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Montréal’s wine bistro

By Sarah Musgrave

Les Trois Petits Bouchons

You’re familiar with the wine bar, but what about the wine bistro? The new wave in Montréal dining is the bistro à vin, an intimate eatery that goes beyond sips and snacks to put equal emphasis on unusual cuvées and updated French cuisine. In other words, you’ll sample some fine vintages and you won’t leave hungry.

Les Trois Petits Bouchons makes the concept charmingly clear. Shelves of bottles showcase a changing roster of lesser-known vineyards from around the world, with particular attention to “headache-free wines” that are produced as naturally as possible, free of sulfites, coloring agents and other chemical interference. The chalkboard menu promises hearty seasonal meals that combine inspiration from the South of France with prime ingredients from the Québec countryside. Otherwise, the stone-and-wood decor is pared down, chunky and almost rustic, and it’s up to the three youthful friends who opened this little spot in the fall of 2006 to tell the story.

In the kitchen, Audrey Dufresne, one of the city’s few female chefs and a rising star in her own right, turns out niçoise-style pizza with succulent caramelized onions, tender lamb shoulder on a bed of cheesy mashed potatoes and grilled swordfish with popping-fresh cherry tomatoes and olive tapenade. Meanwhile, partners Xavier Burini and Michel Charette work the room, casually chatting with customers, sharing wine suggestions and tasting their selections with a smile before decanting them. While the expertise at this popular bistro is impressive and the prices are eminently affordable, enthusiasm is what’s really uncorked here �" don’t be surprised if a fellow diner stops you to compare tasting notes on the way out.

Getting here

Les Trois Petits Bouchons, 4669 Saint-Denis St., 514-285-4444, troispetitsbouchons.com

Tourisme Montréal, 1-877-BONJOUR (266-5687), tourisme-montreal.org

Tourisme Québec, 1-877-BONJOUR (1-877-266-5687), bonjourquebec.com

Sarah Musgrave is a Montréal-based food journalist. She is the casual dining restaurant reviewer for the Montréal Gazette and the author of Resto-À-Go-Go: 200 Cheap and Fun Places to Eat and Drink in Montreal 2007.