Griffintown Cafe – A little bit of country in the city

The 411

Over the last couple of years, Notre Dame street has brought us some interesting brunch spots, with its booming population, and sprawling developments. Griffintown café (not to be confused with Café Griffintown) is a place I was introduced to a little over a year ago. A group of us had dinner there and liked it. Over the last little while I had heard that they added weekend brunch to their offering. Considering I liked their dinner service, and I am a fan of the area, it did not take much to make me check out this spot and see how they handle brunch.

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Dupond and Dupont – At TMR Brunch experience

The 411

The town of Mount Royal is not an usually associated with brunch In fact, it’s seen as a suburb with limited shops and a mall nearby; one would assume that if you lived in TMR and wanted a decent breakfast/brunch you would have do go to the Plateau to get some food. Although just recently two of my friends told me they had lunch at this amazing place called Dupond & Dupont and they saw that there was a weekend brunch menu. So armed with the fact that lunch was a success in addition to the fact that I always wanted to find a brunch place in TMR, we planned to take a trip and check it out.

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Laika – More than just a bar

The 411

Over time I get emails telling me of people’s favourite places and I make it a point to eventually check them out. Laika was one of those places. I had heard some good stuff from a few people and what I had read online was rather positive as well but for the life of me I could not figure out where this places was, and I have been up and down almost every inch of St Laurent for years without having seen it. It wasn’t until I was reviewing another place in the area that I actually looked across the street and had an “Ah Ha” moment. Now that I knew what it looked like I was even more curious to check it out.

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More bang for your buck

The 411

One of the best kept secrets in the East End: Dans La Bouche, a name you have likely never heard of before. It’s a nice place on Mont Royal in the East End. Dans La Bouche is a tapas bar during the day and night which offers a pretty good brunch 7 days a week. Oddly enough, it’s well known in certain circles among east-enders and people in Laval but ask any downtowner or west-ender and they will rarely know about it.

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CLOSED

Shaking the dust off an old classic

The 411

Since 1949 Dusty’s has been serving some filling breakfast food, and although the decor may not have changed much over the last 50 plus years, neither have the prices, making Dusty’s a wallet friendly place to go. The venue can be missed if you don’t know where it is, which is mainly due to the fact that there is no sign. I don’t know if there ever was one to begin with, and if there was, I have no idea where it disappeared to.

At 1st glance

When you first walk up to Dusty’s you can’t help but notice this giant wood acorn; I have no clue why it’s there or what it is supposed to represent but it does the job of acting as a landmark to tell you that you have arrived at your desired destination. The interior has vinyl banquets, drawings on the wall, and a couple short order seats. This adds a certain old school charm to the venue, although the washrooms could do without it.

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Disappointment on Bernard Street

The 411

Situated on Bernard, Enfants Terrible is a relatively new addition to the Bernard Street family, often full with people for dinner and drinks, it has created some buzz with various patrons taking in the ambiance, food and terrace. Now the question is: Can this resto handle brunch?

At 1st glance

You can’t miss this place. There is a large outdoor terrace and the decor is really nice, which the windows do a great job of showcasing. As soon as you walk in, you notice the decor is a nice mix of modern and classic, working well with the metal and wood. There is usually a healthy amount of people and it is highly recommended to make reservations for brunch. (more…)

Crazy For Brunch

The 411

Situated at the gate of Mont-Royal’s Brunch alley, Les Folies offers all a good introduction into the what is Brunch on Mount-Royal

At 1st glance

With it’s big blue sign and terrace announcing itself to the world you can’t help but walk in and check out Les Folies. Once inside you see an interesting decor and a pretty solid menu. Although referred to by some as the “other L’avenue”, Les Folies does some things to distinguish itself.

Food

The menu is of fair size and offers some tasty options for all. The Mega weighs in at $11.95 with bacon, sausage, ham, 2 crepes, Emmental cheese, bread (really tasty bread) and a fruit juice. The Nordic Eggs Benedict ($12.50) is tasty and comes with 2 eggs and Emmental cheese which is different twist on an old favourite. The crepes Brunch section has 6 interesting options all priced at $10.95; each plate comes with bacon, sausage, ham, potatoes, bread and fruit. There are 8 omelette choices ranging from $8.95 to $10.50. The Santé menu has a fresh fruit plate ($6.95) and a fruit cup ($8.95) which comes with cereal, yogourt and nuts. There are 7 choices for the fruit cocktails ($4.95) and they are so thick your straw stands up on its own. The Tutti Fruti comes with strawberries, mango, raspberries, bananas, cranberry and pineapple. There used to be a banana and chocolate crepe on the brunch menu but they moved it to dessert and although it’s not on the main menu you should ask for it since it’s quite something. (more…)