Best kept restaurants secret in downtown Montreal ?

[New York]

My fellow Canadians,


I was in downtown Montreal the other day and I saw restaurants all over the place.

I cannot possible try all of them, so I need to ask fellow Canadians to post here all the best kept restaurants in downtown Montreal.

Please limit to downtown Montreal since I don't drive far from it.
And the restaurants have to satisfy the following criteria to be in the best kept restaurants secret:

1. Good price

2. Good food

3. Ethnic cuisine, possibly.

Please don't post common restaurants like Tim Hortons and Harveys since I already know about these.

 

[ricola]

cheap eats: Italian and Chinese downtown

Here'a a couple of Restos within a block of each other in the downtown area:

The Rotisserie Italien on St-Catherine by du Fort.

A charming little place with counter service, cheap Italian house wine, tasty pizza and pastas.


Wok Cafe 1845, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest corner St Marc

Wok Cafe is a restaurant specializing in Oriental cuisine; Dim Sum, Cantonese, Szechuwan, Thai, Japanese, and Vietnamese. Well known for there award winning General Tao’s chicken, all there dishes are steaming and fresh.

 

[Techman]

Not exactly downtown, but just a bit west of Decarie on the south side you'll find Chalet BBQ. Best BBQ chicken in town. Not exactly a high class joint but great chicken. A bit further you'll find Cosmo's which is probably the most famous greasy spoon in Mtl., basic but great breakfasts, burgers, hamburger steaks...no french fries though, home fries instead. You never know who you might see there, from local celebs to people like Robin Williams, Dan Akroyd and Liona Boyd.

One thing you should try is spruce beer. It exists only in Quebec and is a 400 year old recipe. The oldest softdrink in the world and really refreshing on a hot day.

 

[EagerBeaver]

My fellow Canadians,

If you are Canadian how is it that you chose the handle "New York"?

BTW, in my opinion, in the category of "great food for the money you spend", I would put the following restaurants:

Boustan (Lebanese) - Crescent Street (best fast food in the city)
Amir (Lebanese) - DeMaisoneuve (similar to Boustan, they make a very good falafel sandwich, and the stuffed vine leaves are large and superb)
La Medusa (Italian) - Drummond (very good Italian for reasonable prices)
Le Maison Kam Fung (Dim Sum/Chinese) - St. Urbain/Chinatown (paid $27 for lunch for me, O. Kloseoff and Stripper Lover before tip - doesn't really get better than this in the value department. Eat like a horse, pay very little)
Mikasa (Sushi) - Peel (less expensive alternative to ShoDan, although not cheap)
Le Casa Grecque (Greek) - Prince Arthur - very solid Greek food at a reasonable price
Janos (Portuguese) - St. Laurent - good, inexpensive Portuguese food. Your wallet will not take a beating in this place.
Casa de Mateo (Mexican) - St. Francoise Xavier/Old Montreal (solid, reasonably priced Mexican food)

Please note that I am someone who normally prefers dining at higher end restaurants, but I also sample the lower end dining to see what the best value is for the money.

 

[shijak]

One of my favorite little restaurants is Bato Thai in the Gay Village area, a nice little Thai restaurant with a great lunch special. When it first opened about 10 years ago their soup used to be so spicy it would clear congested sinuses, but over the years they've mellowed its recipee.
it's located on Ste-Catherine St.

 

[picasso]

Recommendation for Indian

www.restaurantgandhi.com

Re-posting my mini-review from another thread:

This place ranks right up there with the best Indian restos that you find in the States in the big cities. It's also a nice, intimate place to go with your favorite sp on a date ! It does not advertise very much in the newspapers or other free rags and it doesn't need to, because once you've been there you're pretty much hooked if you like Indian cuisine like I do. I recently went there on a date with a babe who's vegetarian and we were impressed with the variety and quality of veggie dishes, especially all the curries that give you the option of going meatless. My recommendations based on 3 visits thus far: For veggie appetizers, definitely go for aloo chat (cubed fried potatoes with different spices), aloo ghobi (cauliflowers and fried potatoes), samosa and pakora. Yes, they also have onions bhajee too. For meat dishes, go with the chicken Tikka Masala or the jumbo prawns Masala, neither of which is spicy. For curries (either with or without meat) go with Korma (creamy, not spicy at all) or Sagwala, and Pathia (kick ass spicy). You'll need a mango lassi after these latter two dishes.

 

[picasso]

Red Thai

One of my favorite little restaurants is Bato Thai in the Gay Village area, a nice little Thai restaurant with a great lunch special. When it first opened about 10 years ago their soup used to be so spicy it would clear congested sinuses, but over the years they've mellowed its recipee.
it's located on Ste-Catherine St.

For me, the best Thai place is Red Thai on St-Laurent & Sherbrooke. Yummy fish cakes!

 

[bond_james_bond]

No specific recommendations. But what I have found for cheap eats is any place in the underground malls.

Eaton Centre, Place de la Cathedrale, Place Montreal Trust, Les Cours Mont Royal, etc. all have good food courts on the Metro levels.

 

[CaptRenault]

Bombay Palace
Indian restaurant, good food, nice atmosphere, order from menu or choose the reasonably priced buffet
2201 St. Catherine West ( several blocks west of Crescent)


Basha
A Lebanese cafeteria on the second floor of the building @ 930 Ste. Catherine West (same building where Sports Experts sporting goods store is located).

 

[danleo]

Nagoya

I really like Nagoya. It is a Korean and Japanese restaurant on Notre-Dame, on the same block as the basilica. Their BBQ is the closest thing to actually go in Korea.

 

[gohabsgo]

No specific recommendations. But what I have found for cheap eats is any place in the underground malls.

Eaton Centre, Place de la Cathedrale, Place Montreal Trust, Les Cours Mont Royal, etc. all have good food courts on the Metro levels.

I would also add Les Halles de la Gare at the train station and Faubourg Sainte-Catherine for good food courts.

 

[gohabsgo]

I am curious about Korean food (it seems that it is spicy too) and Haitian cuisine. I wonder if there are any reasonably-priced Korean restaurants.

A few weeks ago I went to this Korean place,

Restaurant Bulgogi House
(514) 935-9820
2127 RUE SAINTE-CATHERINE OUEST


its on the north side of Sainte-Catherine, corner du Fort. I had the bulgogi, which is a Korean beef dish, it was good and the prices are not expensive.

 

[hobby11]

very best indian in mtl?

please tell me whats the best indian resto in mtl?

 

[New York]

Le Maison Kam Fung ?

Hello everybody,


Since I had recommendations from many people, I tried Le Maison Kam Fung on St. Urbain.

What a disappointment!!!

Paid $10 and still hungry.

Food is not so good.

Service is so so.

Whoever recommended this restaurant owes me an special dinner at an expensive restaurant to compensate for this loss.

 

[New York]

Complex Desjardins food ?

Hello everybody,


I did not see any mentioning of the food at Complex Desjardins.

This is a mistake.

I had very very food at the food court.

Food is good at reasonable price.

Is this a mistake ?

Good location too.

 

[chef]

............Paid $10 and still hungry.

Food is not so good.

Service is so so.

Whoever recommended this restaurant owes me an special dinner at an expensive restaurant to compensate for this loss.

Did you go for the dim sum ? Both Eager Beaver and I like this place for the dim sum (I have been there many times for dim sum). I took a young lady there who disliked the dim sum, but two others loved it and said they would return

It goes without saying that you try any recommendation at your own risk; an expensive dinner will not be forthcoming.

 

[Anna Bijou]

These are a few favorites of mine... Places you just can`t go wrong.


Chu Chai & Chuch ~ on Saint-Denis (Thai Cuisine)
http://www.madeinmtl.com/stops/118/2/

The actual restaurant (Chu Chai) is great!!!! But there is also an`express`version (Chuch) right next door with a very similar (or same) menu and BYOB option..

Offers vegetarian dishes but you would never guess! They have been very creative in replacing meat from all dishes but you could swear it`s meat!

Review & Address:
http://www.10best.com/Montreal/Restaurants/Asian/index.html?businessID=79511

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Punjab Palace ~ on Jean Talon.. a few blocks west of ave du Parc (Indian Cuisine)

Incredible food at ridiculous low prices.. also BYOB. Awesome to sample a little of everything when dining with one or more ppl. Yumm Nan & Butter chicken.. *Drool*

website:
www.punjabpalace.ca/en/

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Al Taib ~ on Guy @ de Maisoneuve (Lebanese Bakery & Middle eastern Specialties)
http://www.madeinmtl.com/stops/118/2/

BEST pitas EveR! I`ve been away from montreal for a year & I can`t tell you how many times I`ve craved their pitas..

website:
http://www.altaib.com/index.php

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Alep & Petit Alep ~ Jean Talon (Syrian-Armenian Cuisine)

another favorite


Alep Review:
http://www.anise.ca/pomagranate.html

Alep & Petit Alep addresse:
http://www.google.ca/maps?hl=en&lr=...alep&near=Montréal,+QC&sa=X&oi=local&ct=title

Le Petit Alep
http://www.madeinmtl.com/stops/118/2/



This is all making very hungry..

Hope this helps!
bijou

 

[JuIcE_Y]

indian fan

please tell me whats the best indian resto in mtl?

There is a restaurant on Sherbrook in lower westmount called the Taj Mahal, i have no clue about the cross street but it is between the metro and the parc... best butter chicken ever!!! I think they get a little pricy in the evening, but they have really good lunch specials. oh yeah and in that area if you want great sandwiches, there is a really good place called foumagerie...specialising in guess what: fromage

XXXXX

 

[chef]

There is a restaurant on Sherbrook in lower westmount called the Taj Mahal............. best butter chicken ever!!! ...........

I love butter chicken, but are they able to do a truly mild version of it? I have a common problem with Indian restaurants - even if I ask for mild I get stuff that is far too hot to be edible. Give me French any day !

 

[shijak]

Chef, repeat after me...

spicy........goooooooooooooooodddddddd!!