The day Mr.Butter brought me to KGP, which stands for Kitchen Galerie Poisson, was my first time hearing about them. According to Mr.Butter, there is a Kitchen Galerie near Jean-Talon and Kitch Galerie Poisson, which is in Old Port, specializes in seafood, hence “Poisson” attached to the name.

Once stepped in, I was greeted by this cosy and small area, which was shared by the kitchen and dining area. I loved it. I love when I can see the action from the kitchen! Since tables are scarce, most parties of 2 are seated at the counter. If that is a no no for you, be sure to reserve and have them noted that you want a table. During the whole evening, it was mostly full house. So, reservation is a must.

A large list of oysters were written on a chalkboard. Although I enjoy oysters very much, I am not knowledgeable with them. So, I simply based my selection upon the name appeal: Pink Moon (IPE), Kushi (BC) and Shigoku (WSH).

I was so glad of my choices because it turned out that they were so heavenly! My favorite had to be Pink Moon and my least favorite was Shigoku. Pink Moon has a clean and sweet taste while Shigoku is much meatier, which compromises the clean taste. Pink Moon is the best oyster I have tasted so far.

For appetizers, we had a crab cake with a side salad, and fried calamari. There were actually 2 separate appetizers, but KGP presented those 2 appetizers on the same plate. I actually liked this concept; it promoted sharing! Well obviously, we were going to share,but it just made it much easier and nicer to be all in one giant plate.

Again, the crab cake was the best that I had. It was pure crab goodness, no crabstick! So nicely fried as well. The salad was refreshing and a nice balance with the crabcake. I can actually have the salad everyday without being sick of it.

I wasn’t actually fond of the fried calamari. Undoubtedly, they were fresh and tender, but they were too thin for my liking.

For the main course, we had lobster ravioli and braised pork (that was one) and a rainbow trout (that was the second), both presented on the same plate. I loved how they were able to improvize the presentation according to what we had ordered; it made every dish so unique from other tables.

When I saw the 4 pieces of lobster ravioli, I couldn’t stop but laugh how little we were getting. But then, I realized and remembered that it came with a braised pork as well hiding behind that salad. The ravioli was rich in lobster meat. I wouldn’t say I fell hard for it, but it was nonetheless good. As for the braised pork, it was super tender. The texture was perfection, but I didn’t like how it was marinated. I thought it was rather bland. Not my cup of tea at all.

Oh and the rainbow trout. How could we dare to not to order a fish dish when Kitchen Galerie added Poisson to their name! So we chose rainbow trout – we had the option to choose the fish listed on the blackboard. The fishes were in limited quantity, so as time passed, one by one, the fish disappeared from the option list.

While there were some very original fish options, we wanted to be semi-safe and we never really tasted trout before. We did not regret our choice at all. The trout was wonderful. Its skin was very crisp, like chips. And the meat was just nicely cooked. I never had (cooked) fish this good before.

To end this beautiful meal, we had pistachio tart. Nothing to write home about, but it was satisfying.

Oops – we also had caramel cheesecake, which was smoother than butter. Noted, I am so biased when it comes to cheesecake.

After this visit, I cannot deny that KGP has made its place in my top restaurant list. I wholehearted enjoyed my experience.

I want to thank Mr.Butter making this experience happen!

Zuuchini