La Colombe

Address: 554 Duluth E.
Phone: 514-849-8844
Reviews: montrealfood.com, Martiniboys
We had a business dinner here a few weeks ago. The atmosphere of this resto is quite nice – although it is a small place, it feels large. Everything on the menu here seems to have a bit of a sweet touch to it. No matter whether its the poisson du jour or something a little more meaty, the sauce for each had a sweet touch – a little maple here, a bit of caramelized sugar there. Overall it was reasonably good, but having eaten at Le P’tit Plateau the week prior, it seemed to be lacking just a little something. Probably worth a return visit, although not obviously so.
Price: $220 for four including tax and tip.
Beer: La Montagnaise (Brasseur La Tour a Bieres)

Le P’tit Plateau

Address: 330 Marie-Anne E.
Phone: 514-282-6342
Reviews: Amazingly, there are none that I can find
Le P’tit Plateau is a Montreal BYOB institution. They’ve been serving great food in a great atmosphere for eons. A recent visitor from Germany was in town and wanted a taste of the local cuisine. P’tit Plateu didn’t let him down. I had a great confit du canard while our visitor had the fois gras follwed by some great venison. As usual, everyone left satisified. About the only bad thing you can say about the place is that they only have two seating times for dinner – 6:30 and 8:30. If you get the early seating, you have to be out before the next crowd and if that doesn’t work for you you’re out of luck. But its a small price to pay. It’s probably the best BYOB in the city.
Price: Usually $50-60 a head after tax and tip
Beer: Blanche de Chambly

Brasserie Brunoise

Address: 1012 de la Montagne
Phone: 514 933-3885
Website: http://www.brunoise.ca
Review: Montreal Mirror, The Hour, Lesley Chesterman, Montrealfood.com, Montreal Foodie, EatWell Montreal
We finally tried this place after hearing about it and seeing it several times when heading to catch the Habs (but not wanting to brave the crowds on a hockey night). It is not your typical brasserie… i.e. its not a dingy, stained, neon lit corner bar. The place has clean lines and is reasonably airy, although we were there on a quiet nightand the atmosphere was a little flat (probably a bit better on a busier night) and with TV’s on all the walls, it can’t be categorized as a classy French bistro. We had a couple of simple mains – salmon with hollandaise and asparagus for her, confit de canard for me. Both were good solid dishes. Not outstanding, but pleasing and simple. The duck was a little crispier/drier than usual, but the meat fell off the bone and the accompanying sauce was nice on top of the patates and shrooms. The salmon hit a similar note. The home run of the night was dessert… freshly prepared beignets, filled with a shot of chocolate, lightly coated with sugar and served hot with melted caramel to dip in. I’d go there again just for the dessert.
Price: $75 for two before tip for two mains, two drinks each and dessert.
Beer: Kieth’s on tap. This was the one thing that did remind me of a brasserie… Kieth’s was the best they had.

Julien

Address: 1191 Union
Phone: (514) 871-1581
Website: http://www.restaurantjulien.com
I’ve eaten here a few times. The first time, the food was fantastic. Tuna carpaccio done perfectly followed by some great cod. Subsequent visits have been reasonably good, although nothing to rave about. The service has always been good, sometimes a little too friendly, but the atmosphere has always been a bit stale for me…. could be due to the location: Union below Cathcart is kind of no-man’s land. If you want to stay right downtown, its a reasonable place to go. The food is usually pretty good. But I think there are many more places in Monreal with more pizazz.
Price: Somewhat expensive. Probably $45-50 a head with the table d’hote. More if you go a la carte.
Beer: Blanche de Bruxelles

Justine

Address: 1268 Van Horne (Bistro); 4517 Saint-Denis (Bar a Vin); 1231 Lajoie (Terrasse)
Phone: 514-277-2728 (Bistro); 514-287-2552 (Bar a Vin); 514-759-8009 (Terrasse)
Website: http://www.bistrojustine.com/
Reviews: Montreal Mirror, Sarah Musgrave, MontrealFoodie, Montreal Mirror (Terrasse)
Justine started as a nice mid-range bistro on Van Horne in Outrement. The formula, great simple food at a great price, proved popular and they subsequently opened a bar a vin on Saint-Denis and just recently they opened a third place, just up the street from the original. The original bistro is the only one I’ve eaten at. They have a small menu – usually 4-5 entrées, 2-3 salads and 5-7 main plates and portions are not large, but pretty much everything they serve is fresh and good quality. The place is small and cosy, so be sure to make a reservation any night of the week you are going. My only minor complaint is that with the small menu, it is tough to go here for more than 3 business dinners before you run out of things to try on the menu.
Price: Quite reasonable – $35 per person with beer, tax and tip – a little more if you buy wine.
Beer: I can’t remember… haven’t been recently… St. Ambroise I think?

Leméac

Address: 1045 Laurier W.
Phone: (514) 270-0999
Website: http://www.restaurantlemeac.com
Review: Montreal Mirror
This is one of my favourite restos in Montreal. It has great ambiance, a wonderful terrasse in the summer and great food. My personal faves are the tartare du saumon with truffle oil (available as either a starter or a main) and the confit du canard. I always have a good meal here and most people I take either already know its great or leave as converts.
Price: Some think its expensive and it is possible to spend a good sum if you go nuts on oysters and good wine and porto, which happened to us once on a business dinner. Most of the time, I’ve found it reasonable for an upper end bistro – I’ve dined for less than $100 for two with beer and wine several times. If that is too much for your budget, you can show up at 10pm for the late-night $22 table d’hote.
Beer: They used to have Leffe dark on tap. Now the best they have is Stella. Quite a disappointing step down and my only major complaint.

Grenadine

Address: 2004 l’Hôtel-de-Ville
Phone: (514) 287-0099
Website: http://www.grenadine.ca/
This is a great little (10 tables!) BYOB with a nice cozy atmosphere. It is run by a couple from France. He cooks, she serves. Food is simple French bistro with a bit of an Asian influence. The portabella smothered in bleu cheese is even amazing to those who don’t like bleu cheese (that would be me). The rest is good yummy fare with great bread.
Price: $50 per person with tax and tip
Beer: A couple 750 mL bottles of Blanche de Chambly to share around.

Laloux

Address: 250 Pine E.
Phone: 514 287-9127
Website: http://www.laloux.com/
Review: MontrealFoodie, Montrealfood.com, MartiniBoys
The first couple of times I went to this restaurant, I thought it was old and stodgy, with overdone food and high prices. It was never more than 1/2 full. Then a year or two ago, they brought in a couple of new chefs, including one formerly of Les Chevres, and lo and behold, the quality of the food jumped through the roof, the prices came down and you couldn’t get a seat. Not the best French bistro in the city, but close. And I hear that the wine/jazz bar next door is quite nice, although I’ve never been in there myself.
Price: $60-70 per person with a reasonable bottle of wine.
Beer: St. Ambroise

Au Bistro Gourmet

Address: 2100 St-Mathieu
Phone: 514-846-1553
Website: www.aubistrogourmet.com
Review: montrealfood.com
Have eaten here twice this past spring. Good simple French bistro. Nothing super fancy in the service, decor or presentation. But the food is good, the service pleasant and the atmosphere cozy. The table d’hote has good choices and great prices and the wine list is quite reasonable. Last time I was there, the salmon tartare with frites was excellent.
Price: Not expensive. About $50 per person with beer/wine.
Beer: Boreal Blanche in a bottle.