T he high-end gastronomy circle of Montreal just got a hot new contender. Laurie Raphaël, the Montreal transplant of the Quebec restaurant, has firmly positioned itself in one of the few glamorous hotels sophisticated enough to house Chef Daniel Vezina: Le Germain.

Although Vezina’s creations speak for themselves, his resume is nothing to be scoffed at either. For twenty-five years, Vezina has been inspiring and defining the gastronomy culture in Quebec, fine-tuning his commitment to using local ingredients of fine Quebecois agriculture. His first restaurant in the capital city opened in 1991, which led to a cooking show on Radio-Canada, which brought him success and recognition above and beyond. Three cookbooks later, Vezina has now added another accomplishment to his resume. With a décor that has Jean-Pierre Viau's stamp all over it, Laurie Raphaël is everything you could hope for in a fine restaurant.

Fine dining is often reserved for special nights, so all aspects need to be impeccable. While the second level of Le Germain has never been known as a great destination, the space is now tidied up with leather chairs and linen-draped tables. An impressive blue granite bar (a Laurie Raphaël classic) lines one side of the space and a shield of white round ceramic mobiles – created by Pascale Girardin and designer Jean-Pierre Viau – hang delicately from the ceiling.

With Laurie Raphaël’s tapas concept, taken on by his chef Cynthia Moreau and pastry chef Rémy Couture, diners can try out the flavours of big plate items, but in smaller portions. Of course, the classics that made Vezina famous rush to mind, like the candy of Goulu duck foie gras, the ceviche of Iles de la Madeleine scallops, or the caviar wrap from l’Abitibi. I can only hope his maple syrup crème brulée won’t be forgotten here.

The sociable tapas menu for sharing is elaborate beyond your wildest imaginings. Expect dishes like Organic Norwegian salmon tartare with 007-style homemade lobster oil ($15.00). The Abitibi caviar wrap ($30.00), brook trout egg blanquette, and blinis with whitefish eggs is another showstopper. The Tuna tempura (19.00) is plated with a yuzu marinade, seaweed salad, and North Shore sea urchin soup. Broiled sweetbread scaloppine ($25.00) is served with cranberry juice glaze, red beets, white bean paste and baby vegetable blanquette. Panfried black pudding with confit pork ($24.00), truffle juice, and vanilla potato purée is enough to have your mouth watering just reading about it. Best of the red meat selection is the Angus beef (27.00) with beef marrow, braised oxtail, and crumbled blue potatoes.