You Had Me at Foie Gras: Au Pied De Cochon

Let me tell you a story about one of the best restaurants I have ever been to in my life – Au Pied De Cochon. The food is incredible and one of their specialties is foie gras. During my recent trip to Montreal, I had the privilege to dine here two times within the same week. Here is that story!

May 11th 2025 (Sunday)

This was my first full day in Montreal (I arrived the evening prior) and I did quite a bit of exploring around town. I went down to Old Montreal and walked all around checking out the original architecture of the city. Quite impressive! Then I took a train over the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood to walk some more and find something to eat. I strolled around a bit but when I passed Au Pied De Cochon on Duluth Ave. I knew where I needed to eat!

The only issue was that I didn’t have a reservation, but I figured there is no harm in asking if they had any availability for a single diner. I asked the hostess and she was able to accommodate with a seat at the bar. The bartender was my server and he helped me with the menu, as this was my first time at the restaurant. He started me off with a great locally sourced mineral water and also made me a grapefruit mocktail. Delish!

The appetizer I kicked my meal off with was Duck Temaki. Duck tartare, Cantabrie anchovies and nori. Wow! This was so amazing! The layers of flavors and textures were deliteful! If you are not familiar with temaki – it’s basically like a sushi taco. 2 bites each and that game was over. Great way to pique my appetite!

I had a few minutes to digest and observe the restaurant. They have an open kitchen that’s on the other side of the bar. Since I was sitting down on the end, I had the bar in front me of but I could see the kitchen excitement happening to the left of me. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice to sit there one day… Spoiler alert – I came back later this week and sat right in front of the kitchen ☺️.

For my main course, I had their famous foie grois poutine. All I have to say is OH MY WORD! This is a perfect poutine! The cheese curds are fresh and somewhat flat on the bottom of the plate. French fries were perfectly crisp and fried in duck fat – incredible flavor! They also add foie gras and use two different types of gravy over top. One gravy is beef based and the other is foie gras based. Again, I say… OH MY WORD!!

Everything blends so perfectly together and it was a sympathy of harmony in my mouth! There was a smokiness from the foie gras that added great flavor to the overall experience. I’ve never had foie gras prepared this way before. The foie gras was soft, smoky and a bit unctuous. Super delicious! This poutine had such a unique flavor – certainly nothing like I have tried in the past. If they offered me a glass of the foie gras gravy, I would have gladly drank it!

After that meal, I was quite satisfied with myself and my life choices. I walked around in post-meal bliss for a bit. Stumbled upon an ice cream shop that looked good. Grabbed myself a little frozen treat and walked to La Fontaine park to watch the sunset. And as I was in the park relaxing and watching the sunset, I made myself a reservation at Au Pied De Cochon for Thursday night. All was right in the world 😊

May 15th 2025 (Thursday)

So nice I had to do it twice! I had myself a super busy day of exploring Montreal. In particular, I roamed all around Mount Royal Park and made it to a scenic overlook called Kondiaronk Belvedere, which is probably the best place in Montreal to view the city line of downtown.

After a full day of exploring, I worked up quite an appetite. I went back to my airbnb to freshen up before my 7pm reservation at Au Pied De Cochon!

Arrived at the restaurant about 15 minutes before my reservation and the hostess remembered me from the other night. She was very nice and said since I was early she would reward me with one of the best seats in the house – which was at the counter right in front of the kitchen. I was very grateful and appreciative of the warm reception, and I was looking forward to this meal immensely.

My server was great – I told him that this was my second visit in a week and that I was looking for a recommendation. He recommended the sweetbreads for appetizer and the stuffed guinea fowl for my main course. I said YES! He brought me over the same mineral water and mocktail that I ordered the other night. With my drink in hand, I sat back and enjoyed the highly coordinated chaos of the kitchen.

First thing up was the sweetbreads. This was a sweetbreads sandwich on brioche bread with iceburg lettuce and a homemade ranch sauce. Twas delightful! The sweetbreads were perfectly fried and crispy, but the real star of the show for me was that ranch sauce. Seriously, I would eat my hand if it was covered in that sauce!

The sandwich could be a bit sloppy at times but the mess was totally worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed that sandwich and watching them make it right in front of me was so kewl!

The main course was something special! Guinea fowl stuffed with lobster and lobster mousse 🤤 Let me repeat that… it was stuffed with lobster and lobster mousse! Wow! What a time to be alive! This dish was so delicious and I savored each bite – thoroughly enjoying every moment.

This was my first time eating guinea fowl and I would describe it as “slightly meatier than chicken.” The “meaty” guinea fowl paired perfectly with the soft lobster stuffing. The dish was also served with a really nice gravy that tied it all together, and asparagus. It was basically a perfect dish. The waiter asked me how it was – I just smiled, started slow clapping and wiped away imaginary tears of joy.

He then asked me if I was interested in dessert. I hinted that I was. He said, “do you want to see the dessert menu or do you want me to surprise you?” How could I refuse a surprise dessert from such a fine establishment like this? Of course I went for the surprise dessert!

This surprise did not disappoint at all. He brought me out a bread pudding with foie gras and cheddar on top. HOLY MOLY!! Each bite had the perfect balance of sweet and savory. I never thought that foie gras and cheddar would be good in a dessert but I am here to say that IT WORKS! Wow, what a way to finish the meal. The waiter asked how I liked the bread pudding and I gave him another slow clap lol.

Another successful meal in the books! I am so grateful I was able to eat at this restaurant and even more grateful I had that privilege twice! If you are planning a trip to Montreal, I HIGHLY recommend checking out Au Pied De Cochon. Your taste buds will thank me later! As always – thank you for reading and I’ll see ya next time!