La Cantine

Super friendly staff but the quality of the food is no longer what it used to be. Not even close! No more complimentary fruit shots or purées. Quality of the dishes as a whole have diminished unfortunately.

We had such a good time here for Sunday brunch! The only awkwardness is that there’s nowhere to wait for a table, so you have to stand in the vestibule and peer in, but otherwise everything was great. The menu is creative and amazing, and all the portions are enormous. The smashed potatoes and baked beans that come with a lot of brunch entrees were so great. And the entrees all come with fresh sliced fruit.
I think the «Mange Tes Croutes» (pistachio bread with poached pears, goat cheese, and ginger honey) was the best, but my Croque du Soleil was also good, and the chocolate croissant was better than expected. Would totally come back.
We did have to kind of wave our hands around for a while in order to get the check, because the young waitresses were gossiping and giggling loudly back in their own corner, but that’s okay because this place is so cute and the food is so tasty.

I went there last night and was greeted by a very sweet waitress. The service is good an the atmosphere is very nice. I ordered a hamburger steak with extra foie gras. After around twenty minutes wait the waitress apologies for the waiting because the foie gras need extra time to cook. And the wait is well worth it: the foie grad is nicely cooked it is so juicy and full of favor. The gravy is amazing too. The other thing that really impress me is the onion ring and the gravy. Too bad the hamburger streak itself is a bit dry.

I knew I had to come here the minute I looked at the menu. It made me drool.
Anytime I would be in Montréal, I would head straight to L’Avenue, but this is just a few blocks down the street, and it was amazing.
The crowd in here is older, 30 somethings with families, or just a gathering of friends. I brought my mom here, and although it was cramped a little, she felt comfortable. It’s like all the 20 somethings go to L’Avenue.
The décor is orange and brown, retro and funky. The people are hip, and friendly.
The food, look at the descriptions on the menu!
($ 13.95) CROISSANT DE SOLEIL
Croissant avec œufs brouillés, notre jambon
effiloché, cheddar vieilli, sauce aux épinards,
patates presque pilées, câline de bines et fruits
($ 13.95) LA CHAMPIGNONNE
2 Œufs pochés sur un pouding au pain noix et
poireaux, sauce crémeuse aux champignons,
patates presque pilées, fruits, pancakes,
tomate au chèvre, baguette grillée
MANGE TES CROUTES
Croûte de pain aux pistaches, poires pochées,
chèvre La Bûche, miel infusé au gingembre,
patates presque pilées, fruits,
mini crème brûlée au yogour
YUM.
I got La Champignonne, and I got a plate full of fruit and covered in a mushroom cream sauce. It even came with two little pancakes.
My mom got the Croissant De Soleil. The croissant was flaky and fresh and it was covered in a spinach cream sauce.
Looking around, everyone else got amazing foods as well, and, like usual Montréal fashion, they do not skimp on the fixings.
Will be back next time I’m here!

Just thinking of the brunch we had here makes me want to get in the car and drive to Montréal! If you are visiting Montréal and want a good brunch, you must head here. My husband’s breakfast was more like dessert! He had the Ultra Chocolat and I really think I wouldn’t have been able to finish it for breakfast if I had ordered it. I had the Croissant de Soleil. The croissant was huge and amazing!
Each of our meals also came with a citrus juice shooter which was amazing in and of itself. The mixed fruit is not like what you get in America which is usually cantaloupe, honey dew, and another melon or other random fruit thrown in. This was pineapple, orange, grapes, pears, strawberries, and grapefruit. I love fresh fruit with breakfast so that made the meal complete for me.
Let me repeat myself. If you are in the Montréal area, eat brunch here!

Good original brunch, bit expensive but fun plates and good tastes.
You might consider waiting a good time if you are more than 2 on the weekend mornings. Also the service is some time a bit slow and some find it a bit expensive compared to any normal breakfast restaurant. But it’s worth it and I like it.
Like we say in french. Quand tu es lendemain de veille, ça change le mal de place!

Having brunch in Montréal is our last to-​do before we headed back to Manhattan. We relied on Unilocal to give us guidance and we ended up in La Cantine. It was Sunday afternoon and there was a line although not as terrible as it could get in West Village here.
We waited about twenty minutes before we finally got seated in the back room where there is comfy sofa. I ordered the Aunt Baby’s Club which has bacon, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and mayo and eggs inside a soft and tender bun. It also comes with mashed potato and fresh sliced fruit. I really like my sandwich and it is just very buttery and cheesy at the same time.
I got to try my husband’s La Totale and it is definitely the best on the menu if you are a meat lover. The ham is so fresh and and bacon is juicy and fatty. I think we all felt food coma after the meal. The price is about $ 14 a plate without any juice or coffee. So it is about $ 20 a person if you order an entrée and a coffee. Glad we ended our brunch lovely and full!

A great brunch. We arrived about noon, and were seated at the bar within 10 minuntes. We ordered the LA CHAMPIGNONNE (Mushroom Lovers on the English menu), and the MANGE TES CROUTES. The Pear and rinded goat cheese on fancy pistachio bread. I loved how the Mange was served with a brûlée yogurt. A very nice touch. It was also nice to have something sweet, without being too sweet. The Mushroom Lovers however did not have many mushrooms on it! What a shame. Quel domage! Large servings (which is a plus), and fresh tasting ingredients.
The service was good, and friendly, although you could tell they were busy. But I didn’t go to chat with the servers, so that was ok with me!
$ 46 for brunch for two with a coffee and a tea including tax and tip.

My boyfriend and I came here for Sunday brunch after finding out that the wait at Lawrence would be 25 minutes (they called an hour later saying a table was ready. An hour.)
I had always heard good things about La Cantine and was eager to try it out. There wasn’t much of a wait, however the staff seemed really disorganized– 2 separate servers came to ask how many people we were, and 3 different servers came to ask us for a drink order.
The food itself was good. It seemed like a mish-​mash of random food thrown together, but it’s all good. We had the scrambled eggs-​stuffed croissant and the eggs benedict on toasted pistachio and nut bread (unfortunately, very burnt). Both dishes were served with fruit, a scoop of mashed potatoes (a nice change from the usual roasted potatoes) and some leafy greens.
The tables are well-​spaced apart and the music is at a tolerable level (vs. L’Avenue where the tables are claustrophobically close and the music deafeningly loud).
All in all, a good experience, it’s just frustrating to have to repeat the same thing to 3 different servers.

Awesome brunch, huge portions, great service
We arrived at Noon, expecting a huge line and was surprised to only wait 5 mins for them to clean up a table.
I got the Disco Duck Omelet– duck confit with caramelized onions and cheese in a HUGE (HUGE) omelet with caramezlied grapefruit and an apple argula salad, and almost mashed potatoes. It kept me full until dinner time.
I could NOT believe how huge the plate was. there were at least 6 eggs in the omelet… i’m not even kidding.
The sevice was great– they weren’t warm or super friendly but they were nice, efficient and didn’t pull a Parisian attitude (like other places did).
My friends had the pistachio croque and mish mash which they both loved. Their plates looked gorgeous and huge as well.
When we left, the line was about 12 ppl deep… lucky us!
Highly recommended

Avez-​vous déjà essayer d’expliquer des expressions comme «Caline de bine» à des étrangers?
En fin de semaine, alors qu’on essayait de décider quoi commander pour le brunch et que je traduissais le menu au fur à mesure pour ma famille australienne, je me suis fait demander: «Qu’est-ce que c’est un Caline de bine? Est-​ce que c’est un animal local?»
La lecture du menu a donc menée à une longue discussion par rapport aux expressions québécoises et le fait que plusieurs des items de La cantine font référence à des mots de chez nous.
Le service a été bien même s’il était un peu lent. Au début il n’y avait qu’une serveuse pour la salle au complet donc c’est comprennable. Juste comme on se disait qu’il était temps pour un réchaud de café puisque nos tasses était vides, un deuxième serveur est arrivé avec un caraffe pleine.
L’endroit est à la fois chic et décontracté, ce qui est super pour un brunch relax en famille ou en amoureux. On s’entend jaser même s’il y a de la musique de fond.
Et la bouffe… que de belles assiettes! On n’a pas pu résister et prendre des photos de nos choix tellement on a trouvé ça beau. En plus, ça goûtait aussi bon que ça en avait l’air. On a essayé le Calice de yogurt, la Champignone et le p’tit déjeuner ordinaire (2 zeux, toasts, patates presque pilées, etc.) Tout le monde était bien plein après le brunch, excuse parfaite pour passer le reste de la matinée à se promener dans les rues du quartier.

I’m always looking for a good brunch place, so I decided to give this one a try. Service was ok, but we had to remind the waiter of a few things he forgot to bring, plus the eggs benny were overcooked (supposed to have a liquid yoke) and we had to send them back twice before they got it right. Otherwise, the menu is very original, reasonably priced and tasty. It gets very crowded for brunch, make sure you get there before 11h30. I recommend trying their evening menu, which offers a fresh twist on french-​canadian cooking, the stuff i used to eat when i was a kid, but grown up version, such as a club sandwich, but instead of chicken you get duck confit… And great cocktails too! Overall a fun place to go for drinks with friends, but not for a quiet romantic evening.

Went for dinner. Tried many of the dishes. The concept is interesting, but sometimes the flavours were missing. The ribs were definitely not ginger and garlic. The service was good but not stellar. Nice décor and an interesting menu.

OMG… I love brunch food and I have never been to a brunch place as amazing as this place! The place was small, but man oh man, was it packed. We were there for a sunday brunch at around 12:30 and we didn’t get a seat until 1pm and we didn’t get our food until almost 2pm. (Apparently the place was busiest at 1pm!) But it was totally worth the wait!
The decorate was bright and colourful and we got to sit right by the windows in comfy chair… the only downside about this place is that the space is very limited…
I ordered a mushroom lover (a weekend special) and my friend got the total with some wild boar sausage. When the food arrived the serving was way more than enough and the taste was amazing!
I am definitely coming back here for more brunch when I am in Montréal again!
Highly recommended!

Avis aux amoureux de la cuisine Québécoise: la Cantine est «ze place to be «! Ou plutôt «to go «. Pierre-​Luc Chevalier y cuisine avec amour et malice toutes les recettes de son enfance et les partage avec nous que ce soit pour le dîner vite-​vite sur le pouce, pour un souper plus tranquille ou même pour le brunch des fins de semaine. Vous connaissiez le pudding chômeur? Eh bien venez donc goûter son «Pain perdu et retrouvé «! Et il en a d’autres comme ça! Moi, j’aime particulièrement le «mange tes croûtes «, une tartine de pain chèvre et poire qu’on mange pendant un brunch.
Côté déco on est dans le funky-​vintage: un vrai retour dans les 70’s. mais pour autant, né croyez pas que vous serez assailli par le bruit et le monde, car la Cantine c’est aussi un endroit paisible où on peut venir pour se détendre. Choisissez votre côté: bistrot ou café? L’un et l’autre sont à tester.
Attention, si vous voulez venir bruncher à plus de 6, il faut absolument réserver!

My favorite restaurant during our trip to Montréal over Thanksgiving. We went for brunch and highly recommend others do the same. It’s got a great, neighborhood-​y vibe and was the only restaurant we visited that had a line (albeit one that moved fairly quickly). You can tell that this is a place that locals love!

Stopped by this cute looking spot for brunch– there was another group in front of us, but we were seated right away. The restaurant was bustling, and had we been just a tad later, we would have had quite the wait. The décor was fun– orange and brown– modern with a 70s throwback.
Everything was in French, but we could make out enough to feel confident about our order. We got the ‘croissant de soleil’ (croissant, eggs, cheddar, jamon, spinach sandwich) and the ‘la totale’ (eggs, bacon, jamon, pancakes, and mini toasted baguette). Each entrée came with a fruit salad, seasoned mashed potatoes, baked beans, mixed greens, and a basil and pear shooter. An incredible amount of food which was all very tasty, no salt or pepper needed.
Brunch for two ran us $ 32 — but given the quantity, we got our money’s worth. Needless to say we walked out in a slight food coma. I would absolutely recommend this and would head back for brunch next time I’m in town.

mid-​century modern décor. hipster comfort food with a gourmet twist (think a club sandwich with confit de canard, burgers with goat cheese and foie gras) nice cocktails (mojito with maple syrup) and really good service.
i’m sure the brunch line is ridic. i’m sure it’s worth it, too. go for dinner if you want to feel at home with less of a wait.

Exhausted and depressed by the number of overrated, mundane, and often questionable restaurants in Montréal, I was astonished by this gem. Every little bit of the décor, atmosphere, music and food was personalized and original without being over the top. I had their:
MUSHROOM LOVER
2 poached eggs on a leek bread-​pudding,
creamy mushroom béchamel, pancakes,
almost mashed potatoes, fruit cup,
goat cheese tomato, baguette
CAN 13.95
Subtle and interesting flavors with great presentation. It is not haute cuisine, but it is convincing and authentic.
The service lacked any of the belligerent retro-​attitude towards serving an English speaker, and was competent and attentive.
The value for money of La Cantine’s pricing cannot be topped.
A recommendation without a singular reservation. Almost unimaginable.

The lady lives right next door and it took me ~1−2 years to convince her to actually try brunch at Cantine. We’d pass by every week-​end, I’d nag, she’d say it looks too pretentious and then we’d end up at either Senzala or Rapido.
Last week-​end, because we were short on time, we decided to take the plunge and see what Cantine is made of. We were very pleasantly surprised! She had what «Christine R.» got — the goat-​cheese and pear covered nutty bread and that was simply delicious. The (vanilla?) mini crème brule was outstanding and refreshing.
I had the «champignonne» option, which is basically two poached eggs with a mushroom sauce, toasted baguette a bowl of fruits and a side of pear purée. My choice was more classical, but excellent nevertheless. In either case, the presentation was exquisite and it was not your typical and standard brunch fare.
For $ 30, including tax and coffee, but not tip, it’s not a bad deal, but certainly not the cheapest around the area. It is, however, a great brunch bistro, where one can relax and savour the food in a 70s style décor.

Can’t beat the Beuh (Roast Beef) sandwich. One of the best I’ve had likely on this continent.
Great vibe, very friendly staff. They have free wifi, and a few small tables out front (mini-​patio).
Stumbled upon this place on a frigid –25 degree day last winter, and will now likely make a visit every time I’m in Montréal.

Believe it or not, Québec has its own traditional flavors and meals, such as Pâté Chinois (Chinese Paté — which was the meal — beef, potatoes, corn, with ketchup — eaten by Chinese train workers back in the days), Tourtière (Meat pie), and, of course, poutine. Think about comfort food, and you’ll know how I feel when I sit in front of my plate of Pâté Chinois.
The problem with it is that is has a small gastronomic potential. Not anymore: Cantine revisits these classics of Québécoise cuisine, by adding the magic touch that makes it being interesting to people who didn’t grow up eating a weird mixture of beef-​potatoes-​corn.
I went for brunch last Sunday, and ordered a nut french-​toast, covered with local goat cheese, caramelized pears and ginger infused honey, which was served with a mini-​crème brûlée, fruits and homemade jams. It was just fantastic! The design of the place makes the experience even more enjoyable.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t recommend to order the plain bacon and egg: the plate was too small and had nothing special to it. For the price, you should order something more special. And also, the coffee was wack.
You can also go to their boutique to bring back home some local flavor…