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OT: Montreal restaurants recommendations

GrandWazoo

GrandWazoo

Well-known member
One of my buddies is having a bachelor bash in Montreal and is asking for restaurant recommendations. Haven't lived in the city for 15 years, my tips are a bit dated. Which ones are the places to go now? Joe Beef is already on his list.

Thanks.
 
Depends on what he's looking for. Joe Beef is a must, no matter what the circumstances are.

If it's a night for a group of people and they're not planning on being loud/boisterous, then Tuck Shop (I know that you can have private parties there, it's not a super big place), Milos, Park, L'Expresse, Lawrence, Au Pied de Cochon... If they're not from Quebec, send them to Au Pied de Cochon and tell them not to eat lunch. They'll thank you later.

If they're into Wine Bars, Le Vin Papillion & Mon Vin Lapin are both owned by the same people as Joe Beef & Liverpool House and are supposed to be fantastic. They take no reservations, mind you.

If they want a fun place for cocktails, Distillerie #1 (Has 2 locations and both are pretty close to cheap eats before/after).

If they want good food that won't cost them an arm, there's Ma Poulle Mouillé (Portugese chicken joint) and La Banquise (Poutine joint) that are across the street from each other. Don't go to La Banquise at 6pm, you'll be waiting a while to get in.

Depending on what he specifically wants (type of food, price, ambiance, etc) I can give other suggestions.
 
Ah, and one place I forgot to mention that is supposed to be the shit is Kampai Garden. Been meaning to go there for a while now.
 
I posted some spots in the vacation thread. GGpx is right; more info on what kind of vibe, budget and food prefs would be helpful.

I’m in Mtl right now and I’ll be hitting Tuck Shop and some newer places like Flamant, Helicopter and Beba.
 
I thought Kampai Gardens was ok, not great. But I agree with the other picks.

Joe Beef is the quintessential Mtl destination for unabashed gastronomy. Pies De Cochon is even more gluttonous, but I’m wary just a weeee bit since Martin Picard is not involved anymore.
 
I went to PDC a year ago and went to the Cabane à sucre du PDC and both are great. I wouldn't steer away from there just because Martin Picard is a celebrity chef now.
 
I hadn't heard any of those 3 places you mentioned, might try them out this summer if I have the chance.
 
Another place I've heard good things about but haven't tried is Bar St-Denis. It was opened by some former PDC staff.
 
GGpX said:
I hadn't heard any of those 3 places you mentioned, might try them out this summer if I have the chance.
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Beba is in Verdun started by former Liverpool House Chef. I'll report on it and the others....

Speaking of Joe Beef alumni, one of the cooks started Le Coq De L'Est a few years back. Nothing fancy, a hole in the wall way out by Honore Beaugrand metro, but man, does it deliver gut busting rotisserie at a fair price.

https://www.yelp.ca/biz/le-coq-de-l-est-montr%C3%A9al-2
 
If you want gut busting rotisserie, Ma Poulle Mouillé. They shouldn't be allowed to serve those plates for only one person, unless that one person is a football player.

I went there last week and there was John Bowman, the long-time Montreal Alouettes player. I left there feeling like I was two bites away from falling into a coma. All for ~$14.
 
GGpX said:
If you want gut busting rotisserie, Ma Poulle Mouillé. They shouldn't be allowed to serve those plates for only one person, unless that one person is a football player.

I went there last week and there was John Bowman, the long-time Montreal Alouettes player. I left there feeling like I was two bites away from falling into a coma. All for ~$14.
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It's been on my list forever....did you get the portuguese poutine?
 
Good suggestions guys. I had suggested to them Jos Beef and PDC, but I'm not sure where they ended up going. I'll be heading there myself tomorrow and I'll try one of the places on your list.
 
Yeah, even for someone like me who lives in town, there are too many good places and too little time (and occasionally $).

If you're short on time, my suggestions would be, try to get to places that are kind of unique to Montreal.

If you can, go to Au Pied de Cochon, Joe Beef, Tuck Shop, those are really Montreal-esque places. Especially Au Pied de Cochon if you've never had foie gras.

Places like L'Express & Lemeac are very good too, but they're traditional French. I'm sure you could find something similar back in Alberta, albeit not with as high a frequency. I doubt you can find a replacement for Au Pied de Cochon out west.
 
I am actually thinking of adding Au Pied Conchon to the list.

So far we got Moishes, Le Vin Papillion, Liverpool House ... the problem is 3 days we will be at Osheaga so festival food for 3 dinners.... :(

Joe Beef is a no go - it was booked up - though I keep randomly checking to see if anybody canceled.
 
With Joe Beef's online booking, they have the option of getting notifications for late notice cancelations. It's not a guarantee, but it's still worth a shot if something comes up.

My only gripe with Moishes is, it's very expensive. You'll probably get the best steak in town, but you'll pay out of the ass for it. I went to Moishes & Tuck Shop in the span of a week back in February (friend in town & she wanted to try a few places) and Tuck Shop's steak wasn't as good, but it wasn't too far off.
 
GGpX said:
With Joe Beef's online booking, they have the option of getting notifications for late notice cancelations. It's not a guarantee, but it's still worth a shot if something comes up.

My only gripe with Moishes is, it's very expensive. You'll probably get the best steak in town, but you'll pay out of the ass for it. I went to Moishes & Tuck Shop in the span of a week back in February (friend in town & she wanted to try a few places) and Tuck Shop's steak wasn't as good, but it wasn't too far off.
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I am tempted to drop Moishes as well. I am not sure how montreal steak would compare to alberta where steak is life and it does seem pretty expensive.

I will try to sign up for the joe beef notifications thing.
 
worm said:
I am tempted to drop Moishes as well. I am not sure how montreal steak would compare to alberta where steak is life and it does seem pretty expensive.

I will try to sign up for the joe beef notifications thing.
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You might want to check out the DINR app. It lists ‘day of’ availabilities for many of the solid local restos discussed here.
 
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