There’s nothing like the classics especially when it comes to French cuisine and even more so when you’re spending time in romantic Quebec City, which easily earns my vote for the best city for lovers in North America. Take a step into Cafe de la Paix with your significant other and you will instantly feel like you have dropped in on your favourite haunt in Paris. Servers greet you like old friends and fawn over you like family. The dining room is a delicate combination of old and new Quebec with exposed stone walls, tiny crystal chandeliers and lots of carved wood. It’s an easy atmosphere in which to relax and enjoy the delicious food. So, settle in with one of Maxime, the owner’s, amazing wines from his extensive cellar, then let his sons Matthieu and Olivier feed you like royalty.
Appetizers stretch the limit of the chef’s imagination but still stay close to the letter of the standards. A pate of five gibiers (game) takes a flying leap into the stratosphere by nature of its’ constituents – duck, wild boar, buffalo, deer and elk. This is the real deal if you are lover of pate. Scallops arrive in a light as air puff pastry with a creamy sauce of leeks subtly scented with bay leaf. Entrees are a phenomenal ris de veau (veal sweetbreads) in a port sauce with mushrooms and medallions of veal in a veloute of its’ own juices, something only a chef with French training can accomplish.
An unlikely tirami su confirms the Italian imprint of the restaurant which has been opened a record breaking 52 years in the Vieux Ville (old city) of Quebec City and was formerly owned by a second generation Italian. A maple cream tart drives home the fact that nobody beats Canada when it comes to all things maple. Have an espresso and savor the flavours of Quebec while holding close to your partner. Feel like taking a walk before turning in?
Cafe de la Paix offers a fantastic four course prix fixe menu with coffee or tea for under 50CAD as well as a full a la carte selection. The elegant private dining rooms accommodating groups of 10 to 40 people are especially good for business or special occasion.
Cafe de la Paix
44 Rue des Jardins
Quebec City, Quebec G1R 4L7
418-692-1430
www.cafedelapaix.ca