Chien Fumant – Great food, great decor, great time.

The 411

Hidden in the plateau is an absolute gem of a spot that has only been open since December of 2009. I heard of it recently from a friend who told me that this place has been turning heads with its great décor, unbelievable food, and friendly service. Brunches are served on Sundays and it’s not an ordinary brunch. In fact, they tend to change up the menu so that each time you go it is a different culinary experience. I ended up going on two separate occasions to get a fair sample of their offering. Their brunches get various inspirations such as Brazilian themes, dim sum, Spanish themes and classic to name a few. You can find out what theme it will be by going on their Facebook page, (a website is up but it is still in development).

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Café Campagne – Well worth the trip to the wild wild west

The 411

A friend of mine recently moved way out west to Rigaud and I said I would try to find a good brunch place in that area. My specialty is Montreal and this city is full of amazing places for brunch with tons of new places opening up regularly. There are more than enough to keep me busy reviewing for quite some time. However, once in a while I get some info on an amazing place out of town that is worth the drive. Café Campagne, in Vaudreuil D’orion, is one of those places. I managed to check it out a while ago on a test run with one of my brunch buddies and just recently went back with my Rigaud friend and a couple others so as to share the magic that is Café Campagne.

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Lemeac – Refinement and Style all in one

The 411

Up on Laurier, Lemeac is a place that has had some solid chatter among foodies for some time. It’s a French bistro on a part of Montreal that I am in love with; the street and restaurants have an air of refinement and reputation for good food. I have seen Lemeac’s reputation for brunch on various foodie sites and have always been curious about it. How would it be, is it all hype, what will the prices be, will it be worth it? All these questions have been swimming in my head for over a year and this time I decided to take the plunge and explore it. Lemeac had something in store for me.

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The Sparrow – A place so nice I went there twice

Brunch has changed please see our new post article

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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Restaurant Madre – Latin fusion at it’s finest

The 411

Fusion cuisine and brunch are two things that, when combined, can elevate a dish to new levels or crash and burn. Most people are quite comfortable with their eggs and bacon and making fancy brunch dishes inspired by different cooking styles does not always get the warmest reception. I’ve written before about “nouveau” brunch and in fact, I was inspired to check out some of these places by a Sarah Musgrave article that covered a couple places in the city; Madre was one of them. Now, my greatest concern with nouveau brunch is that meals tend to deviate from classic breakfast items and end up being more of a lunch dish. Don’t get me wrong! I don’t mind breaking the mold and trying something different; I may have my old school roots but I do like being surprised and seeing someone take a novel approach to brunch. With that said, Madre proved an interesting challenge: a nouveau brunch style place that combines various South American cooking styles (Nuevo Latin). This is not an easy challenge by any means, although I have had Latin themed brunches before and the options on the menu are limited. If we consider that we are looking at fusing different styles from South America we could end up with something more lunch than brunch. In the end, I called up my oldest brunch buddy who happens to be a foodie and we went on our fancy brunch adventure.

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Benedicts – An NDG Brunch Champion

The 411

In following with an attempt to give more geographically balanced brunch reviews across Montreal, I returned to NDG with a mission, to review one of the most talked about places in the western end of the Island and seeing if this NDG sensation can compare to some of the better breakfast and brunch places Montreal has to offer. Benedict’s has some good feedback both online and from people who live in the area and a while ago when I was passing through NDG I was in this area and was curious by what I saw. A visit was definitely in order..

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Le Cartet – a local secret

The 411

Le Cartet is a very interesting place as it is nestled in Old Montreal and it is one of those places that I have heard of only by a few people, and in each instance they all swear by the fact that it will be the best brunch in the city. Now, such as claim needs to be confirmed! So off I went on a lazy Saturday morning and prepared to challenge this claim and see if it lived up to the hype.

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UPDATE

Sadly McKiernan has closed it doors

McKiernan

The 411

Every once in a while I get recommendations for new places to check out and review. Often, they are places I have either already been to or heard of, although this time the suggestion for McKiernan was a surprise as it was entirely new to me. What was more interesting is that the person who recommended it to me claimed it served the best brunch in the city. Any declaration such as this had to be checked out. So, off we went to the Atwater market area and what we found truly amazed us.

At 1st glance

McKiernan is a tiny little spot situated right near Joe Beef; it only serves brunch on Saturdays from 10am – 4pm. The place itself is small with capacity of around 20 seats and it has this amazing cozy little nook near the window where 2 can sit, chat, and eat. The decor is a throwback to a time gone by, but under no circumstance would one think it is old or not kept up. In fact, I find the style inside adds to the authentic dishes and flavours. In this post, I made sure to show more photos than normal of the venue, many of them are courtesy of Huge from Huge-photos.com You can tell his photos from mine not only by the water mark but also by the fact that he is a professional and they look much nicer. (more…)

A truly memorable trip

The 411

Up in Outremont on Bernard Avenue you will find a truly unique place with one of the nicest terraces that any breakfast place has to offer. This nice little place is squeezed between a bunch of other terraces but Cafe Souvenirs is definitely the one you should try, and while you’re at it don’t miss out on the food.

At 1st glance

When you walk up to the Cafe Souvenirs you automatically get drawn into its warm atmosphere and attention to detail which is one the many things that makes it unique. Although I will likely mention the terrace another 2 times, I really suggest you enjoy a seat on it since there is nothing quite like it on a sunny afternoon. The attention to detail is amazing with small unique things that set it apart. The glass bottles of water on your table are each a different colour and shape (there’s even one that looks like the tower of Pisa) as are the coffee mugs. Inside the cafe the hooks for jackets are actually golf club tops; it sounds odd but it works. One should also note that there is wifi available although don’t be a camper and stay there for 4 hours because line ups form. The main criticism is the lineups; when it’s grey and snowing it’s not an issue, although when the sun is out, there is a big lineup forming for a small amount of tables and the patrons can get aggressive; you have to be on your A game to make sure you get a seat and clearly communicate with the hostess who is often overworked running from table to table. My tip is get there early or get comfy (you can use the park bench nearby). (more…)

Persian Delight on Laurier

The 411

Nestled on Laurier close to Papineau, Byblos is a trip to another place and time. Serving up some amazing Persian dishes, Byblos offers great food with an equally great decor.

At 1st glance

Although the outside is quite nice and is rather unique I keep almost missing it every time I go by, but once you walk in you will be taken aback by how amazing the inside is. It’s not a modern interior but rather a Persian style place with nice wood doors, a bookshelf with books in it that you can grab and read as well as amazingly decorated walls, banquets and pictures on the wall that take your breath away. If you require wheelchair access this is one of the few places downtown that has it; there is an entrance on the side of the building (the front has a small lip) and the washroom are wheelchair accessible as well. (more…)