Au Pied de Cochon – Montreal

Having recently visited Montreal, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Au Pied de Cochon and therefore a review of such a restaurant was inevitably due to appear on our blog. Although the locale’s name won’t sound too familiar, you may know the owner/chef Martin Picard from his Food Network Canada show “The Wild Chef” where he steps outside the boundaries of the kitchen to hunt and cook his meals as one with nature. He’s eccentric, burly, rebellious and sometimes downright strange but his food will definitely force you to overlook these minor details.

After spending a little too much time locating this restaurant (536 Duluth Est, Montreal) due to the lack of any sort of signage, one realizes that the only busy locale of the entire neighborhood must be Au Pied de Cochon. Upon entering you are greeted by a warm atmosphere, friendly service despite the hectic nature of a full dining room and a phenomenal aroma of a great meal. The decor is very natural with wood surfaces anywhere possible but definitely respects the chef’s identity by showcasing his adventures. One of the bar stools has a set of antlers as a backrest, the tables are decorated with fishing flies, hunting trophies hang all over the walls and in the bathroom one can enjoy footage of cows grazing in a field. The best part of it all has to be the open kitchen complete with a brick oven used for preparing all the meats. The bar runs alongside this beautiful and spotlessly clean kitchen ensuring the diners seated here enjoy a full show with their meal.

So let’s talk food! First of all I would recommend not eating for about a week before even considering having dinner at Au Pied de Cochon since the portions are gargantuan. It’s definitely a place to sample many appetizers and avoid the mains if you want variety otherwise you won’t be able to walk out. Before I begin with the dishes we tried, I would like to mention that the bread served with dinner was outstanding. A freshly baked sourdough bread was served with the restaurant’s special brand of Spanish olive oil (imported solely for the chef) was the perfect leeway to an unforgettable dinner. We started with the Tarragon Bison tongue which was sublime. Although the portion size of this appetizer was similar to a main in any other restaurant, we really couldnt get enough of this plate. The tongue was braised to perfection resulting in a tender and almost satiny bison and was served with plenty of creamy tarragon sauce.  This was followed by their Pigeon Offal appetizer salad, a simple dish but also very delicious. For the mains, I can personally recommend the steak frites which were absolutely divine. The fries are cooked in duck fat and therefore appear a little darker but are sublime especially when accompanying two perfectly cooked pieces of beef served on a bed of red cabbage and onions cooked in heavenly braising liquid. My companion that evening had the PDC (Pied de Cochon) cut of pork which mostly translated into half of a pig served with a garnish of jus and caramelized onions.  The portion was definitely extreme and could have fed three hungry people but, Regardless of size,  it was cooked to perfection and as delicious as all the other menu items we consumed. Despite our premeditated choices for the evening, the most popular dish in the restaurant was definitely the “Duck in a Can”. Somewhat self explanatory, this dish was presented in a can and came to your table complete with an opener. Definitely something worth exploring on our next visit. Although the dessert list at was as extensive as the rest of the menu, we found the thought of more food to be unbearable and unfortunately skipped this portion.

The wine list was highly extensive and the staff was very knowledgeable on this fact. Prices vary from $50 to several thousand dollars so a budget is definitely something to talk to your sommelier about. Similarly, their bar is fully stocked for any alcoholic preference of that night so asking the waiter for their drink menu is important.

Now for the downsides, not that there’s too many. First of all, for a busy restaurant of over 100 constantly filled seats they had a single bathroom. To make matters worse, it was located somewhat behind the bar and hard to find. I’m sure we weren’t the only ones accidentally walking into their wine cooler in search for the lavatory. Also found it somewhat strange that a bathroom with a single toilet would have three sinks beside it, but I guess it went with the eccentric theme of the whole restaurant. Secondly, the sommelier service was a little too stuffy for the relaxed and casual atmosphere of the locale. We were quickly dismissed and brought one of the most inexpensive bottles of wine without any second thoughts or questions about our budget. It was definitely insulting but not enough to ruin an excellent meal.

Overall, knowing our first glutton experience at Au Pied de Cochon, our next visit will involve several weeks of famine as a precursor to such a wonderful meal. I cannot wait to visit again.