Mangiafoco, The Happy “Eating”!

Beberapa waktu lalu sebuah situs missclarah.com memuat sebuah review mengenai restoran/bar/pizzaria Jeff yang baru aja dibuka pada 20 July tahun ini, Mangiafoco! Restoran tsb dapet pujian lho dari reviewernya. Ini nih reviewnya:

I’ve been constantly saying that, to me, a good restaurant goes beyond its food. To me, a good restaurant is a place where the design, the music, the people, the service (in fact, mostly the service. I forgive a bad plate easily than a bad service) get together to create a happiness space.
A happiness that, today, is called Mangiafoco and is placed between St-Paul and St-Sulpice streets, on the Old Montreal (right next to my old house).

An spectacular dinner room.

Straight from the beginning, I can’t talk about Mangiafoco without talking about the spectacular design made by Bruno Baen that, one more time, shows his kinda crazy way: the pizzas arrive from the kitchen from a rolling mat, the thin mats grow over a suspended platform above the kitchen, where benches for two people seem to be suspended. The ‘dip’ depends on the clients’ vision and there are lots of ‘islands’ which welcome the tables.
It’s really hard to describe, and the pictures I took doesn’t do justice to the place. You must go and see it for yourself.

Happiness is on the simplicity

We began the night with an appetizer of fried squid. They were perfectly cooked and very well seasoned. Nothing else to say. Next?
Nothing better than a well-made pizza. Mangiafoco and its chef, Jean-Cédric Morency, seemed to understand this quite nicely. We chose two pizzas: one made with wild champignons and another one made of spicy sausage. I was looking forward to the idea of tasting them, once Olivier, the manager, made me visit the kitchen. There’s something very sexy about the fired oven, I must say.
The champignons pizza is from an magnificent simplicity and it is very thin.
Delicate. And VERY good. We found large pieces of shitake mushroom and another tasty mushrooms. All of them covered with truffle oil (we know this might sound like a disaster, too much truffle oil. But not there).
The second pizza is a little more elaborated. They mixed spicy sausage, eggplant, pepper, tomatoes, rocket and cheese. The flavors are very well balanced and the result is very satisfactory.
We ended the night with an expresso as it should be, made with a piston machine that was absolutely magnificent

A very sorted wine cellar

The restaurant has as a goal to be a “wine bar”, in French, and it appears to take this role very seriously. Underground, there is a magnificent wine cellar with lots of types of wine, under the direction of Mélanie, a gentle girl that serves the wines.
We even were in a small private bar for those who would like to taste quite unusual drinks (that are expensive as well).

Service Punctual

I feel the need to dedicate an extra point for the service because I am very sensitive. I am one of those people who believes that a restaurant can’t count only with its food or design to attract people’s attention. The service we had on Mangiafoco was really very good, pleasant and delightful. And that gives us a happiness bubble way more fun. That, and the fact that the kitchen closes pretty late.