Arvi

About Arvi

Arvi is the small, open-kitchen tasting room on Third Avenue in Limoilou where chef Julien Masia, a Lyon native who cut his teeth in the kitchens of the French Alps, won Quebec City's first MICHELIN star in spring 2025. The format is a single set menu — regular or vegetarian — that runs about C$98 for five courses, with an optional wine pairing around C$60. Cooks plate and serve at the tables in a stripped-back room of exposed brick and concrete, and the whole evening turns on the produce of the province.

The Kitchen

Julien Masia builds each menu around Quebec's terroir read through French technique. A typical run opens with scallops from the Magdalen Islands set against lacto-fermented Jerusalem artichoke and local yuzu, moves through sockeye salmon with a delicate beurre blanc and whitefish roe, and closes on textures of quince with a sweet-clover crème diplomate. The cooking is light and clear rather than heavy, a Lyonnais sensibility applied to northern ingredients.

Because it is a fixed menu, the kitchen changes it constantly with the seasons, and the open pass means the cooks themselves describe each plate as they set it down. A vegetarian version of the full menu is offered. For the wider city read the Quebec City dining guide, the best tasting menus worldwide, and the best fine-dining rooms, or compare the contemporary cooking at Légende.

The Room

Arvi is deliberately small and informal — exposed brick, raw concrete, an open kitchen and a playlist that keeps the mood contemporary rather than hushed. The cooks double as servers, moving between the pass and the tables, which makes the evening feel close and personal. It is intimate by size rather than by candlelight, so book early; a star in a room this small means tables go weeks ahead. Dress is smart-casual; nobody needs a jacket.