Garde-Manger Montreal Review by Guest Reviewer Dubers
UPDATE: Read Chef Deck’s review of Restaurant Garde Manger (May 2009)
Garde-Manger….so many evenings, so many blurry memories. Whenever someone asks me for the hippest restaurant in Montreal, my answer is always inevitably Garde-Manger. Originally opened as an “anti-scene” joint in Old Montreal, this small resto / lounge has now been adopted by the Montreal foodies, bar flies and hipsters alike. No other place can you enjoy fine dining, a well selected wine list, beautiful cocktails and the opportunity to get naked.
If you are looking for runway waitresses that don’t know how to do wine service, overpriced martinis, Eurotrash and food that sucks, then St-Laurent Blvd. is slightly north/west. Garde-Manger boasts some beautiful staff but all are knowledgeable, quick and friendly (Julie and Jessica, you rock). Owner/Partner Kyle is always around either pouring libations or mixing the tunes, never missing an opportunity to mingle with his loyal clientèle.
With a menu that changes daily on the chalk board, past favorites and must haves are:
Large Seafood platter: Also lovingly referred to as the trough, this is SICK ACTION!!! This baby takes up your whole table and then some. For $125 bones, it’s the biggest and baddest in Montreal. A must for 4-6 people.
BBQ baby back ribs (I love you with your side of succulent potato salad) Is it wrong to suck on your neighbors saucy fingers?
Their fish and seafood is always fresh. Nothing like getting a “Loup de Mer” served on your plate while it’s still starring right at you. Delicious but creepy.
Atmosphere is very loud and not for the faint of heart. If you are looking for a quiet, uneventful evening, try Holder restaurant. It’s real tough to get a table at restaurant Garde-Manger and reservations are a must. Call in advance but drop in anytime for a martini.
Wearing the Troff’s decorative seaweed on your head to look like a Rastafarian 10/10
Tastiness: 9.99999999/10 (Deduction for that imperfect oval-shape olive in my martini, OK…10/10)
Getting a table on a Thursday night unless you call 16 weeks in advance/10
Garde-Manger Restaurant Information
408 St-François-Xavier, Old Montreal
Phone: 514-678-5044
Hours: Tue–Sun 6 pm – 3 am
Payment: Cash, Credit Cards
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Au Pied de Cochon Restaurant Review
Needed to explain the half eatin picks of the food and the missing pick of the trough. When you go to garde you get very drunk. Being drunk has a direct correlation with memory lost, which directly translates into forgetting to take pictures of the food until you reach into your pocket and realize the errors of your ways.
Chef Deck says he will try and remember to take pictures tonight.
Tim Rozon owns the restaurant. I am gonna fly over just to go there!!
The food is good at Gare Manger i cannot deny but the prices have gone up alot since they have opened. Also be prepared for a loud, crazy, crowded environment. Don;t say I didn’t warn you.
im going to go to montreal soon so i was realy hoping on getting to go there so mabey i could get a glimps at tim rozon hes suchh a hottie
I’m going to Montreal at the end of June and I’m so excited to go to Garde Manger !!!! Is Tim Rozon there a lot? Cause I was wondering what my chances are of seeing him hahaha .
I really want to go here, not just for the food but to see Tim Rozon lol, but he says he’s hardly ever there. I wrote down the number of the restaurant cuz he said girls call there all the time and if he’s there and not busy he talks to them lol so i’ll just have to call everyday until he’s there lol. I’m not a stoker i swear just a HUGE fan of Instant Star and his other work and i bet the food would be great =0)
Great for parties….love the open-kitchen…honestly a bit too loud sometimes. If im still enjoying my shrimp, i dont want to hear Beyonce wailing.
The food however, is pretty good.
I am turning 21 in July, and we are planning a trip to Montreal to celebrate. I heard this restaurant was exquisite but I had no clue that Tim Rozon owned it. I wonder if he would meet me as a sort of birthday gift. LOL
Is Bomombally really your last name? Cool!
i wish i could be that lame.
If Tim Rozon’s restaurant is half as good as he looks I’m definantly going!!!
I read you have to be over 18 to go. I am going to have my parents go in and get an autograph of Tim Rozon when we go to Montreal.
OMG Tim Rozon is sooo awesome
i cant believe that he has a resturant
i want to meet him one day is here at the Garde-Manger at lot no that Instant Star is done filming
Yeah. I want to go real bad. But in Canada, when I went to Vancouver you had to be 18 to go into resturants that had bars! I really want to go, but I am only 13. I am going to meet him, no matter what it takes. Even if it’s just on the phone.
my favourite dish right now is the ribs
i love the salad with the green beans that comes on top of the ribs it as well
the seafood platter is a must and try the drink of the day
i’m very proud to say that my cousin charles owns this resturant with timmy and kyle
the place is livin’ loud in old montreal
In Montreal you can go to any restaurant with a bar no matter what your age is.
I am going to Montreal in August!!! I cant wait to go to Garde and maybe get a glimpse of Tim hope he’s there!!!
Oh. Thanks. I didn’t know that you could go in under 18. Sorry for the mis-under standing. Thanks chef deck.
Shouldn’t the focus be more on the food that Garde Manger has to offer rather than who owns. Granted Tim Rozon is beautiful person but its just a thought.
I want to go to Canada so incrediably bad! I’ve called the resteraunt before, but no Tim!
I dying to visit! Is the food good? I hope, just seeing Tim would make my day perfectly!
The DeLish Bite » Blog Archive » Old Montreal Food Special // Aug 20, 2008 at 2:08 am
[...] of our favorites included: Garde Manger, 408 St. Francoise – Xavier, Old Montreal Often referred to as the hippest restaurant in [...]
Food is good. a little bit noisy. an animated difficult discussion inside an outside the restaurant Garde-Manger. Outside the discussion was more outrageous and a one of the participant took his car in a nearby parking lot and hit a participant which had to go to hospital for his injuries. The driver ran away from the scene in front of the Auberge Napoleon. A lot of the people were drunk. I will never go back to this restaurant. Roger.
Pathetic, particularly given the price. The seafood platter contained oysters that had been shucked by a prep chef who cut the oyster from the shell, which kills it. They had no flavor, no iodine odor, which means that they had been refrigerated a couple of hours after shucking. I suspect that the prep on the seafood platters is done in the morning, rather than to order. The flavor had been boiled out of the shrimp, only the crab had any taste left. For a supposedly seafood restaurant, the wine list is terrible; not one Alsatian or German wine, the rieslings and gerwurz are from Spain and Australia. The entrees are perhaps better, although the couple next to us were not very happy with theirs. I had blueberry pudding for dessert and it was pretty good. Montreal is a town for food, but the recommendation on this site for Garde Manger was a bum steer.
I have wanted to go since I heard about it. I heard the New York times liked it.. So yeah I can’t wait to try, I mean I’m not far so why not!
Vicki
Absolutely phenomenal food, atmosphere and staff! Go to this restaurant!!
Andy – Thank you for the Hot Shot!!!
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Correction on the name above – ADAM.
Went there again for the 2nd time in a week. Can’t say enough wonderful things about this restaurant and it’s staff. Fantastic place in Montreal!
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Hello… Tim Rozon… this is your Mom’s best friend! I remembered the times we spent together at your home in Montreal, Toronto. Richard and Derek used to tease you and your brothers Chris and David during the Christmas Holidays….
If we are in Montreal one day…. we must try out
Garde Manger.
Best of luck in your career,
Aunt Gisela
Wow, epic name drop there, Gisela. Four stars.
Don’t miss Chuck Hughes (chef of Garde Manger, Montreal) in his new show Chuck’s Day Off on the food network Canada every Monday.
emm… good one.
you could send your contact to me?
Montreal in a weekend « Tales from two cities // Dec 31, 2009 at 7:03 am
[...] We lucked out. Around 8PM on a Friday night we wandered into Garde Manger in Old Town Montreal, looking for a table. Little did we know this was one of the hottest spots in [...]
Really do none of you have a life that your so hooked on Tim Rozon and Not the Restraunt? Tim does have a girlfriend just to let you all know…
The Food is very appealing and Delisious.
as we in France say, Bon appetit!
I love the restraunt it is a lovely place.
love the restaurant and the food is to die for. i hate going out to eat because the service isn't great and the food is usually horrible. i loved the service and the food was amazing! btw i've been looking for your mushroom and prosciutto that you had made for your parents on an episode. i tried finding it on the food network but no luck. hope you can help, thx!
Went to Montreal over Easter Weekend. Landed at Garde Manger and it was the best part of the trip. Kyle (super hot BTW) bought us shots and the other servers made us feel right at home! Actually I think they bought us shots too. Hmmm blurry evening! Anyways, and there was a super adorable man sitting next to us (we call him Mr. Montreal!) Dave – if you ever read this – you gave us bad bar advice!! Anyways – this place ROCKS and I want to go back JUST to go back. ~Marylin!
Went to Montreal over Easter Weekend. Landed at Garde Manger and it was the best part of the trip. Kyle (super hot BTW) bought us shots and the other servers made us feel right at home! Actually I think they bought us shots too. Hmmm blurry evening! Anyways, and there was a super adorable man sitting next to us (we call him Mr. Montreal!) Dave – if you ever read this – you gave us bad bar advice!! Anyways – this place ROCKS and I want to go back JUST to go back. ~Marylin!
Tweets that mention Garde Manger Montreal Restaurant Review, Seafood, Old Montreal -- Topsy.com // Apr 26, 2010 at 11:08 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Gourmandize . Gourmandize said: Favourite Resto in Montreal http://eatwellmontreal.com/garde-manger-montreal/ [...]
And you know this because… Last I heard he was still single…
I did look it up and found a website that said he has been dating Karen Cliche since September 2009, but on her profile at IMDB she is married and just had a baby this past January… Unless you know something different??
Checked out her website and it looks like she's married to someone name Brian. She has pics up of the baby.
Chuck Hughes’ Garde Manger, Montreal | Nothin' Crazie // Jul 8, 2010 at 9:02 pm
[...] coworkers and I have been trying to get reservations at Garde Manger in Old Montreal for a long time, but have never had any success because we try to get a table last [...]