*** unfortunately, this restaurant is no longer open ***
i am not a big fan of cooked fish. i am a sushi lover all the way. as weird as this may sound, cooked fish simply tastes unnatural to me. this is why i had my doubts when my friend suggested that we go to psarotaverna du symposium to sample the offerings of the sea, mediterranean style. he did manage to convince me to try it out and i was pleasantly surprised that i actually enjoyed the meal.
we decided on ordering a full meal from the table d’hôte, which provided plenty of choices from appetizers to desserts. there is no need to panic if you have trouble picking because the knowledgeable waiter will step in with a couple of suggestions.
this is what we ended up feasting on:
stuffed mushrooms
mixed cold appetizers (melitzanosalata, tzatziki, and taramosalata)
bread & whipped butter
fried calamari & shrimps
simple greek salad
king fish (for him)
cod fish (for me)
baklava & custard
i really enjoyed the cold appetizers. it was my first time trying melitzanosalata and i had no idea what it was until i looked it up on the internet. it turned out to be an eggplant dip, which shocked me because i don’t like eggplants but loved the dip! the tzatziki was also quite good because it had a subtle hint of garlic as opposed to the stronger ones that prickle the tongue. the taramosalata also had a subtle taste unlike the salty kind i am used to. this restaurant seems to ascribe to the less is more ideal and i am thankful for that. if it were not for them, i would not have discovered the joys of cooked fish. i went with the filet of sole because the waiter said that it was the least fishy and basically didn’t have much taste. i figured that it was a safe bet. it was good with the lemon juice and capers, but because it did not have much of a taste, i was not blown away. what i can say is that i did not hate it. i also had a bite of my friend’s king fish and it was good. i really do not have much to say about the fish because i never eat it cooked and therefore have nothing to compare it to.
the meal overall was good. the only letdown came with the desserts. they tasted a little stale, as if they had been sitting around for a couple of days. if you really like fish, i am sure that you can overlook that because according to my fish-loving friend, this place does it best.
here you will find checkered blue tablecloths and traditional music. also, to remind you of their culinary forte, there are fishing nets hanging from the ceiling. the decor screamed little greek taverna, but it also had a little touristy feel to it. then again, this might be what restaurants are really like in greece. i have no way of knowing. the restaurant was quiet on the monday that we visited, with only two other occupied tables. i do not know if it is always like this, but i enjoyed the undivided attention of the lone waiter. it is a nice change of scenery for me who is used to the hustle and bustle of greek restaurants like marven’s.
psarotaverna du symposium
3829, rue st-denis
montréal, québec
H2W 2M4
T: 514.842.0867
payment: cash, credit cards
hours:
mon to fri 11h3o-23h
sat 5h-23h
*** unfortunately, this restaurant is no longer open ***