Osco!

*This is a special post: my ex English teacher (ok, my fave ever English teacher) at ITHQ asked me if I'd be willing to post some of her students' reviews on my blog (this one is by Darquise B.). Here's one. Oh and there are no pics (and, well... it might not be AS funny as my reviews, but you'll survive).

Hotel restaurants are not just for hotel customers. Indeed, in general, people do not necessarily think about going to those restaurants, but, in fact, the food is usually well done and flavourful and service very attentive. Yesterday was my first experience in a hotel restaurant. I went to the Intercontinental restaurant, Brasserie Osco, with my boyfriend, Guillaume (he is not really my boyfriend, but let me dream a little!) and wanted to share my impressions and comments with you.

First good thing about hotel restaurants is the atmosphere and decor which is often comfortable but luxurious. It is the case at Brasserie Osco. In the entrance, they impress their customers with their imposing and gorgeous glazed wine cellar. The dining room is elegantly decorated as well, with a mix between victorian and contemporary. The lovely hostess guided us through the colourful but subdued room to our romantically decorated table.

With a beautiful view on the Palais des congrès and the love of my life, everything was set up for a perfect date! However, we waited a few (read several) minutes for that perfect date to happen. Let’s just mention that this week was Montréal à table week, so that little (long) wait was understandable even if it bothered me slightly inside. So we finally met our courteous waiter, or I should say the manager, who took advantage of the busy evening to experience service customers again. He took control of the situation and the little wait at the start was quickly forgotten. He suggested to us
probably the best bottle of wine someone ever had suggested to me and served us impeccably until the end of our dinner, taking time to discuss with us between the services.

We enjoyed the Montréal à table menu which was an interesting selection of dishes. I chose the foie gras with stewed fruits and a brioche as a starter and braised rabbit with red rice for the main. The two plates were delicious especially the very well prepared foie gras which is one of my favourite meal of all time. The only thing I would say about the menu is the missing vegetarian dishes selection. Guillaume being vegetarian, it made things a little more complicated, but our attentive (and vegetarian) waiter dealt with the situation very well.

I could not say if Guillaume, the waiter or the wine was responsible for my excessive happiness when we got out of the restaurant, but let’s just say that the overall experience deserve a 4-star mark. To be very honest, I was, at a certain point, extremely disappointed by the eternal wait at the start, but as a waiter, I can understand that that kind of thing happens and would definitely go back to appreciate the experience to the fullest.