Le Clocher Penché represents a refined intersection of traditional French culinary techniques and modern regional influences. The kitchen prioritizes seasonal produce sourced from local growers, ensuring the menu reflects the shifting bounty of the surrounding landscape. Signature offerings frequently showcase elevated takes on bistro classics, emphasizing precise preparation and balanced flavor profiles. Diners encounter a space defined by high ceilings and exposed brickwork, fostering a focused environment conducive to concentrated appreciation of the meal. The kitchen maintains rigorous standards, crafting everything from artisanal terrines to complex sauces from scratch. Every dish serves as a testament to the versatility of core French principles adapted to the ingredients found within the province. This commitment to provenance and technique dictates the cadence of the experience, prioritizing clarity of flavor over excessive ornamentation.
Le Clocher Penché offers a memorable dining experience characterized by creative, high-quality cuisine that highlights fresh and locally sourced ingredients. Guests frequently praise the inventive flavor profiles and beautiful presentation of dishes such as the hanger steak, homemade pasta, and various seasonal offerings. The atmosphere is consistently described as warm, stylish, and convivial, with an open kitchen that adds to the engaging experience. While the majority of diners celebrate the attentive and professional service provided by the knowledgeable staff, the restaurant remains a top recommendation for those seeking a polished yet welcoming culinary destination in Quebec City.
We had a wonderful dining experience at Le Clocher Penché during our visit to Quebec City. The restaurant has beautiful interior design & the customer service was warm & attentive throughout the evening.
We ordered the fried mushrooms, bread with compound butter, lion's mane mushroom dish, & the fish of the day, which was halibut. The staff was incredibly accommodating with my dietary restrictions & kindly substituted the nduja sauce with a salsa verde instead. The salsa verde was fresh, vibrant, full of texture, & paired perfectly with the fish. It ended up being one of my favourite dishes from the entire trip.
We also really enjoyed the bread & compound butter along with the lion's mane dish. The fried mushrooms were good, though we felt the batter absorbed a bit too much oil & could have benefited from more crunch to better highlight the flavour of the mushrooms themselves.
For dessert, we tried both the baked Alaska & the salted crème brûlée. Although the presentation of the crème brûlée could have been a bit better, the flavour was excellent. The addition of sea salt gave it a unique twist that made it stand out from a traditional crème brûlée.
Overall, this was a memorable meal with thoughtful service, creative dishes, & a beautiful atmosphere. We would gladly return on a future visit to Quebec City.
wonderful experience. Service was attentive, the atmosphere was beautiful, warm, cozy & contemporary. Most importantly they earned their Michelin recommendation. The food was delicious, & the portions perfect. We had the moussaka & the lamb was tender & delicious, the soup, a creamy potato leek & bean was fantastic, & the fish of day, artic char was excellent. We will be back.
Cozy restaurant with incredible food. We recommend making a reservation in advanced. We were greeted by friendly staff who spoke great English upon arrival. Throughout the night, our server was attentive & the pace of our orders was spaced out perfectly. We decided to give blood pudding a try & it was absolutely flavourful & the highlight of the night! We also got the deep fried maitake to start. For our mains, we ordered the fish of the day (cod) as well as the hanger steak. Every bite was delicious & ingredients were intentionally chosen. They switch up their menus & ingredients slightly for each dish seasonally so be sure to make note of that.
At first, I was a little skeptical about going to this place, but honestly, all my doubts disappeared as soon as I walked into the restaurant. The staff were very attentive, & we were seated right in front of the open kitchen. It was great to see the team interacting & working so professionally while preparing the food.
I had the hanger steak, cooked medium-rare - it was perfect. My wife had the fish of the day, served with a white sauce mixed with spinach, & she loved it. Our experience was flawless.
The reason I was skeptical at first was because we were staying in the old part of the city, where there are plenty of dining options, & I didn't really want to drive. But it was truly worth it.
This was one of the best restaurants I have been to in a very long time. The service was impeccable, from the simple courtesy of taking our coats to really ensuring we didn't feel rushed at the end of the meal.
We had a mouthwatering steak cooked to perfection, the fish of the day with risotto & a delicious cheese starter with leek & pancetta & incredible mitake mushrooms.
There was one small menu & everything was fantastic. Even better & often rare to find was the sound & ambiance was absolutely perfect. The place was packed but the sound was minimal, where we could hear the music & everyone was speaking softly. 10/10 recommend
Oh & I have never had such delicious & well presented mocktails
I'm writing this review as we just finished our dessert & had to make sure I share my experience because I hope anyone who reads this review understands that you need to come here.
From the beginning, we had such amazing service from our hostess Livia & server Zachary. We had a lovely wine recommendation & the food..
Every single bite we took made us go, wow. The combination of flavours, textures - everything worked so well together. We started off with the Fresh Cheese & Mackerel, followed by the Casarecce & Fish of the day (cod). The meats were so tender, melting in our mouths.. finally, the Baba dessert! I could have 10 of those.
If you are still looking for a good place to experience some amazing cuisine, look no further. We'll be back & recommending all our friends visiting Quebec City.
What an experience! I must say . From the food to the service, it was impeccable. Huge shoutout to our server Vincent who was not only polite & attentive but so detailed with explaining each dish & suggesting some delectable cocktails!
I didn't even go through the drinks menu , just asked for his suggestions & that was it.
We ordered the bread with the compound butter ( which was great by the way)as we thought the dishes would take time to come out of the kitchens but that wasn't so, the service was fast & efficient.
Next we ordered the Fresh cheese & the black pudding. Both were nice but the black pudding was the dish of the night hands down! It was an explosion of flavours in your mouth.
We then had the fish of the day. The cod was cooked to absolute prefection! Our other main course was Labneh & tahini ( which is a must have if you are looking for vegetarian options)
We ended the night on the best note with the amazing crème brûlée ( it was special ) & it was enough for 2 people.
All in all an amazing experience & a must visit for sure if you're in Quebec.
Reservations are a MUST! The setting is beautiful, & we could see into the kitchen from our seats.
We ordered four appetizers, hanger steak (standardized at medium rare) & fish of the day (cod). The bread was crisp on the outside, warm & soft on the inside. The compound butter was amazingly flavourful & reminded us of foie gras. The fresh cheese appetizer was wonderful & the pickles & capicollo complemented the cheese very well. The mains were impeccable: the cod was sweet & perfectly cooked, & paired with a lobster bisque, while the steaks came with carrot purée & beautiful side vegetables.
Food was presented well but the taste was just fine. Nothing that blew our minds.
It was overpriced frankly. We got duck confit in Dashi sauce, pasta in tomato sauce, butterfish, gnochi, fish @ mkt price. However drinks were good.
Honestly it was a bit disappointing. After researching before visiting the city this place popped up a lot on Reddit & obvs in the Michelin guide. The malfadine pasta & fish were both just okay, similar to what you may get at a chain like Earls if you are a west coaster. Place was slammed & they seem understaffed. The server was very nice & helpful but way too busy & the service/food was crazy slow to come. Also the restaurant had no ac was quite stuffy. Maybe better on other days but overall a bit of a disappointment for our first Quebe City meal.
