When visiting Montreal, I was able to visit a beautiful family Italina restaurant called Bravi with one of the owner’s cousins. Since we had a huge party, we had a preset menu, but almost everything on the regular menu came out. We did not go hungry tonight.
When we walked into our private room, we were greeted with wine and Focaccia. It was absolutely delicious. Everything happened so fast when we arrived that I did not even get a chance to snap a photo. The wine was called Tullum. It was an amazing red wine. We ended up drinking may, many bottles.
After a little socializing, we all sat down at the table and the starters all came out. If there is one starter that I would suggest you try it is the Bruschetta with goat cheese & caramelized onions. This was to die for! It was the onions that made this dish so delicious. They were sweet and complemented the tang of the goat cheese.
The Calamari Fritti was extremely tender. The breading was light and crispy.
Do not shy away from the Grilled Octopus. I have never been much of a fan of octopus, but the preparation of this dish completely changed my mind. The flavor was fantastic, and it was so tender. It melted in my mouth.
The fried bocconcini was essentially fried cheese. It was lightly breaded. They served marinara sauce on the side for dipping. It had wonderful flavor of oregano and basil.
The Charcuterie board were enormous. There were piles of Italian meats. The quality of the meat was superb. The meats that they included were Mortadella, Hard salami (cut into thick pieces), and Prosciutto. The Prosciutto was so lean, it just melted when I took a bite. This was some of the best Prosciutto I have ever eaten.
The next course out was the pasta, which was Rigatoni Romanoff. The homemade rigatoni pasta was tossed in a Rose sauce along with shallots, spinach, and parmesan cheese. This dish was so creamy. The sauce was amazing and soaked up wonderfully into the pasta.
Up next was the salad. This was a classic salad with freshly made Italian dressing.
The main entrees started arriving and I had a hard time deciding where to start. The Branzino was roasted seabass with vegetables and roasted potatoes. The fish was flakey. The light caper butter sauce they put on top made the overall fish buttery.
Veal Scaloppine Ortobosco might be a mouthful to say, but you will your mouth will thank you for ordering this dish. The veal was served in a white wine sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and a demi-glaze. The veal was so tender, no knife was needed. The sauce was savory and the perfect accent to the veal and potatoes. The mushrooms added texture without adding that earthy taste.
If you like lamb, then be sure to order the Costolette di Agnello alla Rustica. This was a grilled rack of lamb in a port wine sauce. The presentation was beautiful. I tried a little of this since I am not a fan of lamb. The meat was tender and seasoned to remove that gamey taste.
Even with all the food that we ate around the table, no Italian meal would be complete without desserts. The Tiramisu was very traditional. It was extremely creamy and had a wonderful espresso taste.
The Limoncello Cake was light. It had fluffy icing that had a hint of lemon flavor.
There were large plates of fresh fruit that also came out to the table. These plates were loaded with cherries, grapes, strawberries, pineapple, and watermelon. It was extremely fresh.
I would also recommend the cappuccino. It was perfect to sip while enjoying the desserts.
If you are in Montreal, I would highly recommend visiting Bravi. It is a little out of the city but worth the Uber ride.
Check them out at restaurantbravi.com/en/
Enjoy!
T
