The Montreal downtown core or the Golden Square Mile as some people like to call it is lacking quality brunch spots. You have a mix of chain and some scattered spots here and there but the area oddly enough needs development in terms of more quality places offering brunch. Now Café Parvis opened late last winter and did not do brunch at first but a few months after opening, they started offering brunch on the menu. Now if you don’t know where Café Parvis is, then head down to Mayor street and look for the funky little café next to Furco, duck in for a coffee and a bite and you will soon be adding it to your list of downtown places for go to.

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Brunch only really happens twice a week and often it is between 10 and 3. Some places say 3 but the kitchen closes earlier so you run the risk of having to really think of where you want to go when you have a late brunch. Now when doing brunch with my friend and drink reviewer Jay Pendergrast the III, the discussion always is based on, can we make it in time? Sliding in just before the kitchen closes often results in them being out of an item or 2 on the menu or feeling rushed. Salle a manger is a place that will not rush you and on Sunday’s, serves brunch right up until dinner time which is ideal for those who have issue being ready before 2pm.

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Manitoba (the restaurant, not the province), located somewhere between Little Italy and Park Extension, which some people have begun referring to as Mile Ex, has been on people’s lips for a little over a year. Now we had been to restaurant Manitoba before for their dinner service and we left very impressed after an incredible meal and really good service which left us curious about their brunch. I had high hopes for their dishes ,which if their dinner service was an indication, I was in for a treat with tasty and well-priced options.

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A few months after its opening, we fell upon Sel Gras. Having read about it and its rather impressive crew working the kitchen, we have had this on our short list for some time. So with a friend coming in from out of town and a need to try something totally different it felt like the logical choice to give Sel Gras over in the Mile End a shot.

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Eating healthy can sometimes be a complicated headache inducing mess, with so many options, ingredients, cooking styles, allergies, and views on what is deemed healthy, we often get lost in what healthy really is. Most recently the emphasis has focused on local, organic and responsible food. Supporting local farms, sourcing organic food produce and making responsible choices in what items used has many people talking and looking for places that do this. Many Montreal restaurants are doing this in some part with sourcing local produce, focusing on organic produce instead of some that may be genetically modified and even going as far as using certain fish so as to not contribute to overfishing. Food has an ethical component and having grown up in a family that focused on organic and healthy, this is something that is always in the back of my mind every time I take a bite. The tricky part is finding a spot that sources local organic food items and encourages eco responsibility. You have to go with word of mouth since there is no overarching organization that clearly hands out certification and you can do your research and see if the place you are eating at meets your criteria.

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Over on Fleury street is La Bête à Pain – a bakery with a twist and making a name for itself among foodies as having an impressive brunch. This came on my radar a while ago but since it’s in an area I don’t end up in often, it took a while before I made it up here. There aren’t too many brunch spots up on Fleury, let alone many fancy ones, but the area is changing and in a few years you may not even recognize it from how it is now. Already, signs of gentrification are beginning, so let’s see how this shapes up.

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The Old Port is a great place to do brunch with lots of options and scenic backdrops of historic buildings and the waterfront. With its rich history and a multitude of optionsspread throughout there is something for everyone’s taste and Suite 701 has some interesting options for your taste buds.

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A newcomer on the brunch scene, L’gros luxe, is getting people talking. Talking about a brunch that, by early accounts, looks good, tastes good and is well priced. There’s also the fact that they are doing some fun stuff with a variety of bloody Caesars and some impressive garnishes.

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Over on St Denis is Festin de Babette, a place that when you step into, you get transported to Paris. With items that have that oh-so-French look and feel, you think you are no longer in Montreal. (more…)

Over the last year, I have befriended and helped out the Montreal Food Divas, 2 Montreal bloggers who make my life incredibly difficult and are responsible for some newly found grey hair. Just before the Christmas holidays, they wanted to meet for brunch. Diva #1 wanted eggs Benedict, I wanted somewhere new – so I picked somewhere new. We chose Café Barcola because it is very new and I wanted to go in blind since almost no one had started writing about it at the time. (more…)