The Sparrow - A place so nice I went there twice

The 411

The sparrow has got to be one of the places with the most buzz. I have gotten emails about it as well as read various forum postings raving about this place. Unfortunately, I’m slow to getting around to places especially since the places I get to see are scheduled a month in advance. Even though I may not be the first one to write about this place I can still feel good knowing that it is still an undiscovered gem to many others. Situated on St Laurent street south of St Viateur, The sparrow stands where the old Mile End bar used to be. Its name takes inspiration from the bird which is not native to North America but rather brought over from England and that is a great way to describe this gem of a place. Originally intended to be a bar with food, the liquor license took a long time to get so upon meeting a chef from England they decided to start focusing on food, and with just a tiny kitchen, have been pumping out amazing food that draws inspiration from England pub style cuisine mixed with Montreal’s unique brunch flair.

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Holder - Old Port Bistro meets Brunch

The 411

Now this review is actually a few months old and seems to have gotten lost in my pile of reviews so I figured I should post it now. This goes back to a special event that I had for my website’s 1 year anniversary. The idea was to find a spot that would offer a decent brunch in a nice area and that would take reservations for 20 people. It is important to note that reservations for brunch is not an easy thing to come by especially if you know that not everyone would show up on time. I know some places do smaller reservations but for 20 people that would be a stretch. So, I went over all the places that could fit a group of this size and then Holder came to mind. I had never eaten brunch here before and I had heard that they recently began serving brunch. Since I have eaten dinner there a few times and was quite satisfied with the food, I figured I would try out a new review with my anniversary gathering. They had no problems taking such a large reservation so I contacted my friends and the anniversary brunch “Bonanza” was on track.

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La Moulerie - Back To Bernard Street

The 411

A while ago I made a claim that I had been to all of the brunch places on Bernard, but it turns out that I was wrong. I discovered that not only did other places decide to serve brunch since my statement but I had also actually missed some. One of which was La Moulerie, a popular place for dinner that everyone with whom I have spoken with who has eaten dinner there was very satisfied. Plus, the bonus that they do sea food and the thought of combining it with brunch made my mouth water. So making sure to not to let a chance like this pass me by, a decision to check out La Moulerie was made and the question would be, will it’s reputation for a good meal apply to brunch?

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Cafe Des Eclusiers - An open air Experience

The 411

Known primarily as a spot for it’s “5 a 7″ drinks in the Old Port, Café Les Eclusiers also offers a weekend Brunch, although not as fast paced and with music blaring alongside the sounds of drinks being poured and people relaxing after a long day of work. The weekend brunch takes advantage of the area along with it’s own unique setup and look. So, when looking for a nice spot to go eat brunch in the Old Port, Café Les Eclusiers seemed like an interesting choice especially since I was curious as to how a place can make the transition from busy after work drinks place to a more laid back weekend brunch. With that question in mind and two friends by my side, off we went to check out Café Les Eclusiers and see if it had come up with a winning formula to successfully do both.

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La Fabrique - Where meal ideas are made daily

The 411

A while ago a friend of mine told me about this place called La Fabrique where the interior is almost as interesting as the food. With its constantly changing menu and interesting and funky approach to cooking combining different flavours and styles, I felt that this would be an interesting place to check out their brunch as well as the main courses. Now, brunch is only offered once a week on Sundays and this makes it difficult for me since I don’t always have time for brunch on Sunday but somehow it happened this week and I had an opening. Unfortunately, it came a day after an article in the gazette had appeared about the place (I knew I shouldn’t have waited all that time). Not to be deterred by not being one of the first ones to write about I was still committed to going and off I went in search of a culinary adventure.

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La Cantine - Not your ordinary brunch spot

The 411

Once an a while I will do a brunch double header which is an early morning breakfast/brunch and a later brunch that same day. This is usually on account of my schedule being out of hand and a deep love for all forms of breakfast and brunch related foods. So this Saturday was one of those days where I went early in the morning with a group of friends then later on went to catch up with a friend of mine over brunch. So, we were in the mood for something not too traditional, maybe a little light or even out of the ordinary, so a heaping plates of eggs and bacon was not on my mind since I already had some in my stomach. Now after going through a couple options, Cantine seemed interesting - it’s menu looked non traditional, the décor was nice and it was close by. Oh yeah, also, I found parking in walking distance so that made the decision that much easier.

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Vallier - A New look in the Old Port

The 411

A few days ago a friend of mine fowareded me some info about an Old Port resto that began offering brunch. Now, as some of you may know, I have a weak spot for restaurants in the Old Port. I think the neighbourhood is nice and I feel that they take a bistro approach to brunch which is often quite tasty and almost always a feast for the eyes. For some reason I have a craving for presentation as well as food. Also, I wanted to be one of the first to review a new place. So, it was settled and one Sunday afternoon we made a trip to Old Montreal and checked out a new place - Will it rock out or will it be a dud, who knows? Well, technically you will if you read a little lower but work with me on this one.

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Le Petit Italien

The 411

A while ago I made a claim that I had pretty much finished off all of the brunch places on Bernard street then “Le Petit Italien” decided to do brunch. Now, if you have never been to Le Petit Italien it serves a really good dinner of classic Italian food with a nice decor and big portions. As a result, this brings two questions that need to be answered: Does this winning formula translate to brunch and is there such a thing as an Italian Brunch?

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Petite Ardoise - Small name with big taste

The 411

For the longest time I have passed by La Petite Ardoise and have always been curious for how brunch would be there. I would see people going in and eating but for one reason or another I never got a chance to try it out. It just so happened that a few weeks ago a friend of mine tells me of an amazing place on Laurier street that they love, and it turned out to be La Petite Ardoise. So one Saturday afternoon off we went to check it out and see what this mysterious little place is all about and what we found surprised me and helped complete my list of places to eat on Laurier street.

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s

The 411

For almost a year I have had people asking me to check out Tiffany’s, but I never really got around to it and also, its situated in an area that I am rarely in. However, this Christmas an amazing thing happened when a friend of mine gave me a gift certificate to Tiffany’s and not only did it highlight the fact I really love brunch but it gave me the motivation to check it out. Now I need to state the obvious: the name chosen for this place is awesome and it makes choosing a tag line that much easier for this post. I mean how can you go wrong with something that makes everyone think of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

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