Chez Boulay - Bistro Boreal

The best meal of our whole trip! The food in Quebec rarely disappoints and Chez Boulay Bistro Boreal is no exception. The restaurant is the latest project from a veteran Quebec City chef, Jean-Luc Boulay. The menu follows the latest culinary trend to hit Quebec City- Nordic cuisine married with French techniques. Attached to the Hotel Manoir Victoria, the restaurant has a simple clean decor with a huge menu on a blackboard. There was also outdoor seating if you preferred to watch the busy foot traffic on Rue St. Jean.

Although the restaurant was bustling, we managed to secure an early dinner reservation by visiting the restaurant a day in advance. The service was excellent throughout and our server provided detailed explanations of the whole menu. After ordering, we received a stack of bread threaded through a skewer. Dramatic presentation that takes up less table space!

Bread stack

We started with two appetizers to share - the seafood platter for two which included cubes of smoked salmon, haddock, mussels marinated with cicely, Nordic shrimp fritters and shrimp remoulade with celery and apple. The plate looked fantastic but certain elements tasted better than others. The plate repeated itself on either end so that two people would experience everything if they worked on the food from opposite ends. I enjoyed the potted marinated mussels with the toasted bread and got to enjoy Paul's pot of mussels as well since he didn't care for it.

Seafood platter for two

The next appetizer we shared was the Arctic char carpaccio which was covered by a boreal marinade consisted of elderberry vinegar, cattail hearts, milkweed pots and a herb emulsion. This was truly a wonderful dish - the elderberry vinegar imparting exactly the right amount of sweet tartness to complement the fish.  

 

Delicious!

We then shared an entree which was the chowder with large scallops, shrimp and shellfish in a bee balm infused broth with grilled asparagus. This dish looks simple but it was excellent. With no cream, the chowder was more a consommé. The various seafoods gave the consommé the sweet taste of the sea. The grilled asparagus was large, fresh and seasoned perfectly.

Broth was delicious

 We finished with dessert - sharing a frozen maple and pepper green alder parfait with crumble. Again, a very deceptively simple dessert but flawlessly executed. Frozen parfait had the texture of a smooth ice cream. With no wine, the final bill was CAD92 for an excellent meal.

Simple but perfect