L’Express

We spent our last night in Montréal at L’express and what a wonderful choice that was! 1) I love the décor! 2) the service was great! 3) the food hit the spot!
Reading some of the reviews, i can see why diners might not be on the same page. For me, I really enjoy french food and perhaps that’s still a novelty for me. maybe I’m easily pleased? either way, i did have a wonderful dining experience here~
we got the octopus salad to start. the portion was very generous! i enjoyed it very much and didn’t expect it to be so filling! it also comes with a jar of pickles~ omgggg they were so mini and good! a very good appetizer by itself!
then i got the special rabbit risotto. it was delicious! but i can’t say that it was phenomenal. maybe that’s the nature of rabbit. and risotto. it was a creamy dish. everything fell into place with no loose ends. i was holding my stomach by the end of my meal. on the other hand, my boyfriend got the steak frites and he commented how the portion was smaller than expected and it was just an-​ok steak. guess when it comes to steak, it’s still better to order at an american steakhouse lol
so overall, i would give it a solid 4 star. i would love to return and try other things. not so sure for my boyfriend though.

Overall I had a pleasant experience here. But after reading reviews, I thought that the food would be better. The décor reminds you of a traditional French Bistro.
Food 3.5÷5:
Surprisingly I really enjoyed their pickles and bread. Their pickles are delicious and the bread was soft and had a lovely crunchy crust.
The appetizers were my least favourite; a little disappointing. We ordered to octopus salad. It was okay, but not something that I would order again. It was nicely presented and they gave you a lot of octopus, but I felt that it needed some more acid.
We also ordered the chicken liver pistachio pâté. We found this too rich for our liking, and the pistachio over powered the taste of the liver.
We did enjoy our mains. i ordered the homemade ravioli, which was delicious. The pasta was delicate, and the gravy that the ravioli was covered in was delicious. The filling inside was tasty and a bit creamy. The mushrooms complimented the dish nicely, and gave the dish a bit of an earthy texture.
My fiancé ordered the shrimp risotto. The risotto was cooked perfectly. The rice was creamy and the shrimp was perfect — not over cooked. The cherry tomatoes gave a nice acidic relief, from the creaminess of the sauce. I would definitely recommend that you try either of these dishes.
For dessert we decided to get the Floating Island. It looked amazing with the sugar dome and the meringue inside and custard on the bottom. It was like a work of art. I can appreciate the difficulty of making the dessert. I enjoyed the almond praline the most. The meringue didn’t have much taste other than sweetness. Overall the dessert was too sweet for my tastes, and a didn’t live up to the presentation.
Service 4.5÷5
Service was excellent for the most part, until it came time to pay the bill, which was a bit slow. Our servers were pleasant and very efficient. When asked for recommendations they were quick to answer. They were also quick to clear our plates when we finished our dishes. Although it was busy, we didn’t feel rushed and were able to take our time and enjoy our meal.
The restaurant is quite popular, and we saw lots of locals. The place is busy, so definitely make a reservation if you decide to come here.

This is our go to French style bistro restaurant right out of Paris.
L’express is an institution in Montréal. It can be very hard to get seats especially at the weekend. Don’t hesitate to sit at the bar.
The food is varied, excellent and while not cheap represents great value for money. All the staff are very pleasant and knowledgeable about everything on the menu both food and wine. Do not hesitate to ask which wine do you recommend for the dish you choose.
We have had almost everything on the menu. Having done so we always find ourselves coming back to the bones and the octopus with lentils for starters. For main course I can’t resist the veal kidneys mushroom sauce.
The desserts are also to die for. Again choose anything you can’t go wrong.
I think I have been reluctant to write about this place for so many years because it is so good I almost don’t want more people to know about it. It is already tough enough to get a seat last minute.
Say thank you David, for giving this one up!

A lazy lunch here with glasses of wine and rich French fare was delightful. The staff were wonderful — that perfect mix of efficient and kind service mixed with confidence rather than snooty-​ness was really unexpected for what looked like such a traditional French bistro (hey, I’m not immune to bad stereotyping either okay?).
An absolute must when in this city.

Bistrot typique français (voire parisien) à Montréal
Service minutieux; les serveurs sont habillés à la parisienne et le service est digne des grands restaurants
Les entrées sont recherchées (foie gras, os à moelle, etc.), les plats sont raffinés et restent des classiques français (boudin noir, steak frites, poisson .), et les desserts sont aussi des classiques (profiteroles, crème brûlée, truffes, etc.)
Le décor aussi est très français! Très brasserie!
Prix un peu au dessus de la moyenne
Ouvert jusqu’à 2h du matin
A essayer!

Un excellent Bistro français, service impeccable et carte des vins impressionnante

Vive l’Express, Bravo au chef Ghislain Roy et sa salade de bettrave. Tout est bon.

Bön restaurant, très classique. C’est du bistro français tel qu’on se l’imagine (on y sert même du céleri remoulade…). Le service est pas mal, mais l’établissement aurait besoin d’un petit coup de neuf.
Les prix sont raisonnables, surtout compte-​tenu de l’emplacement.

Bistro français classique. Endroits à recommander à des touristes qui aiment la bouffe française. Personnellement je trouve qu’il y a mieux à Montréal en terme de variété mais si vous êtes fervents de bistro français c’est une valeur sûre. La crowd est un peu plus âgée, les serveur sont très professionnels, la longue carte de vins saura vous satisfaire assurément. Le genre d’endroit quil faut avoir essayé au moins une fois. C’est a ce resto que j’ai goûté mes premiers tartares de bœuf, il y a longtemps ;) À savoir: on sert de la bouffe jusqu’à tard le soir.

Excellente brasserie. Tout le charme d’une brasserie parisienne au coeur de Montréal.
Service impeccables, un beau comptoir, des plats succulents et traditionnels. Je recommande d’essayer le pot aux feu, et les os à moelle.

Super restaurant.
Le service était impeccable et l’ambiance plus que conviviale.
Typique bistro français. Nous y étions un mercredi soir et le restaurant était plein.
La carte des vins est impressionnante et on adore le pot de pickles sur la table!
J’ai mangé l’os à moelle en entrée et pris le tartare en plat principal. Clairement le meilleur tartare que j’ai eu l’occasion d’essayer. Enfin un endroit où ils né gorgent pas la viande de mayo!
Je recommande fortement le resto et n’oubliez pas de réserver!

Manger au compoir n’est pas ma tasse de thé, mais par contrainte il a fallu. Sans regret toutefois! Si vous voulez parler avec des connaisseurs de vin, c’est la place! Très bon service à la clientèle!
La nourriture y est bonne même si on né parle pas de plat qui transcende…

Déçu des déjeuners ! Je sais bien que l’Express n’est pas une place pour les déjeuners, mais le choix n’était pas grand, j’avais faim en sortant et de plus la serveuse avait pas l’air trop aimable et serviable. J’y retournerais pas pour les déjeuners mais plutôt pour les lunchs ou les soupers.

Fancy Fancy! If you don’t have reservations on a weekend expect a bit of a wait! The food here is awesome. The menu has a variety of options and translated to English for those of us who don’t speak French. I would’ve given them 5 stars but our initial impression kinda turned us off. The guy who took our name down was a little dismissive and not very welcoming. I saw he had the same attitude with other people as well. Perhaps he was overwhelmed but a bit more hospitality would’ve been appreciated.
On to the food… I recommend the Shrimp Risotto, Goat Cheese salad and Steak Tartare! Everything was delicious and I was stuffed by the end of the meal. The wine was excellent. Affordable and classy spot. I’d revisit!