Le Pois Penche

[LM ML ML]

Last night i walked by a new restaurant on the corner of Drummond and Maisonneuve named Le Pois Penche. Can't tell you if it is opened yet but looks like a nice addtion to our culinary landscape. I'll wait a couple of weeks to try it but my friends will be going this weekend. I'll give you their feedback. Love the revolving doors...Very Chicago.

Anyone know anything about it?

[eat2much]

It is the new project of Pete Morentzos of Queue de Cheval, MBco, & Trinity.

[fedelst]

there was an invitation only launch this past Monday. They describe themselves as the First Parisian style bistro in Montreal. I think that there might be a few places that might challenge this claim.

From what I understand the place will be opened for regular business hours for the first while. The ultimate goal is to be opened 24x7, which sounds interesting, because, I don't know how many times I left a movie, or a get together and wanted to head out for a late bite only to be faced with the same limited choices.

Likewise, for those that come from Latin America, Asia, and parts of Europe where dining late is the norm, perhaps this will offer a more interesting venue.

I wish I could have gone on Monday, but the fact that the invitation was only sent out last week, it was short notice for those of us with busy holiday schedules. Dommage.

Last night i walked by a new restaurant on the corner of Drummond and Maisonneuve named Le Pois Penche. Can't tell you if it is opened yet but looks like a nice addtion to our culinary landscape. I'll wait a couple of weeks to try it but my friends will be going this weekend. I'll give you their feedback. Love the revolving doors...Very Chicago.

Anyone know anything about it?

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[Snackhappy]

So that's Mr M's French restaurant project?

I wonder what it looks like.

I'll give 5000$ to anyone who'll bring me a picture of it.

[iharrison]

It is the new project of Pete Morentzos of Queue de Cheval, MBco, & Trinity.

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Aw too bad man ... I so wanted to like the place.

[identifiler]

At 3AM, I don't take anything for granted.

[Chrisser]

snackhappy

[fedelst]

So... because this is managed by Morentzo you have concluded that it is not worthy of eating at?

What if the food is really worth eating?

Can you elaborate why you would make such a statement?

It is the new project of Pete Morentzos of Queue de Cheval, MBco, & Trinity.

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Aw too bad man ... I so wanted to like the place.

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[fedelst]

Dude, I will take my money now...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&time...iwloc=addr&om=1

So that's Mr M's French restaurant project?

I wonder what it looks like.

I'll give 5000$ to anyone who'll bring me a picture of it.

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[montmartre]

I reply on my tippy toes, because i'm starting to feel like Joe Clark taking a walk on Sherbrooke Street every time i post anything. I believe that anyone who invests as much as Peter Morentzos does, and takes the chances he does to bring important additions to Montrealrestaurant scene, i applaud it. I'd rather be walking by a french brasserie than a boarded up location in the heart of downtown. Now wether the steak/frites, boudin noir, oeuf meurettes or just a fine herb omelette will be noteworthy or not, i am sure he will figure it out.

Hope it works out because the 24 hour open idea, as ambitious as it is, is kinda cool.

[fedelst]

Love him, or hate him, Peter Morentzos has clearly contributed more to the Montreal restaurant scene than any nasty blog posting.

Your comments are spot on.

I reply on my tippy toes, because i'm starting to feel like Joe Clark taking a walk on Sherbrooke Street every time i post anything. I believe that anyone who invests as much as Peter Morentzos does, and takes the chances he does to bring important additions to Montrealrestaurant scene, i applaud it. I'd rather be walking by a french brasserie than a boarded up location in the heart of downtown. Now weather the steak/frites, boudin noir, oeuf meurettes or just a fine herb omelette will be noteworthy or not, i am sure he will figure it out.

Hope it works out because the 24 hour open idea, as ambitious as it is, is kinda cool.

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Edited December 13, 2007 by fedelst (log)

[rcianci]

Ditto, snackhappy

Edited December 14, 2007 by rcianci (log)

[Culatello]

Gonna go this week just for fun ,look's like it's gonna be a cool place Baltazar likeish.

Probably all the defects in the world that guy (LOL!!! ) but he does build beautiful resturant's

call a spade a spade. give credit where it's due. as for the food only time will tell

and I really love the 24 hour bit also.

[maxanon]

24 hours sounds nice. There's nothing more saddening than thinking that one of the only places to grab grub at 3 AM is Picasso's after a long night. I really hope that it works.

If its good grub at the end of a long night I don't care who it really is (within reason).

Edited December 14, 2007 by maxanon (log)

[jbbank]

I don't like his restaurants much and I don't like the food that much either, but despite that, yes, he has contributed a lot to the food scene for better or for worse. Like they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity.

I was there a few days ago to have quiet brunch. It does look like a classic french bistro, wine glasses clean and comfortable. Just like QDC and Trinity, service and decor seem important and it shows that a significant portion to the bill will help pay for these luxuries. There's not problem with that, but I prefer to concentrate on food, then everything else, which brings me to the food.

We ordered a dozen oysters to start off with. All of them were very fresh and clean, however, 8 of them didn't have the adductor muscles cleanly cut. That's the first mistake. When you pay $3 each, I expect more. We also ordered a french onion soup which was very good, but not quite worth the $10 they are charging imho. I ordered the french toast brioche with fresh fruits. It was certainly one of the better french toasts I've had but portions were very small. Not only that, but the fresh berries were not fresh. Dried up blueberries and mouldy raspberries composed most of the dish. For something that costs $13, I also expected at least fruits that weren't dried out and mouldy. Last, we had the bavette with a salad replacing the fries cooked medium rare. The temperature was fine, but the salad had a large piece of inedible dried twigs in them. This should not be acceptable for a McDonalds, let alone a restaurant that wants to make its mark in Montreal. If that wasn't enough, the piece of hangar steak was the toughest piece of meat I'd ever eaten. I know hanger isn't supposed to be a tender cut, but this HAD to be the toughest I've ever had. If Pois Penche wants to compete with L'Express, Lemeac, Ptit Plateau or even other bistros in food quality, they will need to step it up several notches.

Even worse than the food was the attitude of the maitre'd. I told my waitress about what was wrong with the food, and she had talked to him about these problems. She came back to us saying they would give us a free coffee on the house. I asked to speak to the maitre'd directly and already his attitude towards everything was obviously bad from the start. He said the fruits aren't bad, but they are out of season, that he didn't prepare the oysters, that the chef can't sift through all the leaves to pick out bad bits. Finally, he said he would comp the french toast.

Lets just say I didn't have the best brunch of my life. Worst than coming out dissatisfied because of bad food, I left angry because they tried to defend food that was obviously subpar. To be honest, I WANTED to see this restaurant succeed because I live close by, and because it's good for Montreal EVEN if it's a Morentzos restaurant. But unless I see people chiming in saying that things have improved, I won't be going back.

Love him, or hate him, Peter Morentzos has clearly contributed more to the Montreal restaurant scene than any nasty blog posting.

Your comments are spot on.

I reply on my tippy toes, because i'm starting to feel like Joe Clark taking a walk on Sherbrooke Street every time i post anything. I believe that anyone who invests as much as Peter Morentzos does, and takes the chances he does to bring important additions to Montrealrestaurant scene, i applaud it. I'd rather be walking by a french brasserie than a boarded up location in the heart of downtown. Now weather the steak/frites, boudin noir, oeuf meurettes or just a fine herb omelette will be noteworthy or not, i am sure he will figure it out.

Hope it works out because the 24 hour open idea, as ambitious as it is, is kinda cool.

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[fedelst]

I would site this as a classic example of bad service spoiling what could have been a good meal, but in this case, it seems both were at fault. Thanks for taking one for the team. I was considering checking it out, but after hearing about insane prices, and now about lousy service, I think I will wait for the dust to settle.

Perhaps the Maitre'd was the former Maitre'd from QDC; who, when my wife had received an over cooked steak covered in an excessive amount of steak spice (making it too salty) had the gall to tell her that a steak with a light pink middle was in fact Rare, and that there was no salt in the steak spice (I kid you not). He argued with her about re-doing the order, and insisted that she takes the roast beef as it could be served immediately. The fresh steak showed up, sans any seasoning. She had asked the waiter why no seasoning. He told her that the Maitre'd had requested it that way and offered some on the side.

Bad attitude has no place in the food service industry. Likewise, it is surprising that a place that is positioning itself as an upscale restaurant, and is in a phase of building a client base would even send out a plate that has not been checked first.

If you had ever watched PM at the QDC you will know he is obsessive about quality and service. Starting a new venture always has some wrinkles to iron out. I suspect that thinks will improve. Otherwise, we will just continue visiting the other 'first of it's kind in Montreal' French style Bistros such as Laloux, L'Express, Chez levesque, etc.

I don't like his restaurants much and I don't like the food that much either, but despite that, yes, he has contributed a lot to the food scene for better or for worse. Like they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity.

I was there a few days ago to have quiet brunch. It does look like a classic french bistro, wine glasses clean and comfortable. Just like QDC and Trinity, service and decor seem important and it shows that a significant portion to the bill will help pay for these luxuries. There's not problem with that, but I prefer to concentrate on food, then everything else, which brings me to the food.

We ordered a dozen oysters to start off with. All of them were very fresh and clean, however, 8 of them didn't have the adductor muscles cleanly cut. That's the first mistake. When you pay $3 each, I expect more. We also ordered a french onion soup which was very good, but not quite worth the $10 they are charging imho. I ordered the french toast brioche with fresh fruits. It was certainly one of the better french toasts I've had but portions were very small. Not only that, but the fresh berries were not fresh. Dried up blueberries and mouldy raspberries composed most of the dish. For something that costs $13, I also expected at least fruits that weren't dried out and mouldy. Last, we had the bavette with a salad replacing the fries cooked medium rare. The temperature was fine, but the salad had a large piece of inedible dried twigs in them. This should not be acceptable for a McDonalds, let alone a restaurant that wants to make its mark in Montreal. If that wasn't enough, the piece of hangar steak was the toughest piece of meat I'd ever eaten. I know hanger isn't supposed to be a tender cut, but this HAD to be the toughest I've ever had. If Pois Penche wants to compete with L'Express, Lemeac, Ptit Plateau or even other bistros in food quality, they will need to step it up several notches.

Even worse than the food was the attitude of the maitre'd. I told my waitress about what was wrong with the food, and she had talked to him about these problems. She came back to us saying they would give us a free coffee on the house. I asked to speak to the maitre'd directly and already his attitude towards everything was obviously bad from the start. He said the fruits aren't bad, but they are out of season, that he didn't prepare the oysters, that the chef can't sift through all the leaves to pick out bad bits. Finally, he said he would comp the french toast.

Lets just say I didn't have the best brunch of my life. Worst than coming out dissatisfied because of bad food, I left angry because they tried to defend food that was obviously subpar. To be honest, I WANTED to see this restaurant succeed because I live close by, and because it's good for Montreal EVEN if it's a Morentzos restaurant. But unless I see people chiming in saying that things have improved, I won't be going back.

Love him, or hate him, Peter Morentzos has clearly contributed more to the Montreal restaurant scene than any nasty blog posting.

Your comments are spot on.

I reply on my tippy toes, because i'm starting to feel like Joe Clark taking a walk on Sherbrooke Street every time i post anything. I believe that anyone who invests as much as Peter Morentzos does, and takes the chances he does to bring important additions to Montrealrestaurant scene, i applaud it. I'd rather be walking by a french brasserie than a boarded up location in the heart of downtown. Now weather the steak/frites, boudin noir, oeuf meurettes or just a fine herb omelette will be noteworthy or not, i am sure he will figure it out.

Hope it works out because the 24 hour open idea, as ambitious as it is, is kinda cool.

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[jbbank]

I don't believe the prices are insane, they're about what you would pay for a bistro, maybe a tad higher. But you have to back it up with food that is good enough. They failed miserably in my opinion.

I just don't understand how a new restaurant can treat their customers this way and yet still pride themselves in their customer service. It's just so sad to see that they go to all the trouble of making sure the linens are starched, the glasses polished and the waiters/waitresses properly educated and dressed, but that the food is mouldy and that there are inedible bits in the salad. L'Express certainly doesn't have the best food in town, but I've never seen anything like that happen.

I've been pretty critical about these restaurants for a simple reason. QDC, Trinity and Pois Penche are not cheap. If they have the guts to charge so much for food, at least make it reasonable food. Old berries, branches and ill prepared oysters is not reasonable food for the price they charge. I would much rather pay 2-3 times that price to go to places like CC&P or $10 for a Schwartz smoked meat sandwich. And trust me that even with the attitude of the Schwartz waiters, they wouldn't hesitate to give you another sandwich if I said my medium fat sandwich was dry.

[fedelst]

You said it better than I. The prices are justifiable if the food stands up to the standard expected. About 15 years back l'Express was notorious for their oh so snooty waiters. However tolerating them was the cost of admission It seems that they mellowed with time.

Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know. I would prefer to sit down to a consistently good tartare at l'Express than suffer the fate of getting pin worms from a place that has no respect for their food.

[ArtistSeries]

So... because this is managed by Morentzo you have concluded that it is not worthy of eating at?

What if the food is really worth eating?

Given his track record, I'd be surprised... All sizzle no steak seems to be his motto...

[rezcook]

Walking around the other night, we spied Pois Penche. Quite snazzy with the marble bar, seafood display, artwork, and open kitchen. I read this thread awhile back, but didn't connect it to the restaurant until yesterday.

They've been open a couple of months now, anyone eat there for dinner lately? Your thoughts?

[AlexForbes]

Went out to dinner with a big group of aquaintances

at a newish burger joint that is right next to the Pois Penche called mbrgr.

Their choice of restaurant, because of the TVs playing the hockey game

(oh, great ) -

I wanted to go elsewhere but was outvoted.

Turns out M:brgr is also on Drummond and de Maisonneuve.

Silly name, huh? They serve high-end burgers, paired with things like

caramelized onions (too heavy) or truffle aioli (yum).

I've been meaning to try the Pois Penche for a while, so when I realized I was eating an overpriced burger at an ultra-loud place right across the street, I wasn't too happy...

Still, gotta say the burger was very tasty, as were the sweet potato fries...

[AlexForbes]

Ok, so I finally tried the Pois Penche. First annoyance: I had to bring my

(very well-behaved) baby and the maitre d' gave me VERY dirty looks

on 3 occasions, although I asked to be seated inside away from everyone

else (it was a gorgeous day and 95% of customers sat outside). Rude.

Our waiter was excellent, and brought our lunch fast, as we had

the baby.

Fries were lukewarm and limp, despite very smartly presented

in a paper cone, with mayo on the side.

Skate fish with brown butter and capers was sloppy and had

way too many bones. Unremarkable.

Niçoise was very nice, which made up for the rest.

Overall, I loved the décor, loved the Paris-inspired ambiance,

but thought the food was so-so.