Chalet goes to great lengths to be smart and not just viscerally but intellectually provocative. An admirable ambition to be sure, but while Ô Chalet is busy channeling a ‘70s-style Québec chalet - serving up comfort food in a cottage-eria setting - there's nothing mundane about it.

The décor - executed by interior designer Maxime Gagné - is truly thought out and pensively implemented. The festive room is a genteel marriage of cottage chic and ultra mod - leather barstools, dark brown table settings, and a lot of wood. However, Ô Chalet nurtures its sense of dislocation, playing with your inner child in ways that you may not recognize. Yes, indeed, the colourful locals of the area are lucky to be close enough to haunt this joint.

The young owners - Yves Mireault and Mathieu LeBlanc – certainly have had some sentimental fun with their first-time 50-seat restaurant. Even in the menu, Ô Chalet’s cuisine is a global mix; French, Italian and Mediterranean fuses with down-home comfort levels. Chef François St-Aubin replaces Alexandre Gosselin in the kitchen, introducing with a menu that offers up quirky choices, like the Oyster Platter ($2.50 each, $13 for six, $24 for a dozen), individualized orders of Alaskan scallops ($13) wrapped in thin strips of prosciutto alongside a little dose of eggplant purée.

The Foie gras torchon du Québec au sauterne ($16) fares better, dished out with a shot of shallot puree and bread chips; a pork foot terrine is served with string beans, ravioli with caramelized onions and Montpellier butter; a Boileau deer Tataki is a game-y dish made even more-so with the added dose of truffle oil.

Mains are more ambitions with the likes of the Venere black rice risotto ($17), nicely peppered with crabmeat and an injection of mascarpone. A Bass steak ($25) in a macadamian nut crust, mashed squash, lobster bisque, extra-fine green beans. The beer braised Pork jaw ($22) was strongly recommended by our server, served in high-style with mashed potatoes and pan-fried vegetables; a Magret de canard de la Montérégie ($26) over wild mushroom cake, in a sauce “au thé lapsang souchong”.