Frédéric Morin’s and David McMillan’s Vin Papillion, or wine butterfly in French, is a wine bar focused on fresh seafood and vegetables. Located in the Little Burgundy neighborhood of Montréal, Vin Papillion sit right next to door to her sister restaurant’s Joe Beef and Liverpool House. While Joe Beef has the name recognition, Vin Papillion stands out all on her own.
The menu for Vin Papillion isn’t on paper, and there aren’t English translations. I used my fairly basic French skills to help decide what to order. Thanks to my limited language expertise, we were able to decide against the rabbit hearts right off the bat. Since I wasn’t taught the translation for razor clams in high school, we had to lean on our server for help. Thankfully, he was a sneaky genius and picked the perfect menu for us.
First up, smoked sturgeon and fried gnocci. It was unbelievable! I’ve never had anything like it. It was flavorful and the texture of the gnocci was a great compliment to the smoked fish.
For our second course, we had razor clams. I don’t remember what it was served with and I have no idea what razor clams is in French so I can’t tell from the menu. But it was good, very good.
Our third course was ham with shaved cheddar, and an eggplant spread with pickled onion, capers and pickled jalepenos with toast. I loved this course. It was a good balance of flavors, and freaking delicious. I wish I was eating this right now.
The cheese course! The loved the casual presentation – cheese, walnuts IN the shell, oatmeal cookie, challah bread and local honey. Obviously, everything was amazing. I would also like to point out that I had a glass of wine with each course… so I was pretty buzzed by this time.
Last but not least – dessert. I literally had no idea what we were ordering when the server recommended this but, holy crap, it was strawberry rhubarb ice cream! I would really like someone to make this a thing all of the time.
From the decor to the wine to the dishware to the food, I think I’ve found my restaurant soulmate. This was the perfect meal for me. Vin Papillion, thank you. I can’t wait to come back!
