Let the Good Times Roll

The Pitch

On 514eats.com I sometimes like to throw in some social commentary in addition to restaurant criticism.  I know that you're here for the latter, but hopefully you won't mind a bit of the former.

I personally always thought that Montreal was lacking when it came to good, refined Mexican food.  It seems whenever I fell in love with a rare standout, it closes shortly after.  Such was the case with both Emiliano's and Le Tequila Bar.  I particularly lamented the loss of the latter last summer because it made my favorite tacos in town and was situated a short stroll away from my place.

It would not be long before its owner would pivot, bring in new partners from Bistro Amerigo and unveil Figata in the same Saint-Henri locale.  Since opening in January, the newcomer has quickly made itself a name and is drawing crowds rivaling those at the other popular Italian buvette across the street: BarBara.  My wife had to reserve over a month ago to get us a table tonight!

tagged:  BETTER RESERVE

The Mood

With restaurants struggling to fill their tables since the beginning of the year, it was reassuring to see a full house on this Friday night.  The room was abuzz; from our table by the entrance, we had a glimpse of the throngs of would-be diners flocking into Figata.  Those with a reservation would be rewarded after a short wait; others without one would either be sent packing or wait eternally for their luck to strike.

Inside, the décor is casual and homey thanks to checkered green tablecloths and Italian artifacts della casa such as cookbooks, vases, statuettes and other pastiche elements.

Over the last decade and a half, my wife and I have noticed a pattern when it came to the gender mix at "nicer" restaurants.  Tonight would be no different; tables were mostly occupied by groups of women – young, pretty, dolled up and affluent, including a bachelorette party.  The balance was reserved for two-tops of man/woman dates, which begs the question: "where my guys at?"

tagged:  HOOKUP POTENTIAL

The Food

On the plate, it's all about classic, comfort food.  Shareable starters are followed by a handful of pastas and a couple of main dishes.  While the food selection is focused and succinct, libations abound with plenty of Italian wines, cocktails, beers and various permutations of spritz and negroni.  I loved the negroni schiuma (a first for me), which layers foam/spuma on top of the classic bitter/herbaceous cocktail.

This was followed by Amerigo's famous polpette, a family recipe of fluffy meatballs simmered in zesty sauce.  Next up was an Italian poutine-of-sorts; a gigantic bowl of straight and spiral fries served with a decadent truffle bechamel and meaty ragu sauce.  While an absolute (guilty) pleasure to eat, the menu description (fried fusilli) belies what you get; I was expecting actual fried pasta curls, not potatoes.

Even though we barely had room for it given the portion sizes, I was glad we ordered the house focaccia.  While not perfect in of itself (could use more presence of olive oil), I enjoyed dipping it in the various sauces accompanying our starters.  Moving on, our two pasta dishes were exemplar and – once again – mammoth in portion size!

The lumache vodka was creamy with a hint of spice while the funghi e tartufo was rich and bursting with earthy/umami flavour thanks to mushrooms and truffle.  One would expect all this generosity to come at a premium, but I was pleasantly surprised to see my bill land short of $175 for the two of us after three starters, two mains and two drinks each – there was no room for dessert.

The Service

The front of the house sure had their work cut out for them tonight.  Between the indoor reservations, terrace requests and incessant walk-ins, the owner had to pitch in to assist the hostess and two waiters.

That said, our waiter – a Macklemore doppelganger – was present and attentive.  Save for an empty glass of bubbly which was not picked up from the table for a while, dinner ran smoothly and with no hiccups.

tagged:  HUSTLE & BUSTLE

The Verdict

With cost of life and inflation on everybody's minds, it is refreshing to see people – (ahem) women mostly! – going out and enjoying themselves.  With fun, delicious and reasonably-priced options such as Figata, not to mention the weather finally turning for the better, the reasons are plenty to spend a night on the town.

This Italian newcomer is all about honest food, good music and better company (taken from their website); I could not agree more.

What I wonder is: if the ladies are out in such numbers, what are the men up to?  Everyone is always complaining about how difficult it is to meet and find a date.  Fellas; the women are here, and at other happening restaurants.  So put down your game controller, ditch that sportsbook app, put on some pants and GET OUT!

tagged:  SOLID

Price per person:  $39.67