Marconi

Excellent service, amazing ambiance and very good food. Small, warm restaurant with a perfect vibe for a dinner for two in the city. Enjoy!

We had the gnocchi and tartare which were delicious, highly recommend. And the terrine , which I didn't like.

My wife and I had just moved back to her hometown of Montreal, and we decided to come here for her birthday dinner after seeing it on several "best of" restaurant lists. And man, we were certainly not disappointed.

It was a perfect summer evening and we made reservations for the outdoor terrace, which was not crowded and romantically lit with string lights. The menu was small and innovative, and also a bit whimsical, as it had house-made chips -- we ordered their take on the "sour cream and onion chips" and I swear to god a) it tasted exactly as addictive as a bag of Lays except b) it had the perfect consistency of kettle chips, and c) the fresh sour cream and onion dip was probably the most heavenly thing I've ever eaten.

And that was just one of the apps.

We got the whelk and bone marrow toast -- the flavors were so rich and delicious -- and for dinner we got gnocchi and halibut dishes. Presentation and service were all A+ and the food was incredible. I am already planning my return. Highly recommend!!!

We ordered 5 dishes with a bottle of wine.

Cold Tomato Soup - delicious two tablespoons of soup!
Prochetta - raw bison meat with flowers. Interesting, better with some toast. Hubby didn't like it. Said it had an aftertaste.
Mushroom dish - the best one! So yum. Toast so small tho. Lego people size.
Pork belly - nope. Its on the never order sheet for my hubby and me. Fatty and gross and weird.
Steak dish - great but... literally 3 bite size pieces.
Strawberries and pannacotta for dessert. It was good but normal. Could have used some of those flowers they put on the raw meat

It was a great date night, but only because i have amazing company with me. I think there are better restsos out there for the price range! The only dish that wowed was the mushroom one, everything else not exactly that memorable!

I came back to Marconi with my boyfriend on Saturday because after having raved about this restaurant he was begging for me to take him.

First of all, I was bummed that they no longer had the deer tartare. It was my favourite thing on the menu. The mushroom dish was still there and still fabulous!! It was my boyfriend's favourite dish of the night. It's all about that sauce! The miso deviled eggs were good as was the sweetbread. The whelk and bone marrow on toast was just as good as I remembered. Again I prefer it without parsley and I removed most of it. The lamb wrapped in cabbage was delicious. I admit I was hesitant about lamb wrapped up in cabbage. It looked like a meatball. The squash purée was sweet and the sweet and saltiness of the dish was superb.

Now for the bad, I hate to say it but I didn't like the cod fritters with mayo at all. I've had way better elsewhere.

Also I wasn't crazy about my Incognito cocktail. It tasted like a beet smoothie with a bit of alcohol. It's like a silent but healthy killer. The waitress said it was called incognito because you can't really taste the beets but I definitely did. I think it's called incognito because you could barely taste the alcohol. I think some people who like beets and other veggie juices would like it but I felt like it was too " healthy " for me. Needless to say I stuck to wine after that and I thoroughly enjoyed the one I chose. The first time I went I did enjoy the mezcal cocktail but it seems it is no longer on the menu. They had two other cocktails with mezcal on the menu but it wasn't the one I had.

I still recommend this place for sure but I must say it was better the first time I went.

Like many in the area I'd been waiting for years to see something happen with this lovely-seeming old corner spot in Little Italy and man, Marconi was worth the wait. We popped in at 5pm on Friday of the week they opened and had no trouble getting a table for an hour without a reservation (but it was booked up after so reserve!) I tried 2 different cocktails but from the first sip was confident anything I'd order here would be good. That magic balance that tells you you're in good hands.

We tried a couple small bites since we were just stopping in before dinner, but everything was amazing, especially the mushroom dish in beautiful broth with a poached egg. And the Brussels sprouts! Veggie dishes done decadent win my heart every time.

The service was exceptional for any where but extra so for a spot just a week old. The women who served us were all smart and cool and kind and friendly and mad pros, quick crushes on all of them and on the whole experience.

The design is great, they preserved all the original floors and walls and the rest is classic and warm and timeless and beautiful. I feel the effusiveness of a perfect experience, so happy these folks are in the neighbourhood, can't wait to visit again for more.

Been walking by this space for ages and always thought that a really cool restaurant should be in this space and then voila, Marconi came on the scene. Came in here on a blustery, icy, yucky evening and stood outside the door right at 5pm looking all sad and cold. The hostess and the waitress unlocked the door and let us into this gorgeous space where they gave us a table even though we didn't have a reservation. The restaurant is so cozy with the original wood floors, the beautiful details on the walls and ceilings, huuuuuge windows perfect for people watching and a stunning looking bar; it truly was love at first sight.

We ordered some starters as we both had actual dinner plans elsewhere that evening, but we needed a nosh to accompany the cocktails that we ordered. It is a small but beautiful little menu, but the mushroom dish in a delicious broth topped with the poached egg and the Brussels sprouts were clear stand outs (they even had some bread kicking around, so that allowed us to soak up even more of the yummy broth!!!)

Our cocktails were fantastic, the service was attentive and fun and I am so thrilled to have such a wonderful new addition to our getting cooler by the day neighbourhood.

I'm still pissed . I get the whole small plate thing but this place took it to a new extreme of teeny weeny . At some point we found ourselves laughing at the tiny tiny portions at inflated prices . Double the portion size and you'd still have ridiculously small dishes in a very casual place . The best dish was the mushrooms and poached egg dish with brown butter . I had earlier asked for bread . "Oh no , we don't do bread here but the mushrooms come with bread " . She brought this dish without bread . After asking I was given three very stale baguette rounds , sort of a F U for asking I suppose .
Well over a hundred and we left hungry and annoyed . Out of the non-IPA beer on tap . Good wine list and cocktails . Overpriced of course but full sized .

It was my first time eating at Marconi and I wasn't disappointed. They have a great selection of cocktails Like the Dreaming Tree cocktail which was very good.

Food wise, I liked the variety of dishes that were on the menu: ricotta gnocchi, duck, snow crab, etc. The food was good but portions are small so I recommend at least 3 plates per person.

Finally the service was friendly and professional. The staff also had a great knowledge of their wine list.

Apparently when one turns 30, your birthday celebrations get stretched out so for the final act, my sister offered me a meal at a restaurant of my choice. Given both of our enjoyment of trying new places, I figured this would be a good opportunity to try a relatively new restaurant in the city that has had lots of buzz, Marconi.

Opened last December by owners Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly and partner Molly Superfine-Rivera, this local duo came back to Montreal after having worked in New York. Mehdi, as a chef, had headed two kitchens in two Greenwich Village restaurants: Chez Sardine and Fedora. When in Montreal prior to his time in New York, he had worked at Toqué and Au Pied de Cochon so the pedigree was very interesting.

The room is definitely interesting visually. The space was apparently a former dépanneur and so they kept some original features. The most unique would be an old wooden fridge turned into the wine cellar. There is also a patterned tin ceiling, white-washed wall tiles, a beautiful wooden bar, an open kitchen and all sorts of electic accents - I'm partial to the cheetah frame above the bar. Noise levels are a little high but with the great background tunes played overhead, it isn't a problem. The vibe was great all night.

Superfine-Rivera is known for her cocktails so we had to start with a couple. Excellent balance for both. The 'Penicillin' had that smoky scotch note but with some sweetness and freshness from the ginger and honey. The Old Cuban had a similar sweet and fresh complex mixing rum with mint and green lemon. Great start.

The menu is relatively small and the plates are designed to share so we were recommended to get a few more than one each. No problem there! First up, a couple of bouchées - mimosa miso egg and cod croquettes. The eggs, served deviled-style, had a hint of the miso and a nice creamy texture. The croquettes were crunchy and very dense. The cod was delicious and the little mayo served it added some richness.

For true appetizers, we went with a trio. First, a plate of veal sweetbread with green peas, lemon puree and oxalis. I love sweetbreads so this was an easy sell for me. Beautifully golden and crunchy, these rich delights mixed with the zesty lemon was a nice pairing.

Next, the toast topped with whelk, bone marrow, aged cheddar and parsley was another hit for me. The mix of the whelk, the fatty marrow and the cheese worked surprisingly well. The bread had a nice crunch to it as well. My photography skills failed me here so no picture of this one. You will just have to take my word for it!

Last starter was a mixture of mushrooms served in brown butter with a poached egg. This was our favorite by far. The earthiness of the mushrooms came through so strongly and then you add the richness of the brown butter and the poached egg. Very lucious and a great finish to this course.

We slowed down a bit and went with only 2 mains. First was the ricotta gnocchi served with xeres, parmesan and basil. The gnocchi was good but personally not up to my standards when compared to another restaurants just a few streets over... however flavours were good, the xeres added some sweetness and the mountain of parmesan is always a welcomed addition. Solid dish.

The other main was the magret de canard served with burnt onion puree. The duck was cooked perfectly and had that great depth of flavour you want. I was very curious about the burnt puree - something I had never been exposed to before. Interesting texture overall with that slight charred texture coming through despite being pureed. The sweetness of the onions is still present but with a slight decrease in strength coming from the burning. Probably not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed it and it worked well with the duck.

After all of this, we still felt the need for some desserts so we took two. First, the bowl of white chocolate, rhubarb and pistachio was a nice combo of sweetness and tart but the cream at the bottom was more basil so the strong flavour that came through was basil instead of the others. Good but not quite what was stated. The other dessert was a lemon and creme verveine with oats. Very generous portion and excellent texture on the cream. Both rich and smooth with a nice lemon kick. The oats were good to bring some crunch.

As a finisher to my birthday celebrations, Marconi was an excellent way to go. The vibe was great, drinks excellent and the food very enjoyable. Mild complain would be the time it took to be served between each dish but clearly the approach was to serve each dish one at a time to split before next one which is fine but it made the service longer than we expected. Marconi is a welcomed addition to the scene in Mile-Ex and definitely a place worth going back - not for birthday celebrations.

Cheers!