Nuances

Last night was my second visit to Nuances over the past few years. Given the length of the other two reviews, I’ll just hit a few points:
— The space itself is intimate, elegant, and quiet… a nice break from the Casino.
— Expect formal, yet relaxed service with forks and knives flying by between every course.
— We had the chef’s five-​course ‘surprise’ tasting ($ 95/​pers.) While some courses were enjoyable, we should have maintained more control over the dishes that made it to our table. We didn’t expect venison served rare as the entrée. SURPRISE!
— Don’t expect to take any food home with you. They have a strict policy to not allow ‘doggie bags’ into the casino. Apparently, our server told us, people would take food back to the slot machines and eat while they played. How they did that with rare venison in a cherry reduction sauce is beyond me, but it doesn’t sound pretty. So, come hungry, or order appropriately.
Overall, Nuances is lovely, but while the food is nicely plated and ‘good’, I wasn’t blown away by it either time. Perhaps I prefer less fussy food. (Foam doesn’t really impress me.) Would I go back? Sure, if someone else is buying. Should you try it? Sure, if someone else is buying… or if you want to impress Mom.

Upon reading this, you must know that I actually visited Nuances in September of 2008, but didn’t realize that Unilocal was available for Candadian restaurants until just now.
When I went, I was blown away. The food was amazing, and the service was impeccable. I had the 5 course Chef’s tasting menu and each course was shear perfection. The first course was a white lobster gazpacho with asparagus, second was duck foie gras, third was beef tenderloin, fourth was a beautifully cooked rack of lamb, and finally, a wonderul berry, ice cream desser with raspberry sauce. All courses came with a unique and delightful wine pairing.
After almost 2 years, you might wonder how I still remember this and what each course was. It’s a really simple answer… it was seriously that good.

So this is part review, part story. Mostly story, but eventually review. You get the idea. Quit your whining and just read it okay…
My accomplice and I had just spent a lovely long weekend in Montréal, spending copious amounts of money on sex, drugs, alcohol, late night chinese food and bad pizza. On the last day of our trip, we decided to hit the Casino de Montréal, and win all our money back — a perfectly reasonable request…
An hour after our arrival, my accomplice finds me crying, naked, in the bathroom stall, mumbling something like, «Willy Wonka bad touch bad touch,» although I don’t really remember, and the blood on my hands was very distracting.
Also, I’ve lost a lot of money.
10 minutes later I have my clothes on again and realize that bankruptcy makes me hungry, so we decide to explore food options. Our first stop was the Italian place in the basement. 1 hour wait? Pass. Our second was Nuances, listed merely as ‘fine dining’, tucked away in a corner on one of the higher floors. To our tremendous dismay, upon asking how long the wait was, we were informed that there is no ‘wait’ (pfft, the notion!) and that all tables had been reserved. The only other option was a buffet, which was another hour wait. We gave in, and put in for the buffet, and decided to fill the time with more drinking. Where? Why, how about Nuances? Go team!
The bartender Andre, was brilliant. Since we were the only two people at the bar, service was obviously top-​notch, but I could tell that it’d be just as good even if the place was packed. He asked us if we just there waiting for a table, we said we didn’t have a reservation, and he told us he’d see what he could do. Long story slightly less long, we were soon escorted to our table :) WINNERS!
Here comes the review part — I have nothing but good things to say about this place. The atmosphere was perfect — lit just right, clean warm cream colors, tables not too close together, but not too far apart. The booth we had was cozy, spacious, and comfortable. The service was phenomenal from start to finish — we had two or three waiters who checked in on us, topping off our water and champagne glasses. Granted, since we ordered a 5-​course meal, the waiters had no choice but to swing by with our courses. The highlight of the service was when, due to unavoidable circumstances, we were delayed in starting in on the 3^rd course — after a couple walk-​bys and concerned looks, the waiters asked us if we would like to have the course re-​warmed, though we were adamant in being content with it as is (not as warm, still delicious, but I’m getting to that). The polite, friendly attentiveness of all the staff made for an absolutely wonderful experience.
And now onto the food… OMG NUM YUMMY NOM NOM NOM.
Whoops, excuse me… what I meant to say was, the food was exquisite. Deciding on the 5-​course sampler was a great choice, as we got to try some delicious courses we wouldn’t normally order. Our clear favorite was the duck foie gras, which was a perfect blend of taste and texture. Other items included a sweet rabbit foie gras, sliced duck breast, smoked salmon, and roasted deer. C’est magnifique!
My experiences with French cuisine is limited, but I believe that Nuance does it exactly how it should be done. And sure, we probably doubled our travel expenses that night (the complete opposite of what we were actually trying to achieve), but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
P. S. if you do end up making the trip out, for goodness sake, do not walk, as it becomes very quickly apparent that there is no sidewalk.
P. P. S. Bring your own cigarettes, as it also becomes very quickly apparent that they don’t sell cigarettes in Canadia. Also, gas. And milk.