Uncover Quebec City Best Restaurants

My wife and I had terrific dinner at Laurie Raphaël. I had reserved a table on the terrace, but asked the host for a table inside, due to the gloomy weather. Thankfully, she was able to accommodate us. As a gastronomic restaurant, Laurie Raphaël does not disappoint. Every part of the dining experience is very well thought out and executed. The host led us through the restaurant to our table. Surprisingly, the first part of the restaurant that we entered was the kitchen, where Chef Raphaël Vézina and his Chefs all stopped whatever they were doing and greeted us with a hearty, “Bonsoir!” The entire space is beautiful and modern. After we were seated and enjoying a cocktail, the complete tasting menu was explained to us. My wife and I wanted to enjoy a lighter dinner on the final night of our first ever trip to Vieux-Québec, so we chose the five-course Menu Personnalisé over the full eight-course Expérience Gastronomique. I also chose to have the wine pairings with my meal. The food was terrific; inventive and delicious. We really enjoyed the pairing of cucumber with caviar, and the textures and flavors of the lobster course were fantastic. I only wish that I had been offered some bread to soak up every last bit of the sauce. There were no missteps with any of the dishes, which were all delicious. I’ll post photos. The wines were chosen playfully and from all over the world. I particularly enjoyed the Il Roccolo di Monticelli di Rado, which transported me back to Venice. At first, I worried that the service would be less convivial than I prefer. The staff appeared to have clearly defined roles; some set the table, others delivered the food and others cleared the table. However, there was one gentleman who came by to introduce each course, and showed great humor when I asked him to do it in both English and then French, and, finally, both English and French at the same time. As tourists, the only part of our meal that was lacking was a clear connection between the food and wines to the locality. We travel to eat and experiencing the terroir is important to us. I was hoping for a more clearly Québécois meal. For example, the cheese option for the dessert course was a play on carbonara; a flan of egg, Louis d’Or cheese and guanciale. While the cheese is from Québec, I felt like I was in Rome, instead of Québec. As I said, however, this feeling is particular to us as tourists. As a gastronomic experience, our meal lacked nothing and would stand out anywhere that we have been in the world.