The Cosmopolitan Blog

I went to FondueMentale for the 3rd time in 5 years, and it was great, as always. But i wanted to write a review this time, because i found the perfect combination of dishes to order. We were 4 people and went for dinner on a Friday night. It is recommended to make a reservation.

When you walk in, the restaurant is very quaint, you have to walk up a few steps and pull an old heavy door. The romantic atmosphere can be felt as soon as you walk in, with wood and candlelight visible from the entrance foyer. There are stairs that lead to the upstairs level, but we were seated one the first floor (I’ve been upstairs before, it’s nice too, more of a modern feel whereas here below, it feels nice and retro).

Fondue is originally a swiss dish that comes in very different varieties, but the 1 common thing is that it’s about putting a piece of something onto a long fork and placing it into a pot of a boiling liquid and leaving it there for a little while.

There is the cheese fondue where you put bread into liquid melted boiling swiss cheese. There’s Chinoise and Bourguignonne ones where u put raw meat into either boiling oil (bourguignonne) or broth (chinoise) to cook your meat. then there’s the ever fabulous chocolate fondue for desert.

So, at Fondue Mentale you can choose any one you like, there have different variations on each. And of course, if there are many of you, you can each take something different for a variety of samples. But what i really recommend you should do it take the menus, you have to be a minimum of 2 people for each menu though.

L’ aventure is the cheapest, at $29 per person, and there’s also La Romantique at $33 per person. We were four people, so we took one of each. For starters, you get a cheese fondue (a smaller portion), but still it’s a very filling dish, and we puposely ended up leaving a little at the bottom of the pot, to save place for the rest of the food. The good thing is, since we get 2 portions of Cheese Fondue (since we had 2 menus), we had a different type of cheese in each fondue.

Then came the fondue Chinoise, where we got dishes of raw beef and chicken (L’ Aventure) and a dish of raw beef, chicken, shrimp, salmon and calamari (La Romantique), that you have to place at the end of your long fork (you get 2 forks per person so you can be more productive)…

Of course, I made sure to tell my dinner companions that, when i was in Switzerland, i had been taught that the rule for fondues was: if a piece drops off your fork (i.e. you pull your fork out of the pot and there’s nothing attached to it), you have to pay a penalty… and the penalty can be anything from kissing your neighbor to handing over a piece of food in penalty

Oh! and rule no2 (way more important if you care about your tummy): with cheese fondue, NEVER drink ice water while eating the fondue, because then the melted cheese solifies in yuor tummy and well, not good! So, ice with no water (small sips only, otherwise effect will be the same, and you’ll be full by the 4th bite) or better yet, a nice bottle of white wine (always good to use this as an opportunity to try a german or swiss wine).

Desert was a fruit fondue, perfect end, a little pot of hot melted chocolate and a plate full of cut up fruit to dip into it. FABULOUS!

Anyway, so, conclusion: for this restaurant, my tips are: go with a group, be adventurous, come hunry, stay away from too much water, stay close to lots of wine, and find a way to maximize the different dishes you end up with. The menus are GREAT ideas because they are designed for maximum sampling. HAPPY FONDU-ING!

FondueMentale is located at 4325 Saint-Denis (between Marie-Anne and Rachel) – (514) 499-1446 – http://www.fonduementale.com/ – open from 5.30 to 10pm (weekdays) and until 11.30pm (weekends).

i guess u have to have been to Switzerland to appreciate Swiss food (yes, there’s more to it than fondue!), but for those in the know, this is the best type of comfort food there is!! On the other hand, if you’re someone that thinks vegetables are an essential part of an everyday diet, then you might want to give this one a miss…
Swiss food is mainly about the cheese (well, DUH!), and yes, generally, it’s melted, whether it’s in a pot for fondue, or in a puddle on a plate for raclette (see my post on the Raclette War).

So i went to Alpenhaus, on the corner of Ste Catherine and St Marc. From the outside, there is a feeble attempt at having the side of the building look like a Swiss chalet, but seeing that they’re right next to a scruffy-looking depaneur, there’s not much of hope of that being successful. Having said that, back in 1967, when the restaurant opened, this was probably a lot more noticeable.

But then, you walk in, and all thoughts of Montreal disappear. The decor is all wood logs, cute curtains, doilies, fireplaces, different little rooms, low ceilings, nooks and corners, hanging cowbells, men wearing funny looking pants and women wearing traditional Dirndls, their national dress. It sets the tone right away. And i liked it, it was a little over the top, but i had been missing the Swiss culture for so long without realizing it, that i felt like i was coming home! I was so excited to see the menu, it was a good 4-5 pages of traditional dish after dish, and i was trying to figure out a way i could order all of them. They have the Viande des Grisons: typical slices of dried beef with spices, they have palm hearts and artichoke hearts, they have Rösti potatoes (grated and fried potatoes, sometimes with cheese or onions), they have Wiener schnitzel (breaded veal escalope) and Geschnetzlets(veal in cream sauce), they have various sausages, lots of dishes with gruyere cheese or emmental cheese, and of course, all the various fondues. A note about raclette: they don’t have any, preferring not to serve it, rather than serving it wrong. Instead, they have a Croute au Fromage, which, i suppose, is a large plate of melted cheese. Apparently, when it’s the season, they even have a fish called “Goujon-Perche” (ruffle, in English).

I was so happy i was there with 5 other people, because i got to tell everyone what to order, and we all tried each others’ dishes. Maybe it was because i had been craving the food so badly, but every single dish was delicious. Swiss cuisine could never be described as fine and delicate, but again, it’s sooooo good.

The wine menu was extensive and expensive, but because they were some really good wines from the Swiss, French, Austrian and Italian regions. The have a great menu of imported beers as well. The deserts are highly recommended too, yep, they even have the apple strudel, and once you’ve done all of that, the only thing really left to do is curl up by the fire somewhere and fall asleep!!!

I’ve never seen Alpenhaus full, but i definitely think it’s one of the undiscovered wonders of Montreal, i highly recommend it, and I encourage you to try it, you won’t be disappointed.

You can find their menu and pictures on their website: http://www.restaurantalpenhaus.com/