Mila Ristorante: a participant in the show “Les chefs!” opened a new Italian restaurant in Quebec and it’s worth trying

If you like Italian cuisine, I warn you: you risk falling under the spell of Mila Ristorante, the new brand of Charles-Antoine Sirois who participated in the show The bosses! in 2023.

Open for two months on the ground floor of the Royal William Hotel, on Boulevard Charest, the new kid is starting to make a name for itself thanks to very positive word of mouth.

“I’m happy, we have good comments,” the chef tells me, reached by telephone last week when he was forced to stay at home to treat an injury.

This former member of Bonne Entente, from La Tanière³ and more recently the microbrewery SNO, worked for months on the menu for Mila, nestled in a modern and bright premises in the Saint-Roch district.

He and his partners – brothers Chad and Jovany Khalil (Shaker) as well as Jonathan Breton – focus on the comforting and friendly side of Italian food.

“Italy is simplicity, deliciousness, abundance, freshness and quality of products,” says Charles-Antoine, who traveled a lot during his youth thanks to his mother who worked in international relations.

A Quebec touch

Many recipes are authentically Italian, but he adds his own color with Quebecois accents here and there.

“I’m a big picker. The Quebec terroir really blows my mind,” explains the man who studied journalism before training in cooking, then pastry, at the École hôtelière de la Capitale.

For example, at the moment, burrata is served with a virgin apple and rose sauce, the kitchen boss’ favorite flower.

Don’t be surprised to see rose shrimp, the recipe that made Charles-Antoine known to Chefs!appear on the menu after the winter season.

“I like it to go a little off the beaten track. Take my lemon dessert for example. It’s like a walk in the forest. It features produce that I picked over the summer with my team. There is a flower gel with roses and geranium, chamomile, spruce shoots,” the chef explains to me.

A lasagna to make you dream

Among the house’s signature dishes, we find lasagna, which still makes my colleague Jean dream.

And I admit that it is spectacular! The 10 layers are covered alternately with béchamel and a bolognese simmered for hours. It is gratinated and served in a fondue pot with sauce, so as not to run out. It’s delicious and comforting as can be.

You can even flambé it at the table with an Italian grappa, the chef tells me.

I would have liked to try the raw cannelloni as a starter, but it was no longer available during my visit, a victim of its popularity. This proposal is mouth-watering: a ballottine of beef gravlax stuffed with a lemony remoulade with blue cheese and walnuts.

But I was not disappointed by my choice, a deconstructed agnolotti. The dough, stuffed with a creamy beef marrow and cognac, is accompanied by braised veal and served in a light tomato broth. Famous!

I liked the mushroom risotto less with its overly pronounced truffle taste. However, the cooking of the filet mignon that accompanied it was perfect.

Charles-Antoine, 28, sets the bar high for the opening of his first restaurant, a second dream that comes true for him after The bosses! What’s left on his hunting list? A Michelin star.

“I have already achieved two dreams in five years. The third, we continue to push!” he says.

Mila Restaurant
380 boul. Charest East
Open every day, morning, lunch and evening