Brasseurs de Montreal

Address: 1485 Rue Ottawa (Griffintown)
Phone: (514) 788-4505
Website: http://www.brasseursdemontreal.ca
Having sampled the beers from this new microbrewery, I was itching to hit their resto-bar in Griffintown. It’s in an industrial building directly attached to the brewery, so it doesn’t have the cosy feel of some of the other good brewpubs in Montreal (Dieu de Ciel, Reservoir), but it was a good place to have some food and watch a hockey game. I would have thought down in this corner of Griffintown in mid-winter it would be dead, but it was surprisingly busy the evening we went and will probably get busier as some of the new condo projects go up in the Griffintown area. We had a simple meal on our visit. I had their sausage plate, which was quite good, including one sausage infused with cheese. Across the table, the poutine was not faring as well. It should probably be labeled “poutine” on the menu, as the cheese curds had been replaced with a broiled on cheese and there were a few unidentifiable lumps in the sauce. Although the flavour of the cheese was actually not bad and the fries were fine (in fact quite good when solo), its not a true poutine. Overall, 50/50 on the food on our first visit. Worth a second shot, but we’ll avoid the poutine the next time.
Price: $65 for two with some food and a couple of pints of beer each.
Beer: A blanche, a rousse, an ambrée. All excellent.

Le Saint Bock

Address: 1749 St. Denis
Phone: 514-680-8052
Website: http://www.lesaintbock.com
This is a great brewpub in the Quartier Latin. They’ve got 20 or so homemade and local brews on tap. The food is good for pub fare. I had a burger with brie which was good but not excellent…for excellent head to M:Brgr. The fries were top notch and the vegetarian pizza got a thumbs-up from across the table. They also purport to have a good selection of sausages (we didn’t try them this time around). Great atmosphere and no attitude (which is nice for this strip of St. Denis). Only real downside was a lack of vegetarian options – with 10 burger choices on the menu, you’d think they’d have a veggie burger – but you’d be wrong. And most of the other potential veggie options were crossed out when we were there. Other than that, a great place… worth a return visit (or three).
Price: Inexpensive $40 for two
Beer: Le Penitente (a blanche) and a marshmallow porter.

Burgundy Lion

Address: 2496 Notre Dame W.
Phone: 514-934-0888
Website: http://burgundylion.com/
Review: Sarah Musgrave
We tried this place this evening. It is, in the vernacular, our ‘local’. It is a relatively clean, open and airy pub. It doesn’t have the feel of any of the standard, cookie-cutter Irish/English pubs – they are definitely going for an upper-end feel. We ordered a couple of pints, some fish and chips and an order of the curry with shrimp. The fish and chips was excellent. Great, fresh fish, lightly battered, just greasy enough without being overdone. The curry, which we expected to be of the Indian variety, turned out to be more Thai in nature – lots of coconut milk – yet served with some thin bread (high end pita?) which is more common in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Overall, the food was certainly good and a cut above what you would get at other pubs (i.e. Old Orchard, McKibbons), but we’re not entirely sure it was worth the extra cost.
On two recent return visits, the place has been busy, the food is still good and the service is still needs some improvement.
Price: More expensive than your normal pub. $75 for two (w/ tax and tip) for two meals and 4 pints of beer.
Beer: Bierbrier, Boddingtons and Guinness on tap

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?

Chez Simone

Address: 4869 du Parc
Phone: 514-750-6577
Review: Montreal Mirror
This is a new bar à vin/pub which serves a range of wines and beers along with a range of nice small appetizers. I had the chorizo, tomato&basilic and some parmegano reggiano. It came nicely presented on a board with a well chosen assortment of accompanying fruits and veggies and the whole thing was tasty. Overall, its a nice space to relax, stop in for a little nosh and have some vino or beer. The only complaint was the service was a bit uneven – constant attention for the first 20 minutes, then nothing later on. A hint, go to the bar for your beer, otherwise you might end up thirsty.
Price: Food is inexpensive $2-$8 for a variety of half or full size appetizers.
Beer: L’Alchimiste IPA

Diable a Quatre

Address: 1871 Centre Street
Phone: 514 933-4313
This is a nice relaxed resto-pub in Point St. Charles. Good selection of burgers (all available as veggie burgers – good for the spousal equivalent), sausages, sandwiches, etc. The poutine is good – not to the level of Ma-Am-M Bolduc, but well done nonetheless – and they have a good beer selection. Nice in the summertime with big open windows. The only thing they seem to be missing is fish and chips…. every time we go, we look for it but they resist putting it on the menu.
Price: Inexpensive. Under $20 for a burger and a pint of beer. More expensive if you drink more beer.
Beer: Hoegaarden en fut… in a BIG glass.