Monkland Village
Hi, I'm new to Monkland Village and am wondering which of the 30 or so restaurants get the thumbs up or thumbs down. So far for lunch I give thumbs up to St Viateur Bagel, Caveau Szechuan, Pizzadelic and Mesquite. My dinner at Al Dente was pretty terrible and was only saved by the BYOW. Soup and noodles is ok in a pinch, but just generic chinese food IMO. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
simplygenius
Aug 27, 2006 07:00PM
"“simplygenius" I too am new to Monkland Village and am on a discovery of the neighborhood.
I agree that “Al Dente’s food is horrific and their service terrible.
I have tried the “Soup & Noodles” three times and was there this afternoon for lunch with a friend.
The food gets worst each time I go, today it was simply uneatable, it is now stricken off my list.
Unfortunately I also don’t get “Monkland Taverne” high prices & low quality.
It is a see and be seen place that focuses more on getting the soundtrack right than their food.
Ok enough for the bad & ugly, now for the good.
The following have been some of my good experiences in the area since July.
Agora on Somerled: great fresh Greek food in a nice atmosphere with reasonable prices.
Chop Suey Imperiale on Cote St.Luc RD: the real thing as good as the best places in Chinatown
Monkland Grill: simple family type place with good meals and a nice terrace
Malibu Café: Purchase some prepare meals for a party and they were excellent
Au Bon Pain: Great bread, pastries and decent coffee
Amour Des Thes: Great place if you like tea. I just bought some Grand Early Grey, it is amazing!
Have also heard very good things about the butcher and fish store.
I am still stuck on going downtown etc for meals; I would like to find some good places so I could break that habit.
Please let us know about your future experiences.
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i agree completely about soup and noodles, LOUSY!
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?? Soups & Noodles is our no-food-in-the-house saviour. It's not high end, but my god it's $7/dish. We love it.
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No kidding! The first time we ordered form them, I swear, the doorbell rang about 10 minutes later.
Their food is actually pretty good for a little delivery joint. The yum choi sum is cooked to perfection.
The place I only recently discovered, and this is hard to believe, is Montrose on Somerled, the place that doesn't look like a Chinese restaurant. I've known about it for years, but never dared order from them on fear of dying from blandness, but a friend recently let on that she'd ordered from them for years. We gave it a try, and so far I can't believe how good their food is.
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Could you please please tell me what to order at Montrose? I went to eat at Montrose today, & quite honestly it was worst Chinese food at a Chinese restaurant I have ever eaten(I'm not kidding). I was there for lunch, and I ordered their spring rolls & fried rice with seafood & pineapple. The spring rolls tasted like it was a commercial frozen product(some parts of it, was still cold inside, when I bite into it). Their fried rice with seafood & pineapple... what a piece of junk! In the past, I've gone right past Montrose restaurant, as it seemed it catered to caucasians wanting safe Canadian Chinese food(do these Chinese restaurants still very much exist in Montreal?). Sorry for sounding so harsh.
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Well first off, we are talking about an old-style Cantonese delivery place, so I should have qualified it by saying their Canadian-Chinese delivery food is quite good. No miracles here, but certainly not the awful experience you had. Ugh. Beef with ginger and scallions was good, lemon chicken was also good (yes, all olde tyme comfort food), and the very oddly named Spanish seafood rice was also good.
This is not President or Tapioca The or Hong Kong, but was better than just about any delivery place that I know in NDG, apart from Kum Mon, which is quite far but actually does do NDG.
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So most of your experiences at Montrose was within the past year? I was told by my friend(who works near-by), that Montrose had new owners about a year ago. I welcome other people on this board to try Montrose, so to get a third, fourth...opinion.
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The first time we ever ordered from them was about 2 months ago or so.
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Better than Tchang Kiang? They do still deliver, don't they? That would be my pick for NDG.
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Oy. My hub ordered from Tchang Kiang as an experiment once while I was away travelling and said *that* was the absolute worst Chinese food of any type ("surburban" or "real" Chinese) he'd ever had. You've had good experiences there, I take it?
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I used to really like their food about 20 years ago, but I found it went downhill to the Fay Wong level. Haven't tried them again for at least 5 years.
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They have two menus - one is Szechuan and Pekinese, and the other is your typical "Cantonese" stuff (chop suey, chicken with pineapple, etc). I've never ordered the Cantonese dishes there, so I have no idea what they're like - but the Szechaun/Pekinese ones are good, if a wee bit pricey, and I've yet to order anything off of that menu that I wasn't happy with.
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Edit - this was meant to be a reply to bomobob on his "This is not President or Tapioca The or Hong Kong" post about Montrose further up the thread. Not sure how it ended up in this spot, so just wanted to qualify what I'm agreeing with below....
Agreed. A couple of times a year we get a craving for what I call "suburban" Chinese... that bland, totally Canadianized Chinese stuff of my childhood - pineapple chicken, dry garlic spareribs, chicken-fried rice (the dark soy-sauce kind), etc. etc. All that stuff I'm sure no Chinese person would want to touch with a 10-foot pole. However, once in a while it just hits the spot. Until recently, I had no decent place to order that kind of food from, but after a reccommendation from elsewhere, I tried Montrose and was pleasantly surprised. I've since had a few of their dinner combos several times and it was decent every time. Not Chinatown Chinese, or "real" Chinese by any stretch, but generous quantities of inexpensive suburban Chinese. And once in a while, that's just what the doctor ordered.
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Zackly!
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I totally get this! Every once in a while, I just want what I call "Good-Bad Chinese" - no authenicity, no special ingredients, just good old pseudo-Chinese. It is astonishingly hard to find a place that does this well!
So Montrose, huh? Sounds like just the kind of place where you get a bunch of take-out and pig out in front of the tv after a rough day...
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On a similar note, we went to Yangtse with my cousin a couple of weeks ago. Haven't been there far a good 30 years. It was more of a lark than anything else, reliving our past. The food was quite average, much as I remember it being, but the eggrolls (which I almost never order anywhere, unless I've got a 1960s dinner-for-two craving) were the best I've ever eaten. Obviously homemade, filled to bursting with meat and veggies, and crispy to a tee. I've honestly never tasted eggrolls like that anywhere. But I wouldn't hurry back for much else.
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My parents weren't all that sophisticated or adventurous eaters (read my dad), and we pretty much only patronized one chinese restaurant during my formative years. House of Wong. We would always order one of the dinners for 4, so we'd get the standard egg rolls (which were far from standard - tube like, with the ends open so the bits of cabbage etc would get crispy - ooohhhh yummmy, won ton soup, dry garlic spareribs, chicken fried rice (that you douse with that sticky sweet sauce from the ribs) and pineapple chicken. It was feast. I sometimes get nostalgic for that place and would love to find somewhere else I could get that food.
I tried Montrose once - can't remember what I ordered (I actually thought I was orderning from a new szechuan place) but I know it was the "this is not chinese food say the chinese" variety, and I was quite impressed -quality, quantity and taste.
I do miss the House of Wong (on Queen Mary, just East of Decarie).
My dad was also a huge Piazza Tomasso guy. He was in heaven there. Magic Tom pulled a coin out of my sister's ear.
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We probably grew up next door to each other, because House of Wong was our Friday night ritual, after shopping next door at Steinberg's. And oh, those eggrolls with the cigar ends. Fabulous! Even after all these years, I remember that place like it was yesterday.
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If you sometimes have cravings for Canadianized Chinese food, have you tried Bistro Mahjongg where they devote one page of their menu to the Ruby Foo's Specialities(prepared like they did at the original Ruby Foo's Montreal)? I've eaten quite a few dishes from Bistro Mahjongg's Ruby Foo's menu(just trying to figure out, what all the fuss was about with the Ruby Foo's dishes). I didn't care for it that much for the most part(I generally despise Canadian Chinese food), but I could see why people would like the Ruby Foo's dishes. While the two things I tried at Montrose friday afternoon, was just plain bad in every aspect.
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al dente is also filthy. ugh.
Garam Masala is very good, as far as Montreal Indian goes. Superb service too.
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Le Messob d'or, corner of Monkland and Harvard. Considered by many to be the city's best Ethiopian restaurant.
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what is Ethiopian food anyways?
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As served in local restaurants, mostly a variety of stewed meats and vegetables, often heavily spiced, spooned into small piles on injera, a huge spongy flatbread made from tef flour. You tear off pieces of the injera and use them to pick up some stew and transfer it to your mouth. See www.africa.upenn.edu/Cookbook/Ethiopi...
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Sounds good
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All gone. Closed shop.
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If you're still interested please read my review of Mekdala, the reincarnation of Messob D'or.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/503138
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Had dinner on the little terrasse at Chase last night. It was nothing more than average Lebanese food. The chicken brochettes (shish taouk) were very good, as was the taboule, but the rice, kafta, hummus, & falafel were average at best. I MUCH prefer my local take out joint (Amara in VSL)
The falafel was served with a mild yogurt-like sauce rather than the traditional tahini. I found that unappealing and odd.
The price, for Monkland, was fair.
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Le Maistre is always a good pick, was never disappointed (ca. 7 visits), the staff is very friendly and know their menu.
The new Thai place beside St Viateur is very good for my standards (never been to Thailand) - small and usually crowded, friendly.
I like the fish and chips at Ye Olde Orchard - not consistent though (1 out of 8 was not up to standard).
Tribeca has - for me - no personality and concept (except for the Martinis).
Sushi Star I like, the owner is very friendly and we like the sushi there (never been to any of the top addresses in town, can't compare). She worked at the Sushi Shop chain further down on Monkland and then opened her own shop because she did not feel that the other place was providing good enough quality and service.
Taverne only once, long ago, was OK, too loud for my taste.
St.Viateur good for breakfasts and salads when the health-obsessed in-laws want to go out ...
La Chasse - same impression as above poster.
We like as well the Indian place - Garam Masala - compares, for us, to Ganges.
If you want to prepare your own dinner - le maitre boucher is a great place to start! Their sausages are great, the meat is great quality and André at the cheese counter REALLY knows his cheeses.
Enjoy!
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Lezvos on Decarie/Monkland (really close to Monkland Village)is one of the better places there. Tavern is hit or miss.
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Try Gout de l'Inde (Taste of India), corner of Beaconsfield and Monkland: tasty, reasonably priced, few dishes not seen elsewhere. Try the spicy nagga chicken, sizzling dishes, and the three (I think) types of paneer (the one with spinach and the one with peas quite good).
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I lived there until recently.
Taverne - good local place to see people you know - not that I knew many of them, not really my scene - with ok food that's a bit pricey for what it is.
Tribeca - not bad for drinks and an app to catch up with a friend, but the food is generally uninspired.
St-Viateur - can't fail basic.
New Thai place - quite good. Soup & Noodles - to be avoided. I would order from somewhere else instead of their food. Caveau - quite good. The asian (szechwan?) place in front of Villa Maria - a few surprizingly good dishes.
Pizzadelic, Benedict's - both decent. Benedict's classic for brunch. Not bad for dinner either.
Ganges - Indian food on Sherbrooke, roughly on the corner of... Melrose? I really can't recall. It's pretty good.
I don't really care for Mesquite.
In short, I don't think there is anywhere local that is outstanding however I have not been to the new bistro-like place across from St-Viateur. I did greatly enjoy picking up wine, seafood, cheese, meats, baked goods at the small local businesses along the street and cooking at home. So for a great local meal, that's what I did!
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Also what can not be found is a good espresso or cap.
Starbucks, Second Cup, Java U stuff is terrible.
The best place so far has been Premeire Moisan
I would really like to see a real espresso shop open up like Caffee Art Java.
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St. Viateur's coffee is great!
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Not so much. Get your bagels and leave.
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Is Bangkok Express on Monkland any good(it seems that Abendschein above here might be refering to this restaurant("New Thai place - quite good"))? Some of the items on their menu seems interesting(different from other Thai restaurants). I know that Sarah Musgrave of the Montreal Gazette wasn't too positive about the restaurant, but I believe she reviewed it after it was only opened for about 3-4 weeks. I feel too many of the Montreal restaurant critics are rushing to review restaurants that are too new to review(after opening 3-4 weeks or so). I even heard of a Montreal restaurant critic reviewing a restaurant less than a week old!
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I recently had supper there. The food is great however the service is slow; they are way too busy to have just one waitress doing the take-out orders and being the hostess/waitress. I had the green curry with tofu and although a little different from what I am used to (the tofu seemed deep-fried and the curry wasn't too spicy) the vegetables were fresh and the tangy/sour combo was right on. I also had the chicken coconut soup and it was very spicy (I was tearing throughout that course...but soooo good)!
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Food's ok, take out portions kind of small.
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I used to live in NDG for several years, and I agree with all the above comments, nothing that great in terms of fine dining. But, one thing to add...for the best subs in Montreal (in my opinion) try Momesso's, it's on Upper Lachine Road, a few streets west of Decarie. Great espresso too!
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I live close to Monkland Ave. and eat there from time to time, only because it's close. In my opinion, there is not one restaurant in the "good to very good" category. People go to Monkland because it's a scene (to see and be seen). My summary: The best bet, in my opinion, is Premiere Moisan at the corner of Girouard. It's a nicely decorated and clean place, the staff are usually friendly, and the food (self-serve) is above average and reasonably priced. And surprisingly, another great place is take out: the Sushi Shop on Monkland, in our opinion, has the best sushi in the entire NDG/Snowdon area, even better than other Sushi Shops; always very fresh ingredients, and delicious. Chase (Lebanese) is ordinary to poor. Taverne is overpriced and quality is average (nothing ranking as delicious). St. Viateur Bagel is decent, and the prices are low, but the quality seems very inconsistent from one visit to the next; forget lunch if you want a relaxed meal, you'll be squeezed like a sardine on the bench seating and the staff are rushed like crazy; at supper, forget eating there on a hockey night, as the boozers come around to watch the game on the two large screen TVs and hoot and howl at every shot on goal. Benedict's: what a joke for a restaurant. We went there a while back with a group of about 15 people, and the service was a disaster, not to mention the consistently mediocre food, and it's not cheap. They are still in the Entertainment Book, so that might tell you a thing or two about the place (most restos in the book end up closing within a few years or less). Monkland Grill is ordinary; no culinary prizes to be won at this place. For take-out, Malibu is usually very good, and bring lots of cash or you may max out your credit card. I was disappointed a while back when I returned some soup to Malibu that wasn't fresh, and the owner refused to refund my money. Even though he agreed there was something wrong with the soup, he insisted on issuing a credit note, which my wife eventually lost. Poor business policy which will cost him many customers. The Maitre Boucher is better value for take out, and very good quality (in the basement, below the Sushi Shop). I may have forgotten some places, but I'll post again if they come to mind. Bon appetit!
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As the neighborhood has become more affluent the quality of food has gone down and prices have gone up. Basically what has happened is that as rent has increased smaller restos have been pushed out by chains and overpriced "trendy" places. It's a pity because Monkland used to have some really good (and affordable) mom & pop places. (eg. Joz & Messob D'or)
On the positive side Patisserie Nancy is still very good, though their prices have increased over the years, and Gryphon D'Or ( past the trendy part of monkland) serves some of the best baked goods in the city, along with all you can drink tea and coffee ( both of which are really good).
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I agree that the restos on Monkland are mostly overpriced junk. Having said that, sometimes there may be other forces at work when it comes to restaurant closures. I know the owner of the building that Messob D'or was in, and their rent was dirt cheap (for anywhere, not just for Monkland). I wonder if the family just decided to ditch restaurant life or if they will pop up elsewhere?
The only restaurant we go to is the Bangkok--very good Thai that we can walk to. Pretty much everything else is either overpriced, bad, or both. We live nearby and I work on Monkland, and I was just thinking today as I strolled down the street that and DECENT resto that moves in will make a killing.
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Ivan is right on the mark, from my perspective.
I've lived in NDG since the time that the Monkland Tavern was a tavern, and Franni's was pretty much the only place to get any food. It always amazes me how poor the choices are, even now. Messoub d'Or was, in my opinion and the opinions of everyone I know, the very best place ever on Monkland, and is now sadly defunct. The hall of shame has been embarrassing. Benedict's was inedible. The Tavern is way overpriced for very mediocre food. I gave Garam Masala 6 months until it tanked, and it unfortunately lasted a bit longer before vacating the premises for a cupcake shop. With so much reasonably priced and superior Indian food in the area, why would they even bother?
Food quality has never been paramount on the street, and the fairly high turnover attests to that. Al Dente is an exception, and the crowds prove it out.
A newcomer on the stage is not on Monkland, but isn't far, and that Hwang Korean BBQ down on Upper Lachine. The times we've gone, the food has been superb, and the place was filled with Koreans, which is always a good sign.
Bob
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Bob, did you happen to notice if there were any non-meat options on the Korean place's menu? i.e. a vegetarian bibimbap or the like?
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I didn't notice if there were any veg items, but I suspect there were at least a couple. I could be wrong though. No wait, there were some kimchi soups and stews, but they may be based on meat broths.
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Well, I lived in the area until about a year ago, and only ate out a few times. Once at the Pizzedelic (alright), a couple of times at Olde Orchard, and a few times at the Subway (literally the only thing cheap and quick enough at the time). After I moved out, I heard the Olde Orchard has a mean seafood curry, owing to their Sri Lankan chef. But I never got the chance to try myself.
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I have lived, worked, socialized and grown up in this neighborhood and I think it's wonderful. The people who live around here know each other very well and we are certainly a tight group. For thumbs up I have to say; (Starting at Decarie and working down towards Grand) Cafe Orange, (breakfast) down- Mesquite (Chicken & ribs) down, Lezvos (greek) down, Pizza Pino- up, Tavern(e) up, Pizzadelic- down, Ye Olde Orchard (pub fare) up, Mykanos (haven't tried yet), Le Maistre (french) up, Chase (lebanese) up, Malabu (take away) up, Sushi shop- up, Al Dente- down, Soup & Noodles- down, Benedicts (breakfast) up, Monkland Grill- down. As for baked goods; Premier Moison (true baguette) up, Au pain dore- down, Choco-lat (cupcakes) down, Patisserie Nancy - up, Gryphon D'or (Best scones in Montreal) up. As for coffee they all kind of blend together. Best terrace is Second Cup to see and be seen as so many people seem so envious about.
If you like a neighborhood where everyone watches out for each other then this is that place, you can't find a better bunch of people anywhere.
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Dang. Forgot about Cafe Orange, though I'm hardly sure you could call that part of Monkland Village, as it's on Decarie a few minutes' walk south of Monkland. I also never at e there until I moved away. More wasted opportunities.
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For all of you who mentioned it - Unfortunately Tribeca no longer exists (they did have great martinis) - it is now a decent Greek restaurant with some original things to offer, other than the standard souvlaki plate.
I have tried Le Maitre on a few occasions and have always had a great meal there. Not terribly expensive (but I did always choose from the Table D'Hote), some creativity on the part of the chef and nice service.
Some of you mentioned Premiere Moisson - friendly staff?? not always. I do have a question though that they can never seem to answer: why have numbers if you just serve whichever customer will answer to "who's next"?? Either use the numbers or don't - and then remove them. Their baked goods are good though - better than Au Pain Dore, where I have sometimes thought I was eating yesterday's croissant, even at 8:00 in the morning. They do have a great Pain Brioche though (use that next time you're making french toast)!!
And please..... Choc O la??? Overpriced betty crocker cupcakes. And that icing?? Buttercream it is not (oooohhhhh, buttercream).
And the Taverne??? Please. Nobody goes there for the food. Who are you guys kidding? Silly me did that once.....
Malibu? Didn't find them very accomodating either. Kinda like, "we don't need you.." - well treat more customers like crap and you'll need all of us. Trust me.
Can't go wrong with Ben and Jerry's - can you???
Oh yeah, and that other Bistro, across the street from St. Viateur.... not bad, not bad at all.
Ciao for Nao
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Damn Tribeca is gone? Where have I been, their apple martini was the best I've ever had.
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anyone been to mexican place on monkland/hampton. i'd like to know what people think of it.
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I went once, when it was called the Casa Azul - it seems to have been renamed now to Amarante or something like that - don't know if it's still the same owner or not. The was okay - nothing spectacular, not gag worthy- but the selection was very limited. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, if only because there was really no reason to.
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