For all of you who are familiar with the old port of Montreal, youve most likely have had dinner at Barroco before; spanish cuisine with a french twist this establishment has been one of my staples in terms of good dinning in Montreal.
Enter their most recent addition; Bocata. According to owners Louis, Roberto and Jeremie this restaurant is a tapas style inspired menu with a beautiful selection of privately imported wines.
My friends and I decided to experiment on a thursday night. I order 3 dishes recommended by my waiter, the first a pesto tuna tartar, the tuna was very fresh but the pesto much too acidic for my taste it lacked intrigue and flavor the bread biscuit at the bottom was not necessary and was left untouched.
The second dish a grilled cheese with tomato soup, again too acidic and stringent and the grill cheese lacked of cheese. Not my favorite.
The third saved the whole meal, a duo of filet mignon and braised meat was perfectly cooked and balanced with a sweet parsnip puree. The savoury and sweet texture of it all was the most satisfying part of the dinner.
Our deserts were much disappointing. The first a mint and strawberry layered shortcake was composed of layered whipped cream and cookies that were too thick to be eaten with a spoon. The second one a chocolate bread with caramel was decent but didnt strike me as anything new.
Overall I would stick with Barroco, they ve done it well there. Bocata still needs a bit of innovation
