Alma Restaurant: A visit in two stages

My friend (and Gentologie advertiser) Alexander Meletakos of La Mer Fish Market (also one of the restaurant’s suppliers) has been telling me about his favourite restaurant, Restaurant Alma, for some time now. I had the opportunity to visit it twice recently, once on a regular basis for Mother’s Day, and a second time on a private dinner with two regions of Catalonia, the Costa Daurada and the Costa Brava. And both experiences, totally different, were simply incredible.

Small and welcoming

First of all, to love Alma Restaurant, you must not be afraid of small spaces. The restaurant run by chef Juan López Luna and his partner, sommelier Lindsay Brennan, has around thirty of them, including its summer terrace (patio). But that is also part of its charm. All the people are close together, there are a few seats at the bar, in short, which will transport you into a slightly European atmosphere, all nestled in a sober, uncluttered decor.  

Alma Restaurant on a normal night

What you need to know about Alma is that it is a Mexican restaurant, the country of origin of chef Lopez, who marries exceptional wines from Catalonia with superb local products from Québec. Seafood and fish, especially from Québec, are the mainstays, not to mention meat.

The restaurant offers a range of experiences to make the most of your evening.

• The Carte Blanche Menu
  This 9-course menu features the restaurant’s best dishes, including a few exclusives. For two to six people. 
• The 5-Course Menu
  You have the option of adding à la carte dishes, including dessert. Serves two to four.
• The À la carte Menu
  You can choose whatever you like, limited to a few people, as the restaurant has a small capacity. For reservations, the restaurant always releases a few places for the week, even every Monday evening. There is always room for spontaneity! You can join their mailing list to find out more.
• Tacos Omakase Menu
  One Sunday a month, a 7-course tasting menu featuring tortillas and nixtamalized corn (a process to pretreat [maize (corn) or another grain] with an alkaline solution to make it easier to remove the hull), in collaboration with a guest chef.

Our first night: The regular menu

For the menu we had, in May 2024, it was a sea and mountain inspiration. It was a meal to celebrate Mother’s Day, but that is their regular menu, so there was no special menu for this celebration.

• Soup

• • Agua de tortilla of ancestral corn
    • A kind of soup, delicious and warm, a bit sweet. It is surprising and interesting. A nice appetizer.

• First course

• • Fresh oysters, aguachile negro
    • Delicious and confusing, these oysters in cuttlefish ink with salmon caviar and tagetes leaf. The presentation is breathtaking.

• Second course

• • Québec Snow Crab Tostada
    • When it is crab season, we order crab, and it was finger-licking good with a little avocado puree if I am not mistaken. And a nice mayonnaise.

• Third course

• • Sea Bream (Dorado) crudo, olive oil from Celler Frisach
    • This dish is fantastic, a dorade from La Mer in crudo, a little olive oil, cucumbers. They can’t take this off the menu at Restaurant Alma, I’m told. It’s so fresh, I still can’t believe it.

• Fourth course

• • Québec halibut veracruzana style
    • Delicious. Québec halibut, in season, is simply perfect. With its tomato sauce, we love it. I have seen on some videos that the dish can be served with tortillas, but that was not the case for us, it was a tasting with a fork.

• Fifth course

• • Beef carpaccio taco, shiso, ajo negro
    • The highlight of the meal, when we were more into seafood dishes, is the chef’s masterfully seasoned and delicious beef carpaccio. There is nothing to complain about. What an exceptional yet simple dish!

Additions to the 5-course menu we made.

• Whelk cocktail on charcoal, achiote kimchi

• • We added this dish, which is a delight, with their homemade clamato as the accompanying sauce. The charcoal cooking was perfect, with just the right hint of smokiness, and the whelks were neither too rubbery nor overcooked, just right. The sauce was a delight.

• House Churros from Alma Restaurant

• • Probably one of the best churros I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve never had one abroad, though.

We did not have these last two dishes, but you can add them too. The pork belly was highly recommended, but we were full.

• Crispy pork belly, salsa verde, verdolagas
• Pan de elote, rhubarb, queso fresco

Evening 2: Costa Daurada and Costa Brava at Alma Montréal

It was a happy coincidence to be invited to Restaurant Alma for a second time in less than a week. This time it was in a totally different setting. A private event in Catalonia, featuring Costa Daurada and Costa Brava, with special guests, French sommelier Audrey Doré, who officiates at the famous El Celler de Can Roca, a restaurant repeatedly awarded the best restaurant in the world by the World’s 50 Best, and 3 Michelin stars since 2009 and 1 green star. The menu was something exclusive to the evening, but it may give you an idea of the restaurant’s ability to host a private event to your tastes. By the way, note that Catalonia will be the World Region of Gastronomy in 2025, so prepare your stomachs and your plane tickets, dear gentlemen.  

• Aperitif

• • Marcona” olives and almonds with rosemary
    • The meal started well with delicious warm olives from Restaurant Alma. The almonds were also simply magical. We had the olives on the 5-course meal as well.

• • Red Vermut Falset
    • The tradition of vermouth as an aperitif in Spain is a very popular one. This one, exclusive to the guests, was simply perfect to start the evening.

• First course

• • Croquettes
  • « Pa amb tomaquet »
  • Anchovy
  • Wines : 
    • AO Emporda, Mabre, Grenache, Empordalia, 2022
    • AO Baix Penedès, Malvasia, Sicus, 2019
    • AO Baix Penedès, Cartoixà Brisat, Xarel lo, Sicus, 2019

• Second course at Alma Restaurant

• • Clams with white beans and green sauce
  • “Squid Sofregit”
  • Grilled radish with fleur de sel
  • Wines
    • AO Montsant, Bancal del Bosc, Vinyes Domènech, 2022
    • AO Cap de Creus, Cala Rostella, Anna Espelt, 2020
    • AO Conca de Barbera, Les Paradetes, Joan Ramon Escoda, 2021 

• Third course

• • Grilled lamb
  • “Calçots amb romesco
  • « Patata al caliu
  • First leaf salad/rosemary and olive oil vinaigrette
  • Wines: 
    • AO Montsant, Teixar, Vinyes Domènech, 2019
    • AOQ Priorat, Angelia, Buil & Gine, 2017
    • AOQ Priorat, Salanques, Mas Doix, 2021

• Dessert
  • « Crema catalana » and « mel i mató »
  • Wine : 
    • Solera 1931, Celler Cooperatiu d’Espolla

To end with the Alma Restaurant in Montréal

The experience is inspired by the owners’ life’s journey, their travels, their favourite places and, above all, Mexico City and Barcelona. These tastes are happily reflected on the plates of Restaurant Alma. 

At Alma, the star ingredient is ancestral nixtamalized corn. It is with this ingredient that they prepare their hand-pressed tortillas and support Mexican farmers.

The wine list includes a number of Catalan wines, a wonderful discovery. 

The tincset. 

Just next door (actually the kitchen of the restaurant communicates), you will find this wine and tapas bar where small dishes and incredible wines come together. I hear their roast chicken is incredible. And you can buy some of their wines too. See you next time.

To try Alma Restaurant, reserve here.