When researching restaurants for U.S. Thanksgiving dinner in Québec City, I came across iX pour Bistro on a few foodie blogs.  It seemed to get good reviews on ratings sites (TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.) and the posted pictures looked pretty good.  So, I decided that this was the place for Thanksgiving dinner!  This was a FANTASTIC choice!  The food was outstanding and the service impeccable.  I would not travel back to Québec without eating here, and you shouldn’t either!

iX pour Bistro is a very small restaurant located in the up-and-coming Limoilou borough of Québec (officially called La Cité-Limoilou).  We took a 10-minute Uber ride from Vieux Québec at about CAN $ 10.00.  Very easy.  The restaurant is located in a somewhat residential area in an small, nondescript building with a tiny sign indicating that you are in the right place!

Once we opened the door, the host called us by name, took our coats and escorted us to our table.  He then proceeded to explain the restaurant to us!  For planning purposes, the restaurant only has about 10 small tables and two employees – the host/waiter and the chef.  As such, it is imperative to make reservations (and keep them or call to cancel!).  The menu changes nightly and features whatever is in season and available at the market.  The lengthy wine list is written on the wall, but the host will assist you in choosing a wine based on your likes and/or order.

After explaining the basics, the host brought over the chalkboard menu and explained each dish in detail and in perfect English (the menu is written in French, but it is not very descriptive).  Everything sounded delicious!

For starters, I choose  their take on French Onion Soup (souppe à Lorette)!  The dish was prepared extremely well, with local Québec cheese, and was quite light for Québec faire – yet still completely delicious!  Good choice since I had so much food coming!

Dan started with a trout dish, which consisted of fresh trout over an avocado spread!  This was also really good and not too filing!  The trout was also very well prepared – very fresh and not at all fishy.

For main dishes, I ordered cod fish in a dill sauce.  YUM.  This dish was so awesome!  The cod filet was quite large and was prepared in a cream and dill sauce over fresh vegetables.  This was an odd order for me, since I do not love fish as a rule, but it was a great choice and I finished the dish!  I would absolutely order this dish again!

Dan order the goat cheese lamb loin.  Another winner!  The lamb was a sizable portion with a lot of goat cheese!  The lamb was served with local vegetables.  Delicious!

At this point in the meal, we were pretty stuffed.  But, since it was Thanksgiving (hello gluttony!) and because everything that we ordered was so amazing, we decided to order two desserts.  As a lover of foie gras, I choose their famous foie gras mousse!  O.M.G.  This was amazing.  I ate every single bite.  Oops!  The dish consist of a good portion of foie gras whipped into a mousse and topped with shaved coconut.  Extremely decadent and extremely worth it!  If you like foie gras (or are looking to try it), order this dish!!!

Dan, not being as big of a fan of foie gras as myself, ordered the chocolate dessert, which was smaller but much more dense!  Similar to our other  food, the chocolate dessert was super!

For the rest of our trip, we continuously reminisced about this dinner and what a great time we had!  The food was perfect and our host made as feel like regulars!  I highly recommend making a reservation here for any trip to Québec.  I will definitely eat here when back in Québec!

Also, I asked Dan if there was anything that he wanted to say about this restaurant and with a smile on his face he said,”delicious.”

STEAL OUR TRIP

iX pour Bistro – 1104 18e Rue, Ville de Québec, QC G1J 1Z1, Canada.  T: +1 418-914-8525.  Open Wednesday – Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  No website.  While more expensive than some other restaurants in the city, prices are quite reasonable for the quality of the food and service, especially when compared against those in Montreal and/or the Northeast US.  Since the restaurant is so small, you should absolutely call and make a reservation in advance.  We called two weeks in advance and got a table in November.  Also, since the restaurant is so small, you should call and let the restaurant know ASAP if you have to cancel.  If you find yourself in Québec without a reservation, I would call and see if they can squeeze you in!  While the neighborhood seemed safe to us, since there are not many other restaurants and/or bars that we saw in the area, it is probably more comfortable to take a cab or Uber.