Author: Megan51

A Quinta is one of those restaurants that I would have preferred not to mention in case their cover is blown and EVERYONE starts bombarding the place, causing prices to rise, quality to diminish, tables impossible to acquire…you know how it goes. But make no...mistake, this cozy spot on the corner of Ontario & Cartier isn’t nearly as modest as they would appear, and they really deserve a huge shout-out! The heavy rain had me sluggish all day and I didn’t feel like cooking so I finally decided to give A Quinta a try - so glad I did! I’m new to the area and found this place during a random Google map search and was dying to try them as I LOOOOOVE Portuguese food, especially when there’s octopus on the menu! When I happened to drive past the other night, the place was filled with people inside and out on the terrasse, and the aromas billowing out into the street were making me a little jealous of everyone there. I could even smell their grill as I was driving half-way up Cartier! I ordered the grilled octopus platter for takeout. I was surprised (in a good way) by the enormity of the portion that came with salad (spring mix, red onion, tomato slices) and dressing on the side, rice, and what they called “Portuguese potatoes”. The octopus was perfectly cooked, topped with chopped red onions, tomato, leek, banana peppers (not hot), and a big wedge of lemon. Their grilled octo was not overly dressed up, which is how I like it as I prefer the natural taste of certain seafood and meat. I had a side of their piri piri sauce, which was the ideal complement to the potatoes and rice, and brought forth a stronger flavour, otherwise none of the components of the meal in particular had heavy flavours going on, though not entirely bland. I thought the Portuguese potatoes were the Parisien kind – the ones that make me all giddy - the round kind that appear in one of the photos on their website, but what I got were fried cubes of all sizes, skin on – ALSO MY FAVE!!! They were also really good *even better with their piri piri sauce* but I’ve never had bad fries or potatoes in Montreal. It’s obviously a thing. Thank God for such mercies. I only got through a third of the meal as I didn’t want to pass out after, but I could easily crank three meals out of this massive meal! A Quinta’s menu offers many options: seafood, churrasqueira meat, and then some, so you’re sure to find something to love. I get the feeling service is very good as well – I only did a quick pickup but the lady who took payment was really nice. Add to that the quality of ingredients, crazy portions, incredible prices - and if you care about such things: the ambience – which all add up to a win-win, but SSHHHH! Don’t tell anyone! ;)More