The 411 On the corner of Lambert-Closse and De Maisonneuve is a Montreal institution called Corner Snack Bar or Moes. With breakfast options available all day long, this Montreal time sake is dear to many and many wild and crazy nights have ended up here (or rough morning-after’s have been saved by their filling dishes). If you have ever been out drinking at night and need some food to fill you and recover Moe’s is your go to spot. . The staff in this family business gave us a mini history lesson and explanation as to why some people call it Moe’s. Once up a time over 50 years ago the corner snack bar was owned and operated by a man named Moe. He would later sell it to our waitress’ grandmother and now it is run by another family member. People used to call it Moe’s before but since Moe’s is the name of another restaurant in Montreal it was difficult to use that name so they used corner snack bar even though it is still referred to as Moe’s by many.

At 1st glance Moes is a time capsule. If you think of Montreal greasy spoons, this is what they should be like: an old tv (non flat screen) in the corner, mini jukeboxes at each table (out of order), cash only payment, and a large squeeze bottle of maple syrup. There’s old newspaper clippings and posters as well as plants all around offering that one of a kind atmosphere you cannot replicate. The outside even has a table where you can smoke and enjoy a coffee.

The menu is a handwritten masterpiece chalked full of options ranging from eggs, omelettes, combos and sandwiches. Everything on the menu is pretty much under $10 and each of our dishes came with potatoes and coffee which had free refills. Remember those stories you would hear of where you would pay for breakfast with coffee and you would get change from your $10 bill? Well, they still exist and this is one of those spots. Some items are priced differently if you have them between 6am and 11am and keep in mind it is cash only, but there is an ATM right by the door. The menu is enormous and has tons of items with the following breakdown:

Having just finished a run and a half hour swim, we were famished. We discussed where to go in the downtown core as we needed a spot that had lots of food and would not cost and arm and a leg so Moe’s made sense.

We started with the grand slam ($9.75) which is the ultimate plate of eggs, sausage bacon, potatoes, pancakes or French toast and coffee with free refills. I opted for the pancakes and was pleasantly pleased by a filling plate for under $10. The pancakes were thin and to be honest I liked them like this. The bacon and sausage were filling and the potatoes were generous as well. The dish itself does what it needs to do and fills you up. It’s not gourmet fancy but you don’t go to Moe’s for that; you go there hungry and after this dish you are full.

The Spanish omelette ($8.25) had two extra eggs for $3. This omelette also came with a side of potatoes and coffee with refills. The omelette was large and in charge, definitely filling and rather well priced. Even without the extra two eggs you can get full.

The mushroom omelette ($7.30), similar to the Spanish omelette, was generous in mushrooms and, although rather simple, it did the job and you got something tasty and filling on the cheap.

The last dish that we sampled that day was the 3 eggs dish ($5.75). It’s always hard to review a simple dish because well… its egg. What I can say is that the price is great considering you get potatoes on the side and coffee is included.

Any potatoes based brunch would not be complete without our resident potato reviewer Batata and here are his thoughts on the potatoes at Moe’s:

“The potatoes are hand-cut previous to frying them over the plaque with diced onions and spiced with a pepper; perhaps cayenne and salt. They are pre-cut, perhaps the night before and kept frozen until use. This gives the potatoes a pasty texture but for the price, the side potatoes just hit the spot. The potatoes were room temperature at best when I finally got a chance to begin digging into them. In the ordinance of omelet & potatoes, omelets get attacked before potatoes. It is just the way the breakfast gods have decided. These potatoes get a reluctant 2.75 out of 5 just because I love the fact that they are cheap for the quantity. Unfortunately, they left me wanting for more.”

Service

Our waitress checked in on us and we got our refills quickly. She also took the time to answer our questions about the history of the place so we enjoyed that.

Vegetarian

There are vegetarian options and lots of them. The menu is so large that you have choice.

Wrap up

Cheap, filling and cozy are the best ways to describe Moe’s. It’s not fancy, it’s not reinventing breakfast, but it does what it needs to do and fills you up on a budget. So for this, we salute Moe’s.

View Moes in a larger map

Price	$-$$	$5-$10
Overall		3.5/5
Wheelchair Access	NO	0/3
Parking	Meter	Medium
BUS	104,148,144,360,15,57	Get Directions
Metro	Atwater	2 minutes