e Locale, brought to us by the two-headed wonder-chef team of Alexandre Gosselin (Simplechic, O Chalet) and Louis-Francois Marcotte (SimpIechic, Le gout de Louis), has quickly turned out to be a nice addition to the Old Montreal dining scene. The boys behind the venture are pretty serious about their food and have created a complex menu filled with dishes comprised of a variety of seemingly incompatible flavours.

The industrial design look and feel of the restaurant leaves much empty space, but the furniture (built primarily from leather and wood) takes good advantage of the historic building, transforming a potentially cold dining area into a warm and intimate one. A street-side terrasse adds more warmth than you might initially think.

Service is efficient and friendly enough, but the star of this restaurant is the fare. Gosselin and Marcotte have crafted a haute gourmet menu where items like truffle foam never seem out of place. Best bets on the starter menu include a balsamic-soy-honey-glazed chicken thigh served over coco beans and glazed calamari rings; escargot with mushrooms, garlic gnocchi in a bordelaise sauce, and onion soup gratinéed with Migneron de Charlevoix cheese. But the suckling pork belly with Du Puy lentils, diced carrots and onions sets the tone for a meal of experimental high-end cuisine.

Main courses include classic items like, for example, the braised beef with a parsnip puree, to more experimental fair like shrimp risotto with Isle aux grues cheddar or pan-fried halibut with a salad of coco beans, cipollini onions, confit tomatoes, brussels sprouts and calamari, with the obligatory hazelnut and balsamic vinaigrette.