Back to Montreal for the first time since ‘rona. Ah, it’s good to be back. Sadly missed all the big festivals.
Lloydie’s
Crèmerie Dalla Rose
Cafe Myriade
L’Appétissant Sichuan
Sugar Marmalade
Messorem Bracitorium
Pho Lien
Café Olimpico
St-Viateur Bagel
Kem CoBa
Nacarat
Vegâteau
Schwartz’s
Restaurant Le Jardin de Panos
L’artisan Délices Sans Gluten
Ma Poule Mouillée
Café Chez Téta
SWIRL
Darna Bistroquet
Iconoglace
White Heron Coffee
Arepera
Sachère Desserts
Oriental Fusion
Mazbi Restaurant
L’Armoire à Glaces
L’Oeufrier
Dolan Uyghur Restaurant
Lloydie’s
We’d tried to eat at different place first but ultimately, we ended up at Lloydie’s. They have a second location in the Mile End. This one is located on the same block as Crèmerie Dalla Rosa and Arthurs Nosh Bar.
Outside menu.
We dropped in on a Friday (around 4:00pm). The vibes are chill with r&b tunes and a nicely decorated interior.
Cool that the bathroom doors double as speaker decor. You order at the counter and pay, then the food is brought to your table.
The menu is short with plates, poutine, patties, family packs and desserts.
They make their own ginger beer and sorrel (hibiscus). Apparently, you can find their patties in supermarkets.
Jerk chicken plate ($13.50)
All their plates come with rice, beans, plantain and coconut slaw. Jerk chicken had a nice underlying smoky flavour. Nothing particularly pops from the plate.
We did enjoy the light, refreshing coconut flavoured slaw. Wanted more of that.
Regular poutine ($10.00)
A massive portion. Wish there was a half size option. Poutine was well done and liked how it wasn’t overly saucy. We had leftovers for later.
Decent Caribbean eats at Lloydie’s.
Lloydie’s
https://lloydies.ca/
4601 Rue Notre Dame O
Montreal, QC
(514) 938-3883
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Crèmerie Dalla Rose
It’s been a couple years since I’ve been back but I always make sure to visit Crèmerie Dalla Rose.
Sign outside.
Hours.
The service wasn’t the most helpful but at least we were able to sample a few flavours when we asked.
Not sure why they no longer label what each flavour is in the display case.
There was 11 ice cream and one sorbet to choose from along with soft serve, granita and sundae.
They also still have their cookies and ice cream sandwich options.
Prices have jumped significantly; $6.00 (single), $8.00 (double) and $9.00 (triple). Yikes.
Double ($8.00)
We went with the chicha morada sorbet (Peruvian purple corn drink) and blé d’inde du Québec (corn). The chicha morada was delicious. The texture was a little runny but man on man, this was refreshing. The corn (my previous favourite here) was good but not as creamy as I remember.
Still quality at Dalla Rose but it’s no longer a cheap spot.
Crèmerie Dalla Rose
http://www.dallarose.ca/
4609 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Montreal, QC
(514) 846-1555
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Cafe Myriade
Cafe Myriade is one of Montreal’s first indie coffee shops, opening back in 2008. I’ve biked by them a million times but this was our first visit. They have four other locations (downtown (inside of Club Monaco), Plateau, Mont-Royal and Westmount).
We dropped in on a busy Saturday (around 11:00am). There’s plenty of seating inside and out, but most people were enjoying their coffees on the terrasse.
They have a small display case of pastries (believe most are made in-house except the croissants are from Hof Kelsten). Coffee beans are from 49th Parallel Roasters.
While we were there, I spotted Rajeev Ram (currently ranked #2 in men’s tennis doubles) waiting in line. No one blinked an eye.
Lavender latte ($5.00)
This was one of their specials of the day. Latte was smooth, lavender nicely balanced. We enjoyed tasting the lavender as most places flavours are too weak.
Would return to try more of CM’s offerings.
Cafe Myriade
https://cafemyriade.com/
1432 Rue Mackay
Montreal, QC
(514) 939-1717
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L’Appétissant Sichuan
I was looking for a new spot to try in the Guy Concordia area and settled on L’Appétissant Sichuan. Always something new to try in this ‘hood.
It’s a family run Sichuan restaurant that specializes in spicy dry pots. They’re located underneath Shuyi Tealicious.
We dropped in on a Saturday (around 12:15pm). Only three tables inside (12 seats).
The menu is split into cold dishes, dry pots, boiled & pepper ma series and desserts with three spice options (mild, regular and spicy). Our waitress double checked when we asked for regular, which she stated was very spice. Regular was doable.
White rice ($6.00 large)
The bowl was massive but surprisingly, we were able to finish most of it.
Stir fried frog legs in hot pot ($21.99)
The frog legs were very bony but it’s worth the effort. The meat is tender and very flavourful. The dry pot came with black fungus, celery, onion, green onion, potato and dried red chili peppers. Wish they gave more black fungus; had a great texture.
Fish soup with pickled cabbage ($19.99)
Fish, cabbage, pickled mustard greens, bamboo shoots, glass noodles, peppercorns, dried red chili peppers and green onions. The noodles, hidden underneath, soaked up the soup perfectly. The soup was flavourful and well balanced. Good amount of fish and plenty of vegetables.
Stir fried eggplant with garlic sauce ($13.99)
Eggplant was cooked perfectly. The sauce was slightly sweet and sticky. This paired well with the other dishes that we’d ordered.
Would come back to LS to try more of their Sichuan eats.
L’Appétissant Sichuan
1670 Boulevard de Maisonneuve O
Montreal, QC
(438) 375-3412
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Sugar Marmalade
After lunch, we wanted dessert so we decided to try Marmalade de Sucre. They’re a Taiwanese chain with multiple locations across Canada. There’s a second location in Chinatown.
Sign outside. They had a 20% off offer if you posted a photo onto the gram.
We dropped in on a Saturday (around 2:30pm) and were the only customers there. The inside has a very hipster neon sign with fake greenery. Service is hands off (as you order using your phone), yet our order was still messed up.
The menu is massive.
Everything from desserts (shaved ice, parfait, HK style egg waffles, black grass jelly, black glutinous rice, etc.) to food (appetizers, entrees and traditional soups) and drinks.
Mango Taiwanese shaved ice (TS1) ($10.99)
Scoop of ice cream and cubed mango pieces. The portion is large and perfect to share. I found the shaved ice very light in flavour and missing something in its texture. It was okay but didn’t satisfy.
Black sesame egg waffle (J4) ($10.99)
Egg waffle with a scoop of black sesame ice cream, whipped cream, mango and Oreo. Egg waffle was better than average. The black sesame ice cream paired nicely with it.
Fresh fruits with black grass jelly mixed cold (BG4) ($7.49)
Our waitress mixed this up and gave us the fresh fruits sago mixed (SM4). She rectified the mistake and brought out a separate bowl of grass jelly.
Grass jelly was okay but subtle and lacked texture. The sago was standard fare while the fruit (mostly watermelon and honeydew) was uninspiring.
Chainy Taiwanese/HK desserts at MdS. Not itching to come back.
Sugar Marmalade
http://www.sugarmarmalade.com/
1228 Rue Bishop
Montreal, QC
(438) 801-3035
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Messorem Bracitorium
Messorem Bracitorium was one of the breweries I’ve had saved for a long time. They’re a micro brewery that specializes in hazy IPA’s but there’s a variety of beers to please everyone (lagers, pilsners, sours and barrel aged).
Sign outside.
We dropped in on a bumping Saturday evening (around 8:00pm)
There’s plenty of seating (both inside and out) but everyone was outside enjoying the beer garden. A live DJ was spinning music all night long. You seat yourself but go inside to the bar to order drinks and food.
There were 27 beers on tap. Mostly IPA and DIPA style beers but they also had two smoothie sours. Note: only half (12oz) and full pours (16oz) are available. No flights and you can only buy their cans at the brewery.
They had some cool merchandise.
There was also a small food menu.
Petit jus de mort: fraise, framboise & fruit de la passion ($8.00 for 12oz)
This was one of their smoothie sours (strawberry, raspberry and passionfruit). Was impressed with how well balanced and refreshing this was. One of the best smoothie sours I’ve had.
Le salaire de ton peche ($6.00 for 12oz)
Didn’t get to try it but my buddy enjoyed his grapefruit gose.
Côtes levées et salade roquette ($15.00 demi rack)
Decent portion of spare ribs (for a brewery). Fall off the bone but found the sauce too sweet and the meat a touch dry. Tiny portion of arugula salad.
Frite mayo ($6.00)
Fries were soft and limp. The mayo helped save the fries from being a complete disappointment.
Solid beers at MB. Keep an eye out for their smoothie sours.
Messorem Bracitorium
https://messorem.co/en/
2233 Rue Pitt
Montreal, QC
(438) 375-3776
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Pho Lien
I’ve known about the high praise and accolades of Pho Lien for years. Unfortunately for them, I’ve been spoiled with all the amazing Vietnamese food in Vancouver. They’re located next to B12 Burger, Mr. Puffs and La Republika.
We dropped in on a busy Saturday for lunch (around 12:15pm) but snagged a table on the terrasse. There’s partial umbrella shading (our table wasn’t fully covered). Service was weak; it was like pulling teeth to get extra bowls. We grabbed our own spoons because they never brought any. They also never came by to refill waters.
The menu consists of pho, appetizers, vermicelli, rice and combos. There’s a couple weekday lunch specials (11:00am to 3:00pm).
Note: the prices already include all taxes.
Goi cuon tom thit (#18) ($6.00)
Spring rolls (aka. salad rolls). Not worth it; you get two pieces but it’s really only one roll cut in half. Nothing unique about them.
Goi du du tom thit ($9.00)
Green papaya salad with beef. Menu says shrimp but there wasn’t any on the plate. Beef jerky was decent but the papaya salad was standard fare. Wouldn’t get this again.
Herbs
Bean sprouts, basil and lime wedges. Standard.
Bun bo hue ($18.50 XL)
This is only available on weekends. I love BBH and their version was decent. Broth was light on the lemongrass. No pork blood or pork hock but all the meats were tender.
Bun bo xao xa (#25) ($17.00)
Lemongrass beef with vermicelli and salad. Flavours were more prominent and satisfying in this bowl than in the rice dish.
Beef was surprisingly tender but still retained a bite.
Com ga xao xa (#28) ($17.00)
Lemongrass chicken with rice and salad. Lemongrass flavour was subtle, chicken pieces were okay. Pretty standard rice dish.
Cash only. PL isn’t offering any unique Vietnamese dishes but seems to excel in the standards.
Pho Lien
https://www.facebook.com/people/Pho-Lien/
5703 Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges
Montreal, QC
(514) 735-6949
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Café Olimpico
Finally checked out Café Olimpico after all these years. They’re an Italian cafe that’s been around since 1970. There’s two other locations in town (downtown and Old Port).
We dropped in on a busy Saturday afternoon (around 3:30pm) and the line was backed up to the entrance. Baristas were friendly and efficient. Golf was up on the TV’s.
Plenty of seating inside but the communal benches outside is where it’s at.
The drink menu is up on a few boards (behind the counter) and includes all taxes.
They also offer gelato and a couple cake slices.
Latte freddo ($4.50)
B subbed for oat milk ($0.50). Basically an iced coffee, slushy style. Really good kick of caffeine. Delicious.
Bitter mix ($4.50)
Lemon and peach slushy. Reminded me of a slurpee but lighter, less sweet and more refreshing. Perfect on a hot summer day.
Will have to come back again to CO!
Café Olimpico
https://cafeolimpico.com/
124 Rue Saint-Viateur O
Montreal, QC
(514) 495-0746
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St-Viateur Bagel
One of my staples every time I come back to Montreal for a visit. My favourite bagels in the world. Crazy that you can get these shipped now (minimum order of two dozen).
Prices have increased as the cheapest bagels are now $1.10 each.
Interesting that you don’t save much buying 1/2 dozen or a dozen. They have 9 other flavours but the only one you need to try is sesame.
Sesame ($6.30 for 1/2 dozen)
Nothing better than a piping hot, fresh sesame bagel straight from the wood-burning ovens. Ate and savoured these during the rest of my trip.
Cash only.
St-Viateur Bagel
https://www.stviateurbagel.com/
263 Rue Saint- Viateur O
Montreal, QC
(514) 276-8044
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Kem CoBa
Always a mandatory visit to Kem CoBa. First time I’ve visited where the soft serve ice cream machine was down.
Sign.
We dropped in on a late Saturday afternoon (around 4:30pm). Lineup was massive and wrapped around the corner. Wait was roughly 25 minutes.
Always a tough time deciding on what flavours to try.
They also have pints for sale ($11.00). Impressed that they offer durian ($15.00). Make sure you skip the line if you only want to buy pints.
Coupe bleue ($5.74)
We went with hibiscus and soursop. Texture is perfect and the flavours are spot on. Refreshing and satisfying. Wish you could try more than two flavours but c’est la vie.
Don’t forget, cash only.
Kem CoBa
https://kemcoba.com
60 Avenue Fairmount Ouest
Montréal, QC
(514) 419-1699
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Nacarat
My sister wanted to check out Terrasse Nacarat for some cocktails and views.
It’s located on the third floor (take the elevator) of the Hotel Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth.
Make sure not to confuse this with Nacarat Bar (located in the lobby).
We came on a Sunday evening (with 7:00pm reservations). The terrasse is spacious with a mix of sofa seating and high chair tables. Service was okay but be prepared to flag down your waiter if you want more drinks.
Cool that they had a makeup collab service with Holt Renfrew Ogilvy to celebrate their 5 year anniversary. Believe it was previously offered on Thursday and Friday.
The view of downtown from our spot. Would be nicer if they removed the flags.
Pink sangria ($18.00) and madame violette ($18.00)
Mix of fruits (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, peachand a thin slice of lime). Fruity but not too sweet.
Hemingway special ($18.00)
Basically a margarita on the rocks.
Fairmont old fashioned ($18.00)
Spicy tuna tartare ($38.00)
Came with guacamole and tortilla chips. Have to mention they only gave 6 tortilla chips to go with the tartare. Probably the priciest tartare I’ve ever had and the portion was meagre. Complete rip off.
Mozzarella di bufala ($28.00)
Came with cherry tomatoes and pesto sauce. There was a grand total of four tiny mozzarella balls. Again, standard fare but so overpriced.
Grilled octopus ($36.00)
Came with a sauce vierge, candied peppers and basil. Octopus had a slightly charred note. Think there was 6 small pieces. Must sound like a broken record by now but overpriced.
Marinated grilled shrimp ($26.00)
7 pieces of shrimp which works out to almost a $4.00 price point. Decent flavour but man, so overpriced.
Chips ($7.00)
A tiny bowl of Miss Vickies salt & vinegar chips. What you’d call a rip off.
The smallest portions of food to go with expensive cocktails. Eat before if you plan to get drinks at Nacarat.
Nacarat
https://www.barnacarat.com/
900 Boulevard René-Lévesque O
Montreal, QC
(514) 954-2872
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Schwartz’s
Quick pit stop into Schwart’z to have one of their smoked meat sandwiches.
We dropped in on a Monday afternoon (around 1:30pm) and there was a massive line. No chance I’d wait. We skipped the line by going to the takeout entrance. In and out in under 5 minutes.
Was surprised to see they have several chairs in the back.
Not much has changed but every time I visit, the prices creep up.
Smoked meat sandwich ($13.25)
Always order a medium (half fat). Meat was juicy and succulent. The rye bread is bland.
Touristy? Yes. Overrated? Probably. But that doesn’t deter the people from continuing to come.
Schwartz’s
https://schwartzsdeli.com/
3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC
(514) 842-4813
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Vegâteau
We were walking in the area and decided to check out Vegâteau. They specialize in gluten free, vegan pastries. It’s next door to Ramen Isshin.
A couple of signs outside.
Hours.
We dropped in on a Monday afternoon (around 4:00pm). The inside has three small tables (total of 6 seats).
Old school Ellie Goulding was playing in the background.
The menu is small but mighty with pastries, vegan soft serve, cakes and drinks.
They were also selling some coffee beans from Cafe Rico.
The soft serve is coconut based and price ranges from $3.50 (bébé) to $6.50 (grand).
There was half a dozen pint flavours to choose from. Cakes can also be ordered ($22.00 for 4″, $42.00 for 6″ and $62.00 for 8″).
Crème molle ($4.50 petit)
The coconut based soft serve was delicious. Great texture and the coconut flavour wasn’t overpowering. Their gluten free waffle is the best one I’ve eaten.
Tartelette aux frambroîses ($4.75)
The raspberry tart was great. Raspberries were sweet and the texture of the crust was lovely. Nice touch adding a thin coating of chocolate inside the tart.
Biscuit ($9.75 for 6)
We went with three matcha and three chocolate chip cookies. Texture was excellent. The matcha was delicious as the matcha flavour was prominent. For some reason, it reminded me of macadamia cookies. The chocolate chip cookies were fine but everyone preferred the matcha ones.
Another great gluten free find in the city. Would come back to Vegâteau for more goodies.
Vegâteau
https://www.vegateau.com/
1215 Avenue Mont-Royal E
Montreal, QC
(438) 868-0338
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Restaurant Le Jardin de Panos
My uncle likes to frequent Le Jardin de Panos for big family gatherings but this was my first time. It’s a BYOW Greek restaurant that’s across the street from Khyber Pass Restaurant.
Hours.
We dropped in on a Tuesday (around 12:30pm). There’s two large terrasses (one out front with no shade coverage and the other in the back).
Service is lacklustre; our waiter wasn’t pleased having to serve our group of 10. At least he asked how everyone wanted their lamb and steaks done (medium rare).
The menu is split into appetizers, main dishes and desserts. They have a lunch special (from 11:30am to 3:00pm) where you get an appetizer, dessert and drink included with your main dish.
Bread
Loaf of bread was soft and good to smear all the dips with.
Fried squid ($12.00)
Small portion of calamari. Standard fare. Skip it.
Pikilia ($20.00)
A mixed appetizer platter of tzatziki, taramas, eggplant salad, artichokes, feta cheese, olives and dolmas. The baba ghanoush and taramas (Greek fish roe) were solid.
Grilled haloumi cheese ($16.00)
You get two pieces of haloumi. Okay but not memorable. Another skip.
Lentil soup
Tasty. I liked this one more than the cream of pepper soup.
Cream of pepper soup
This was their soup of the day. Light, not too heavy but less flavourful.
Grilled lamb chops ($28.00)
You get four pieces of bone-in lamb chops, which were cooked to our requested medium rare. The roasted potatoes were okay but needed to be crisped up more. The salad was boring and limp; didn’t even finish half of it from my plate.
2 Souvlaki stick plate (pork) ($19.00)
The pork souvlaki was overcooked. The sauce they drizzled on top couldn’t save the dryness.
Steak filet ($34.00)
Steak was the second best of the meats, mostly due to the fact it wasn’t overcooked. Nothing memorable about the taste though. You’re better off making steak at home.
Salmon filet ($25.00)
Salmon was also a touch overcooked. A squeeze of lemon helped this somewhat.
Shish kebob ($20.00)
Baklava
Not too sweet.
It could have used a crispier phyllo texture.
Chocolate delight
Didn’t get to try it but was told it was light and creamy.
Galactobouriko
Semolina-based custard baked in phyllo, syrup and cinnamon.
First time having this dessert. Not too sweet.
Karidopita
Walnut cake.
This was good; moist and real walnuts.
Coffee and tea – everyone was given a cup of their choice to end our meal.
Run of the mill food at LJDP. Can’t say I’d come back anytime soon.
Restaurant Le Jardin de Panos
https://www.lejardindepanos.com/
521 Avenue Duluth E
Montreal, QC
(514) 521-4206
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L’artisan Délices Sans Gluten
We’ve been checking out several gluten free bakeries and L’artisan Délices Sans Gluten had the largest assortment of pastries. All of their products are gluten free and dairy free. It’s next door to Boulangerie Gâte Toi.
Hours.
We dropped in Tuesday (around 4:45pm) and there was plenty of selection available.
Bread, bagels, baguette, cakes, tarts, eclairs, macarons, turnovers and quiches.
They also have gelato but I didn’t see any in the display case.
If you buy 6 products, they don’t charge any taxes!
Danoise aux abricote ($3.95)
Croissant ($3.49)
Éclair pistache ($4.95)
Grand macaron pistache ($4.95)
Millefeuille ($4.95)
Tartelette amandine aux poires ($4.95)
Tartelette pacanes & caramel ($4.95)
Pain méga 3 ($7.95)
It’s a trek out to LD but the prices are super reasonable for gluten free treats.
L’artisan Délices Sans Gluten
https://lartisandelices.com/
7700 Rue Saint-Hubert
Montréal, QC
(514) 439-8388
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Ma Poule Mouillée
Always stop into Ma Poule Mouillée to get my Portugeuse chicken fix in.
Hours.
We dropped in on a busy Wednesday afternoon (around 1:30pm). Not much has changed other than a small increase in prices.
Same menu. Prices include all taxes.
Pastries and drink menu.
Don’t leave here without trying at least one nata.
Combo Veronique (#12) ($15.00)
Grilled chicken and chorizo with fries and salad. It’s still a massive portion of fries.
Chicken is tender and juicy. Chorizo has a nice kick. Good flavours.
Salad is nice to offset the heavy carbs but it’s always overdressed.
Nata ($2.00)
Light, creamy and flaky.
Always a filling, satisfying meal at MPM. Now if only they would offer their poutine in half sized portions.
Ma Poule Mouillée
http://mapoulemouillee.ca/
969 Rue Rachel Est
Montreal, QC
(514) 522-5175
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Café Chez Téta
We wanted coffee so decided to hop into Café Chez Téta for a stop. They specialize in Lebanese coffee and manoucheh. You’ll find them across the street from SWIRL.
Sign outside.
Hours.
Outside menus.
We dropped in on a busy Wednesday afternoon (around 2:30pm). Interesting that it’s a laptop free environment on the weekends (starting at 11:00am). The inside is spacious, well designed and sharply decorated.
The food menu has manoucheh, dips, salads and Teta’s cakes. The manoucheh is cooked in an oven imported straight from Lebanon.
The coffee beans are from Structure Coffee Roasters.
Latte à la cardamome (+glace) ($5.00)
This is one of their signature coffee drinks. The cardamom iced latte was well balanced and smooth. Perfect on a hot, humid summery day.
Would come back to CCT to try their zaatar manoucheh and more drinks.
Café Chez Téta
https://cafechezteta.com/
227 Rue Rachel E
Montreal, QC
(514) 845-5776
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SWIRL
We’ve been checking out all the soft serve spots and SWIRL was a new one for us. Their base is coconut milk. They’re located across the street from Café Chez Téta.
We dropped in on a Wednesday afternoon (around 3:15pm). To order, you walk-up to the window counter. Service is quick and there’s an elongated bench out front to sit at.
The menu is short and sweet with 6 options (four flavours and two twist combinations) and a sundae. Pints are available for $15.00 (500mL).
Bleuet sauvage du QC/yuzu ($6.00)
This was their only sorbet option. The yuzu was surprisingly prominent and paired perfectly with the wild Quebec blueberries. Texture was fantastic.
Card payment only. I’d come back to SWIRL to try their other twist flavours.
SWIRL
https://swirlmtl.com/
230 Rue Rachel E
Montreal, QC
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Darna Bistroquet
I’ve had Moroccan food a few times but never in Montreal. We decided to try Darna Bistroquet with a friend that lives in town. You’ll find them nearby Automne Boulangerie.
Sign outside.
Hours.
We dropped in on an early Wednesday evening with 5:30pm reservations. The inside is warm and inviting with pillows along the walls. There’s also a small terrasse out front.
Service is friendly and everything runs smooth as butter. Never had to ask for water refills.
The menu is small but mighty; 10 tapa style dishes and two desserts. They also offer a $58.00/person discovery menu (4 services). Our waitress informed us that each service gets you 2-3 dishes.
2x Pain rghaief ($3.00 each)
Flat bread was soft and good for soaking up some of the sauces.
Aubergine grillée ($17.00)
Grilled Sicilian eggplant with coriander and biquinho peppers. This was amazing!
Eggplant were perfectly grilled and the eggplant purée underneath (similar to a baba ganoush) was the perfect compliment. Fresh, light and summery.
Bourgots grillées ($17.00)
Garlic and lemon grilled whelks with romesco sauce and spicy oil. Whelks are rare to find on a menu so this was a must order.
They were delicious with a great bite. The mint and pickled onion on top elevated the dish even more.
Tajine pleurotes ($18.00)
Oyster mushroom tajine, prunes, ginger roasted almonds and sesame seeds. This was another fantastic vegetable dish.
The tajine in the description was a bit misleading (thought the dish was going to be served in a tajine) but the oyster mushrooms had a firm, bouncy texture. Very impressed.
Haricots jaunes ($15.00)
Yellow wax beans, tarragon, roasted pine nuts and orange vinaigrette.
This was okay but the plainest in flavour from the five dishes that we ordered.
Poulet cornouaille ($19.00)
Half a cornish hen with berbere spice and spinach bakoula.
The hen was tender but mild in seasoning. The spinach underneath reminded us of collard greens. Very enjoyable.
Great flavours and an overall solid meal. I wouldn’t classify it as authentic Moroccan but I’d come back again to Darna Bistroquet for more eats.
Darna Bistroquet
https://www.darnabistroquet.com/
1106 Rue Beaubien E
Montréal, QC
(514) 273-1106
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Iconoglace
After dinner, we walked a few blocks to check out Iconoglace. They have a huge variety of ice cream choices, even a bunch of vegan options (made with oat milk).
Sign outside (aka. all the choices).
We dropped in on a Wednesday evening (around 8:00pm). The lineup was short (four groups ahead of us) but when we left 30 minutes later, the line was massive. Service was friendly and helpful. There’s a terrasse in the back, with communal style bench seating, that most people were chilling at.
The menu is massive. I’m not even going to go through all the different things you could choose from.
All the ice cream and sorbet flavours.
Closeup of the flavours.
Molle maison ($6.25 regular)
We went with the lime & mango twist (without the tajin). Delicious! Refreshing and bursting with mango flavour. The texture was great. This was my favourite of the three twist flavours.
Le 420 ($9.25 végane)
We opted for the vanilla and hazelnut twist. They topped it with oreo, cookie dough and brownies. The hazelnut flavour was tasty. The toppings were plentiful but I found them a touch heavy.
Le Blue velvet sundae ($9.25 végane)
We tried the strawberry banana and chocolate twist. This was very plain jane. Tasted like any other regular sundae. The fresh blueberries were the best thing in the sundae.
Go early or prepare to wait at Iconoglace.
Iconoglace
https://www.laboiteauxhuitres.ca/
1320 Rue Bélanger
Montreal, QC
(514) 991-7391
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White Heron Coffee
We dropped into White Heron Coffee for a quick pit stop. They’re a Japanese inspired cafe that’s nearby to Arepera.
Sign outside.
We dropped in on a quiet Thursday afternoon (around 1:00pm).
The inside is modern with two large tables (8 seats total) along with a 2 seat window nook. Service was friendly and helpful (she walked us through all their iced specialty options).
The drink menu consists of coffee, tea, tea latte, iced specialties, hot chocolate and non-alcoholic cocktails.
They also offer vegan donuts and chiffon cake.
Coffee beans are from Hatch Coffee Roasters (Markham), Back Road Motor Coffee Co. (Mississauga) and Rogue Wave Coffee (Edmonton).
There was a bunch of cute items that you could buy.
Order more drinks!
Iced matcha sakura ($6.00)
B opted for the oat milk ($0.50 extra). The sakura added a light, sweet floral note that paired well with the bitterness of the matcha. Good matcha flavour. It’s a pricey drink but quality was there.
Ube donut ($3.75)
Texture was good and the taro flavour was nice. Too bad they’d already run out of the ube sakura ones.
Would return to WHC for more donuts (hello black sesame) and the chiffon cake!
White Heron Coffee
https://whiteheroncoffee.ca/
131 Rue Prince Arthur E
Montreal, QC
(514) 303-9996
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Arepera
It’s been a couple years since my original visit to Arepera. They’ve moved into a much more open and spacious spot. They’re close by to Dispensaire Brewing Company.
Hours.
We dropped in for a late Thursday lunch (around 1:30pm) but it was still busy.
You order directly from your phone using the QR code.
The menu consists of arepas, empanadas, appetizers, plates and desserts. Everything on the menu is 100% gluten free.
Make sure you get your money’s worth of the avocado cream sauce. The hot sauce/salsa was decent but pales in comparison to the avocado cream sauce.
Guanabana juice ($3.75)
Love anything soursop. Good but a really tiny cup. Swear they used to give more before.
Mixed empanadas (E7) ($7.50 for 3)
You get to try a cheese, chicken and beef. The meats were tasty and the empanada perfectly deep fried.
The only downside, again, is that portion size is tiny.
Chicharrón al horno (A18) ($12.00)
Roast pork belly. Note: this arepa only comes with meat inside.
The small bowl of arugula salad hasn’t changed and is still refreshing.
The pork belly meat was tasty, with a few ends almost going into the chicharron territory.
Good Venezuelan eats at Arepera but portions are on the small side.
Arepera
https://www.arepera.ca/
73 Rue Prince Arthur E
Montreal, QC
(514) 508-7267
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Sachère Desserts
I wanted to check out Sachère Desserts for their weekly rotating soft serve twist. It’s an Asian inspired cake and pastry shop that’s a stone’s throw away from La Passé Composé.
Hours.
Sign outside.
We dropped in on a Thursday afternoon (around 3:15pm). It’s small inside but holy crap, it was hotter than a boiler’s room. Zero ventilation. Not a good spot to stay and linger.
Didn’t find service the friendliest either.
That being said, they have some beautiful looking pastries.
The mango and jasmine pavlova was one that caught my eye.
Pastries are in the $4.00 to $9.00 range.
Pints are pricey at $16.00 (500mL) but there’s some really interesting flavour combinations.
Vegan passion fruit & cantaloupe sorbet twist ($5.50)
Twist came with a thin piece of vegan passion fruit chocolate. Both sorbet flavours were bright and refreshing.
It’s a tiny portion so you aren’t exactly getting value here but the quality is good. Be aware that it melts quickly.
On the fence whether I’d go out of my way to come back to SD.
Sachère Desserts
https://www.sachere.com/
1274 Boulevard de Maisonneuve E
Montreal, QC
(514) 377-4935
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Oriental Fusion
We were meeting up for a large family meal. The family that lives here choose Oriental Fuzion, which is a staple Chinese restaurant that they’ve eaten at many times. It’s located in the basement of Kanda.
Hours.
We dropped in on a Thursday evening (with 6:30pm reservations). It’s not hard to find; just walk into the entrance and then go down the stairs. Service was standard but deteriorated once our food was served.
Didn’t get to see a menu but our meal didn’t seem too expensive. Likely helped that we brought our own fish for the kitchen to cook and knew the waiters. Note: only desserts at the end of your meal are provided on weekends.
Soup
Rice – a large bowl of rice was good enough to share between our group of 11.
Birds nest chow mein
Hainanese chicken
Deep fried pork
Breaded tilapia
This was my favourite dish of the night. The tilapia was lightly fried.
Tofu with Chinese mushroom and bok choy
Beef short ribs
I ate a couple of the short ribs. Decent but several pieces were grisly in texture.
Yu choy
Bass
My uncle brought a fish for the kitchen to cook. Tender and cooked simply to let the fish’s flavour shine through.
Sautéed beef
Standard fare.
Diced green beans
Never seen green beans done this way. No texture or flavour. My least favourite dish.
Didn’t find anything particularly memorable about our meal at OF. Run of the mill Chinese eats.
Oriental Fusion
7373 Boulevard Décarie
Montreal, QC
(514) 735-7888
Mazbi Restaurant
I’ve been for Yemini cuisine a couple of times but this was our first visit to try Mazbi Restaurant. It’s located close by to Artigiani.
Hours.
Mazbi is the only Yemen restaurant in Montreal.
We dropped in on a Friday (around 3:30pm) for a late lunch.
The service was friendly and our waiter walked us through the entire menu. Appreciate that they bring a jug of water for the table.
The menu is one large sheet.
Appetizers, meat dishes (lamb, beef, chicken), vegan dishes and desserts.
One refill of rice and chili sauce/yoghurt are included with each entree.
Vegan sambosa ($1.85)
It’s a small samosa but filled with a mild feta cheese.
Mazbi lamb ($21.99)
Lamb grilled on stone. This came with rice, chili sauce (more like a salsa of tomato, onion and cilantro) and yogurt (tasted creamy and slightly cheesy). There were three pieces of lamb chops; two were cooked with a decent char, one was unfortunately dry. A bigger portion than we were expecting.
Mogalgal beef ($17.99)
Sautéed beef with rice and khobz (traditional bread).
The chopped beef with onions was tasty and well seasoned. The khboz was plain, reminded me of a roti.
Would return to try more dishes at Mazbi.
Mazbi Restaurant
https://www.mazbi.com/
4669 Rue Saint-Denis
Montreal, QC
(514) 375-6181
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L’Armoire à Glaces
We decided to drop into L’Armoire à Glaces while shopping around in the area. They’re next door to Montreal Plaza.
Signs outside.
Some of their flavours are posted outside.
We dropped in on a Friday (around 6:30pm). It wasn’t too busy but there was a steady stream of customers.
They had 15 flavours of gelato and sorbet (four of those being vegan).
There was some tantalizing flavours that caught my eye; apple sorbet, vegan coconut matcha and chai.
There’s also soft serve, ice cream/brownie sandwiches, slushes and affogatos along with hot and cold drinks. Scoops are $4.50 (single), $6.50 (double) and $7.50 (triple).
Pints are $11.00 each.
Twist maison végane glace molle ($6.50 regular)
We were enticed by the pear and black chocolate twist combination. Pear was refreshing and the better of the two flavours.
Found the chocolate rich and overpowering. Would be good on its own but didn’t balance well with the pear. Texture was okay; didn’t beat out the other soft serve spots in town.
Maybe the go to move is to stick with their gelato and sorbet. Saw some large double scoops that came out of LaG.
L’Armoire à Glaces
https://larmoireaglaces.com/
6220 Rue Saint-Hubert
Montreal, QC
(514) 276-0777
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L’Oeufrier
Never been to L’Oeufrier before but it’s a breakfast/brunch chain with 35 locations in Quebec. They claim to be the original inventors of the breakfast poutine.
We dropped in on a Saturday afternoon (around 1:00pm) for a late lunch. Service was a touch slow but our waitress was very patient. Our table had a bunch of dietary restrictions but she was helpful and accommodating.
The menu is absolutely massive with all things breakfast and brunch related.
Two pages. Take your time deciding.
They also have a drink menu; smoothies, fresh pressed juice and milkshakes.
Le stimulateur ($8.00)
Chocolate, banana and hazelnut with a dollop of whipped cream. Haven’t had a milkshake in years so I’m not an expert.
Coffee ($1.00)
It’s an extra $1.00/person to add unlimited Café Lavazza coffee.
Béné joe trop de smoked meat ($19.95)
Eggs benedict with smoked meat and cheese. I went with the half roasted potatoes and half home style potatoes.
Oh my lord, the home style potatoes were delicious. Easily the best thing on my plate.
The eggs benny was solid and the smoked meat was enjoyable.
Fruit bowl had a decent variety.
Martin en kayak au lac aux castors ($15.95)
Two eggs, bacon, buckwheat crepe, fruit bowl and two pieces of gluten free bread.
B went with sunny side up eggs.
The buckwheat crepe tasted very healthy (aka. bland). Texture is what I would call an acquired taste. It came with molasses and maple syrup, which didn’t add much flavour.
Le pas un autre grève s.v.p.! ($17.50)
Mac and cheese with egg, green onion, peppers, onion, tomato, spinach, asparagus and mushrooms. I had a taste and found it under seasoned. The cheese was also underwhelming.
Pedro se tappe un ironman ($19.95)
Grilled cheese with smoke meat. My sister subbed out the eggs for tomato and asked for them to use gluten free bread. She went with the roasted potatoes.
Build your own bowl
My mom asked for a bowl of smoked meat ($6.50) and potatoes ($3.50).
She also ordered a side of asparagus ($1.50). Basically, a poutine bowl without the sauce. Honestly, this might have been the best way to order.
Decent chain eats at L’Oeufrier.
L’Oeufrier
https://www.loeufrier.ca/
235 Rue Chabanel O
Montreal, QC
(514) 419-4208
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Dolan Uyghur Restaurant
For our last big meal in town, we decided to try Dolan Uyghur Restaurant. They specialize in Uyghur food. There’s only two other Uyghur restaurants (Urumqi Ozgu Uyghur Cuisine and Le Taklamakan, both in Lasalle). It’s located in a plaza that houses several restaurants.
Hours.
Randomly have a sign of their menu when you first walk in and are waiting to be seated.
We dropped in on a Saturday evening with 7:00pm reservations.
They didn’t have a table ready for us, so not sure what happened there. Service was a bit timid but our waitress was fine. She asked how spicy we wanted our dishes.
The menu is short with big plates, noodles, kebabs, bread and salad/appetizers.
Jasmine tea ($5.99 big pot)
Good to share between our group of 7. My aunt really enjoyed the tea.
Tripe épicée ($7.99)
Spicy tripe with sliced onion and cilantro. Decent portion of tripe and the sauce was an interesting mix of sweet and spicy (very mild).
Naan ($4.99 for 3)
Dry and tasteless. Don’t bother with these.
2x Polo (pilaf Ouïghour) ($16.99)
Rice pilaf with carrot, raisin, two lamb skewers and a honey yogurt sauce.
The pilaf was tasty.
The lamb skewers had a good bite and were seasoned with cumin.
The yogurt was unique with the addition of the honey drizzled on top.
Nouilles de riz épicé ($14.99)
Spicy rice noodle with sautéed beef, onion and bok choy. This was the “spiciest” dish (medium level per our waitress). Enjoyable kick. The noodles were interesting for a rice noodle; slightly firmer in texture.
Dolan leghmen ($16.99)
Sautéed beef, wood-ear mushroom, onion, bell peppers and tomato. The noodles had a satisfying, toothsome bite while the sautéed beef was excellently cooked.
Qorma poulet ($35.00)
Big plate chicken with potato, carrot, peppers, chili peppers, flat noodles and garlic.
Good portion of bone-in chicken. The thin, flat noodles were good and soaked up all the sauce.
Qorma agneau ($45.00)
Bone-in lamb chunks with similar fixings to the big chicken plate. The lamb was my favourite out of everything we ordered. There was about 10 pieces of lamb; tender yet still retained its meaty bite.
It came with naan (same as the side that we ordered). Even sitting in the sauce, it still was dry.
Good eats at DUR. Worth a trip across the bridge for Uyghur food.
Dolan Uyghur Restaurant
https://www.dolanuyghur.com/
8050 Bd Taschereau
Brossard, QC
(450) 466-3000
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Until next time Montreal. Had a great time visiting friends, family and exploring some new spots.
CHERRY BOB-OMBS 