BAZaAR Anise

[identifiler]

Mile end is part of the Plateau and not a separate section. Mile end in itself is one borough of plateau and Laurier is very much part of the Mile End, the none official limits of mile end are from Parc to St Laurent (runing south to north) and Mont Royal to the Van Horn train pass.

I can walk between St-Laurent and Parc. The current site of Bazaar is owned by the restaurant so if you call them, they might explain to you that it is better suited to lease to someone else who wants to have a shop, spa, or what not and move closer to the Outremont condo and dwellings (since the mile enders might want more Wilenskies than coriander red snapper). Taxes, I don't see a difference, rents, I am not sure, I have no real information of their 401 K plan. Traffic, well, I don't know, talking about 3 blocks here... Give them a call, maybe they can open up their 5 year business plan books for a article in the business section...

[fedelst]

Tempted by the postings about brunch at Bazaar Anise I decided to check it out and headed for brunch this a.m.

Big Mistake…..

We showed up for Brunch at 12:40 and were told that we could not have a table without a reservation, despite the place being ¼ full . The hostess told us that the reason there were so many places was due to the fact that they were awaiting their 1:00 seating.

So we went to Lemiac …… After we finished at 1:45 I went back to Bazaar Anise to see how full they were, and there were only 6 people dining. I confronted the hostess, and asked her why she turned us away from an empty restaurant. The hostess told me the patrons were coming.

We could have been in and out by then... I told her I would never darken their doorway again.

[alexthecook]

I don't think it's quite fair to dismiss them like that for what was probably their patrons' fault! How can they control whether they'll arrive on time for their reservation?

I actually went for brunch Saturday morning. We arrived at 10:30 and went in. We were advised by the hostess that they only opened at 11... but one of the guys behing the counter told her to let us in anyways, that they were ready for us... funny how from one day to the next, people can have absolutely opposite experiences!

In any case, the meal was delicious. I had the middle eastern breakfast and every item was perfectly done. I will definitely go again. Plus, I find the decor absolutely fine (as opposed to some criticism I saw on another food board...).. perhaps not in the same vein as the original Anise, but I still find it has nice casual feel (although it's true it's nothing to write home about).

[fedelst]

Clearly I am at fault for not calling in a reservation before arriving, and I was willing to accept these consequences. Likewise, I do not question the skill of t he kitchen.

What I do take issue with is being told that there are no tables available in an empty restaurant, and then seeing first hand (upon my later return) that the supposed reserved tables actually in fact had not ultimate patron. There are loads of restaurants that would love to have a filled seat. If the hostess is attempting to create an illusion of high demand by turning away walk in clients where tables are available, she is doing her employer or the prospective patron a true disservice.

Life is dynamic, sometimes we act on a whim, reservations sometimes don't happen, and one takes their chances. Had I been turned away, only to find a packed restaurant later, I would not have been so bitter.

C'est la vie...

[Latelier]

It does seem strange that so many reservations were no-shows... what's the typical reservation show/no-show ratio for an establishment of this type?

[alexthecook]

My understanding was that it was large group's reservation, but I may be wrong...

[maxanon]

I think the other thing is that people who are walk-ins are probably pretty hungry and may get cranky easily when not being allowed to satiate their hunger immediately.

[sf&m]

This in on the email from Racha Bassoul:

En plus de la carte du brunch hebdomadaire,

la chef Racha Bassoul a conçu un BRUNCH spécial pour le weekend Pascal.

Réservations suggérées!

==============================================

In addition to the weekly brunch menu,

chef Racha Bassoul has created a special BRUNCH for this Easter weekend.

Reservations are welcome!

==============================================

http://www.lebazaar.ca

:: 365 Laurier Ouest :: 514-276-6999 ::