Someone wrote: > The spousal unit and I will be in Toronto and Montreal for a few days > each at the end of May. Would like some restaurant suggestions. We > especially like casual French bistro-type places where we don't have to > dress up, but the food and service are good. We also like Chinese (dim > sum especially). Our tastes are not limited to these 2 types, so > anyplace that has good fresh food and good value for the dollar (not > necessarily cheap -- just worth the money if expensive) would be welcome. > Please e-mail and/or post. Thanks. > Marcia > [email removed] The last time I was in Montreal I enjoyed 'Laloux' on Ave. des Pins, almost at St Denis. It is casual, and you must understand that Montrealers still dress-up for dinner, and good value for the quality, yet not necessarily cheap. Dinner for 2=$100.00 CAN. I had sweetbreads in a marrow sauce that were out of this world. Bon appetit, Carlos
Montreal, Canada
Toronto & Montreal suggestions?
CC: [email removed] Someone wrote: > The spousal unit and I will be in Toronto and Montreal for a few days > each at the end of May. Would like some restaurant suggestions. We > especially like casual French bistro-type places where we don't have to > dress up, but the food and service are good. We also like Chinese (dim > sum especially). Our tastes are not limited to these 2 types, so > anyplace that has good fresh food and good value for the dollar (not > necessarily cheap -- just worth the money if expensive) would be welcome. For Montreal, I would suggest a few of the "bring-your-own-wine" French bistros. Forget about restos like "Le Vieux Duluth" and others that line Duluth St. east of St-Denis, they are not particularly good. Try some of the smaller bistros scattered around the residential streets in the Plateau. They are amongst the best value in French cuisine in the city. A few are particularly recommendable: Le Pegase on Gilford St. (522-0487), Yoyo on Marquette (524-4187), Bistro L'Entrepont on Hotel-de-Ville (845-1369), and the exquisite A La Devouverte on Christophe-Colomb (529-8377). You can usually walk out of these restuarants for $30-$50 per person for a first-rate four or five course dinner. Reservations are a must, especially for the weekends. A La Decouverte recommends reservations 2 weeks ahead for Saturdays though I find 3-4 weeks is more likely to secure you a table. The places are quite small (between 20-30 seats each), and are rather smoky, especially at the later seatings. Most will have two seatings on the weekends: 6-6:30, and 8:30-9. I would recommend the later if you want to talk and take time with your dinner. Bring along a very good bottle for these places. Other recommendations: one of my favorites is Le Planete on St-Catherine east, that features a strange fusion of Asian, European, and Californian cuisines that is sometimes spectacular (sesame-scented fried wild rice with chicken and peanuts), sometimes not (cote-de-boeuf au bleu and ... white chocolate!), but always interesting. Reserve Saturdays. There is also L'Express on St-Denis street, the first real bistro in Montreal. I haven't been there for quite some time now, but it was very good four years ago and had quite an eclectic wine list that had some real gems on it at reasonable prices (Marcel Juge Cornas comes to mind).