Le Parmesan: more than 50 years of purely Italian dining in Québec
By Pierre Perreault
April 2026
When two Italian friends from Parma, Luigi Leoni and Cesar Onniboni, opened their restaurant in June 1974 a few hundred metres from Château Frontenac in Québec, they could hardly have imagined that people would still be talking about it more than 50 years later. We now know where the name of this establishment comes from, one that has crossed the decades while preserving the founders’ tradition.
Since Luigi retired in 2023, Stéphane Rovedero (pictured) and his three partners have carried this great historic culinary success forward. 
Rovedero has been part of the Le Parmesan team for more than 25 years. He began as a dishwasher in 1989, then became a dining-room attendant and worked his way through the ranks before serving for many years as maître d’hôtel. Now the owner of both the restaurant and its 1848 building, which was patiently restored to retain its period character, he focuses on administration and overall management while sustaining a family culinary tradition faithful to its Italian roots.
As he puts it, ‘In this 130-seat family restaurant, every customer is welcomed as a guest. The experience reaches far beyond the plate: it touches what is essential, the human warmth that has become so precious.’ 
He grew up in a restaurant family: his father, Germano Rovedero, operated the renowned fine-dining restaurant La Ripaille, well known for its game meats. Today, all four of Stéphane’s children work at Le Parmesan either full-time or part-time.
Since acquiring the business in 2021, the new team has retained most of the elements behind its longstanding popularity. Rovedero acknowledges a few changes to the menu, although 75% remains the same. Everyone agrees that Le Parmesan would be nothing without its kitchen, the beating heart of the experience. This is not rushed cooking: the team favours long preparations and artisan methods.
Enthusiasts and regulars will be pleased to know that the prosciutto is still made in-house, as is the smoked salmon, which is salted for 24 hours before being cold-smoked over applewood. The balsamic vinegar is also produced on site and aged in barrels for 12 years in keeping with tradition. Pasta naturally remains central to guests’ favourite dishes, many finished with exclusive sauces.
And a meal at Le Parmesan can hardly end without one of its famous desserts. About 15 are offered, almost all made by the in-house pastry chef. Le Parmesan was also the first restaurant in Québec to acquire a refrigerated guéridon, or chilled dessert trolley, enabling it to present a broad selection of fresh fruit and exquisite Italian, French and Austrian pastries, not to mention tiramisu.
The warm, intimate atmosphere is immediately striking. Guests are invited to travel without leaving Québec. The colours of Italy come together through the welcome, the menu and its house specialities, aromas, unique décor, celebrated desserts and accordion music performed every evening. Adding to the spectacular setting are some 4,000 collectible bottles and flasks from around the world, assembled by the founder and displayed high along the restaurant walls.
Diners can also choose from a list of 120 wines and 300 spirits to accompany their meal. The famous flambéed coffees remain especially popular.
The new co-owners have also begun renovating the building’s upper floors, with the eventual aim of offering accommodation and long-term residences. They are developing marketing strategies to attract younger diners and broaden the local clientele.
What is clear is that Stéphane Rovedero and his team see a blend of tradition and modernity as central to the continued success of this legendary Vieux-Québec dining institution. Le Parmesan serves lunch and dinner seven days a week, year-round.
Restaurant Le Parmesan
restaurantparmesan.com
38, rue Saint-Louis
Vieux-Québec (Qc)
(418) 692-0341