By Inspector 5
For most visitors to Québec City, spending time in the old section (Vieux-Québec) is a must. That's where most of the city's attractions are, and most of the restaurants as well, so it's perfect when you're looking for amazing places to eat.
In Haute-Ville (Upper Town) you can find restaurants ranging from casual pubs to haute cuisine. Let's begin with the restaurant that now occupies the city's oldest home, which was built in 1676. As soon as patrons step inside Restaurant aux Anciens Canadiens, they experience the charm of this historical building. The waitstaff, attired in period costume, serve up hearty, traditional Québecois comfort foods like lamb stew, baked beans, tourtière (meat pie), blood pudding, pork rinds, pheasant and buffalo casserole, and cretons (a spicy pork pâté). This is one of the best places to eat authentic maple sugar pie. A crackling fireplace and walls decorated with Québec wood carvings add to the ambience.
Restaurant Le Saint Amour
At Restaurant Le Saint Amour the chef's fine French cuisine, including the house specialty pan-seared foie gras, is memorable for its use of fine ingredients and innovative presentations. Guests particularly enjoy the interior atrium area with its high, glass-topped ceiling and the intimate dining rooms. Diners may choose from a menu that lists novel preparations of tuna, salmon, game, lamb and seafood. Convenient valet parking is offered.
AAA/Inspector 33
Just steps away from the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is the casual stone-walled Crêperie Le Petit Château, where you can dine on crepes from breakfast through dinner. With 60 affordable varieties, you'll find several you'll want to try. The restaurant has a large terrace, open seasonally, that is an ideal spot to relax on a warm evening; it's especially a fun place to go on evenings when live music is featured.
D'Orsay Restaurant Pub is a lively and popular Old Québec restaurant overlooking city hall and the Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral of Québec (Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec). The pub has an ornate wood bar inlaid with stained glass panels and a seasonal terrace that is a popular spot in summer months. Its elegant dining section, suitable for all ages, allows patrons to savor international preparations of steak, smoked ribs, mussels, French onion soup, prime rib, filet of sole and grilled tuna, and the bar features more than 25 selections of local and imported beers, including a sampler of three Québec beers.
Popular with tourist groups, Restaurant au Parmesan is a favorite spot to slowly enjoy a bottle of wine, a plate of pasta and festive live accordion music and singing. In fact, their advertisements boast that every night is “la dolce vita.” The restaurant's ambience is electric and it's one of the most fun things to do here. Guests, who sometimes may be tightly packed in, select from a menu that offers a blend of Italian and French dishes, including veal chops, steak, surf and turf, and house-prepared pasta and prosciutto.
Restaurant Laurie Raphael
A cluster of popular restaurants in the Old Port neighborhood of Basse-Ville (Lower Town) in Vieux-Québec offers dining options ranging from bistro fare to delectable Québecois cuisine. This area is where you'll find Restaurant Laurie Raphaël, a contemporary restaurant near the cruise ship terminal. The interior is drenched in tasteful design, and the popular seasonal terrace is edged with a neat faux hedge. Chef Daniel Vézina artfully constructs exceptional cuisine that makes use of some of the finest products the region has to offer, including pan-seared foie gras, yellowfin tuna, duck, filet mignon, scallops, red deer, veal and lamb. Adventurous diners may try the chef's surprise four-course tasting menu; otherwise, they may simply choose from the à la carte or the regularly updated multi-course menus. Courteous service and fine wines round out the experience at what many consider one of Québec's top five fine-dining restaurants. On the way out, visit the adjacent boutique to purchase the chef's cookbooks, bottled gourmet condiments or the identical dishware and utensils used in the dining room.
In the romantic lower section of Old Québec, behind the Museum of Civilization (Musée de la civilization), a narrow cobblestone street leads to the casual eatery Restaurant l'Échaudé , appreciated for its bustling ambience and an impressive menu of traditional bistro fare. A sidewalk terrace is popular in the warm summer months for sipping wine and people watching. In fact, more than 150 wines selections are available, along with a menu that includes beef and salmon tartares, fish and mussel soup, duck confit, Angus beef, risotto, veal loin, breast of duck and pheasant.
Steps away from where passengers board luxury cruise ships is one of Quebec City's favorite bistros. Large windows in the port building that houses Le Café du Monde afford superb views of the St. Lawrence River. Tightly spaced bistro tables, cozy banquettes and a lively sit-down bar area replicate the ambience of a Parisian bistro-café. One look at the menu convinces diners that they are in for a truly European experience. Busy and personable servers, uniformed in black and white, explain the daily specials and offer selections of wine available by the glass or bottle. On busy nights the ambience can sometimes seem a little frenzied as servers rush about ensuring that guests enjoy their wine and classic bistro fare. Visitors can choose from duck confit, veal sweetbreads, veal jowls, Toulouse sausage, Angus steak with fries, mussels and other seafood, coq au vin, blood pudding, rotisserie chicken, veal liver, beef bavette, pasta and tartares. A children's menu is available. For dessert, try the crème brûlée, the apple tarte tatin or the chocolate profiteroles. Brunch is served on weekends.
AAA/Inspector 615
The luxurious, historic, stone-walled hotel Auberge Saint-Antoine Relais & Châteaux houses Chez Muffy in Quebec City's Old Port district. Below the original wood-beamed ceiling, guests dine in elegance on exceptional Québecois cuisine served up with panache. Main courses may be complemented with side dishes ordered separately. Exciting and artfully prepared dishes include Mauricie region sweetbreads, Madeleine Islands lobster, scallops, Atlantic halibut, clams, free-range chicken, Alberta beef, pan-seared foie gras and duckling.
Quebec's vintage Gare du Palais train station houses the upscale restaurant and bar Charbon Steakhouse. The comfortable leather booths are a great place to sample a fine selection of wines by the glass or bottle as well as Canadian AAA beef, including New York cut, rib, porterhouse, T-bone and filet mignon. In addition, the menu offers prime rib, grilled shrimp, baby back ribs, surf and turf platters, and Atlantic salmon.
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