Marche De La Villette
Marché De La Villette – Old world in the old Port
The 411
The Old Port has a bunch of nice spots for brunch; some are hotel brunches with buffets and full meals, others are really fancy and some are more laid back. Each has it’s own unique identity that makes the Old Port a fun and delicious area for brunch. Marche De La Villette makes itself unique by transporting you to France. This restaurant has that European butcher shop feel to it and pumps out some rather unique dishes.
At 1st glance
First thing you see when you walk in is this cold deli window with various meats, cheeses and food items typical to a European deli. There is music playing and when we went it was nice relaxing French music, which kind of transports you to another dimension. There are tables and chairs sprawled out and those closest to the front are well lit. The walls are adorned with street signs of famous streets in Paris as well as license plates, pictures and nick knacks. You can also find various items hanging from the ceiling. The cheeses and meats near the fridge are cool to see, but don’t worry, I doubt they are falling.
Food
The menu is a two page, double sided laminated sheet that has items written in markers and sketched images on the side. This is cool because this combination of décor, music and menu style really do a good job of relaxing you and making you think you are in another county. Most items on the menu are between $9-$14 and there is also a kids menu for $7.95 which offers a choice of crepe or quiche. Keep in mind that you are paying a little extra on each dish because of the fact that it is in the Old Port but for a nice simple breakfast / brunch served all day, it’s a good option. Especially, since some other brunch spot offerings are much more elaborate and expensive. The menu is as follows:
Naturally, we started off with some coffee which came with free refills. The coffee was decent and nothing out of this world but it did provide that much needed morning jolt. My friend ordered the Special Breakfast dish ($12.95) which is an Alsace style omelette, bacon, homemade cretons, house fries cooked in duck fat, salad, cheese and a grilled baguette. This is definitely not your typical brunch dish. I was curious what an Alsace style omelette was. All I could think of was my old high school history teacher repeat the word Alsace over and over and us laughing at it because it sounded like sassy. History lesson aside, an alsace omelette has a bready exterior which is soft, warm and tasty and is quite different from what we are used to. The ham was good but the bacon was a touch crispy for my taste; the potatoes had an initial nice taste but it wore off soon after. The fruit was generous, the cheese piece was a nice added touch and the salad was actually welcomed and tasty.
I ordered the Waffles with Chocolate ($12.95). This dish had 3 waffles with lots of chopped up fruit on top and under it, as well as larger fruit slices on the side. The 3 waffles were draped with a nice dark chocolate and the waffles were fluffy and tasty. When you add the chocolate you get an even tastier treat although, it does come with a 3 dollar extra price tag – if not the normal waffle dish would be $5.95. The price has to be the one negative thing with it, I mean, you’re paying almost $13 for 3 waffles which are not very large. They are tasty but you can get the same taste and greater quantity at other places for less and in reality, you are paying a little extra just for being in the old port.
Service
Our waiter did a good job explaining the menu since some of the dishes and it’s ingredients were a little foreign to us. We did see the cashier flip out at an employee when we were going to pay, it was a touch loud and not very professional.
Vegetarian
The menu is somewhat limited but oddly enough, a little more than half are vegetarian which is a nice touch since I was expecting a more meat focused menu.
Wrap up
Marche de la villette is a nice escape: there is no lineup, the food is tasty, the décor is nice and the price is the norm by old port standards for similar menus. It may be a nice place to check out when you know there will be lineups around the block at other brunch restaurants in the Old Port.
| 324, Rue Saint-Paul Ouest Montreal Qc, H2Y 2A3 (514) 807-8084 Mon-Sunday 9:00am- 6:00pm |
| MAP |
View Marché de la Villette in a larger map
| Bottomless Cup Of Coffee | YES |
| Credit Cards | YES |
| Web Site | NO |
| Debit Card | YES |
| Kid Menu | YES |
| Vegetarian Friendly | YES |
| Price | $$-$$$ | $12-$14 |
| Overall |   |
3/5 |
| Wheelchair Access | NO | 0/3 |
 Parking |
Parking Meter |
Medium |
 BUS |
||
 Metro |
5 minutes |
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Stumbled upon this place when Olive & Gourmando across the street was too busy. Great first impressions except for our waitress who was rude. Waited almost 40 minutes for our food and didn’t even get an apology, only a cold “ca vient”. Then they gave me the dregs when I asked for a coffee refill. The food, however, was delicious. I didn’t bother to leave a tip.
Very disappointed. I went there with my family and an exchange student from France (4 people)even though I had read the not overly glowing reviews. Therefore, I was ready to wait a bit. However, it turned into quite an unpleasant experience.
First, we were told to sit at a table in the back which was ok but it was still dirty from the previous customers. After 5 minutes, I moved the dirty dishes to the next table and waited for the waiter. Ten minutes later still no menu and no waiter. Finally, the man who had greeted us when we first came in asked us if we had menus and then proceeded to give us the menus. Another 15 minutes went by and still no service. In the meantime, a couple with 2 small children came and they were served immediately. Now 30 minutes later, I asked the waiter if we could order and it was obvious he was frazzled. He came back a few minutes later to take our order. In the meantime, another couple came in and they were served right away. I mean that their orders were taken right away and they were served way before us. Really strange! In fact the family that had arrived after us, left when we just received our food. During this time, we did not receive the coffees and the hot chocolates that we had ordered. I had to ask. The hot chocolate arrived just before the food-lukewarm! My hsband and I received our coffes after receving our food. I wish I could say that the food was worth it but unfortunately it wasn’t. My son enjoyed his crepe because it was smothered in chocolate; my gauffres were mini and the Breakfast Specials were not great.The “best” was when I got to the cash. There were no prices on the bill and I gave my creidt card to pay. When I was handed the machine, the woman at the cash had already pressed OK for the amount and I was expected to just put in my NIP. Naturally, I asked her for the amount and she reluctantly gave me the bill with the prices. I was taken aback at the total- $78. I had seen the prices of the meals but the beverages had no prices on the menu. The hot chocoltates were $5 each. Ouch! 4 beverages = $20. Now, if it had been a pleasant experience perhaps I would not have felt so cheated. Lastly, there was a lot of yelling amongst the staff which even my 16 year noticed. Not impressed.