Korean restaurant. Bulgogi is a beef dish. The bibimbap (rice, egg, meat and julienne veggies cooked on a hot stone dish) isn't bad, but one goes there for those large meat and kimchi spicy soups in the wintertime. (CS)
Very satisfying square pizzas. I had a Westphalia (boletes sauce, Westphalie ham, mozz + swiss cheese, mushrooms, green onions, five pepper) for lunch once. (CS)
We had our Christmas party there this year. There was a nice short old man in a cook outfit going around during cocktail to serve us freshly-made brushetta. The meal was a table d'hôte, but I wasn't hungry, so chose a cute little pasta dish, fusilis I believe, in a rosee sauce. The old man let me walk into their kitchen to see the end of the Canadiens game. (CS)
Renowned for its hamburger w/ fries, it has been many times voted the best of its kind in Montreal. Even if size doesn't matter, it's worth ordering a double w/ cheese and bacon. (CS)
I love this café. upside: the character. hard-to-find entrance leads up rickety stairs into a cluster of salons where people just... hang out. organic-hippie. live music in the evenings. free wifi (ilesansfil). downside: coffee ain't great. (JW)
The phở served there is one of the most well-presented in the city. Rare beef, sliced extremely thin, and placed directly over the noodles at the interface between the soup and ambient air makes the beef slices cook on the side and raw in the center - until you mix the whole thing up, that is. The rice cakes w/ eggs is a house specialty you can't find elsewhere. (CS)
most popular place on the block. my mom likes their phở. closed tuesdays. (JW)
south indian & sri lankan food. be prepared to be the only ones sitting down, but with a constant stream of people ordering take out. oh, and also a constant stream of bollywood videos on the two tvs. love the kotu roti (and when they say spicy, they don't mean white-person spicy). (JW)
Good place to sample a little bit of everything of filipino Cuisine. On weekdays it's a take-out counter, on weekends it's a buffet for only 8$ (taxes incluses). (AY)
The only real Asian supermarket in Montreal. You will be able to find kitchenware, all the instant noodles brands sold in this country, live aquatic and amphibious animals, frozen Chinese pancakes. (photo) (CS)
A one-counter diner resto, long known for serving some of tastiest and greasiest poutines and fries to local Vanier students. Steamies are also available. (AY)
Le Coin du Mexique (Corner of Mexico) is not your usual Tex-Mex restaurant. Tacos, there were, but not served the way you'd imagine it. Rather, you have the crunchy tortilla lying on a small plate, with the stuff on it - meat, cheese and lettuce. Don't miss the cactus salad and enchilada w/ spicy chocolate sauce, or that funky rice drink. (CS)
Mauritian food is a fusion of Creole, Indian and Chinese flavours (the chef looks like he's ethnic Chinese himself). Fried veggies in entree, some ragoûts and even delicious quails on the spoken menu (paper is for fools). If Monsieur Sylvestre is in a good mood, he has some delicious plum-flavoured rum to keep you longer. (CS)
Nice Italian bakery with a variety of takeaway sweet and savoury food, including pizza. The strudels, drizzled in icing and perfectly flaky, are good. Also functions as something of a grocery store with a variety of gourmet goods. (CDW)
A somewhat more traditional type of French restaurant, that doesn't necessarily cost you an arm and a leg. "Hearty" describes its dishes pretty well. The mashed potatoes are exquisitely buttery. Pear in "red wine" for dessert. (CS) (photo)
The table-d'hôte was nothing special. (JW)
Such intimate ambiance, dim lights, for such conventional eatery food. Something's not right, but it doesn't matter, because a nice décor makes anything taste better. The Taiwanese-style sticky rice is really a must-try, so are the cheese mussels (it's probably mayo). (CS) (photo)
Opened by people from Shanxi province in China. The décor is super-bland, but it teaches you to appreciate simplicity in life. The pork sandwich, a sort of Chinese panini with pork meat, fat and fresh coriander in a crispy pancake-like bread, and is the house specialty. Telly permanently playing historical soaps in Mandarin. (CS)
god forbid should you find yourself on crescent street, but at least you can find a yummy shish taouk here. service is slow though, for a fast-food place. (JW)
All you can eat sushi with three branches in the Greater Montreal Area, with the original one located on Bishop, across from the Concordia Hall Building. For a sushi buffet, the sushi is surprisingly good. If you're in to try and break even with the ownership, go for the sashimi (dare inscribing "tuna" next to the choices they give you) and stay away from sushi pizza and other sushi with fried stuff. (CS)
Formerly known under the dreamy name of "Ravioli de Manchuria", Le Restaurant du Bonheur got a heck of a facelift during winter 2006-07. We frequently went there for its dumplings, but their quality wouldn't cease to decline since the restaurant's opening circa 2003. (CS)
Small Chinese hole in the wall. Incredible variety of handwrapped dumplings. Beef noodles (also handmade) are the must-have. They are Lanzhou-style lamian noodles in a slightly spicy soup sprinkled with chopped coriander, served with slices of beef. Was a little too salty however.(CS)
Peruvian and "international" restaurant. The milk-based rice and tomatoes soup that I had seemed to pale in front of the enormous shrimp brochette plates with rice that other people ordered. Has a twin a couple of doors to the north. (CS)
To be eating African in a North American city sounds exotic, but it is a bit disappointing in practice. The meals are tasty and exotic, and one of the stews had sweet potatoes, while another consisted of fish. But the portions were too small, way too small... Too calm on weekdays - apparently it gets much more animated on weekends. (CS)
German restaurant on the plateau with excellent winter dishes, such as the pork knuckle, sausages with sauerkraut, and the Wiener schnitzel. Down it with a pint of imported beer. (CS)
I thought the oom-pah music was spaßig. (JW)
my new favourite cafe. renovated from an old-school pharmacy, it's a large wonderful space with wonderfully large windows... perfect for reading. vegan friendly. metro rosemont is closer, but hard to find a way to walk from there. (JW)
just across from where I worked, I used to walk pass Café Esperanza on every single day, amazed by its fabulous setting straight out of a garage sale.(CS)
great espresso. run by old italians. relaxed and non-pretentious, down to the good old plain glasses they use for your coffee. the waiter asks how many spoons of sugar and stirs it in for you. (JW)
You're broke? No problem. The most expensive item on the menu of this tiny Polish grocery-café is $12 and that's for two people. The bigos --- sauerkraut and kielbasa sausage --- is delicious. The soups are the perfect remedy for the winter blues. (CDW)
Not your Prince-Arthur street greek. We went with a gang of 12 people and let our Greek friend order. And shared the dishes - seemingly, not only the Chinese like to share their meals at the center of the table! There were all sorts of grilled meats, the mandatory fried calamari, lots of ouzo on the table. The feta flambé (apparently not feta, but some harder cheese, was I told) was the evening show (photos). (CS)
A persian restaurant. It's been a while that I went there, and the savory rice was all I could remember. We can also order middle eastern yogurt drinks there. (CS)
Their food is unexpectedly fancy, I usually have the duck or the big pile of veggies with lemon and pine nuts. The coffee is fair-trade and different on most days, very good. The wait-staff will fill up your coffee until you have a heart attack though, so mind how much you end up drinking! (SW)
Best known for its homemade spruce beer, Restaurant Émile Bertrand is located on a backstreet crossing Rue Notre-Dame. It is a rather typical grease pit joint, serving hot dogs, michigans (I think), french fries and hamburgers. Seems to have undergone more renovations in fall 2006, as it was closed on the few times I attempted to return my empty bottles. (CS)
White beer is for snobs, but we still love it. The flamm is an excuse to parade thin-crust pizza as French and serve it under a fancy name (although by no means does this make flamm un-delicious). (CS)
Serves fondue, as the name indicates, whether it be bouguignonne (hot oil), swiss (cheese and wine), or chinese (soup). Venisons and dauphinoise potatoes can be served on the side. It's rather chic, and they dim the lights. Choco fondue for dessert could be nice, but your stomach (and wallet) might disagree. (CS)
Has a cari shark, where cari is not curry, but rather a spicy herbs-based sauce. The dessert was a rich and stomach-expanding sweet potato home recipe pie served with a fizz of fresh cream and freshmint leaves that I would pleasantly bite on between each bite of pie. (CS)
You won't find phở on the menu of this viet restaurant. The raw beef salad (seasoned w/ a lemon + pepper dressing) and the fish with a sweet fish sauce are must-trys. (CS)
Portuguese grill: have grilled chicken or fish, but as much as possible, stay away from clams and pork, which is more exotic, but may be too salty/strong for most palates. (CS)
Known for its rather standard breakfasts, the real highlight here is the fresh and satisfying $4.75+tx hamburger special, which includes fries, coleslaw and a drink. The McDonald's next door has nothing on this. (CDW)
In the world of sushi buffets, Ginza has a variety of dishes rivaling any à la carte restaurant (by the way, who still goes to non-buffet places?). Find your usual sushi, but also Japanese-style appetizers like shrimp tempura, seaweed salad and miso soup, and even Chinese-style ones like giant mussel with "cheese" (more like mayo) and peanut-butter sauce dumplings. A little more expensive on Friday and Saturday (26-27$?), but you also get tuna sashimi and soy wrap sushis that are not available during the week (20$). Service was a little slow, but allows you to enjoy your meal. (CS)
Lively neighbourhood feel. Main attraction is the impressive and inexpensive collection of pastries, freshly-made sandwiches and salads. Points for the Greek specialties: baklava, melomakarona and spanakopita. (CDW)
sandwiched between two strip clubs, this place offers steaks, spheroid hamburger patties & curly fries. I feel like I've gone back in time at least 3 decades when I enter the door. (JW)
The curly fries are fantastic, but I'd ask them to cook my hamburger a little more next time (they're so thick that the meat was raw in the middle for "medium"). (CS)
Hyped by many friends, but doesn't live up to its reputation. I knew it, that it was going to be fake Chinese food, especially the Peking Duck, which they serve the meat rather than the skin for wrap and rolling. The staff is chatty and friendly, but 32$ (42$ with taxes/service) is vastly overpriced, even if it's all-you-can-order. (CS)
Xiao Fei Yang is a chain of hot pot restaurants from Mainland China. Upon entering, you immediately get the feel of this type of classy restaurants that you only find in Asia and large Chinatowns. Hot pots can be individual or collective, depending on the table you get, and spicy or not, with optional "medicinal" herbs. 15-25$/person, all you can eat. Besides the decor and presentation, the hot-pot itself is rather ordinary and can be found elsewhere for cheaper. Don't wear new clothes: you will smell like garlic/herbs by the time you get out. (CS) (photo)
"little fatty sheep". I like the theme song on their website. (JW)
Northern Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of Chinatown. Apparently, there's a new chef there since mid-2006, also from Henan province, from which the former chef came from. (CS)
run by an ex-peking opera star, this place is one of the few non-canto places in chinatown, offering up dishes you can find everywhere in beijing (although confusingly the english transliteration "niukee" is cantonese). have the 麻辣 (with sichuan peppercorns & cumin) lamb or beef. (JW)
Chinese pastries, and your typical Hong Kong-style eatery (BBQ pork and roasted pork w/ rice is vanilla there). An iced HK-style milk tea to go is great for a walk in Chinatown in the summer. I think that the egg tarts they sell there are the same delicious ones with a flaky crust that they serve at Kam Fung at dim sum time.
Their char siu (BBQ pork) to go is the best in Montreal. One of the few restaurants (the only that I know of in Chinatown) that is a restaurant, as well as a Hong Kong-style cold cuts place at the same time, and a favourite since early childhood. (CS)
A typical hot-pot place on the main floor of an anonymous hotel building. The hot-pot can be "sichuan-style" (after the chinese province), which basically means super numbing spicy style. Unexpensive all you can eat, and ideal for a good time with friends. (CS)
our favourite (well maybe only) xinjiang restaurant in town. order some lamb kebabs, a summer salad, and you're good to go. the hotpot ain't bad either. (JW)
on the second floor you'll find one of the more popular spots for dim sum in chinatown. downstairs they have a hong kong style bbq eatery too. (JW)
Chinese egg tarts are an adaptation of Portuguese natas. You must absolutely try those at Kam Fung at dim sum hour, which are served to you fresh out of the oven (the waitress carries them around the restaurant on a shiny baking plate). Easily beats those from any Chinese bakery in town. (CS)
Isakaya (or actually, "Izakaya") means "pub" in Japanese and this one also seems managed by people of Japanese origin. Try the ramen noodles - they might be bought from the Korean grocery nearby, but they're still the best you can find in this town. If you are curious one day, try the Japanese menu, which is cheaper also. (CS)
a shining light amongst the sea of crappiness that is the mcgill ghetto: a delightful bakery and pastry shop. I swear they only hire staff that can speak french with a snooty accent (no doubt to simulate a truly european experience). (JW)
Apparently, it is no typo. This small, quaint little shop is the longest lasting Filipino bakery in Montreal. It's the home of an authentic, pork filled Shau Pow (Hot bun), whose unique taste rivals the buns of Chinatown. (AY)
The taro-cheese buns make for good potlucks, for those who've never seen them before (they're bright purple). (JW)
Brazillian restaurant. Poached eggs are not the greatest, but a fruit-rich brunch (my eggs were on mango, with a cheese gratin) makes up for it. Don't have the steak + poached eggs. There's another branch on Mont-Royal E, I think. (CS)
Competitor to Kanda, as one of the two sushi buffets one can find in downtown Montreal. It initially edged Kanda by offering a large range of side dishes, such as noodles. The sushi isn't bad at all, but at the price you pay, you almost might as well go to a regular sushi joint. (CS)
I met you for its beer, I now also know it for your brunch. The dishes are tiny, but pack so many flavours in them (I had scrambled eggs with morels coated with truffles oil, and my buddies had crepes, and a gravlax sandwich with a slightly boiled egg). Kind of far from any metro station, however, so we are better off taking the 55 from St-Laurent, or get ready for a good walk from Sherbrooke. (CS)
Owned by Chinese, this Korean barbecue is in fact a buffet (like anything Asian owned by Chinese, like Kanda/Odaki). You can eat and drink all that you can. Included in the deal, Korean side dishes (kimchi, beans, potatoes, etc), meats. The meat sometimes tastes funny, and I'm not sure if it's the marinade or the fridge. The chrysanthemum drink is really super (sweet), especially after all that meat scorching through your throat. (CS)
Ditto. $15. (JW)
Trendy pâtisserie/bistro with a predominantly jewish clientele (it seems). nice looking pastries and great lighting for reading. open until 11--except when closed for shabbat. (JW)
Hyang Jin advertises as a Japanese restaurant, but it does hide an excellent Korean menu, which we drew from. I had a honest bibim bap (I've been craving for one for the past week), while my friend had a fish/cabbage/tofu soup. It ended up 17$ each, all included. (CS)
The famed giant burger, 8 inches across and cut into quarters for ease of
eating is here in several varieties: hamburger, cheeseburger, chicken burger
and grilled chicken. Also worth trying are their fabulous pizzas and
seriously overloaded subs. Fries are perfectly done in a city that is hit
and miss on fries, but don't bother with their oily salads or pastas: it's
impossible to eat healthy here so you may as well not bother. (CT)
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