Restaurant Review: Baumier, Bar à Vin

A jewel in an ever-evolving gastronomic scene

For several decades between the 1950’s and 80’s, the Laurentians were well known as a gastronomic destinations for urbanites eager to get away for a ski weekend or golf game before enjoying a gourmet feast at restaurants like La Sapinière, Auberge La Biche au Bois, and L’Eau à la Bouche. I’ve been a regular visitor of the Laurentians ever since acquiring a chalet between Morin-Heights and Mont-Tremblant some 15 years ago. Before that I would often head to this magnificent region, about an hour’s drive north from Montreal’s city centre, to review restaurants that, for the most part, no longer exist.

Considering the number of Montrealers and tourists who frequent the area, I always wondered why recommendable restaurants became as scarce in the Laurentians as the West Island. Perhaps it was that, as one chalet owner explained to me, the weekend crowd went up north to relax, preferring to make their Ricardo-best-barbecue-ribs recipe at home before ending the night in the hot tub rather than driving to a restaurant. There’s probably a bit of truth to that but considering how many excellent farms there are in this region and how ingredient-obsessed chefs tend to be, I always wished more city chefs would head to the hills — the Laurentian hills that is.

Happily, over the past decade things have been changing for the better and today there are several restaurants I’d recommend, including La Belle Histoire in Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson and La Table des Gourmets in Val-David (which sadly will be closing on August 18th). But there’s always room for more, and two I’ve had my eye on for some time now are the Maison de Soma in Mont-Tremblant and Baumier Bar à Vin in Piedmont. As I was attending the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur this week, I decided to book a table at Baumier, which is about a five minute drive from the St-Sauveur city centre.

Baumier is owned by sommelier Nicolas (Nico) Quinto and chef Arianne Faucher, two veterans of another of my favourite Laurentian restaurants, L’Épicurieux in Val-David. Quinto and Faucher opened Baumier in the fall of 2020, right before, you guessed it, the *bleeping* pandemic. Like so many, take-out was the key to their early survival but today they draw in the crowds with their winning small-plate/wine bar format. Wine is a passion for this team, or more specifically natural wines, which dominate their impressive carte. They also have a cocktail list, yet don’t expect your regular negroni/Apérol spritz/ mojito lineup. Instead Quinto has concocted gastronomic cocktails made with seasonal and local ingredients.