It's been two years since I've written a column on restaurants in Montreal.

My ground rules this time are simple. Each is a place we've visited for the first time, and to which we would welcome a return.

EUROPEA
Our most impressive find was Europea. Located on Rue Montagne, the restaurant's dining room is long and narrow, and backlit in blue. Unusual table settings included small stones atop the napkins, square bread plates and butter knives suspended over the butter.

Heavy, ergonomically balanced knives let us cut into baguettes, olive loaf and walnut brown bread as we perused the menu. A nine-course tasting menu was available, as were a series of $49 table d'hote selections. Complimentary smoked salmon and bacon-wrapped prawn opened our meals. We passed on such options as lobster cappucino in favor of a delicious white bean soup, then small Caesar salads served atop handsome wooden plates. Marty chose creamy mushroom risotto with a pumpkin infusion as her main course. I enjoyed perfectly sauced and remarkably tender braised lamb shanks, accompanied by mashed potatoes laced with goat cheese.

More surprises were in store for dessert — a chocolate ravioli with orange sauce, homemade macaroons, white chocolate mousse in a white chocolate cup and finally fresh strawberries dressed in white and black chocolate tuxedos. The inventive cuisine, accompanied by courteous and efficient service, provided a most memorable experience.

LA CHRONIQUE
La Chronique, a small neighborhood restaurant on Rue Laurier, became our choice for a Sunday evening dinner. Its informality belied the innovative Belgian-influenced cuisine. Availability of champagne by the glass, a first for us, facilitated a toast to Gilles Bengle, our longtime friend who had brought us here.

Tuna tartare with roasted red pepper puree opened the meal. Then we sampled three breads — black and green olive, walnut and raisin, and classic French. Feeling a bit adventurous, I selected an appetizer of octopus served with goat cheese and fingerling potato salad, while Marty chose fois gras with gingerbread. Our main courses, both exceptional, were venison and blackened duck breast accompanied by shrimp and shitake mushrooms.

Dessert would be "chef's surprise" ("If you have allergies, let me know," our waiter warned). What ensued was a trio: chocolate panache with white chocolate mousse, a warm chocolate cake topped with raspberries and caramel, and cherry-laden cheesecake. A quick calculation confirmed that by simply walking home to Plattsburgh, we'd balance the calories we had so enjoyed eating!

RESTAURANT JULIEN
When Bea and Frank Ultee joined us for dinner during last summer's Montreal Jazz Festival, we followed a hotel concierge's advice to try Restaurant Julien for a late evening dinner. This small bistro near Rue University offered an engaging menu. We were seated at a canopied interior courtyard featuring a tile floor and a fountain in the center.

For soups, we chose a cold cream of tomato, and warm cream of artichoke; both reminded how elegant simple preparations can be. Our main courses ranged from duck confit to giant scallops in a fennel sauce and sea bass served atop a giant lobster-and-artichoke ravioli. Though all choices proved delicious, Bea may have selected best. Her lobster salad sounded straightforward but turned out to be an impressive vertical concoction with layers of greens, mango, avocado and big chunks of lobster.

A palate cleanser of fruit chutney with banana chips followed. Only one of us had room for dessert (I won't reveal which one), and it was a good one — a trilogy of creme brulee, enlivened by such flavors as amaretto and absinthe. We enjoyed attentive service enhanced by a lively sense of humor.

JARDIN NELSON
While visiting from Louisville, Ky., my wife's sister Bay and her husband, Art, wanted to spend a day wandering old Montreal.

Once we had visited Notre Dame Basilica, explored the old port area and sampled a few boutiques, we sought a late lunch spot that would admit customers in shorts and t-shirts. Jardin Nelson fulfilled the requirements. This bustling spot has a two-story enclosed patio just off Place Jacques-Cartier; there's a terra cotta floor and a stone wall facade along Rue St Paul. Jazz musicians played, though they could be barely heard above the lively conversations all around us.

First we ordered fresh tomato-laden bruschetta appetizers. Crepes, pizzas and salads are the standards here. From the "something more" section of the menu, I selected the salmon lasagna, a hearty creation that hit the spot. Afterwards, we walked outside and watched the musicians and street performers that populate Place Jacques-Cartier during the warmer months.

NIZZA'S
Nizza's, not far from Place des Arts, turned out to be another fine recommendation. A crowded outdoor seating area accommodated al fresco diners during our summer visit. We opted instead for the two-level interior dining room. Decor included a colorfully back-lit bar, colored glass lighting fixtures, wood grille work across the ceiling and abstract art on the walls.

Our server brought breads to the table in a blue paper bag. After starting with mesclun salads, we chose main courses of grilled octopus with tomatoes and greens (for me), and scallops in a green sauce (Marty). The menu also offered such choices as a lamb mixed grill. Desserts again proved a highlight. We shared two offerings. Chocolate ravioli was nicely balanced by the tartness of an accompanying pear sorbet. The pink peppercorn brownie with brandied pear offered another unusual contrast in taste.

L'EXPRESS
For another leisurely lunch, we headed for L'Express, long a popular bistro on Rue Saint-Denis, but one we'd never patronized before. A bar lines one wall of the long and narrow main dining room. Alongside are small marble tables covered with white paper. We ate in the skylit back section of the restaurant, where annual group photos of the staff fill the walls.

The meal started off with delicious baguettes and jars of small gherkins. Marty moved on to quail served with wild rice. I chose smoked trout, which came layered in a salad with greens, tomatoes and green beans. A simple apple torte let us end on a sweet note. This is a lively, pleasantly noisy place where one tends to linger. Many diners appeared to be regulars; if we lived in Montreal, we might be among them.

E-mail Richard Frost at: rbforiole@aol.com