On Montreal Restaurant Garde Manger Chef Deck says,

Ego overcame Chef Deck for his number one review (restaurant Garde Manger) was written by Dubbers (I love you but I Chef Deck am both fat in body and in head). So here we go….Garde and I have a long history. It started when they first opened and I would go every Thursday for dinner and debauchery. Chef Chuck Hughes had created a gem (see Hughes on his new show “Chucks Day Off”) and the Canadian actor/teen girl stocky Tim Rozon (co-owner) brought the draw. The prices were dirt cheap, the food was phenomenal, and the times were out of Hot Dog The Movie. It then in my opinion got over priced, over crowded, underage, and a little to cool for school. The other night I went back to Old Montreal to visit Garde Manger and was pleasantly surprised. The food was just amazing and the prices are back down (slightly). We started with a personal favorite of blood sausage with a soft boiled egg, unbelievable jerk snow crab (spicy like crazy), a so so tomato buffalo mozzarella salad, and succulent seared scallops with pancetta. For the mains I was blown away by the lobster risotto, and melt in your mouth short ribs on a bed of arugula. I’m so happy to tell the world that restaurant Garde Manger is back in Arnold Schwarzenegger Commando shape, and I Chef Deck be back in love!

Tastiness: 9.1223152361 / 10
Rekindled appreciation: about the same as the 30 year old woman who stopped eating red meat when she was 16 because it “didn’t agree with her stomach” tasting a piece of rib steak / 10
Price: apps $10-$20 mains $25-$35- $$$$ seafood troff / 10

Chef Deck signing out!

Garde-Manger Montreal Information

408 St-François-Xavier, Old Montreal
Phone: 514-678-5044
Hours: Tue – Sun 6 pm – 3 am
Payment: Cash, Credit Cards
Cuisine: Seafood, Mediterranean

Chef Deck is the founder and head reviewer of Eat Well Montreal

On Montreal Restaurant Greasy Spoon Chef Deck says,

Market fresh is the new word in Montreal and it’s catching on fire like Charlie Sheen’s underwear. Montreal is kickin it back to the basics and many Montreal restos (Kitchen Gallerie, Joe Beef) are seeing the value in an ever changing menu according to the day’s best ingredients. Greasy Spoon restaurant is a fine example of this trend and I Chef Deck welcome it with open arms. It’s hard for me to judge the food because we opted for a tuna melt to start which was delicious, and were then tantalized by the seafood platter. Let me rephrase, this was not a platter but a three tiered oceanic smorgasbord of greatness (though a bit pricey for the portion). It had a selection of oysters, crisp shrimp, snow crab, and the coveted stone crab (yes those free lovin creatures that are protected by only having one claw snapped off at a time so they can roam like Ash until it grows back and can be snapped again!). One another note the atmosphere, music, and bar is great, though I feel that they can go harder on the beverages (and I’m sure the terrace will be kick ass in the summer).

Food: I pray with all my heart that it is amazing though the well-cooked seafood is a good sign / 10
Atmosphere: Irish pub, meets Alberta steak house, meets Garde Manger, meets the Cat Room/ 10
Price: $10-$15 apps and $20-$30 mains/ 10

Chef Deck signing out!

Greasy Spoon Restaurant Information

160 Laurier O, corner St-Urbain, Mile-End, Plateau-Mont-Royal
Montreal, QC
Métro: Laurier
Telephone: 514-495-7666
Hours: Tues – Sat: 5:00 pm – 12:00 am (midnight), Sun 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm, Closed Monday

Payment: Cash, Interac, Visa, MC

Did you know that the Greeks actually invented the light bulb (a man named Zorba Papadulopapous), the printing press (a man named Theodakas Spanikopita), and the comedic sitcom (a man named Jesse Katsopolis)? Well amongst those humanity changing innovations they also refined Montrealers pallets thanks to Costas Spiliadis owner/chef at Milos Montreal. Milos is by far, hands down, balls to the wall the best Greek restaurant in our fine city. The Milos special is a must have (perfectly deep fried zucchini, eggplant, and saganaki) as an appetizer, along with fried calamari, grilled octopus, soft shell crab, and grilled mushrooms and peppers. Their Greek salad is the true indicator because if you close your eyes when you bit into one of the tomatoes, you would swear that they were just picked from the vine in Santorini. The fish at Milos will never disappoint. It’s so fresh that after it is flash grilled you can still taste the salt from the ocean. For dessert hopefully you can get the birthday cake with the burnt caramel on top, but if not the honey balls (teehee) are light fluffy ballerific excellence. The only bad thing that I have to say about Milos restaurant is that they have disposed of their bionic toilets (but maybe they ate a small child or something?).

Service: Mr. Belvedere trained as a geisha for 43 years/10

Tastiness: 9.875637232/10

Price: a date with Paris Hilton/10

Chef Deck signing out!

Estiatorio Milos Restaurant

5357, du Parc, corner Saint Viateur
Mile-End, Montreal, Québec, H2V 4G9
Metro: Outremont
Phone: 514-272-3522
Hours: Mon-Fri 12:00 pm – Midnight, Sat-Sun 5:30 pm-midnight
Payment: Traveller’s Cheque, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express
Food: Greek, Mediterranean
Bonus: Free Valet

On Symposium Restaurant Montreal Chef Deck says:

Milos Restaurant started the trend, Faros had a stint close to the top, Phillinos was good once upon a time, but now if you’re looking for one of the best Greek restaurants in Montreal, restaurant Symposium won’t disappoint. The platter with grilled octopus, grilled calamari, and fried calamari was perfection. All of the trio melted in your mouth, and were seamlessly spiced. The highlight of the meal though where their special scallops (you ask why special? I’ll never tell) . Eating them was like a party in my mouth which Richard Prior, Kevin Nealon, and Norm Macdonald all happened to be in attendance for. I thank you Mr. Symposium for being so magically delicious.

Atmosphere: Oppa/10
Tastiness: 9.193834722/10
Hospitality: And Jesse Katsopolis thought he was cool/10

Chef Deck signing out!

Psarotaverna Du Symposium Restaurant

3829, rue St-Denis corner Roy, Montreal
Tel: 514-842-0867
Hours: Monday – Friday, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, Every day, 5 pm – 11 pm
Cuisine: Greek, Seafood

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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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Excellent BYOB French restaurant. They specialize in seafood… would ya think. Can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. About $50-$80 a couple.

1201, Rachel East; 514-522-4876
Hours: 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm, closed on Monday
Pay: Amex, VISA, MC, Interac
BYOB