Do you have tickets for the annual ÎLESONIQ event, presented from August 9 to 11, 2024? Are you wondering how to optimize your outing? Have you thought about combining your experience with a good dinner at the restaurant before attending the evening performances? We have some suggestions for places to go eat. Follow us to discover them!

The ninth edition of the îLESONIQ festival takes place at Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Île Sainte-Hélène, which is located on the edge of the island of Montreal, on a site that includes wooded areas and is enhanced with flowerbeds and outdoor works of art dating from Expo 67.

On the festival's three stages, set in the heart of this marvelous and unique landscape, you will meet renowned electronic dance music (EDM) artists on August 10 and 11. The headliner for the weekend is none other than one of the greatest DJs in the world, Dutchman Tiësto. There will also be DJ Snake, Gims, Vladimir Cauchemar, Idris Elba, Lilly Palmer, Paul Kalkbrenner and many others. In fact, the organizers have invited the best DJs, rappers and composers to ensure an ambitious lineup.

In addition to having your ears filled with sound systems blasting music throughout the site, you will have your eyes filled with backstage visuals and explosive pyrotechnic effects.

Before meeting you at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saturday and Sunday, îLESONIQ will kick off on Friday evening, August 9 with three huge parties in three different locations and hosted by some of the greatest DJs in the world.

Before filling your ears with the best sounds and your eyes with the most beautiful colors, and as previously mentioned, it is imperative to feed your appetite with a meal at a restaurant. Without further ado, here are our suggestions for restaurants where to eat near ÎLESONIQ.

Le Mousso

Our first suggestion is the work of young chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard, who has turned many heads since he opened Mousso. In his kitchen, he dares to provoke and takes gastronomy to another level... like the artists who will be present at ÎLESONIQ, in fact! The chef has been accumulating awards and rewards for ten years.

Accompanied by his sommelier, the chef offers a unique experience with a single service per evening that can feed only about thirty guests. It is therefore essential to book and plan to arrive a little before 6:30 p.m.

The two acolytes will lead you on an exceptional taste journey where local meats, fish, seafood and vegetables are mixed with modern and innovative cooking techniques.

Mastard

Here is another suggestion decorated with the best awards in the industry: best chef, best new restaurant, best dish and a mention in Canada’s 100 best.

At Mastard, you will be entitled to dishes prepared with seasonal vegetables from local producers. Here too, a tasting menu will allow you to appreciate all the creative work of chef Simon Mathys.

You will also receive a plate of bread, an implicit way of forcing you to finish your dishes in sauce and broth.

But if you want to prepare your outing by going to discover the menu online, you will be surprised to discover only a list of ingredients that inspire the chef and his team at the time of your visit. That’s right, you will not have a dish name or additional details. Only these ingredients. And why not? Trust him!

Île Flottante

Formerly called Les Deux Singes de Montarvie, but renamed Île Flottante, this project by owners Nada Abou Younes and Sean Murray Smith also promises a tasting menu.

Two options are available to discover the chef's talent, either a three-course or seven-course menu, both at an affordable price.

Here, the chef focuses primarily on vegetables and also offers a selection of meats and seafood. All depending on the season.

A food and wine pairing is also available. There is nothing better than a good glass of wine to accompany this type of meal.

ALMA

Get ready for another great discovery when you step through the doors of the ALMA restaurant. Will you choose the five-course or nine-course menu? Regardless, you will travel between Mexico, Spain, Catalonia and Montreal in the same evening.

Coming from Mexico, it’s the ancestral corn (ask the hosts to explain the nixtamalized method!), from Montreal, the fresh ingredients, and from Catalonia, the natural wines.

If you opt for the nine-course menu, you give the chef carte blanche to prepare the best of his modern Mexican cuisine.

Among the possibilities, there are the classics revisited and corrected by the chef and his bridage, such as scallop and turnip aguachile, grilled octopus, a little sweet touch with dulce de leche…

Damas

Coming directly from the Middle East, chef Fuad Alnirabie has won his bet to present his cuisine to Montrealers. Despite the trends, he keeps his classic way of presenting his dishes and that’s what makes visitors happy.

Among the specialties of his native region, more precisely Syria, taste duck legs, lamb shank, lamb shoulder or even sea bass. You may also have the strength and appetite to tackle the Pescetarian tasting menu, that is to say an exploration of ten or so dishes to share (the whole table must participate, if you choose this option), in which the chef draws his inspiration from his Syria and from local seasonal ingredients.