Restaurant La Traite

Reviews

• ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
  I went mid-September 2016. Service: 4 stars. Nice and adequate. The waiter's attention was focused more on a table that ordered several bottles of wine. Food: 3 stars. There are some more exotic items. Some items I tasted included seal terrine, partridge, deer, and watipi (elk). The use of spices seal terrain and partridge was masterful. The complexity in aroma and balance was excellent. The downside for the seal terrain was that the spices sort of obscured the taste of seal meat, so it was hard to tell how seal meat tasted like without the spices. That said, the dish was very tasty. The elk was a big letdown. I just had elk a few days ago in a different restaurant (cooked rare), and it had a robust taste with a texture comparable to softer New York strip beef. What La Traite served me was very hard to chew, and it was cooked rare. Because of previous excellent dishes, I sat there and pondered if the chef was trying to deliver some sort of message. The robust taste was there, but I was working so hard on chewing it sort of became the sideshow. I continued to eat, and after finishing half of it, and gotten to the center of the steak, I decided that something was not right. Even at the center, the texture was a lot like eating stringy chuck beef for stew as steak. I waited for the waiter. He was out of sight for some reason. After about 5 minutes, I decided not to waste time (and food) and finished the plate. When he showed up to clear the plates, I did ask him why it was so hard to chew. He said he would talk to the chef but he never came back with an answer or an apology. Many dishes were 5-star worthy, but because the elk steak was a main dish, I was compelled to deduct 2 stars. It was a blot on a restaurant that advertises fine dining. Overall, I recommend this restaurant, but the management need to know what kind of cut they are serving their guests. Before that, avoid the elk.
  By Sean Chen, May 05, 2017

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About Restaurant La Traite in Wendake