Anciens Canadiens (Aux), Quebec City

Very cozy and the food was very good. The service was excelent and our server very accomodating, polite,and friendly. The food very interesting and savory. The Mix Meat Pie (Venison, Elk, Beef, and Pork) was very good. The Pork with sweet krout was delightful. We enjoyed it and would go back again. The location is central.

I wanted Quebecois food and this was the place to have it! Seating before 5:30 allows one to have the special menu at a reduced charge. This made it a reasonably price meal. I paid the "add-on" fees for both the onion soup and the maple syrup pie. They were both worth it!

We enjoyed this restaurant so much, we ate there three days in a row. Each visit, we ordered something different and it was all wonderful. We especially enjoyed a relish that was on our plate, which they call Quebec fruit ketchup. It was a sweet/sour combination of tomatoes, onions, celery, peaches and pears. I just recently found a recipe for it and decided to try my hand at it. It turned out very well, but it was time-consuming to prepare...lots of chopping. I'm hoping I can find it for sale somewhere online.

This quaint restaurant has so much to offer. The theme takes you right back to what Old Quebec is all about, from the dress of the wait staff to the menu offerings. Our waitress was very friendly and also addressed us in English as much as possible, considering we were in French speaking Quebec. The meal was very satisfying. Make sure to leave room to try the maple syrup pie. Very similar to pecan pie, but without the nuts!!!

As a rule, I try to avoid any restaurant that peddles a theme. I wish I had followed my own rule when I walked into Aux Anciens Canadiens, which is decked out to look like an 18th century tavern, with the waitresses in period costume. The food was terrible, and rather expensive for what you got. The escargots bourguignon had no flavor whatsoever, strange for dish that's supposed to be made with butter and garlic. My main course, game pie with pheasant and buffalo on the side, was slopped together on a dish like so much dogfood, and tasted worse. The mark-up on wines was ridiculous, even insulting. Definitely not recommended.