ABG

The 357C one year party was interesting and service was stellar. John, ex-Bice put on a great spread. My sweet tooth is still recovering. The desserts were a high point! Not so sure on the beautiful people, but what can you do. What is it like there the rest of the time? Has anyone been for a mid-week dinner? Mount-Royal / Stephen club clone or unique?

Thank God... Monkland needs more coffee places for the hipster crowd.

Sho-Dan on Metcalfe, not Rene Levesque.

It is a private club, been open for about a year now. Quite the place. www.le357c.com

I took in Restaurant S last week and would say the restaurant is doing well under the new ownership. It is now managed directly by the hotel and no longer by the Faros / Mezzé people. Meal started with an amuse of 2 snails in a red wine reduction. Starters were fresh oysters presented on a large mirror with a red vinaigrette. Grilled octopus, a usual favourite of mine, was a let down. Octopus came drowned in a dark thick liquid instead of olive oil and lemon that I was dreaming of. Others enjoyed house Caesar salad. The stand out main was the parmesan encrusted lobster. Lobster arrived tableside (already split) and was served up by the waiter. Wonderful presentation and an obviously popular dish as we saw many trays of lobster leaving the qusai-open kitchen. Came with a selection of veggies. Red snapper filet was cooked perfectly as was the filet of salmon. Both also garnished with veggies and via special request duck fat roasted potatoes. Dessert was a chocolate pave(??), if I remember the name correctly (it had been 2 bottles of wine already). Warm cake served in a small bowl with house ice cream. Marvellous. Service was friendly, helpful and swift, but not polished. Bottle of Pellegrino stayed on a shelf out of reach while our glasses remained empty. Had to ask a few times for ice bucket to chill our white wine. etc etc Prices are high. Dinner for 4 with tax, tip, wine etc, $460.00. The Quebec Lamb was tempting, but I passed at $55.00. Big plus, free valet parking and the car was waiting for us the moment we stepped onto St. Paul Street.

Overlordofpasty is poking fun at some comments further up the thread by riboflavinjoe. Relax everyone. How are the average checks at Cavalli? I had a friend from London go and he found it out of this world pricey. This coming from someone who is used to London prices. Can anyone advise?

I love some feedback on your Bristol dinner. I know Eric Frechon and the hotel really want a third star. How were your expectations not met?

Besides Mikado Laurier, I've always enjoyed Sho-Dan on metcalfe.

I always let hotel concierge handle reservation. They have secured tables for me at L'Astrance on several occassions. They have all the angles.

The rooftop deck is setting up nicely for a 5 a 7 bar scene.... They recently expanded the size of the deck considerably. Full bar set up with some food offerings from Versus and others grilled right on the patio with BBQ. Next spat of nice weather and I'm gonna try food out. Drinks were excellent. As at the front desk of Nelligan how to get up there.

The new owners are the Germain family of Montréal and Quebec City fame. Thanks for the great review....

Cole, didn't know about the CDP owning the morgage on the joint. But as for the Board, since so many CDP people are members I guess it wasn't hard to get there own people elected. Most members are too apathetic to care who sits on the board. As for JCS dream of a hotel, the Remstar people stole his thunder for sure with the St. James and Daniel Langlois is setting up rooms at 357C. Montreal doesn't need more rooms!

As far as I understand from my members guide, the members of the club own the property and it is "not for profit" in order to obtain heritage designations from City of Montreal But you are right, there are a ton of CDP people. Its actually more francophone now than anglophone, which would never have been thought of 50 years ago. Wild how things change. Nice place for a small wedding, food is decent...

What will become of the Nava space then Walnuts?

Do you think the fact that Modavie is owned by the Antonopoulos family who control 3 hotels in Old Montreal has anything to do with the concierges recommendations? Walnuts, you obviously work at Modavie or for the Antonopoulos family. Do you work specifically at Modavie or in another interest or function.

The soto-express concept is what killed them. Sushi ain't like burgers and fries. And I agree with Lesley, too many customers had to many bad experiences at the MTL locations, myself included. The Mt. Tremblant local was actually the best Soto I was ever in. One Sushi chef / owner I spoke to said this was a long time building. They had problems long ago.

Do the resto's take the input tax credit on the GST / QST on the wine & booze? So they are paying 8% more, but claiming back 15% or so. Most of us can't do that at SAQ.

Did anyone get to look at the menu at the Med Grill? They appeared to be doing a brisk grand prix businesses.

I'll add Rosalie to your list. Grand Prix is not as big this year. Most hotels are not sold out.

Looks great - what is your average tab before tax, tip and booze?

How long to you wait before reviewing a new place Lesley? I thought the Lychee review came a little quick since the new chef joined.

I think you are right Lesile, Les Rampart does a brisk fireworks business, but honesly, the terrace is bland and boring. The two times I went there it was too windy to enjoy myself. I did notice that the tent at Bice seems larger than usual. Perhaps it was a seasonal plan hoping for warmer weather in April / May. S in Old Montreal makes use of the Saint Sulpice hotel's courtyard. Very Paris, but very isolated from the waitstaff. Effects service levels.

Lets get back to Rosalie, since it is now May at the place is really hitting its stride. I was present on New Years eve, post 3am and finally made it back on the weekend. Like the other posts the food and decor are both stand outs. The new summer time terrace looks great and I love how the bar is fully separated from the patrons who are eating. I can't tell you how many times while dining at Globe that my table has been mistaken for wait staff Memorable dishes were the warm smoked salmon paired nicely with cucumbers, fois gras with lentils (wonderfully done), seared scallops, shrimp and avocado and of course the veggies and those mashed potatoes. The main dishes and the accompaniments worked well together. Desserts were good, regretted the apple pie over the molten chocolate cake. Service was not a weak spot. Warm, friendly and accommodating. Wine by the (generous) glass arrives in this nice carafon. Cute with red wine, not so great with white. Gets too warm too fast. House cocktails are fun too. Great addition to the neighbourhood. Those dull hotel dining rooms take note. Anyone else been back after their first visit want to further comment? Anyone else now wondering what will make you choose Globe over Rosalie or vice versa? Best, ABG

I don't remember paying for parking at Milos. For Sunday dining, does Milos still run that $35.00 special? I always found it to be great value.

Bice is my best recommendation b/c the upstairs feels like the rest of the place. Cube is a very hip room with sofas and a DJ booth etc. etc. May not be what you are looking for. Any private rooms at Rosalie? best, ABG