. Le gérant est un jeune très condescendant envers les clients, il n’avait vraiment pas une belle attitude et n’acceptait pas de se faire prendre en défaut. Nous avons attendu plus de 20 minutes debout pour nous faire donner 2 tables au lieu d’une. Wow un partie d’anniversaire où tout le monde n’est pas assis ensemble c’est vraiment pas cool! Donc après 20 minutes nous avons eu 2 tables… et avons attendu plus de 20 minutes pour avoir les menu… et personne né nous a demandé ce que nous voulions pour boire. Lorsque nous avons commandé il manquait beaucoup de chose sur le menu, là non plus aucune excuse né nous a été fait à part qu’il était tard. Après avoir commandé nous avons attendu plus de 30 minutes pour avoir nos plats et une serveuse pas plus gentille que le gérant qui au lieu de s’excuser de l’attente mais «s’ estinait «avec nous que cela né faisait pas 30 mais que 20 minutes que nous attendions et qu’elle pouvait pas faire des miracles qu’elle avait d’autres clients et qu’un des chefs n’était pas rentré la nourriture était correcte mais sans plus, pour ma part des moules né se servent pas trop cuites ni sèches…mais bon les autres plats était convenables. En résumé nous avons été reçus comme des chiens dans un jeu de quilles, avons eu un service pourri et à moitié mais la facture elle était salée pour la qualité de ce que nous avons reçu. !!

Just went for lunch. The reason that I gave them 2 stars is because the restaurant itself is nice. First impressions, dirty plate (s). Bread plate, soup bowl both dirty. Not horribly but makes you pause. We ordered calamari starter and myself the chef special (which was a pork loin in a mustard sauce) and my husband ordered muscles. The calamari was horrible, sitting in oil, yet cool and slightly raw. Freezer burn tasting, and overall not tasty, just salty. When the waitress asked I told her, her response was «Oh well.» Shrugged and off she went.
We finally got our soup– cold dirty bowl. Left mine uneaten. Waited quit a while but finally got our main course. One part on the top of the plate was hot, the rest cold again. Portions were small (I mean one carrot, 3 baby potatoes, 6 green beans and few small pieces of pork) the only «hot» thing was the pork the sauce was bechamel not mustard. Not finished either. And I was hungry!
My husbands was also cold, very small fries portion and not very tasty either. No bread given to dip into the sauce. To top it off, they gave him mayo which had a horrible yellow skin on it. See picture.
The service was slow (took well over an hour and it was not busy).
Will NOT be returning.

I have to say for my first time going i tried there sausage, pancetta poutine i liked it will have to try other dishes that they make

Wow so disappointing, wanted a bit more upscale but got old cheese that was very stale… Fish was cooked terribly… cat food manacotti and apparently we were being loud (there was no one else there) so the waiter gavee the stink eyes… nice
All in all they can cook an ok steak but that’s about it … Get it together guys

Last night, after about a month of planning, the surprise party I had organized (with the help of a few people) for my best friend Jess, was pulled off with much success.
We had dinner at L’Academie in Pointe Claire. I had never been there before but Jess has been there several times and she loves it.
All I wanted was the escargot but did not think many people would be getting the appetizers so I refrained– with much regret. Jess let me try one of her escargots and they were amazing.
Ant got the Mussels and I got the Atlantic Salmon.
I must say, I was not impressed and Ant was not a fan either. It was the first time I did not ask for a doggie bag and I think that is an indication of my feelings toward the meal. Jess got a dessert for free since it was her birthday but even that was… odd. They said it was ice cream but it looked more like whipped cream with crumbs put on it. It was strange.
This restaurant is BYOW and I am glad we brought a bottle to share. Although, I must say that the atmosphere is pretty great. It seems to be too formal for there to be the big screens they had but I am happy that I was able to see the hockey score in the background. The staff is very friendly and I even ran to an old coworker of mine which was a nice surprise.
Overall, I am happy I had the company I did but I don’t think I’ll be returning to this restaurant. To each their own though! If you go there, I hope you have a better experience and let me know! They have more than one location so maybe going to another one would make a difference.

You double check if you’re in the right restaurant. Did you just accidentally walk into a 5 star hotel? Nope, it’s L’Academie. The air is amazingly spacious and the décor is luxurious. But what matters most is the food right? Unfortunately, it didn’t quite do it for me. I had the matane shrimp poutine and the gravy was a dense garlic sauce. The shrimps were overpowering and the richness of the gravy-​sauce was too much for me. Although I must admit that the fries were good — beautiful golden brown, the perfect kind for poutine. I also tried the duck and mushroom risotto which didn’t impress me. The consistency of the rice was closer to congee (rice porridge) and the duck was on the dryer side. The place was somewhat busy. I guess it’s because L’Academie can offer a feel of modern luxury at a more affordable price, which is a good thing.

Recently had lunch here. Service was top notch, the food was disappointing and not fresh. My chicken salad had spoiled (rotted ends) lettuce greens and a spoiled cherry tomatoes. I discovered these items half way thro my very large salad, nonetheless it dampened my appetite and I did not trust the rest of the plate. It was pointed out to the waiter who removed the plate from the table but not from my bill. Coffe was good.

Food was ok. I ordered the mussels and they were good. Others in my group opted for veal and pasta. They thought it was very mediocre. The ambience was quite loud.

I’ve been several times to this location. The service has always been pleasant. The mussels as usual were really good. This time we ordered l’italien, delicious (don’t breath on anyone after– loaded with garlic!)… instead of my usual roquefort — which are really good. The fries were A-​1 as apposed to my last visit when the fries arrived cold.
— It was only my second time having the pasta. I decided to have the fettucini with smoked salmon. Sooooo salty, and I traditionally like salt, and very little cream sauce. Too bad since the pasta was cooked perfectly but really, forget ordering this. –My previous visit when I ordered the pasta it was also a little short on the sauce, although my friend who ordered the spagetti boulognese said it was really good and it appeared that the sauce was plentiful. We ended our meal sharing a tiramisu that was amazing.
–Of course, bringing your own wine is a huge plus!

Went to L’Academie on a Sunday night with some friends and our very young children. The place wasn’t too packed but there were enough people to suggest that it was a decent restaurant. Service was good, and the food was just above average, but the whole experience left us all satisfied. Maybe it was the Sunday pasta specials, but we nodded approval to each other that we’d be back sometime. It wasn’t emphatic, but it was positive. Enjoy.

Much better than the flagship location on St-​Denis. The mussels were larger and fresher but the fries could have been more brown. My friend was very happy with her pasta primavera. Their regular coffee isn’t good. Next time I will try the penne rosee and I hope I’m not disappointed! Conveniently located off the T-​Can in the strip mall on St-​Jean across from Fairview.

The host that greeted us at the front was in a full length black apron, very professional. All of the waiters were very professional, and a shout out to the awkward water boy that dropped by a few times. Billy was the name of our server, a very personable young man who very much deserves a raise.
Okay, so maybe this place is a bit better than a Jack Astor’s. We’re seated in the window, and are tended to quite regularly. The bread basket that we received was quite small, but after a few times filling it, they figured out that we’re bread-​eaters. It began to come back full to the brim. The white baguette wasn’t sliced all the way through, the outside was crusty, the crumb was perfect, and it was slightly warmed. No wonder I ate so much of it. The whole grain roll was great as well. I’m not a big fan of birdseed bread, but it was quite exceptional. Over dinner, I get more of a background on this place. It was apparently an offshoot of a bunch of chefs that went to school together. So far, this is the best example of everything I learned in school, they’re doing everything right.
Eventually our meals came, a risotto and my chicken fillet in pink peppercorn sauce. His plate of risotto was filled with mushrooms and looked quite appetizing. My meal was a full one. The plate was stylized, and for the better. Two large chicken breasts that were cooked to perfection. Perfectly moist coated in a pink peppercorn cream sauce. Oh, it was heavenly. To add to this, tasty roasted potatoes, a carrot with the green top, three asparagus, and some shredded gourd of some kind. It was very delicious.
I only have one negative aspect of this dish. Not that there wasn’t enough food, because I had to have Uncle Larito help me finish it, but that the peppercorns were overpowering. I understand that it’s a pink peppercorn sauce, but the same powerful taste could have come from some crushed peppercorns rather than a bunch of whole ones. While whole peppercorns are nice, there were so many that I had to scrape them off of my chicken and I found it quite unpleasant to bite into them. Every bite had at least five whole peppercorns if I had not scraped them off. It really put me off trying to finish my dish.
Larito’s risotto was exceptional. I am not a pasta fan, but this was perfectly spiced and had very full flavours. Good job!
Over coffees, which were fine, we ordered dessert. I ordered the carrot cake and Larito decided to talk to Billy about which of the desserts came recommended. The carrot cake and chocolate mousse were at the top, next down was the crème caramel and the crème brulee, and finally, the cheesecake.
Larito decided to go with the brulee. It was quite well done, and was house-​made. The sugar was torched perfectly and was made with the richness of extra yolks. It was a little less sweet than I would have liked, but Uncle Larito was satisfied with it. I am sceptical about the cake slice that I received. I adore carrot cake. The cream cheese icing, the moist carrot cake with the abundance of spices that float about the cake is like heaven on Earth. Alas, this cake was not satisfactory. The plating was quite nice, it came with a treble clef drawn on the plate in crème anglaise with the slice next to it.
The carrot cake consisted of four thin layers of orange cake that were surrounded by a unicorn mayonnaise icing of some kind. There was no cream cheese flavour, not even the acidity to suggest that it had once been cream cheese. The orange cake had no spices, it was just masquerading as carrot cake. If I had to guess, I would assume that this is a LaRocca cake or something similar.
I would recommend investing in a better bakery to supply your desserts or at least try to make them in house. If this cannot be done, please remove the cake out of the fridge before service. Also, plating with crème anglaise wasn’t beneficial to the plate. While the colours matched, this is only half of the battle. Please, choose something that isn’t creamy, even a nice tangerine sauce, a spiced brandy sauce would have been wonderful, or even some spice to your crème anglaise would have been quite nice. I was also a little worried as to if the sauce was really a crème anglaise, or if it was the uncooked remnants from the crème brulee. In which case, if it was, I do hope that the eggs were pasteurized in some way. I actually didn’t eat the sauce due to the fact that it might not have been safe for me to eat.
All in all, I had a wonderful experience. I would return, and I do hope that this chain makes its way to Ontario. The décor was fabulous, the menu was well planned, and the staff was amazing. It was a little too expensive for my taste, even though what we did get (minus the dessert) was well worth the price. Great job, L’Academie. You’ve impressed me.