Joe Beef

Nous avons réservé là pour notre fête un jeudi soir.
Le restaurant est beaucoup plus petit que je né m’imaginais.
L’ambiance est romantique.
En entrée, nous avons partagé 3 variétés d’huîtres et des couteaux de mer avec deux verres de vin blanc. Un riesling je crois.
Pour le plat principal, nous avons pris la côte de bœuf pour deux qui était très tendre et goûteuse. C’était parfait, un très bon plat, mais il manquait peut-​être un peu d’accompagnement. Nous avons pris 2 verres de vin rouge pour le repas. Pour le dessert, mon frère a pris une crème glacée.
Le service était cordial, sans plus.
Pour le repas, 6 huîtres, couteaux de mer, CotÈ de bœuf et une crème glacée, cela nous a coûté 200 $ (avant taxes et pourboires). C’est le prix pour ce genre de restaurant qui est très bien réputé et qui mérite amplement sa réputation pour sa cuisine. La seule critique est à mon avis le prix pour le vin. Le prix du verre était près de 13 $ et ça né valait pas ce prix là à mon humble avis.

Talk about decadence. This place is for those who look for interesting and unexpected combinations that yield to amazing plates of food. Take grilled celeriac truffle cheese for instance. I’m pretty sure I didn’t have to chew it even once. Melts in your mouth. Or take hanger steak topped with thinly sliced veal tongue along with a drizzle of «all meat sauce» that makes the dish salty enough to go for another bite. Portions are big but at the end of the night no food is left on the plate. It’s so damn delicious. Oh and also pet the giant bison head in the bathroom.

My fiancée and I went to Joe beef last week to celebrate our anniversary. We’ve heard so many good things about it over the years so we decided to give it a try.
We of course started with two caesars. Joe Beef is famous for their caesars. They were very good. I’m pretty sure they put horseradish in them which is key. Then we started with a plate of oysters. They had a choice between a few different kinds of oysters so we tried both the pacific and the Boston. It was the first opportunity I’ve ever had to try pacific oysters and I really liked them. They are softer than PEI oysters and taste a little sweeter.
We then shared the smoked trout with pickled vegetables and potato cakes. The waitress informed us that Joe Beef has it’s own smoker outside which we thought was pretty neat. When it arrived, the waitress asked if we wanted it deboned, and proceeded to debone it in front of us. Not sure if it was suppose to be a form of entertainment or not. I would have preferred if it just came already deboned.
For the main meal Shannon had the lobster pasta dish and I had some cod in a white cream sauce. Following that, I had the desert which was a layered chocolate cake with some white cream on top. It was really decadent and rich. Probably my favourite part of the meal.
We both thought our meals were up to par for a fancy restaurant standard. However, neither of us was blown away by the food either… given the price. Plus, I think their focus is probably on meat dishes and I don’t eat meat.

This is Montréal’s crown jewel. They do nothing wrong and everything right! Go here!!!

I wanted to go there for a long time and sharing that heartwarming moment with a special someone but … like my prom night … I end up going with whoever was available. I was saving myself for too long, THAT was the moment (Still talking about Joe Beef)
My coworkers made a reservation for 9.30 pm and the place was very packed. We wait about 15 minutes before our table was ready and they suggest we go grab a drink while waiting. I got a non-​alcoholic lemonade, was good … lemonade is always good.
For appetizers, we shared the Croquettes d’esturgeons fumé (16 $) and the beef tartare (12 $). The beef tartare was, so far, the best one i’ve eat in my life. I actually regret not ordering a huge bucket of it … but I am a lady, I don’t eat in buckets anymore.
For the main course, I ordered the infamous Joe Beef’s Spaghetti-​Lobster (55 $). How good it is? … Just to give you an idea … MyFitness Pal app slap me in the face and quit me. They took A HUGE lobster, cream, butter, pastas, BACON, fairy dust, god’s tears and created the most epic Frankenstein meal monster of all time.
It’s probably a good thing that I wasn’t with a special someone because I destroy that thing in less time I am proud of. Did I took a dessert? … no … I had to drive myself back home and I was already drunk on food.
Low point: The menu is hard to read but you don’t need one … just take the Spaghetti-​Lobster.
You are vegan? Don’t go.
Counting calories. Don’t go.
You are dangerous with a knife. Don’t go anywhere.
You want to spent your money in exquisite food … You must go!

It’s very difficult to get a reservation. You have to book months in advance.
It’s a small cozy restaurant. Feels like you are in someone’s living room.
The menu is written on a chalk board and changes all the time.
They left a big jug of water on the table.
We shared a horse tartar for an appetizer. It was good but a little salty.
We shared the Ambassador steak between the 2 of us and it was great. It was enough food but also cuz the appetizer filled me up. For a side order we got the rapinni (spinach) and it was amazing!
Tara Lee offered great service. She advised us on the menu and translated it to English for us.

How many times have I come to Montréal and NOT eaten here??? This place is amazing!!!
Fish of the day for two: perfectly cooked white fish in a butter wine sauce with roe mixed in, served with a side of clams and little potatoes.
Horse filet mignon (unreal), tender, cooked medium rare, it was melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious. Served with mashed potatoes.
Duck dish topped with a piece of foie gras. This came with a side of vegetable but I cannot recall at this point.
Even the soft serve ice cream was yummy. A refreshing end to a most decadent meal.
Everything was fantastic. I would come back here in an instant. I would recommend it to everyone!
I loved everything about this restaurant. The food, the service… it was the highlight of my weekend!

This place is exceptionally good!
Geez– I don’t know where to begin. Our table of four shared about a dozen dishes. The highlights being the Horse Tartare, a pasta with Fois Gras and deer shoulder, the smoked crispy fried trout, and the New York Strip with blue cheese.
The cocktails were kinda meh… but the service and general experience was all on point.
I would visit Joe Beef again in a heartbeat. It’s one of the best dining experiences I have had.

If I have a Jen K’s Top 10 Restaurant List, Joe Beef would definitely be on it.
And in fact, I might even able to say My Last Meal on Earth I want to have it here. ( Unilocal’s profile question and they do serves uni!)
I have been to Liverpool House, Joe Beef’s sister restaurant right next door but Joe Beef is the real deal.
The menu is seasonal but interesting. A mixture of seafood and meat and even vegetables. And of course foie gras!
Everything we ordered were amazing. And the wait staff is just so knowledgeable with the menu and able to make awesome recommendations.
The vibe is relaxing especially out on the back patio on a nice summer evening.
And of these for a reasonable price!
Just make sure you make a reservation ASAP, Joe Beef is just so popular and definitely worth all the hype!

A pure 5 star rating without a doubt in my mind. We came to Montréal to specifically go to Joe Beef and it was certainly worth it! Rated one of the most difficult places to get a reservation, we booked many moons ahead of time. Upon arrival, we noticed all the menu items were written on a chalk board. Having poor vision, combined with dimmed lighting, I opted to go with the chefs choice for 6 courses. It relieved us of the stress of deciding what we should share while adding a layer of anticipation and surprise. Out waiter was terrific as he attended multiple tables with his cat shirt in celebration of National Cat Day.
Favorite dishes: bone marrow, calamari stuffed with meat in a red wine mushroom sauce and apple donuts with smoked Gouda.
While everything was perfectly cooked, a bit too salty on some of the more savory items. Just a general preference of mine, but it didn’t stop me from eating everything!

It’s been a while since I wrote a review but I’ve been busy enjoying life. Anyways, here goes a review of a highly recommended restaurant I went in Montréal earlier this month. I came with a friend I haven’t seen since college so needless to say, there was a lot we had to catch up on.
The setting is quite intimate but it didn’t hinder a good conversation. What we didn’t like was the menu. It is a blackboard hung up high in the wall and written in French only. The handwriting was like a doctor’s prescription and the blackboard was not properly erased so it made reading the menu immensely difficult (not to mention I didn’t bring my glasses or read French).
I thought the service was ok. My friend thought our server was a little pretentious. Anyhow, at least they offered to sell me a half portion of their famous lobster spaghetti. That allowed me to enjoy some oysters and Canadian sea urchin (uni) as appetizer. It would be too much food otherwise. Taste-​wise, everything was on par and predictable.
It is a pricey place so do save it for a special occasion. Reservation necessary.

This is my second favorite restaurant in Montréal, ranked only below it’s sister restaurant, Liverpool House. Before I get into my review, first, a confession. I came here, too, because of Anthony Bordain. I am not proud of it, I wish I was a cool-​kid Montréal-​er, but alas I am merely a uni-​lingual American. In fact, my boyfriend and I designed a whole vacation around getting a reservation at Joe Beef.
The atmosphere: Joe Beef is simultaneously sexy and casual. It has dark mood lighting, but hockey memorabilia décor. They play Neil Young and French singers I do not recognize. Your plates and glasses are mismatched, and appear to come from a cool thrift store. The bar is boisterous– ladies cackling, men singing, loud debates amounting, etc. (an example from our dinner: whether Americans are bigger prudes than Canadians). The staff are irreverent and knowledgeable. Almost all of them seem to have a gleam of mischievous in their eyes.
The Food: I ordered some sort of lamb sausage plate, the cocktail of the day (x3), and PEI oysters. My other half ordered the pheasant and wine. We were both very happy. If I had to describe the food, I’d say it was decedent, and intense. My lamb dish was so huge, it presented like a dare. It wasn’t prepared like your usual lamb, in that it was not Mediterranean inspired. It actually reminded me a lot of the food I ate in Prague — made to keep you full and warm. It had a dark aroma — of spices I did not recognize but enjoyed. The Oysters were meaty and briny, and served with a very spicy homemade hot sauce.
The star of our night was desert, Marjolaine (a painstaking, many-​layered chocolate and hazelnut cake). It was the best desert I’ve ever had in my life. For those Anthony Bordain fans morjolaine was featured in the No Reservations, Quebec episode. There is also a recipe for it in Joe Beef’s cookbook.
Anyways, making a pilgrimage to Joe Beef should definitely be on any foodie’s vacation itinerary. The food, atmosphere, and service were wonderful. I felt right at home in my comfy booth, tearing through animal parts and slogging beer.

Food ⁵⁄₅ décor ⁵⁄₅ service ⁵⁄₅
We were 4, made reservations 2 months prior. Everything about the experience was perfection, one of the best part of joe beef is that you get top notch quality without the snootiness. You can get there in a suit, or in sweats, it won’t matter because everyone is there for one reason: hearty, meaty, and delicious cuisine du terroir. The staff knows the food inside out as if they’ve cooked everything themselves.
1. Smoked trout 26 $
2. Duck terrine 17 $
3. Large pulled pork with butternut squash gnocchis (regular 27 $ large 40.50 $)
4. Roasted Fowl 66 $
5. Side of bone marrow 16 $
6. Order of fries with parmesan flakes 8 $
7. Pear pie with housemade Pear and clove ice cream 16 $
+ 2 bottles of wine (white 65 $ and red 65 $)
+ 3 coffees (3 $ each)
Everything above was shared. With tax and a 15% tip our total was 435 $. For me, the pulled pork stole the show, it’s as if the meat just melted in your mouth, it was so tender. And the ice cream I would buy by the gallon if I could.

Joe Beef is really freakin’ good. It’s been about 2 months since I’ve eaten there while vacationing in Montréal and I still think fondly back on it.
The menu rotates pretty often — but for what it’s worth — we grabbed the whole flounder with lobster bisque gravy (came with a side of mussels and lobster cream sauced veggies), slow-​cooked lamb neck with sausage, seared scallops and foie gras parfait.
Other than the scallops (which was fresh and perfectly cooked, but definitely hard to break the mold), everything else was exceptional. The weirdest thing was the foie gras parfait — which was raw foie gras whipped with egg yolks and paired with tart (rather than sweet) cherries and cherry jam. It was very strange (seriously, foie for a ‘dessert’ appetizer) but it worked. It came in a big bowl so whatever we didn’t have on the bread was added as a topping to everything else. I wish the lamb neck was a bit gamier, but still excellent. Finally, the flounder was spectacular.
Service was excellent. We were immediately seated after confirming our reservation (if you are planning a trip — do make reservations well in advance). The service was atypical — friendly but very relaxed. The menu board is extremely difficult for non-​French speakers to read due to the dim lights. Our waiter just told us he recommended ‘everything’ but was very knowledgeable, answered all our questions and gauged our appetites well as he told us to stop ordering as he was confident we had ‘more than enough’ food and he was right. He really steered us to configure an optimal meal that satisfied everyone at the table considering some unique dietary restrictions.
Also, the meal was surprisingly affordable. With everything mentioned and two beers, the bill came to $ 65 each for the four of us — tax and tip included.
Easily the best restaurant I’ve been to in Canada.

We were able to get a last minute reservation here the day of for 9ish. We thought we had lucked out. In some ways we did, in some ways we didn’t. It was a great meal but it was crazy expensive. I was under the impression that this place was small but it has expanded to a full rowhouse so capacity was not a problem. Couples shuffled in and out and there were 1 or 2 empty tables near us the entire time. It was kind of cramped as we were crammed in there. We were seated at a 2 top between 2 couples in the back.
Our server was lovely and gave us great choices. It was so dark in there and the writing on the board is so narrow and squiggly there is no way you can see the board so you are completely at the server’s mercy when it comes to food and wine choices. The choices she gave us was excellent tho but the prices were tremendously inflated. We got a CAD $ 110 bottle of wine which I found out on the internet was really a USD $ 38 bottle of wine so I guess it was the standard markup. We had a Great froie gras appetizer and I had the blue cheese rabbit while hubby had a steak that came overcooked. The server asked him about it and he said it was ok but she took the liberty of sending it back and giving him a rare one instead. I didn’t know this at the time but for the prices we were about to pay, it was par for the course. His new steak took a while to come. So 2 bottles of wine, 1 appetizer and 2 main courses, 1 salad and a fruit dessert set us back 400 CAD. It was about 14 CAD for a side salad add on and similar for a berries dessert with cream. They did give us a small complimentary tasting of another wine for the steak mishap.
So…it was good but I’m not sure if it was $ 400 good. I LOVE French Canadian food and have eaten my way through Quebec City on two occasions not having paid nearly as much in a couple of days than what we did tonight. To make myself feel better, I just looked up the exchange rate so the meal was about 300 USD which sits a lot better in my stomach. Still, Joe Beef is kind of overrated but I’m glad we did it. If we were to come back, I’d definitely only have 1 bottle of wine, and skip the expensive extras like dessert and salad.

I LOVED our waitress! She was so friendly and down-​to-​earth.
— I made my reservations 3 months in advance (that’s the earliest you can make it)
— It’s a dimly-​lit, tiny restaurant, very homey and intimate
— They played some great music while we were there (biggie smalls and some frenchy music)
— The menu is written on the chalkboard (behind people sitting in the restaurant) — just take a picture with your smart phone and look at the menu from your seat instead of cranking your neck around and struggling to read it
— The waitress encourages you to get up from your seat to look at the menu and she can answer any questions or give you recommendations
— Duck for 2 ($ 90) is HUGE and worth it!!! It comes with 2 pieces of foie gras and a duck leg (confit), and like a whole freakin duck. It was SO good. We couldn’t finish and I was really sad. HUGE portions.
— Corn chowder was delicious too
— For dessert, I picked ice cream with concord grapes — it was very good.
— I also got to pick at my neighbor’s cake (we became friends after sitting so close for 2 hours) — 12 layers of buttercream
As with any other French restaurants in Montréal, your meal will probably last 2 hours or longer.

Did not live up to the hype for me:
*the smoked meat croquettes were little salt bombs and a bit one note for me. The sliced pickles just added to the sodium.
*seemed dingy inside and there were flies in the restaurant, but thought all the knick knacks strewn throughout were nice photo ops
*the horse tartare is phenomenal, loved the shaved matsutakes and the brioche, heavenly. Best red meat tartare I have ever had.
*if you must get the lobster pasta, get the half portion, it was just okay, pasta al dente, the shellfish could have been better, heavy, creamy, could have used more fresh herbs and again, a lot of the same flavor
*veal, escargot and bone marrow, impressive looking dish and was more like short rib type meat than a steak-​just falls apart. Very good and very rich.
Tip: take a photo of the chalkboard and read the menu from your device. Everyone was struggling and craning their necks.
It’s been rather warm the last week, no AC at JB. Loved our little window nook booth, but I think the garden would have been a great alternative.
Reasonable pricing $ 160 CAD for 4 items, 2 glasses of wine, tax and tip. We were stuffed.
Great servers and interesting meal, but my least favorite planned meal of the trip.

Un repas que mon amoureux m’a offert pour ma fête: mémorable!
Meilleur repas à vie je crois… Service incroyable. Au début j’étais un peu inconfortable par l’étroitesse des tables, mais on finit par discuter avec nos voisins et partager nos choux de bruxelles frits tout simplement incroyables!
Nous avons partagé 4 entrées et un plat principal moi copain et moi. J’aurais voulu tout goûter, mais je n’ai qu’un seul estomac malheureusement…
Je rêve d’y retourner un jour même si mon porte-​monnaie risqué d’en souffrir, mais ça vaut la peine!

As I watched our cheerful server patiently (and entertainingly) translate the French-​language menu in its entirety, I was at first dubious, then astonished, and finally delighted. It was a glimpse into the workings of an establishment of humble origins that has gained acclaim as one of Canada’s premier restaurants.
The service here is genuinely welcoming. I am reminded of the graciousness that defines hospitality at a Danny Meyer restaurant. Without hovering, our servers were there when needed. From a fine wine list dominated by bottles in the triple digits, our server swiftly ascertained our preference for a lower end choice, then narrowed down a flavor profile in just a brief, bantering exchange. It was near worth ordering a second bottle for.
An argument can be made for two bottles. Although renowned as a meat-​centric restaurant, Joe Beef is equally at ease with seafood, so a sampling of both is reasonable. One of their more impressive starters were two whole, small trout showered with seasonally fresh vegetables. The tender meat is gently smoked, yielding a flavor that is surprisingly restrained: enough to accent, not enough to dominate. Shellfish shined in an equally wonderful sausage of lobster and clams; plump, juicy, and brimming with the flavors of its ingredients. If the starter menu isn’t enough, a few quality, local raw bar options are offered. Raw oysters are de rigueur, but more interesting was a fresh uni prepared in a light tomato sauce and served in its shell, or the sweet snow crab legs.
Of course, it would be sinful to eschew meat at Joe Beef, which offers up a few sharable beef entrees, along with foie gras, Canadian smoked meat, duck, rabbit, horse, lamb, and chicken dishes. Foie gras parfait is flawless; creamy and luxurious, perfectly offset by a bite of crisp, sharp radish on warm, crusty brioche. The same brioche is molded like a nest around smooth horse tartare, although robust seasoning muffled the sweetness of raw horse. Simple, expertly cooked duck breast was a marvel of flavor and succulence.
It is easy to see how this utterly charming restaurant is as famed as it is. It is not for a specific dish, gimmick, or personality. With its constantly changing menu penned only on chalkboard, Joe Beef announces its allegiance to local, seasonal foods, and prepares them exceptionally well. Add to that the warmth of the staff and a uniquely home-​like atmosphere between its cozy, tavern-​like space inside and a festive outdoor area reminiscent of a patio. It makes for a highly enjoyable, low-​key dining experience that seems effortless in execution yet must surely be anything but. And it will have one thinking about a return visit as soon as possible.

Mon cher Joe.
Ton steak était délicieux.
Je crois que j’ai oublié mes invités pendant 15 minutes.
Mes yeux étaient fermé pendant que je dégustais ton steak.
Merci, c’était très bon et très cher.
Mais très bon.

After an anxious six week wait, the night finally came for dinner at Joe Beef!
Pros:
1. Service is impeccable. All of the staff is very knowledgeable, in-​tune with the menu and attentive to allergies. They checked back at just the right frequency. No complaints at all here.
2. Food is definitely above average. Snow crab legs were incredible — As our server said, they are in season right now so they were very sweet and didn’t even need condiments. The lamb sausage was a tad too salty in my opinion and could have used more starch or veggie on the side to balance that out. The strip steak was flavourful but a little more tough than expected. The fries were cute in a mini Creuset but pretty standard in terms of taste.
Cons:
1. Menu is only in French and on the blackboard. Being fully bilingual, I didn’t mind at all that the menu was in French. More importantly, I just don’t think it is practical to have the only version of the menu on the single blackboard that half the restaurant has their back up against. The ONLY thing that partially made up for it was the detail-​oriented servers who could cater to individual questions. It just seemed like a bit of a drag for the server to repeat the menu so many times.
2. In terms of value, sad to say that Joe Beef didn’t live up to the hype this time. I’m all about paying good money for dinner but we both agreed that the meal just didn’t live up to the long wait for reservations and the price.
To try next time:
— Lobster spaghetti
— Rib steak for 2

Je suis un livreur et j’ai vu l’arrière boutique n’allez pas dépenser votre argent à cet établissement les inspecteur de la ville de Montréal devrait aller faire un pour pour constater la malpropreté.

A good restaurant, but not a great one at the time of my visit.
We were able to squeeze in a reservation for two at the bar, and were very excited given all the hype this restaurant has. But it just didn’t meet those expectations for me.
We each had a glass of wine, then followed with the local buffalo mozzarella appetizer which came with 2 slivers of fish and 2 slices of rye toast. The cheese was lovely, but nothing to write home about; it’s fresh mozzarella? Next we had the smoked meat croquettes which were really good, easily the highlight of the meal — it’s everything you love about smoked meat squished up into a little tater-​tot sized bite with a pickle on top.
For entrees, we split the gentleman’s steak with bleu cheese and while it was extremely well cooked (rare) it was really pricey for what amounted to a properly cooked steak with a scoop of garlic spinach on the side. However the portion is huge, so if you split it between two it’s actually pretty reasonable.
For dessert we had the strawberry and pistachio gratin, which was hyped up a lot by the bar staff. The berries were too early to be flavorful so they macerated them in sugar to increase the flavor. The creamy pistachio flan was amazing though!
In all, it was a meal with highs (pistachio flan in the strawberry dessert & smoked meat croquettes) and okay points. For a restaurant of it’s reputation, we expected more. The ambiance is great, the staff is helpful, but if you’re and english speaker you’re out of luck — the menu is in french and only written on one chalkboard. Thankfully I speak french and was able to get by, but I can see how it’s hard for others.

This place is amazing. It epitomizes everything you would want in a restaurant named Joe Beef and combines it with impeccable service, awesome attitude and a great ambiance.
Joe Beef isn’t a large space (I believe there are two sides) so reservations are a must. We had a party of 8 reserved into two groups of 4, but the hostess didn’t drop a beat when we told her 2 in our party were delayed. She seated us in an awesome table for 6 but most importantly paired us with one of the best waitresses I’ve ever had.
She clearly saw that we were tourists, but that’s one thing that I loved about Montréal. Many of the cool places that we went to, they welcome and are friendly to tourists and this place was no different. It looked like it was full of French Canadians, but you couldn’t tell as they effortlessly switched from English to French catering to their customer.
The menu is a revolving one and written only on the chalkboard nightly, so describing the dishes accurately is almost impossible. Suffice it to say everything was amazing and it was easily one of the best meat-​centric meals I’ve had in my life. I was in heaven.
We started off with drinks and I never saw a cocktail menu but the waitress was able to order everyone drinks they loved based on just a brief description of base drink preference (ie: gin, vodka, etc.) The drinks are strong and tasty and while perhaps not as complex as the artisinal cocktails we had at Lab just before, they were good. I had no idea how much they cost either.
Then we started off with appetizers. She knew we were familiar with the famous Foie Gras double down but informed us they no longer sold it. She saw our sad faces and said would order a selection that would make us happy. Our waitress never pushed any item (ie: their oysters are famous, but we didn’t feel like any) and it really was one of the most fun and engaging ordering experiences I’ve had.
Foie Gras Small Bites — deep fried and filled with tiny bits of foie gras and potato. Delicious. This place knows meat, fried, and smoked.
Mozzarella served with Toast — fresh mozzarella cheese sliced and served with toast. A nice change and balance to all the meat.
Sunnyside up Duck Eggs with Pomme Frites — I’ve never had eggs this good and I’ve sous vide many eggs. This was better. It was super rich, seasoned perfectly and the fries were amazing.
Foie Gras And Ham Sandwich — this was to make up for the double down. Split 6 ways, we each only got a small bite, but the salty foie gras sauce and milder ham went with the decant biscuit bread with sauce.
Puff Pastry with Smoked Turkey — our waitresses favorite appetizer. It was good but tasted a bit like turkey with small bread puffs. Not interesting enough.
Minced Duck and Seared Foie Gras — the duck looked like a steak but broke into parts of duck meat. The seared foie gras on top was delicious and the berry sauce was a perfect contrast.
Venison Sausage — loved it. Did I say they do meats well?
Lobster Spaghetti — another famous dish. Whole lobster with cream sauce and perfect al dente noodles. One of my favorites of the night.
Seared Rib Eye Steak — seasoned perfectly, cooked perfectly, finished completely.
Horse Meat Filet Mignon — wrapped with bacon and served with potatoes. This was a novelty as I’ve never had horse meat. Cooked perfectly medium rare the meat was delicious and a very different texture than any meat I’ve had. Worth trying once.
Deep Fried Cauliflower — covered in cheese but an obligatory vegetable.
Lamb Steak — yet another meat, cooked so perfectly and completely different flavor.
Duck Fat Fries — the perfect starch to complement the meat.
We were too full from drink and food for dessert but finished our meal with laughter with the staff learning French phrases, sharing the best spots for food and merriment and finishing with shots on the house.
Our bill wasn’t cheap but the final price was less than I guessed. It also was one of the best meat meals I’ve had in my life. I missed Au Pied du Cochon but I don’t think I would have wanted to trade away Joe Beef.
Joe Beef accepts credit cards.

Que c’est bon! Oui oui vraiment bon… Réserver votre place (c’est long) mais ça vaut vraiment le détour ! Partagez vos plats pour goûter à tout…

Je suis allée pour fêter mes trente ans avec mon copain. Ce que ça veut dire, c’est qu’en fait, on est allé environ 5 jours en avance et qu’on a dû appeler un bon deux mois en avance pour avoir une réservation. Et est-​ce que ça valu le trouble? Je pense que oui!
Comme entrées, on a pris le double-​down, une espèce de sandwich à la PFK mais avec du foie gras, puis les saucisses au homard. C’était bon et les portions étaient très généreuses. Pour le plat principal, j’ai mange ce qui était probablement le plus gros morceau de viande de ma vie, le tournedos de cheval. Cuit à perfection, je né pouvais pas y résister et j’en ai probablement mangé beaucoup plus que ce que j’avais l’intention de dévorer! Puis pour le dessert, c’était une espèce de brioche avec un sorbet maison et des fruits.
Tout était très, très bon, mais vraiment, ce qui a été le plus amusant de la soirée, c’était le service. On nous a bien accueillis et notre serveur était bien gentil avec d’excellentes recommandations pour ce qui est du vin. Les autres serveurs/​cooks/​etc. prenaient aussi le temps de jaser juste pour le fun et ça donnait une ambiance à la fois relaxe et conviviale qui est surprenante, mais bien appréciée, pour resto avec une telle réputation.

En amoureux… nous étions les seuls du restaurant… Mais avec raison, car il était 22h passé et c’était le seul restaurant qui né fermé pas ces portes à cette heure-​ci. Nous étions désespérés de trouver une place où se poser pour se rassasier. Ce fut le seul restaurant ayant les moyens de subvenir à nos besoins: manger au chaud! Oui l’anecdote s’était produit en février.
L’endroit comporte une ambiance et une déco conviviale! La nourriture est de qualité, mais il faut se préparer à avoir de quoi payer sur sa carte bancaire. Avis: né pas y aller en temps de crise, afin de survivre pour le mois ;)

Je né sais même pas par ou commencer tellement nous avons adoré !
Le resto est situé juste en face du théâtre Corona sur Notre-​Dame, c’est un coin que j’affectionne particulièrement. Je trouve ça tellement beau. Sans prétention, la vitrine du Joe Beef nous montre quelques tables, ce n’est vraiment pas grand, et ça explique un peu la difficulté d’y avoir une réservation. On nous installe dehors sur la terrasse, exceptionnellement ouverte en raison de la douce température d’octobre.
D’entrée de jeu, le service est impeccable. Je teste toujours l’habileté des serveurs/​barmaid en leur demandant de me préparer quelque chose de leur cru, une spécialité de la maison. On m’apporte un drink style mojito, mais au gingembre et citronelle, au gin Hendrick’s (mmmm), contenant des ingrédients directement pris du potager, adjacent a notre table. Délicieux ! Le dry Martini de mon homme est également a son goût, et ce n’est pas peu dire ! Nos deux autre convives optent pour de la bière, mais né sont pas impressionnés. Pour le repas nous prenons une bouteille de rouge italien, je né saurais dire lequel.
En entrée un Double Down (genre de chair a saucisse fourrée au foie gras en guise de pain avec une tranche de smoked meat et choucroute a l’intérieur). Et les pétoncles sauce crémeuse au crabe avec caviar noir. Un vrai délice. Pour la suite des choses, les hommes optent pour le steak Monsieur (une EXTRA généreuse portion de steak de boeuf avec une sauce au vin) et pour ma part je prend le mignon de cheval enrobé de bacon et servi avec un fromage crémeux a la bière. trois lettre W O W. jaw-​dropping. Les cuissons étaient parfaites. Juste un petit avertissement le fromage sur le cheval est excessivement fort et vieilli. Pas pour les fines bouches.
Une soirée coûteuse mais qui a valu la peine !!

C’est probablement le meilleur resto de Montréal! Et encore mieux, apres avoir goute a leur cuisine, vous pouvez la faire chez vous et impressioner vos invite! Achetez absolument le livre! ⁵⁄₅

Ein echter Geheimtipp in Montral! Essen ist super, nicht nur das Fleisch, auch der Fisch! Nicht ganz billig aber echt jeden Cent wert! Nicht ohne Reservierung hingehen, da es nur ein paar Tische gibt die immer voll sind!

Pour les paresseux qui né veulent pas lire, je vais racourcir ma note en un paragraphe, mais j’ai l’intention de commenté chaque chose, c’est rendu un méga classique de Montréal et une critique en bon éduforme est d’usage.
Bouffe: ⁵⁄₅
Service (pour moi ⁵⁄₅ mais les autres autours de ma tables ont ressenti un certains stress désagréable en ayant a avoir une bouchée et se faire demandé s’ils avaient fini en mastiquant leur bouché et voyant que c’était pas fini.) Moyen 3.7÷5 (Il manquait du pain et à 6 personnes, la rotation du pain compte.
Prix: ³⁄₅. C’est clairement là où le bas blesse. C’est clairement un prix qui est misé sur un certain hype trendy à fond qui fait que le rapport portion/​prix était un peu faible mais passable. Disons simplement que j’avais mangé un bon repas ce midi et sans cela, j’aurais pas été rassasié malgré le fait que j’aille prit 3 services.
Ma crainte en allant au Joe Beef c’était que le Hype l’aurait emporté sur la qualité de la nourriture et là-​dessus, j’ai été complètement satisfait. Est-​ce que je vais retourné au Joe Beef. Non quasi-​catégorique. J’ai eut comme optique de me diriger vers un repas le plus santé possible et principalement orienté sur les fruits de mer et poissons. Nous avons tous commencé avec une Huitre chacun Cobville (de l’Ile du Prince Edward) Succulante mais pas donné. 3.50 $ chaque. J’ai pris l’anguille en croquette avec 3 sauces, dont une sauce au BBQ et pruneau; Génial. Vraiment un must! Mon ami à prit salade verte et c’était plutôt simple mais honnête. Un autre ami à prit le saucisson de lapin qui était très bien à mon goût. P-​e pas 100% lapin mais vraiment pas le goût qui peut être un peu caouchouteux du lapin. Le goût me faisait penser à un saucisson porc et lapin plus que d’autre choses.
J’ai ensuite prit comme repas principal le saumon et crabe servit avec chou fleur. La portion des entrées était très bien mais celle du plat principal un peu mince mais passable. La cuisson de mon saumon était 100% parfaite. Je dois admettre que j’n’ai pas ressenti le goût du crabe qui a été dominé par le saumon. C’était p-​e un peu salé mais j’ai vraiment aimé. P-​e un peu trop mais j’ai la dent salée/​sucrée. J’ai terminé mon assiette en 4 minutes. J’ai mangé comme un soldat en faisant tout pour me retenir mais c’étais juste trop bon et ça fondait dans la bouche. Mon ami a prit le Cerf à la Tchèque que j’ai goûté. Vraiment génialissime. J’n’ai jamais mangé du Cerf aussi bon (et j’en ait quand même mangé une bonne dizaine de fois). Tendre à souhait et à mon humble avis, le meilleur produit qualité prix sur notre table. En dessert, j’ai pris une Religieuse avec un Earl Grey. C’était succulant. Une religieuse c’est 2 choux à la crème farci un plus petit et un plus gros bien farci d’une chantilly au Kouing. Absolument délicieux. La partie supérieure de mon déssert était plus croustillant et avait des petits cristaux de chocolat blanc ou de fondant, enfin, j’ignore ce que c’était exactement mais c’était sublime. Il n’aurait pas fallu que j’en aille 3 ou 4. C’est le genre de truc que j’mangerais à l’infini.
Notre repas était accompagné d’un bon Vin rouge corse (70 $)
Ok maintenant la section «vent» plus négative:
La bière Joe Beef (fait par la brasserie Biere Brier) a 9 $ pour une bière c’était un peu poussé. Je sais que c’était la même chose que la Bierbrier dans une bouteille plus vieille école. Le fait que mes amis ont été un peu poussé pour compléter leur entrée, qu’il y avait un certain carpharnaum pour la place limitée sur la table. Je dirais que mon second hic c’était qu’on a seulement aprìs à la fin qu’il y avait une toilette de l’autre bord (le resto est fait en U je dirais). L’autre point négatif: 1 facture pour la table! Pourquoi? Est-​ce que c’est juste parce qu’un programme Maitre D c’est trop cher? Je né comprends pas. C’est justement un traccas, tu veux que tes clients partent pour que d’autres client rentrent et prennent leur places, pas de voir un 10 minutes de gens qui sépare leur facture avec leur calculatrice de Téléphone Cellulaire. J’ai trouvé cette partie mal avenante et de savoir que j’ai p-​e trop payé ou pas assez «m’angoissais» un peu. De plus, on rentre, la serveuse nous fait un coat check, j’ai pas vu ou elle est partie avec mon manteau, nous avons finalement payé et puis nous attendons… que se passé-​t-​il? C’est un semi-​coat-​check? Ah lala! C’est vraiment un ⁴⁄₅ qui a failli être un ³⁄₅ si ce n’était pas de la très bonne table et de la déco et de la coutellerie (surtout l’assiette du déssert). Pourquoi je bitch autant? parce que si j’avais payé 80 $ avec un tip au lieu de 120 $ j’aurais pas le même débat ou les mêmes attentes. Le prix augmente, les attentes aussi, c’est ça le risqué.

Bonne bouffe, mais clairement surévalué et trop dispendieux pour le résultat. Difficile d’expliquer cette hype mystérieuse qui entoure le lieu … pour les Montréalais prêt à payer cher pour se sentir ailleurs … (genre New York), et les touristes qui veulent manger là ou s’est supposé être bon … (et hype)