We're headed to Montreal for a quick weekend escape. Staying at Hotel Gault in the Vieux Porte area.

From what I'm reading, it sounds like the restaurants in the quartier tend to be unexceptional and very touristy.

Any recos for anything nearby? There are a few downtown restos that we may try, but on our first night we may want something close.

Merci.

Re>From what I'm reading, it sounds like the restaurants in the quartier tend to be unexceptional and very touristy. <

Care to share what you are reading? Old Montreal is full of excellent restaurants.

And, while I'm not trying to be argumentative here, care to share what "touristy" means?

People who love fine food come to Montreal for the express purpose of eating in fine restaurants. Does that make Gibby's "touristy?"

St-Amable (Le St-Amable
410 Place Jacques-Cartier) has new management since I was last there, but I imagine it is still excellent.

Last time I ate at Steak Frites St. Paul
12, St Paul W.
Tel: 514-845-4221
Price : $15 to $30
Metro: Place-d'Armes
it was an excellent quasi-formal meal. Very nice room, very good service, but I did not feel I needed to be wearing a necktie.

I've taken business contacts from various parts of the world (tourists?) to St. Amable and to Gibby's, and in all cases everyone enjoyed their meal, was impressed with the restaurant, and had an experience they would not have received in New York or Dallas or London, or Seoul, or even Edmonton or Calgary. There was a man from Paris, but that was Paris, Texas, not the French one. To him, the liquid you put on a salad at Gibby's was 'sauce" and not "dressing" but, as a Texan, he knew steaks, and he thoughts Gibby's served as good as you could find in the lonestar state.

BAK

Sorry, poor word choice on my part. We're tourists, after all.

I haven't been to Montreal in 20 years, so my perceptions are coming from what I've been reading here and on other boards.

There have been more than a few comments that the Vieux Ville is all T-shirt and souvenier shops. I suppose that gave me the impression that the restaurants might not be as focused on good food as in the neighborhoods where restaurants rely on locals and the repeat business potential.

Would also love to know which restaurants have interesting wine lists. Thanks again.

If you are looking for a great restaurant in old Montreal, one of my favorites is Bonapartes, great French food and an extensive wine list. I ate there last week and it still served a fantastic meal. Gibbys is great if you are looking for a good steak house. There are also many other great restaurants in Montreal outside of the old part of the city. Do a search on this board and you will find many recommendations.

Every water-side restored old part of any city I've visited -- Annapolis, London, South Street Seaport in New York, Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, seems to have lots of souvenir and t-shirt shops, and Montreal has its fair share.

But, compared to Toronto's harbourfront and my recollection of South Street Seaport, Montreal has more furniture shops, interior design specialists, fine clothing stores, high quality art galleries, and even a couple of museums. But the biggest difference is that in Old Montreal there are several excellent hotels, and lots of really good restaurants, in addition to the ice cream shops and the beaver tails vendor.

If you have even an hour to wander around in the late afternoon of the day you arrive, you'll find several restaurants you'll want to return to for dinner. Menus are posted outside.

BAK

We enjoyed dinner at Bonapartes.

I'm aware of Montreal's arts and cultural scene, I was just under the impression that most of the galleries and design-oriented shopping was not in the old part of the city.

BAK, I feel like I've offended you with my "touristy" comment. That was not my intent. I am aware of how cosmopolitan and sophisticated Montreal is--that's one of the reasons why we chose it for a weekend getaway.

I know we'll find lots of fabulous things to see and do. And I hear the Hotel Gault is terrific.

But to put things in perspective, I'm from Philadelphia and up until a few years ago I lived in the historic district. When out-of-towners came to the neighborhood, they always wanted to go to a seafood place called Bookbinders, which was indeed historic, but dreadful and overpriced. Those are the types of places I'm trying to avoid. Fortunately--as Scarlet can attest--the neighborhood did eventually get some excellent restaurants.

I was also hoping to make reservations ahead of time, as I would assume most places might be fully booked on a Friday night.

Re> I feel like I've offended you with my "touristy" comment. <

No! No! No!

I'm just trying to narrow things down, plus, tourists are the bread and butter, so to speak, of many really good restaurants.

And yes, the majority of Montreal's fine shops are not in Old Montreal, but enough are there to make it a worthwhile window-shopping area. And even buying-stuff area.

And, perhaps compared to Philadelphia, there is in Montreal a long tradition of a great many excellent restaurants, plus, in Old Montreal, there's sense of competitiveness that requires most places in a neighborhood to be pretty close in quality to each other.

I'm in the middle of a restaurant district in Toronto, and, in each price range, every restaurant is pretty close in quality to the others. The chefs graduate from the same schools, the serving staff are students at the same universities, the pay is similar from place to place.

Distinctions are mostly in "personality" of the restaurants.

Same in Old Montreal.

Back to "touristy"." I hear the word, as a pejorative, a lot. But I talk to a lot of tourists in Toronto, and for many of them, a major goal of their trip is to eat well, in very good restaurants, where they want a meal they will remember. And they can be adventurous.

These people eat in the same restaurats Torontonians eat in on really special occasions.

The next level down are the less adventurous who want good tasting "standard" food they recognize, but good service, and reasonable prices.
Torontonians eat in these places when they want a meal out, without breaking the budget, or a celebration without too much money.

Montreal's a bit different. It has a longer tradition of eating out in restauranats, and entertaining in restaurants. I'd bet that the percentage of two-person tables in Toronto is higher than in Montreal, that the percentage of four-person tables is a bit higher in Montreal, and the 6-8 person tables in Montreal are much more popular than Toronto.

Back to adventuous in Toronto. True story. I saw an old man, wearing denim coveralls and a baseball cap, on the sidewalk in Chinatown, talking to a younger man in a neat knit shirt and chinos, lookng at a map.

Turned out the old guy (he was 82, I learned) was a cowboy from San Antonio, and the younger one was his son, from Dallas. And dad wanted to go for Dim Sum right then, and then the plan was to go to Greektown for dinner that night. And the previous night they'd searched out a Portuguese restaurant. So there's no telling who is the adventurer.

I can't think of a long-time, highly popular, Montreal restaurant with a touristy reputation that is not, in fact, really good. Gibbys, the Beaver Club, Les Halles, Chex La Mere Michel, Duns, Swartz's, etc are all excellent for what they are. (It's pretty hard to find a bad meal in Montreal)

BAK

Thanks, BAK. I was worried that I had ruffled some feathers. I will keep your advice in mind.

We're thinking of Chez L'Epicier for Friday night now. And I know my husband wants to check out Schwartz's, but probably for lunch.

I am looking forward to re-acquainting myself with Montreal!

Elle
Chez L'Epicier is a great choice. Schwartz Deli (not much more than a hole in the wall) is stll the best (after 85+years) for those that like smoked meat sandwiches at reasonable prices. Lunch time is very crowded so you might want to consider going there a little before or after the lunch hour.

I had dinner at L'Epicier for my birthday and it was excellent !!
Pavarotti is a good average italian restaurant in old montreal...

I would call touristy a few of the terraces around place Jacques Cartier.

elle, while it is not near your hotel, there is a wonderful bistro that I want to recommend. I got it from someone here on the Canada boards who lives in Montreal and now we go every time we are in Montreal.
The Au Petit Extra on rue Ontario..a bit of Paris on a Montreal street corner!
You can grab a cab anytime, they are not expensive and easy, your hotel will call them for you and the restaurant will call one for you to take you home.