I had the pleasure of eating at Bistrorante Boccone as one of their guests. Located in an old Royal Bank building on the corner of St-Laurent and Saint-Zotique, Bistrorante Boccone offers an authentic Italian menu with generous portions, in a warm and welcoming space.

Restaurant: Bistrorante Boccone
Date: Saturday December 16th 2017
Table for: 2

As always, one of the first things I notice with a new restaurant is the decor. I loved the beautifully painted plates Bistrorante Boccone has on their walls, as it reminded me of the colorful ceramic plates you can find in shops all over Italy. They also have a huge staircase, which leads up to a private dining room.

We were seated at a table for two in the main dining room, with the room to ourselves (I made a pretty early reservation for a Saturday night). But, as time went on, the dining room began to fill up with families and loyal customers.

To begin the evening, we were served a dish of antipasti consisting of: tomato pizza, a white herbed pizza and Italian sausage with red peppers. I love when restaurants add in little extras like this, as it can go a long way in making a positive impression on the clients (the antipasti is served to all customers, not just us). Both pizzas were warm,  slightly crispy and delicious, as were the sausage bites and the sautéed red peppers. An excellent way to start a good Italian meal!

For starters, I chose the mozzarella di bufala with tomatoes and Alex the grilled octopus. With that said, I ended up tasting the octopus entrée first and eating a fair amount of it too, as it was so delicious – definitely one of the best octopus dishes I have ever eaten, if not the best. The octopus was served sliced up, lathered in a garlicky, oily and lemony vinaigrette and topped with a small salsa of tomatoes. The dish was very simple but oh so good. The octopus was so tender and flavourful and nicely grilled too – the perfect way to start a meal.

After, I moved on to my own entrée, the mozzarella di bufala with tomatoes. Again, another very simple entrée, but one of my favorite “salads”. The mozzarella was nice and creamy and smooth, which perfectly balanced the acidity of the tomatoes. You can’t forget the fresh basil, which is a must with this dish.

For the mains, Alex and I both ended up ordering pasta dishes. I chose the spaghetti alle vongole (with clams) which was delicious. I had two sauce options – tomato or white wine – and opted for white wine as this dish is typically prepared that way and Boccone definitely knows how to prepare a white wine sauce. The pasta was perfectly al dente and full of delicious clams. The portion was also very generous, so generous that I was unable to finish my plate!

Alex ended up ordering the linguine ai frutti di marre (seafood pasta) in a tomato sauce. I also enjoyed this dish as the tomato sauce was very well balanced and flavourful and it was full of delicious seafood – calamari rings, shrimps and clams. Once more, another generous serving, however Alex was able to eat it all 🙂

To finish things off, a trio of desserts was brought to us, including: a chocolate brownie cake, a raspberry and chocolate panna cotta and two Italian crème caramel. I started off with the chocolate brownie cake, which was nice and chocolatey, moist and covered in a chocolate sauce. Next, I tried the chocolate panna cotta,  which was hands down my favorite dessert. The panna cotta was nice and creamy and thick, with a thick and creamy layer of chocolate at the bottom and a sweet raspberry coulis on top to wrap it all up together like a raspberry chocolate. Lastly, I went for the Italian crème caramel, which was also nice and creamy and delicious.

Overall, we had a great dinner at Boccone, full of delicious and authentic Italian dishes. The octopus was definitely the highlight of our meal, followed closely by my spaghetti alle vongole which was perfectly executed. I would highly recommend Boccone to anyone looking for a cosy Italian restaurant in Little Italy, with delicious food and great service. Boccone also has three dining rooms, two of which are private, so it is also a great venue option for family gatherings and corporate events. Buno appetito!

UP NEXT: my #2017bestnine x3 (Montreal restaurant pics, travel pics and homemade meals)

*This restaurant post does not contain my usual restaurant review criteria of restaurants, as this is a sponsored post where I was invited to the restaurant as a guest.

*All photos are mine