Cafe de la Paix was not one of the restaurants I had researched prior to our trip – we sort of stumbled upon it when we were looking for a place to eat a late lunch and get out of the rain. We had finished up most of the Old City and had wound our way down the hill to the port area, near Rue Saint-Paul, when the sky just opened up and started pouring heavy rain and wet snow. We had already been looking for a lunch spot at that point, but there wasn’t much in that particular part of the city. We even tried to duck into a sandwich shop only to discover they had literally just one sandwich remaining, and it was pre-packaged in the refrigerator.
J was obviously not a happy camper, especially because in addition to the rain and snow, the wind was blowing like crazy (she hates wind). I even had to close my umbrella for fear that it would be ripped out of my hands and fly away due to the force of the wind. Fortunately, we had a plastic rain cover for her car seat, bought specifically for this trip with the weather in mind. It wasn’t the greatest cover but definitely served its purpose in keeping her dry. So with the rain pouring down on us, we booked it back up the hill to the main part of the Old City, hoping to find a French-style cafe or pub. Josh really wanted a croque monsieur, and I didn’t want to settle for just any old restaurant.
The rain slowed down a bit so we bypassed a hamburger joint (called the Chic Shack – haha!), a Chinese restaurant, and a “European” bar that served pub food (but no croque monsieurs). Unfortunately, J was getting hungry herself and was starting to get even more upset so we ended up entering the next restaurant we saw. It was a French restaurant, which is what I preferred given where we were, and I was really hoping to get a good meal out of the ordeal. It was late but they were still serving lunch so we settled in at a large round table near the door.
The restaurant looked fancier than somewhere I would normally pick, with white table cloths and ornate decor, but it also seemed a little dated to me. There was only one other couple eating in the restaurant, and they finished up well before we did, which was fortunate because J ended up causing a ruckus for basically our entire meal. As soon as we sat down, we asked the waiter for some hot water to heat up J’s bottle, and he obliged with a teapot full of water. She grabbed at the bottle once it was warmed up, but then refused to drink any milk for some unknown reason. She also refused to eat any cereal. And after that, it was pretty much over for her.
Our waiter was also nice enough to give us the wifi password so Josh could play some Elmo on youtube for J. That appeased her for a bit, but she was still bursting into random crying fits. Somehow in between all the mayhem we managed to place our order, though only one of us could eat at a time while the other held J and walked her around or pushed her back and forth in her stroller. So how was the food? (This is supposed to be a food blog after all!)
The basket of bread we received held some decent slices of baguette that had good flavor and an ok crust. It also included pieces of toasted baguette that were super crunchy, bordering crouton territory, but still good, especially slathered with butter.
Bread basket
The lunch menu was sort of a “menu of the day” option. You picked the entree and it came with the soup of the day and dessert. The price was based on the entree you selected. Josh picked mussels and I chose coq au vin. The soup of the day that we both received was cream of broccoli, which was perfectly fine. It was pureed to a nice thick texture, and was more broccoli than cream. It warmed us up after our bout with the weather.
Cream of broccoli soup
The mussels were served mariniere style, in a white wine and garlic sauce. The mussels were plump and tender, not fishy tasting, but the sauce lacked pizazz. It could have used more garlic, more wine, and more salt. It wasn’t a bad dish, it just needed more punch. The fries on the side were a disappointment. They were the thin shoestring variety I prefer, but they seemed to be made from frozen fries and were soggy and oily.
Mussels mariniere with french fries
I didn’t get to eat the coq au vin right away since it was my turn to walk J around, so it was a bit cold by the time I got to it. The chicken was still tender and came off the bone easily, but I thought it tasted more like roast chicken, not a chicken braised in wine. There was no wine flavor to speak of, just plain chicken taste. It was fine, just not what I think of when I hear coq au vin. It came with roasted potatoes and vegetables on the side.
Coq au vin with assorted vegetables
Per the menu, our lunch came with dessert, but with J making such a fuss, we really didn’t feel like sticking around for another course. Our waiter, while accommodating to our requests, seemed a tad annoyed with all the crying (not that we blame him), and we just wanted to get her on the road again so that she could calm down on the walk back to our hotel. By that point, the storm had passed and it was sunny and blue skies all around. We quickly settled our bill (~$45 after tax and tip) and went on our way. It was pretty reasonable for a 3-course lunch (even though we passed on dessert), but the food was just ok. The dishes were mostly classic French, but nothing exciting or super flavorful. I saw the regular menu and it seemed pretty expensive, so I don’t think it’s somewhere I would have gone voluntarily if I had a choice. We were sort of stuck with it due to the weather, and while it served its purpose, I wouldn’t recommend it or go back. Fortunately for us, that was the only time on our trip where J had a major meltdown in a restaurant, and we got through it somehow. It definitely wasn’t fun, but I hope with every restaurant experience, she’ll get better and better.
Cafe de la Paix
44 Rue des Jardins
Quebec City, Canada
Tags: Canada, Chicken, French, Mussels, Quebec City