It’s the turn of the citizens of Sherbrooke and surrounding areas to prepare for their most important gathering week of the year. Indeed, from Tuesday, July 16 and until Sunday, July 21, Jacques-Cartier Park hosts the Fête du Lac des Nations where hundreds of shows are on the program in addition to a pyrotechnic competition presented every evening and a ten rides to entertain young and old.

As everywhere else in Quebec during such an event, the restaurants located near the Fête du Lac des Nations site getting ready for a busy week! This is why it is best to plan your visit to the Fête du Lac des Nations in advance in order to fully enjoy your evening.

And since a great evening necessarily begins with a good meal, we have prepared a list of our suggestions for restaurants best located near Jacques-Cartier Park in Sherbrooke and where you are guaranteed to eat well.

First, if you are not a regular at the Fête du Lac des Nations, know that for this 43rd edition, the organizers have invited Billy Talent, The Planet Smashers, Martin Deschamps, les Trois Accords, les Bernaked Ladies, Marco Calliari, Marie-Annick Lépine, Kaïn, Salebarbes, Luis Fonsi and Talk, among others.

Then, each evening of the event, the Sherbrooke sky lights up from 10 p.m. with the presentation of the Grands Feux. These pyro-musical shows are always breathtaking with, at the forefront, the magnificent Lake of Nations allowing pyrotechnic artists all possible effects.

For the second time in a row, there will also be a drone show that will add hundreds of lights to the sky while telling a unique story.

But now, time for restaurants!

Siboire Microbrasserie Pub

You cannot be closer to Jacques-Cartier Park and the Fête du Lac des Nations than by having your meal at the Jacques-Cartier branch in Siboire.

This microbrewery is located just a few steps from the Fête du Lac site. It also has a beautiful terrace overlooking Rue Marchand, from where you can feel the excitement and excitement of the festival-goers lining up to enter the site. If you decide to spend the entire evening at Siboire, you will also have a beautiful view of the fireworks and you will hear the main show, presented at 10:30 p.m., after the fireworks.

Fans will have the difficult task of choosing from a wide choice of beers brewed on site. In addition to the most popular beers on their menu, some pop-up versions are available throughout the year.

On the menu, 8 oz flank steaks (with creamed chanterelles, mashed Gabrielle potatoes and grilled vegetables), a choice of tartars (tuna, salmon, beef, Peruvian ceviche), burgers (vegetarian or deer ), smoked meat poutine and pizzas (cheeseburger, vegetarian, burrata, pork, three cheeses, etc.).

Caffucino

Another local and well-known establishment in Sherbrooke is located a few steps from Jacques-Cartier Park. Caffucino is recognized as one of the good café-restaurants in town.

Unlike the Siboire, the terrace faces King Street, and not the Fête du Lac. But the place is essential to start the evening off right.

If you are the coffee type even in the early evening, you will love their espresso bar, ice creams, smoothies and their alcoholic options.

An extensive wine list as well as draft beers and cocktails complement their coffee and drinks menu.

A table d'hôte allows you to eat well by choosing, for example, meal salads (chicken almond, chicken Greek), pasta (penne arrabiata and Italian sausages, linguine with rosé sauce, etc.), two choices of burger ( with goat cheese or blue cheese?) and two choices of pizza (margherita or the special caffu).

An à la carte menu is also available and includes, among other things, nachos and even more choices of pizzas and burgers.

Those with a sweet tooth won't be able to resist ordering a slice of one of the cakes offered.

Yuzu Sushi

Another restaurant strategically located at the intersection of King and Jacques-Cartier streets, Yuzu Sushi will satisfy the appetites of lovers of this Japanese dish.

This chain, well known throughout the province, offers a different and surprising menu, where beauty mixes perfectly with different flavors and textures. Your plate will be flooded with colors (like the sky over Sherbrooke at around 10 p.m. during the Fête du Lac des Nations) and each bite promises a fresh and simple taste, composed of original textures.

Have you also ever tried sushi pizza? The Nigiris? Maybe one of their pokes? Otherwise, do it this week before your visit to the Fête du Lac. But don't wait until the end of the shows... because the branch will be closed despite the expected traffic.

Auguste

As Jacques-Cartier Park follows a good part of King Street, from the west axis going east to downtown Sherbrooke, we have added suggestions located at the other end of Jacques Park -Cartier.

For example, the famous Auguste restaurant, located on Wellington Street North, is not that far from the east entrance to Jacques-Cartier Park.

Popularized by star chef Dany St-Pierre, Auguste continues the adventure begun several decades ago in the heart of Sherbrooke.

Select a glass of wine or a cocktail while enjoying the upside-down poutine, one of their specialty. As a main course, what will you choose between a mushroom risotto, “bolognese” pasta, pan-fried trout fillet, homemade black pudding, duck leg confit, La Bête burger or grilled milk-fed veal flank steak?

A casual menu is also available, at lunchtime or in the evening, by the way, and offers, for $25, a starter, a choice among homemade focaccia, Augustine poutine, Mediterranean salad or homemade vegépâté as well as dessert and all accompanied by a glass of wine ($10 supplement) of the sommelier's choice.

King Alexandre

At the very top of King Hill, at the intersection of Rue Alexandre, is King Alexandre. This gourmet restaurant promises to put you in a festive atmosphere with its fair and fast service in addition to the choices offered on its menu.

The comments on the King Alexandre restaurant leave no room for interpretation: you will great taste discoveries. First with spirits, beers and wines and then with the main menu.

An oyster bar is now available on the evening menu, with five flavors in total. Among the dishes, note the arrival of rabbit sausage, squash and bacon linguini, a fillet of walleye or salmon trout.

For “real” carnivores, King Alexandre always offers a huge piece to share, namely a bison shoulder fillet and a brisket steak.

Antidote Foodlab

If you continue to “climb” the King towards the West, you can stop at the old Paton factory facilities, transformed into condos and businesses. Among the tenants, you will find the Antidote Foodlab restaurant, a place of choice for foodies.

The addition of the word “Foodlab” in the name is not accidental. The restaurant aims to be a true gourmet laboratory, inventive, tasty and original. This is why [you will be positively surprised by the Antidote and by what you will see on your plates, despite the definitions most common ones present in the menu.

For example, fresh pasta with herbs, green pea stuffing with vegan boursin, green pea broth with vegan mint sour cream and pea salad or reinvented shepherd's pâté (horse cheek, corn flan, corn mousse). potatoes, homemade ketchup).

There is also salmon (with buttered radish, clam brandade cromesquis, tarragon balsamic vinegar gel, fish and poultry roe sauce), duck (half breast, parsnip and banana puree, cabbage of nappa stuffed with duck confit, coleslaw and smoked duck and sage sauce) and beef (sous-vide shoulder fillet, mushroom tapenade, Jerusalem artichoke gratin, marinated mushrooms, hunter sauce, erect oyster mushrooms, parsley puree ).

Then, you will only have to walk a few minutes to join the festivities at Jacques-Cartier Park.