Il Pagliaccio

Il Pagliaccio is a classic Italian dining room of white tablecloths on a quiet stretch of Avenue Laurier Ouest in Outremont, the kind of room where, as Tastet put it, you can hear yourself talk. Owner Manuel Silva spent 31 years at the much-missed Le Latini before opening it, and Tastet calls him a model of Italian elegance despite his Portuguese roots, and counts the restaurant among the best Italian tables in the city.

The menu is short and built on premium ingredients: dry pasta from a small Italian artisan, tomatoes and olive oil imported from Italy, finely flavoured pastas and tender meat dishes. Silva chose the wine list himself, and it runs past 800 labels with some excellent bottles, while the rest of the drinks list stays deliberately classic. He gives the credit to the kitchen, telling Tastet that the cooks make the restaurant. Gambero Rosso awarded Il Pagliaccio two Forchette in its 2023 Top Italian Restaurants guide.