2 Concepts, 1 Restaurant

3412 Park Ave, Montreal, QC H2X 2H5

Some Saturday nights I crave a casual night out with friends, others a romantic dinner date with my boyfriend.

What if I told you that there is a Montreal restaurant that could deliver on both fronts?

Moleskine, little brother (and neighbour) of Pullman Bar has two floors. The lower level has a very rustic and thrifty feel with exposed brick, mismatched wallpaper, and metal stools. This level is dedicated to pizza and ice cream in a trendy, but casual environment. No reservations.

In stark contrast, the mezzanine delivers a dimly-lit haute-cuisine dining experience. The second you get up the stairs, there is a shift – the design goes from shabby chic to minimalist from the sleek chairs and benches in grey and white tones to the marble table tops. The plates too are much more refined, and reservations are accepted (I would even say required).

We were in the mood for a more upscale dining experience and reserved on the mezzanine this past Saturday night.

We started with two appetizers – a crudo and a mushroom salad.

The crudo, served with grapefruit and radish, was light and refreshing. The fish (which I think was sword fish) was buttery and flavourful.

The mushroom salad had a lot of earthiness and depth. The mushrooms tasted smoked (almost like a bacon salad….is there even such a thing? No, Seriously?) and were served with potato chips to add a nice crunch.

When it came time to order our mains, we both looked at each other and knew that we wanted pizza from downstairs. The mains from upstairs sounded great, so I’m not sure why we decided on this. Maybe it was the wine? Or it could have been the scent of freshly baked pizza wafting upstairs straight from the wood-fired oven. Either way, they happily obliged and brought up a prosciutto, mushroom, olive, and artichoke pizza. Strangely enough, the toppings were separated on the pizza. We ended up moving them around to get a bit of each in every bite. The crust was nice and thin, but it was in fact so thin that the sauce seeped through and led to a slightly soggy center. The sauce was delicious and flavourful and I would definitely come back to give some of their other pizzas a try – and then maybe another time to try out some of the main dishes upstairs!

Moleskine is there for you no matter what you are craving, and from this first experience, I think it is possible for them to deliver in both the casual and fine dining realms. Impressive!