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1231, avenue Lajoie, Outremont
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Tel. 277-5888. Mon - Wed 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM; Thu - Fri 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM; Sat 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Licensed, all major cards. Reservations recommended even on weeknights.
 This tiny, 22-seat dining room in residential Outremont is located next to a laundromat. Today’s menu is handwritten, photocopied, and stapled together in a casual, hilarious kind of way that only a successful restaurant could get away with. The fish names are more exotic in French than in English (Omble Chevalier = Arctic Char, Loup de Mer = Sea Bream, St. Pierre = John Dory). I feel like I’ve entered a private club.
Mom meets me at the door, greets me by name (as I’ve called ahead) and when I arrive at 6:30 pm all of the tables are reserved. She explains the menu, how it’s an all-fish place (in case I’ve stumbled in here accidentally), how the meals are prepared one at a time, fresh for you, grilled without sauce, served with assorted vegetables. I’ve never heard of John Dory and she explains, complete with swimming hand-signals, an indication of how big it is, and how it swims (upright).
The entrées range from $18.75 to $34.75 for the Atlantic Bass. The bread is served immediately (something I adore), and is a lovely sourdough baguette. I am perhaps underdressed in my jeans and black t-shirt and I’m younger than the rest of the crowd. I am conspicuous as well because I’m alone, taking notes, and when my food arrives I take a picture of it which is a difficult thing to pull off in a space the size of your living room. The man at the next table figures out I’m writing a review and for the rest of the evening he acts like we’re sharing a private joke.
 I order scallops and Dad, the chef, prepares a lovely, simple presentation of fresh vegetables and five huge, slightly undercooked scallops, just the way they’re supposed to be. The meal is as hot as you could only get at home, artfully arranged, not fancy, just fabulous; it confidently speaks for itself. The visual presentation of my dinner was a little too “white”, but that’s a tiny point easily remedied with a lemon rind twirl or by substituting yam in place of the boiled potato.
For dessert I have a lemon tart that is perfect: sour lemon curd with a crisp shortbread crust. Being “That Girl From Vancouver,” I might have expected a lake of raspberry coulis or a coating of powdered sugar. But at Delfino it’s not about excess. It’s about simple, true food.
The table service is adequate but not fussy. I am missing a bread plate and my after-dinner tea is served without milk. At the stroke of 7:30 pm on a Wednesday night the place fills up, all reservations present and accounted for. From what I could overhear it seemed a pretty even mix of French and English diners, age range of 40-60. The price for my meal of scallops, a glass of house white, a lemon tart and a cup of tea, with tax and tip, was just over $40. —reviewed by Shelley MacDonald
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