The Montreal restaurant scene is constantly changing, with new places popping up and old places closing down. Wilfred sur Laurier is the new kid on the block, having opened at the end of fall. They quickly started making waves as having an impressive brunch. So how impressive is it you may ask? Since our first visit we have been back 3 other times.

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Bernard street has had a love-hate relationship with me. When I first started this site, Bernard was the street where you had to have brunch. With lots of choice and good ones at that, it was my favourite place to be especially in the summer with all those terraces. However, as time went on, I discovered new places, better brunches, and the spots on Bernard either closed down or didn’t evolve, that is, until recently when Brasserie Bernard brought a beacon of light on Bernard street and made having brunch in Outremont a more enjoyable event. (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…)

The 411 Outremont is an area we are starting to explore again. Finally, after a few years there are some new places opening up. Recently, someone told me about this new place called Les Influences that offered a solid selection at a great price. Most Outremont brunch spots tend to be on Bernard street so finding something on Van Horne is refreshing since it’s kind of tucked away from all the crowds and line-ups.

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The 411 Over the last little while, Montreal has offered some Vegan and Gluten free menus. It’s a slow trend in general and for brunch, it’s even slower. Often people have difficulty seeing brunch without eggs or bread. There’s lots of dishes without meat but to be vegan and or gluten free is tricky. Also, to be clear – just because something is vegan does not make it gluten free and visa-versa. And there are some people who are both. So, where do you go if you want brunch and it has to be either something vegan or gluten free or both? Well, La Lumiere du Mile end is that place.

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The 411 Bernard street used to be my favourite spot when I began doing reviews; you had an impressive concentration of places that served up brunch mainly west of Parc street. I used to love it but fell out of love over the last few years as I started seeing other streets and neighbourhoods. However, recently I heard some buzz circling back in the Mile End and have made my way back and to be honest the street looks good with some new spots and Nouveau Palais is one of them.

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The Sparrow – Back from the grave

The 411

If the Sparrow seems familiar to you, then you must remember our previous posting on the Sparrow back in 2009. A little background is in order here because initially, the Sparrow served brunch and it was an English pub style brunch which kind of shook up the city’s brunch scene. The kitchen staff stopped serving brunch and opened their own spot (you can read the full article with more details here). Now time has passed and just recently, the sparrow brought back brunch and this time, it’s with a twist. What makes this visit extra special is that I got to do it with my favourite French language blogger Laure who runs Une Parisienne à Montreal, a great fashion, food and brunch site. If you haven’t checked out her blog yet you should absolutely do so.

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Best Brunch Terraces 2011

With summer in full swing, winter is but a distant memory. In Montreal, when the sun comes out so do the people and they head to terraces where they can have a tasty brunch and a great view to enjoy the weather. Fortunately, Montreal offers us loads of brunch spots with terraces. We have scoured the city in search of the perfect brunch terraces and have found some you may like. The list is not exhaustive and is intended to give you a spot or two to go to in each of the respective areas. We took a look at Outremont, the Plateau, Old Montreal and NDG.

Outremont has, arguably, the most options for brunch terraces in the city. All one needs to do is walk down Bernard street and see an ocean of people all seated in a variety of terraces. The list includes spots like Café Souvenirs, Senzala and Les Enfants terribles, La Moulerie, and Bistro Le Republique. There used to be le Petit Italien but they recently stopped serving brunch. Les Enfants terribles has one of the largest terraces, while Café Souvenirs is one of my favourite on the street. The menu offering at the majority of these spots is similar with the exception of Senzala, which has a Brazilian theme and is located west of du Parc. Though they may offer similar brunch options, the taste and overall satisfaction varies from person to person. If you wish to know more, just click on each link above and read the reviews (because right now we’re only talking about the ones that look pretty). (more…)

Voro – Fairmount sprouts a brunch option

The 411

Nestled on Fairmount street, you will find a lovely spot called Voro: a café where locals like to come have a coffee, soak up some sun and grab some brunch. Situated on Fairmount (corner Jeanne Mance), Voro is ideally situated for locals who want to duck in and grab a bite. You will find there is a mix of people; families with small children, older people, and people in the 20’s. In fact, the day we were there, there some strollers parked outside. Why they were outside I don’t know, since people had some inside with them – maybe to save space?

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Lawrence – The wait is over

The 411

Lawrence is a new addition to the plateau/Mile end area with an interesting story to tell. It had its roots as being the kitchen staff from The Sparrow which was one of the hottest brunch spots in the city. They came on the scene and turned a whole lot of heads and changed things up. Recently, in late 2010, the Kitchen staff from the Sparrow moved. It was a mutual arrangement since the Sparrow no longer wanted to do brunch and the kitchen staff had made quite a name for itself pumping out some seriously tasty brunches. So, recently they opened Lawrence and started to serve weekend brunch. For those who loved the Sparrow brunch, it’s still here; it just moved a block over. Now we can see what changed, what stayed the same and if it’s 4.5/5 rating still stands up after the move.

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