The 411 – The Old Port has, over the years, brought the city a resurgence in good food. Historically known as a tourist trap, it has shaped its own identity among locals who have moved into the area drawn by new restaurants. When one looks back a couple years ago, one would not see that many fine dining spots but now things have changed for the better. There are finally new, hip and unique spots opening up and they offer food you will enjoy. So, when my friend told me that a new place opened up nearby, I was excited.

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Le vieux Vélo

The 411

Le vieux Vélo, has been on my list of spots for a while and there has been talk about it on various sites and forums. The reviews have always seemed positive. It is situated in the meeting point of little Italy and Rosemont/Petite Patrie (well technically it’s in Petite Patrie), which are two spots with a need for more quality brunch places. To date, everything I had heard had mentioned good eggs Benedict. As you may know, that is my favourite dish. I will often try other dishes and try to get as many different ones as possible but I keep coming back to eggs Benedict so when people tell me I need to check out the eggs Benedict at a new brunch locale, I get curious and hungry.

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NO LONGER SERVES BRUNCH

La Bêtise – No lies on a solid meal

The 411

VillerayRosemont/petite Patrie is an area that has been expanding recently. It’s an old neighbourhood, which, only as of recently, has started changing – new bars, restaurants popping up, and a slew of condos. With the Jean Talon market nearby and metro access, I’m sure you can understand why people are making the move here. If you had asked me when I started this site years ago what there is to eat for brunch, I would have said almost nothing. But now, it’s a whole new scene. Betise is one of these recent additions to the brunch scene. Situated on St Hubert it, as well as other spots, breathe new life into a previously dying street.

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Delta Tour De Ville – Brunch with a 360 degree view

The 411

All-you-can-eat Brunch Buffets, those few words can bring joy and pain to different people. Joy, because it’s all you can eat as much as you want, and you get value on food; pain because the quality of the food can take a back seat depending where you go. Delta’s has been offering brunch for as long as I can remember but I never had a chance to try it out since I generally needed a reason to go to an all you can eat brunch on account of the price being more than a normal brunch at a regular restaurant.

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Le Jurancon – A Marseille inspired brunch

The 411

Fine French dining meets brunch – often a pairing you don’t see on a regular basis. Interestingly, brunch is not native to France and although there are more and more spots that offer brunch nowadays you would not associate it with a small little French bistro. So, when I heard that Le Jurancon was offering brunch, I was quite curious. How would it pair French dining with brunch? What ingredients and what surprises would we be in store for, and how is it that a French restaurant finds itself in the eastern part of the city? This and many more we hope to answer as well give you some idea of what Le Jurancon has to offer.

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Vic Market- A great post workout brunch

The 411

Every once and a while we hear of a spot in Westmount that offers brunch. This is a treat because Westmount is so small and has limited areas where there are restaurants, since the rest is primarily residential. In this case, it helps that our editor extraordinaire Kara takes works at the gym in Victoria Park and told me that they opened a café downstairs that does brunch. I had stopped in for a snack at the café before and liked its décor as well as the food so I was curious to see how a café tied to a gym would handle brunch since it’s generally not the healthiest meal of the day.

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Sheraton Laval – Restaurant La Piazza

The 411

All-you-can-eat buffets are something you won’t find much of on this site. It’s mainly because of two things: firstly they cost way more (remember I pay for all my meals and my guests meal as well) and secondly, I find that quality takes a back seat when you try to feed so many people. I have been going to brunch at the Sheraton for years, usually Mother’s day and or Father’s day is spent here and my family has liked it for quite some time so I know the meals there in quite detail.

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Enchanteur – An enchanting brunch in Villeray

The 411

Villeray is a part of town that I have been frequenting for many years. In fact, before it became one of the new hip places to live in Montreal, I remember it as a dingy, grey and run down area with a lack of decent places to eat and go out. I was shocked when I went to L’enchanteur and saw an area that had changed; there were some cafes, restaurants, condos, young families etc. It is definitely not the way it used to be. Now I have the chance to check out a spot that will provide brunch and not just a bacon and egg dish but something with a menu that has more than 3 items.

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The Sparrow – Back from the grave

The 411

If the Sparrow seems familiar to you, then you must remember our previous posting on the Sparrow back in 2009. A little background is in order here because initially, the Sparrow served brunch and it was an English pub style brunch which kind of shook up the city’s brunch scene. The kitchen staff stopped serving brunch and opened their own spot (you can read the full article with more details here). Now time has passed and just recently, the sparrow brought back brunch and this time, it’s with a twist. What makes this visit extra special is that I got to do it with my favourite French language blogger Laure who runs Une Parisienne à Montreal, a great fashion, food and brunch site. If you haven’t checked out her blog yet you should absolutely do so.

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A Table – Nuevo Latino success yet again

The 411

Last year I had the pleasure of checking out Madre, which is one of the restaurants of Mario Navarette Jr, a chef who does Nuevo latino style of cooking. Madre was a hit and is one of my favourite brunch experiences so, when I heard that he had another place that did brunch by the name of A table, I needed to check it out. Situated on Fleury, in the Ahuntsic area, A Table is not in it the usual spots you would expect a cutting edge restaurant to be. Often we picture the Plateau, Mile End or Old Port but this location choice is quite interesting.

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