Restaurant in Montreal, Canada
14 seats, Michelin-starred, book early.
Sabayon earned a Michelin star in 2025 and remains one of Montreal's most compelling special-occasion bookings at the $$$ cuisine price point. Chef Federico Michieletto's six-course tasting menu blends savoury and sweet with precision, backed by a 620-selection wine list at accessible markups. Book well ahead — post-Michelin demand has made reservations genuinely hard to secure.
Sabayon is one of Montreal's most personal fine-dining experiences, and for a special occasion dinner, it is close to an automatic booking. A 2025 Michelin star confirms what regulars already knew: chef Federico Michieletto is producing food that competes with anything in the city at the $$$ cuisine price point, in a room that feels nothing like a formal restaurant. If you want cooking that blurs the line between savoury and sweet — technically precise but never cold — book here before the post-Michelin rush makes that impossible.
The premise at Sabayon is deliberately stripped back. Located at 2194 Rue Centre in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood, this is a tasting-menu restaurant built around a six-course format, lunch and dinner. The menu moves between European technique and Quebec seasonal produce: local fish like char and eel appear regularly, market vegetables from small regional growers anchor the savoury courses, and imported ingredients , chocolate, coffee, sesame , are reserved largely for the pastry work. Meat appears occasionally, with preparations like braised beef cheek alongside turnip and radicchio.
The kitchen's signature move is the boundary between savoury and sweet. The grilled oyster mushrooms dish , served on pommes purée, finished with a caramelized arlette tuile and a sabayon sauce , is the clearest example: a plate that reads savoury but resolves in a register closer to pastry. That sensibility runs through the menu, making Sabayon a good fit for diners who find rigidly savory tasting menus monotonous.
Wine programme is handled by a three-person sommelier team including Kingsley Tee, Joslynn Choi, and Tito Amrikh Amsyar, under GM David Schnurr. The list runs to 620 selections across 1,150 bottles in inventory, with particular depth in Bordeaux, France broadly, Australia, Italy, California, and Chile. Pricing sits at the $$ tier for wine , meaning there is a genuine range rather than a purely trophy-bottle list. Corkage is $35 if you prefer to bring your own. For a $$$$-priced tasting menu, that combination of list depth and accessible pricing is a practical advantage over some Montreal peers.
2025 Michelin star is the trust signal that changes the booking calculus. Before that recognition, Sabayon was already well-regarded locally; now it sits in a different competitive conversation. On Google, it holds a 4.9 rating from 71 reviews , a small sample but a consistent signal. For a special-occasion dinner in Montreal at this price tier, the combination of Michelin credibility, an approachable wine list, and a format that feels personal rather than ceremonial makes Sabayon a strong first choice over more formally structured alternatives.
Restaurant serves both lunch and dinner, which matters for planning. A lunch booking at a Michelin-starred tasting-menu restaurant is a useful option if you want the full experience without a late evening, and Sabayon's weekend afternoon tea format adds a third entry point at a different price register. For first-time visitors, a dinner reservation is the natural choice; the tasting menu format is leading experienced when you are not watching a clock.
For context on how Sabayon fits within Canada's broader fine-dining tier, it is worth considering peers like Alo in Toronto, Tanière³ in Quebec City, and Kissa Tanto in Vancouver. Internationally, the casual-but-precise tasting-menu model has precedents at venues like Frantzén in Stockholm and Maison Lameloise in Chagny. Within Quebec, Narval in Rimouski is worth knowing if you are travelling the province. For wine-forward dining in Montreal specifically, Annette bar à vin and Cadet occupy a less formal tier but share some of the produce-led sensibility. Foxy is another Montreal option for modern cooking at a slightly lower price point. Further afield in Ontario, Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln and The Pine in Creemore show how the farm-to-table tasting format translates outside urban centres.
Browse our full Montreal restaurants guide, our full Montreal hotels guide, our full Montreal bars guide, our full Montreal wineries guide, and our full Montreal experiences guide for more planning resources.
For the same $$$$ splurge tier, Jérôme Ferrer - Europea offers modern cuisine with a longer track record of local recognition, and Toqué is the established benchmark for French fine dining in the city. If you want to spend less, Mastard sits at $$$ and covers similar modern-cuisine ground with slightly easier booking. For wine-led casual dining, Annette bar à vin is the logical step down in formality and price.
Yes , it is one of the stronger special-occasion choices in Montreal at this price tier. The six-course tasting menu format, a Michelin star earned in 2025, and a wine programme with genuine depth all support a celebration dinner. The atmosphere is personal rather than stiff, which works well for birthdays and anniversaries where you want quality without a formal dining room dynamic.
Book as far in advance as possible , the Michelin star awarded in 2025 has materially increased demand. For a weekend dinner, assume you need several weeks of lead time at minimum. Lunch and weekday slots may have more availability, but do not rely on last-minute openings for a date or celebration.
A tasting menu format can work well for solo diners who want to focus on the food and wine without conversation pressure. The wine list's $$ pricing tier means a solo diner can assemble a serious pairing without the cost spiralling. That said, confirm seat configuration when booking , if a counter or bar seating option exists, it is worth requesting.
The menu features a mix of fish, occasional meat, and produce-led dishes, which suggests moderate flexibility, but specific dietary accommodation details are not in our current data. Contact the restaurant directly before booking if you have restrictions , tasting-menu restaurants typically need advance notice to adjust courses.
At the $$$ cuisine price point with a Michelin star and a 4.9 Google rating, the value case is solid by Montreal standards. The six-course format gives the kitchen room to show range, and the savoury-to-sweet register that defines Michieletto's cooking is difficult to replicate elsewhere in the city. If tasting menus are your preferred format, this is one of the better uses of a $$$-tier spend in Montreal right now.
For the experience you get , Michelin-starred cooking, a 620-selection wine list at accessible markup, and a format that feels personal rather than transactional , yes, Sabayon justifies the $$$$ restaurant pricing. It competes directly with Europea and Toqué on quality grounds. If budget is the constraint, Mastard at $$$ is the sensible alternative.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabayon | Modern Cuisine | $$$$ | Hard |
| Schwartz’s | Delicatessen | $ | Unknown |
| Toqué | French | $$$$ | Unknown |
| L’Express | French Bistro | $$ | Unknown |
| Jérôme Ferrer - Europea | Modern Cuisine | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Mastard | Modern Cuisine | $$$ | Unknown |
What to weigh when choosing between Sabayon and alternatives.
Toqué is the closest comparison for Michelin-calibre tasting menus in Montreal, with a larger room and more flexibility on group size. Jérôme Ferrer - Europea suits guests who want grand, multi-course fine dining with a more theatrical atmosphere. Mastard is worth considering if you want chef-driven cooking at a lower price point without the tasting-menu format commitment.
Yes, and it is one of the stronger cases for a special occasion booking in Montreal. The 14-seat format, 2025 Michelin Star, and the six-course tasting menu structure by Chef Federico Michieletto make it a deliberate, attentive evening rather than a standard restaurant dinner. The wine program, handled by a dedicated sommelier team including Kingsley Tee and Joslynn Choi, adds further weight to the occasion.
At 14 seats, availability moves fast. Plan to book at minimum three to four weeks in advance, and further out if you have a fixed date for a special occasion. There is no walk-in model that makes sense here given the tasting-menu format and the Michelin recognition drawing consistent demand.
The 14-seat format can work for a solo diner, but the experience is designed around an intimate, convivial atmosphere rather than a counter-style solo setup. If solo dining with a chef interaction is the priority, confirm the seating configuration before booking. The tasting menu structure means you will not feel out of place dining alone, but it is worth flagging your preference when reserving.
The venue data does not specify a formal dietary accommodation policy. Given the fixed six-course tasting menu format and the small 14-seat kitchen, restrictions may be harder to accommodate here than at larger à la carte restaurants. check the venue's official channels before booking if you have serious dietary requirements.
For guests who are committed to the tasting-menu format, yes. The six-course structure by Chef Federico Michieletto earned a 2025 Michelin Star, the wine list covers 620 selections across 1,150 inventory with a $35 corkage fee if you bring your own, and the food pricing sits at $$$. That combination, in a 14-seat room, represents genuine value for the category. If you prefer à la carte flexibility, Toqué is the more practical choice.
At $$$$ overall pricing with cuisine rated $$$ for a two-course baseline and a well-priced wine list at $$, Sabayon is reasonably positioned for a Michelin-starred tasting menu in Montreal. Comparable tasting-menu restaurants in Toronto or New York charge more for similar course counts without the intimacy of a 14-seat room. If the format fits your occasion, the price-to-experience ratio holds up.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
