Shooting for the stars

>> Holder’s spin-off, the Mediterranean
bistro L’Étoile, is hit and miss

by GENEVIEVE PAIEMENT

Montreal is in the grips of a restaurant spin-off epidemic. In the past few months, the always awesome Brunoise (which very sadly, very suddenly closed in November) spawned Brasserie Brunoise, Joe Beef gave birth to Liverpool House and the folks behind the lovely Holder in Old Montreal opened L’Étoile—to name just three.

As is the case with most spin-offs, the unofficial theme among these seems to be: more of the same, but with a twist. While upscale Brunoise went casual with a brasserie, they kept up the excellent French cooking and carried over some of the menu (like their sent-from-above panna cotta with basil syrup and passion fruit seeds), and lively Liverpool House is pretty much Joe Beef with an Italian swagger.

L’Étoile, co-owned by the Holder brothers and Québécois pop crooner Garou, is positioning itself as a Mediterranean bistro. Since Holder, with its gorgeous copper-tinged interior and charming waiters, is one of my favourite places to eat dependable, classic bistro fare on a cold winter night, I was excited to check out its new little brother.

Sandwiched between a dollar store and a sad little hair salon, and sitting directly across from Lozeau, Montreal’s king of camera stores, L’Étoile’s slick black exterior, which would look perfectly at home on St-Laurent or St-Denis, contrasts starkly with the ’80s hideousness that is the Plaza St-Hubert. The airy interior features more black, bistro chairs and wooden slat benches reminiscent of old train stations, set off by a dusty pink-coloured mural by local artist Carlito Dalceggio and featuring his signature shamanistic, tribal-gypsy flourishes.

Our initial visit, a few weeks ago, was for lunch. The L’Étoile veal burger with caramelized onions, taleggio and aioli ($11) was pretty so-so, with its supermarket-style white bun and very few onions. The macaroni and cheese with green peas, pancetta and mushrooms ($16) was yummy and creamy, like upscale comfort food, and while the mushroom risotto with truffle oil, asparagus and parmesan ($18.50) was cooked to a lovely consistency with the asparagus remaining bright green with a slight crunch, it didn’t quite sing.

For dessert: an order of yogurt panna cotta with basil and mint syrup ($6) and the praline nougat with fleur de sel caramel ($7), split three ways. The panna cotta’s flavours reminded me of Brunoise’s scrumptious signature version, except this was entirely yogurty in texture, not at all the usual set and beautifully jiggly consistency. The praline nougat was a layered semifreddo-type deal, with ice cream and nougat and frozen salt caramel drizzled with a very salty—perhaps a touch too salty—caramel sauce. Still, it did an excellent job of satisfying our collective sweet tooth.

On a return visit for dinner, I was able to sample a few more dishes. A Caprese-esque salad ($10.50) featured “fresh” mozzarella that was, in fact, way past its prime, disintegrating and turning sour (I would have sent it back but it wasn’t my choice and my incredibly polite friend didn’t want to cause a fuss); the grilled octopus entrée ($12) was tender enough and came with nice, feta-flecked couscous; the duck confit salad ($9.50), good but not great, contained thin slices of delicate yellow beets, bacon bits and some shredded duck atop mixed greens.

Though we rather enjoyed our bottle of 2006 La Carraia Ruber, which was just $30 (the wine list does include several affordable drops), our mains were sadly disappointing. The braised lamb shank with merguez cassoulet and ratatouille ($17) sounded confusing but like it might be one of those dishes that could just work. No such luck. There were so many competing flavours (citrus, sweet, gamey), it tasted like an experiment gone awry (who ever heard of throwing rich, meaty, wintry cassoulet into the same pot with fresh, summery ratatouille?), and the lamb wasn’t as tender as it could have been.

The spaghetti chitarra with clams and white wine ($16), with its fresh parsley and chopped garlic, was okay but too watery. Afterward, none of us were in the mood for dessert. On the bright side, it’s an attractive space and the service on both visits was excellent, attentive and exceedingly friendly. If only the food picked up its game, this place could well shine.