What is the best Montreal Brunch of 2014? This is a question we get asked every year, but one that is difficult to answer. We have eaten and reviewed close to 300 brunches – many in Montreal and a couple abroad. We have to go over a laundry list of new spots, old spots, places that move, places where management and menu changed, places that got better, and sadly, places that got worse. Consistency is a tricky thing for most restaurants to pull off. You need to make dishes people like, be financially successful, be innovative and evolve with the times. So you can understand why we only do our “best of” round-up once a year.

Over the next few posts we will be showcasing our selection of our favourites and the various sections they cover. Initially, this was supposed to be a single post but it evolved as we got into more detail and felt that we should break it down into multiple sections. Please note that in each category and in our choice we give positive and negative criticism since there is no perfect brunch and all places can improve on something. Also note that we could have simply made a top 10 list and given 2 lines of text and a pretty picture but much like a proper brunch we want to give you something on your plate that gets your appetite going and makes you come back for more. Or in this case, go visit them. Our categories includes best new brunch, best classic brunch, best alternative brunch, best ethnic brunch and best local/organic brunch.

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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So a few months ago we did our last NYC trip, “see you in 2015” is what we said when leaving the city. Then in early September we received a request to come celebrate a birthday double header. Now the only issue with this request is the half marathon we were supposed to run that weekend. The decision was not that difficult and after a short drive we were in New York with a weekend of fun ahead of us.

This time we had brunch all over New York City. In fact, we covered three boroughs in two days. Oh and we also had brunch double headers, that’s right, double brunch, two brunches a day. The double brunch is a tricky one. Most people are full after one brunch, but two is the hard maximum we can do. Fortunately this weekend was a weekend dedicated to excess.

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Ma’tine is a new discovery on the brunch scene, located in the gay village. We were excited to check out this new brunch spot that brings some brunch muscle outside of the usual Plateau and Mile End areas. Early buzz on Ma’tine was that it was a fresh new take on brunch, with the original team that made Micro Resto la Famille one of our favourite spots. The Daniel-Six brothers (Jérémy and Maxime) have been making waves everywhere they go and all you need to do is try their food and you will understand why.

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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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Araucaria – Mile end day long brunch

So a little back story: a little over a year ago, I was in a bar in Tokyo having drinks and overheard someone talking with a distinct Quebec accent. It turns out that that accent belonged to a Montrealer doing a pilgrimage to various bars and restaurants in Japan. When we got to talking of favourite places and he mentioned how he knew the people over at Tripes and Caviar and they were doing some creative stuff there. So, although a year later, we decided to check it out.

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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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