New Montreal Restaurant Thread

[EagerBeaver]

Monk,

If you want to eat at some HDH restaurants that deliver the goods, try one of these:

Latini (Italian, on Rene Levesque across from the Hyatt): Ultra HDH-priced Italian food, but they deliver the goods. Your wallet will get slapped hard, but your belly will feel good afterwards.

Da Emma (Italian, Old Montreal): this is the place you want to take your girlfriend to. Fantastic Italian food, HDH prices, best ambience of any "date restaurant" out there. Slightly more romantic and less "foofy" atmosphere than Latini. They deliver the goods.

 

[chef]

..............
Overall: a restaurant that's got an eye-candy outside packaging (the decoration of the restaurant is beautiful mediterranean setup, romantic, the service is awesome, the owner of the restaurant welcomes you), but
the meals..yes the meals...the main reason of the restaurant...are simply not at the rendez vous.

You gave them appropriate feedback, I hope. So many people just pay the bill and leave without any comment, even though the food was horrible!

 

[borsalino17]

hi guys i read the thread from 2005 - 2008 today all 38 pages before i reply to make sure i give a fair opinion. most of the places mentioned many times are well known to all and very good from the hamburgers to the suchi and steaks , italien most of the thread were good and close to the truth so i will not add anything to them

but i have been out for dinner in mtl for 25 years now at least 2 times a week so i know most of them lets talk about two i did not like and had bad experiences and never went back funny enough both are in old montreal on the same street st paul i think le vieux pecheur were i got a very big lobster hard shell winter it was bad and the manager refused to switch it it did smell bad i paid and left 2 lobsters . the second one le boucher the meat was awfull service no profesional mayby caught them on a bad night will not repeat

well the very good ones that i know about 20 visits each over the years and never had a bad experience
1.thursday 2nd floor thats great from the rack of lamb ,rostbeef and others eat well open late nice crowd normal prices
2. lemeac on laurier outremont one guy neverbored said it was crazy menu gourmet mayby but he forget to say after 10pm they have a fixed price of 20.00 per person menu not all the menu but a good selection . also 6pm -10 pm never did i get a bad experience over 20 visits menu is good well priced but not cheap hey its worth every cent believe me entrees from 8.00 main course 30 .00 $ max range plus dessert you get a break for lunch cheaper
3. pied de cochon wow and toque wow also someone talked about them so i will no repeat
4.kaizen nothing to say very good and 40 west on sources same owner as queu de cheval wow thats a nice place jazz make sure you pick your own wine dont depend on waiter he will kill you with his very expensive wine selections portions are big so dont take the salads extra ,fries or what ever he asks you if extra as these cost 10.00 each could double your bill for no reason same applies to la queu de cheval
5.chez gauthier parc ave before sherbrooke very nice med priced rack of lamb profiterole au chocolat and others daily menu
6. outremont van horne street au petit beure very good well priced bistrot
special thanks to eager beaver i enjoyed reading your thread keep it up

kind regards to all

 

[montreal_monk01]

Monk,
Latini (Italian, on Rene Levesque across from the Hyatt): Ultra HDH-priced Italian food, but they deliver the goods. Your wallet will get slapped hard, but your belly will feel good afterwards.

Da Emma (Italian, Old Montreal): this is the place you want to take your girlfriend to. Fantastic Italian food, HDH prices, best ambience of any "date restaurant" out there. Slightly more romantic and less "foofy" atmosphere than Latini. They deliver the goods.

EB,
Thanks for the suggestions. Great selection. I like Latini on RL. Will try Da Emma (had nice feedbacks from this restaurant)

You gave them appropriate feedback, I hope. So many people just pay the bill and leave without any comment, even though the food was horrible!

My Girlfriend did. They kept finding excuses though ;p
Too bad, because the decoration was nice.

 

[Sexy_BBW_Véro]

J'ai été à un resto que je ne connaissais pas en compagnie de 2 bonnes copines et une chevre

Il y a deux semaines environs ... LE TAJ ... resto indien au centre ville ... moi qui est très difficile ... wow cetait vraiment tres bon ... je dirait meme succulent ...

J'ai pris du poulet au beurre servit avec du riz ... le poulet etait oufffff tout ce quil y a de plus tendre ... et la sauce ravissait mon palais ... le pain nan ... qui etait miammmmmmm jai mangé jusquau miette dans lassiette desolée Amélie et le riz ... pas trop difficile ...jai tjrs été une mangeuse de riz ... du bon basmati.

Alors pour ceux qui aime decouvrir de bons resto ... je vous le recommande fortement .... de plus nous avions un serveur tout aussi delicieux que le repas !

 

[La Femme]

J'ai gouté à un resto que je ne connaissais pas en compagnie de 2 bonnes copines et une chevre

Il y a deux semaines environs ... LE TAJ ... resto indien au centre ville ... moi qui suit très difficile ... wow cetait vraiment tres bon ... je dirait meme succulent ...

J'ai pris du poulet au beurre servit avec du riz ... le poulet etait oufffff tout ce quil y a de plus tendre ... et la sauce ravissait mon palais ... le pain nan ... qui etait miammmmmmm jai mangé jusquau miette dans lassiette desolée Amélie et le riz ... pas trop difficile ...jai tjrs été une mangeuse de riz ... du bon basmati.

Alors pour ceux qui aime decouvrir de bons resto ... je vous le recommande fortement .... de plus nous avions un serveur tout aussi delicieux que le repas !

J'espère que ce n'était pas trop indigeste!

 

[EagerBeaver]

You gave them appropriate feedback, I hope. So many people just pay the bill and leave without any comment, even though the food was horrible!

This is a very interesting point. Generally speaking I am someone who falls into this category of not complaining when I probably should. I think part of it is because between college and graduate school, I worked in the restaurant business for 3 years (managing a restaurant). So I am sort of in tune to the everyday problems that occur with running a busy restaurant - running out of mozzerella cheese on the middle of a busy Friday night because the day manager forgot to order enough of it; the premade pizza dough is too cold to spin a pizza from, because the doughboys did not take it out from the cooler far enough in advance of the evening rush (premade cooled pizza dough is as hard as a bull's prick when it's just taken out of the cooler); the new kid put too much fresh mushrooms on a pizza and did a light bake, resulting in mushroom soup on top of the pie, because fresh mushrooms let out water when baked in a brick oven; etc., etc.

The other part of it is that truthfully, I am not super fussy, especially if I am hungry. I basically eat everything, but I know really well prepared food from not so well prepared food.

On the other hand, I frequently dine with a female friend who is at the other extreme. She is hypercritical. She sends food back to the kitchen frequently, too cold, too hot, not cooked enough, overcooked, etc. etc. Her BF owns a restaurant and she sometimes helps him out so she is no stranger to the business. But the food has to be cooked damn near perfect for her.

Chef, your comments have made me realize that is better to politely verbalize criticism especially if the resto is trying to do a good job. If it is clearly a schlock operation, however, and I have no intention of ever going back, I will not waste my breath.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

still in the Italian category, I also recommend Via Roma (don't have the address, but on St-Laurent, just south of Jean-Talon). With wine and after tip and taxes, 100$ for 2 people.

I've eaten there just once myself and did enjoy the food there, though not nearly as much as I enjoyed the company I was keeping. As I recall we dined out front on the faux-terrace, which we had just about to ourselves.

I've forgotten what I ate, but I'll never forget her eyes. (sigh)

 

[chef]

.........
On the other hand, I frequently dine with a female friend who is at the other extreme. She is hypercritical......

Beav, I am critical (or not) based upon how much I am paying for the meal. If I am at a BYOB place on the Plateau where a main course is $12, I don't complain about food that is not perfect. If, however, I am at a high end French place it is a different story, and they hear about food I am not pleased about (politely, of course). Conversely, if the food is outstanding they hear about it too.

Chef, your comments have made me realize that is better to politely verbalize criticism especially if the resto is trying to do a good job. If it is clearly a schlock operation, however, and I have no intention of ever going back, I will not waste my breath.

True. If the waitstaff does not seem to care I don't waste my time. Also, if the menu is stuffy and I don't like the food (e.g. Bonaparte), and I don't intend to return, I don't waste my time there too.

 

[z/m(Ret)]

I'll agree with you on Da Emma, but the Latini, IMHO, is blah. Big decor, big prices, granted a nice place to bring your easy-to-impress-with-big-bills business partners (especially if they're American), but not one to impress those of us with a finer Italian palate. I was equally unimpressed by Queue de cheval (in the steak category). Big prices and big decors don't impress me much anymore.

Da Emma was better when it was on St. Laurent and the owner's mom, a Roman lady, used to do the cooking. Her osso bucco was to die for.

Since it moved to Old Montreal, I dunno... The waiter insisted on the gnocchi so I ordered a small portion as an antipasto. The gnocchi were as heavy as rocks. Too much flour (troppo impastato) and not enough potatoes.

Believe or not, there are periods of the year gnocchi come out better. It depends a lot on how much water potatoes hold.

I make the lightest gnocchi in the world. They are like little clouds. Got that shit down to a science.

Latini. Do you remember what we ordered? Because I don't. Guess it wasn't memorable... I mean the food.

Piemontais is truly better.

Don;t know how it is nowadays since Franca is no longer the chef, but I used to like Il Mulino on St. Zotique.

Via Roma... Their pasta is really really al dente

 

[Love big tits]

I make the lightest gnocchi in the world. They are like little clouds. Got that shit down to a science.

When are you opening your resto? I would love to taste them

 

[z/m(Ret)]

When are you opening your resto? I would love to taste them

16 hours shifts, 6 days a week, no thanks... Done it for a while, won't repeat unless I have no other choice...

 

[chateaulafite]

I thought some of the food lovers on the board might be interested in this upcoming event in Old Montreal:

http://www.happeninggourmand.com/



It seems like a great chance to try out some decent restaurants at a more than decent price. When else can you have a three course meal at Mechant Boeuf for $15.00 or a three course at Verses for $25.00???

Techman

Since few months i wanted to tried Méchant Boeuf but never had the chance.

With the good tip of Techman about the "happening gourmand festival" (thanks for that), I decided to try the place tonight.

Wow, a marvellous experience. Don't go there if you're on a diet.

I take the Méchant Burger, it was incredible.

At the table next to me, the guy choose the beer can chicken. It was hard to believe what I saw when his plate coming at his table. It was a whole chicken. (the two breast, the two legs, the two wings). Yes, the full chicken for one person, and for 15$

Interesting wine list, starting at around 40$ the bottle (Penfold's Shiraz Konunga Hill from Australia, excellent choice), but I decided to take two pints of english draft beer at 8$ each.

I will return for sure (but not for their chicken. Too much for me)

 

[Techman]

Happening Gourmand

It's good to hear that someone took advantage of the great specials to be had. I was actually wondering if the beer can chicken was in fact an entire chicken. I wish I had the chance to check a couple of the restaurants out for myself but tomorrow is the last day.

Oh, and did anyone notice that Forbestraveler.com has chosen Moishes as one of the ten best steakhouses in the world?

http://www.forbestravel.com/food-drink/best-steakhouses-slide-4.html?thisSpeed=20000

 

[EagerBeaver]

chateaulafite,

I followed Techman's link to the Mechant Boeuf menu and was very interested to see that on the dessert menu they have key lime pie, which is one of my favorite desserts. It is not often seen on the menus of Montreal restaurants. Did you happen to try it?

If you ever go to Florida, there probably isn't a restaurant in that State that doesn't have key lime pie on the menu. It's unofficially the honorary state dessert in Florida. I have some relatives that live down there, and they have a key lime tree on their property. They are wonderful picked fresh and squeezed into the drink of your choice.

 

[chateaulafite]

EB, my burger was so big that I don't take a dessert (even if it was included in the price)

I think you will enjoy a lot their burger.

Servers ask If you want it rare, medium or well done. That's not common.

Quality of beef seems very nice, probabbly Angus beef (it was not specified on the menu)

I will try the Key Lime pie next time, and I will give you my comments.

 

[Techman]

Servers ask If you want it rare, medium or well done. That's not common.

chateaulafite, seeing the above in your post I have a feeling that EB will passing by Mechant Boeuf before you have a chance to go back there!

 

[chateaulafite]

I remembered the discussion few months ago about the fact that he love it medium rare.

That's why I specified it.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I remembered the discussion few months ago about the fact that he love it medium rare.

Chateaulafite,

Thanks for that info. As I mentioned previously in this thread, this is an issue on which most restaurants in Canada and in the USA seem to differ. You can get a burger cooked any way you want at most if not all restaurants in the USA, except at franchises like McDonald's, which cook all of their foods to predetermined specifications. In Montreal, I have been told by a few restaurants that they cannot cook their burgers medium rare for "legal reasons", although when I have asked what those "legal reasons" are, nobody has ever been able to tell me. When I asked a waitress at the Hard Rock Cafe, she said "it has something to do with Mad Cow Disease a few years back.......not sure really." Another restaurant, I can't remember which one but I think it was Winnies, was insistent with me that it was "the law" that they had to cook burgers medium well done at a minimum, although when questioned they could not explain to me where I could find that law.

It is interesting to hear that Mechant Boeuf somehow gets a pass to cook their burgers medium rare, whereas the Hard Rock Cafe on Crescent and many others do not get such a pass. Maybe MB is owned by a politician or someone very well connected to one? In any event, it tells me that the owner has balls, and since the owner has some balls, I think I am likely to go try a burger there.

 

[borsalino17]

i like the trad on mechant boeuf

can you give me the tel and add tyu