Ristorante Otto – Fancy Brunch on McGill Street

The 411

Old Montreal has its fair share of fancier brunch places; McGill street alone is home to a good concentration of them and one that I have been curious about for some time is Otto. Situated inside the W hotel this restaurant serves up a weekday early morning breakfast starting at 7 am and going until 11:30 am, as well as a longer weekend schedule of 7 am to 2pm. I have been to Otto for dinner and enjoyed it. Otto is a fancy restaurant; the décor is exquisite; the outside terrace is vey nice and covered by umbrellas. With this rather positive dinner experience I wondered how it would convert to brunch.

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Breakfast Club & Moulerie – My first South Shore Adventure

The 411

In my quest to expand the areas I review I have spread out from the downtown core and plateau. I have gone out east, west, north, but I never ventured on the south shore. It’s not because its too far or that I am intimidated by the coupe Longueuil, but rather that it’s a black hole for brunch. I have not clue what is out there and researching places on the web does not give many valuable results. In the end, that means I need to drag myself to the shore and physically drive around to find a spot and to be frank, it’s just too big for me to do that. So, thankfully my friend told me about this place on the south shore that was described as one of the best in the south shore. In an effort to expand my area of places reviewed and find a decent non-chain breakfast place on the south shore off we went exploring to the land of mullets and camaros.

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Le Passé Composé – Grammar was never this yummy

The 411

Passé compose has been a name that people have been asking about. It’s a restaurant on Roy street that has some online buzz about being pretty decent. I have been curious about this place and the website did a good job of peaking my curiosity with tasty pictures and interesting menu items posted. In order to satisfy my curiosity and get my brunch fix, a visit to passé compose took place and what I found impressed me.

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Déjeuner Inc – Some more West Island choice

The 411

Out in the West Island there are two breakfast spots by the name of Dejeuner inc. I have heard of them for a while but never really got a chance to go. I have heard both positive and negative comments: it seems that people either really like it or aren’t crazy about it. I was meeting my friend in the West Island for brunch and since I have tried out most places I figured I would check it out and see what people were talking about. With two locations, one on Sources and one on St Johns, I went with the one closest to my yoga class, because A) I was told it’s the better of the two and B) I’m lazy.

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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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L’evidence – A gem of spot on St Denis

The 411

St Denis is one of those streets that has tons of tucked away places that you may pass in front of dozens of times but only on the 13th time do you realize that a restaurant is actually situated there. That’s the case with L’evidence: I have passed by it for years and only when I met up with my friend and we decided to go for brunch at a new place was I introduced to L’evidence. My friend had known of this places for a while and me… well lets say I have eaten at all the restaurants north, south, east and west of it, but I never knew they did brunch. So, after I got my eyes checked, we went in and checked out what makes this place so special.

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Chez Jose – Vegetarian delight on Duluth

The 411

Everyone has a favourite brunch place they like to go to, and as I go on various brunch reviews with different friends I always try to learn from what makes their place so special to them and others. It is in this sharing of information that I get to make my site more complete and help introduce you to some places you may not have known existed. This is the case with Chez Jose, a little place on Duluth with a funky, no-frills décor and amazing plates to try out.

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St Viateur Bagel Cafe – A Montreal legend since 1957

The 411

After a grueling 18k morning run followed by 90 minutes of trying to survive 52 degrees of a hot yoga session, we made our way to NDG for some much needed refueling. I had not eaten a single thing since the night before and was physically exhausted which usually make for a bad combo. There are only a few places in NDG left that I have not reviewed and St Viateur Bagels & Cafe is one of them. You may know St Viateur as the same people who make Montreal’s best bagels, but did you know they opened up a two cafes? One on 127 Mont. Royal East and this one at 5629 Monkland Avenue.

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Chez Nick – Over 90 years and counting

The 411

Few places in the city have a history to go along with their food but having been around since 1920, Chez Nick has both. This 90 year old institution is the child of a Greek immigrant, Nick Alevisatos, who founded Chez Nicks and over the many years his family has run this institution. Chez Nick is in a spot you would not normally associate with brunch. It is located in Westmount, a mainly residential part of Montreal. I have heard of Chez Nick from various friends and decided that one day after my morning run myself and two friends would check it out and see what this place is all about.

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Ben and Florentine – New addition to the West Island

The 411

A recent addition to the West Island, Ben and Florentine is a restaurant with three locations and a half dozen on the way. The West Island is an interesting spot for Brunch because you have a large population and a relatively small amount of breakfast places in relation to that population. So, when Ben and Florentine opened up it added some variety and choice for lots of hungry West Islanders.

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