Fine Fusion dining at Sans Façon

Capital Eats takes a trip across the river for some fine dining in Gatineau

Author

Ralf Joneikies
October 11, 2022

There are times, when you least expect it of course, that you encounter a kitchen doing something so different, that your mind goes from “That's quite nice” to “What the...”.  

Dinner at Au Cheval in Chicago springs to mind. American comfort food was so deliciously re-imagined (e.g a potato pancake topped with house-made sausage, poached egg and duck heart gravy) that my brain recalled those flavours for days. 

Gatineau restaurant Sans Façon had a similar effect on me. 

Manager Sid Gill tells me Sans Façon means “no thank you” but that this expression also has other meanings such as “without a way,” “unceremonious” or “without pretension.” It could be they've taken a few of these as principles to build their concept at 253 Blvd. St-Joseph in Gatineau. 

Sans Façon opened about a year ago and after a Good Friday lunch at this unique restaurant, it was clear I needed to experience more from this kitchen.

Sous chef Stefanie Saumur came from a restaurant family and first cut her teeth at her uncle's restaurant catering business in Gracefield, Que. She later worked for several years at the well-known Rideau bakery before arriving at Sans Façon. 

Writers say that even when they're not at their desks, they're always writing. The same can be said of Chef de Cuisine Laurent Chabot who, even when not in the kitchen, is forever creating new combinations.  

His culinary interest began at the age of 13. A few years later he attended the internationally recognized ITHQ school in Montreal where he studied classic French cuisine. With his girlfriend by his side, he moved to France and built his skills at various establishments including the restaurant at the Hotel Roi Theodore in Corsica. 

After returning to Montreal he studied sauce-making and worked for a large restaurant group before landing at the vaunted Jellyfish. You can see the Jellyfish influences in his cooking and plating at Sans Façon.  

Chabot’s foundation may be traditional French cooking but he cites his inspirations as Japanese, Peruvian and Mexican. Those influences can be seen in his lovely tuna crudo with puffed rice, a soy-sesame glaze, jalapeno, supreme of citrus and fermented coconut crema. The shrimp tacos laced with pineapple salsa, grilled onions, spicy mango crema and micro coriander are also a standout. It's always just enough and never too much.

As much as his flavour combinations are to be respected, technique abounds in the various components that make a dish.  

Take for example what manager Sid Gill referred to as a re-constructed “ramen bowl” without the noodles. The amount of work that went into my lunch could only be admired: a marinated 24-hour sous vide tuna loin that is then grilled, sliced and served alongside rice that is as perfectly cooked as any I've had at the finest Japanese establishments. 

This along with ajitsuke tamago (soy poached egg), expertly grilled broccolini, sweet corn slow-cooked with butter and honey, are all sitting in a shallow bath of shiitake dashi broth. 

The flavours and textures knocked me back in my seat. When you can identify what a chef is doing with every element, you know you're in good hands. 

Sans Façon is open for both lunch and dinner and price differences are nominal between the two.  

Many of their dishes remain unchanged but items such as shrimp tacos and 30-day butter-aged beef tenderloin are new. Butter ageing beef has become the rage in the last few years. This version has me wondering how much more tender can tenderloin get? Although I've mentioned it before, the elk tartare is an appetizer that is a must-try and proved a revelatory moment for me. 

Their wine list offers sixty wines by the bottle and nine by-the-glass. Many of them organic as selected by Eric Duchesne chef/owner of the excellent Le Clandestin in Old Hull at 45 Rue Laval. 

Try the organic Belleruche by the house of Chapoutier, a white from the southern Rhône. It pairs so well with your seafood choices and is a remarkable value at $10 a glass.  

If you're inclined to pre-dinner desserts, I can recommend both the Gisele and Anita cocktails for their restraint in the use of sugar. Don't miss the new post-meal Sans Façoncoffee made with mezcal, honey, coffee liqueur and espresso. Sweet and smoky. 

Fridays and Saturdays are their busiest dinner days with two (unofficial) sittings. Dinner service ends before 10:00 PM when Sans Façon switches its focus to the cocktail lounge and offers some seriously chill music.

From the cocktails to the attentive service and the inspired cuisine, there is a lot of talent at Sans Façon. While the restaurant is relatively new, chef Chabot appears to have a free hand to expand guest experiences.  

From what I've experienced, we have a rising star in our midst.