Opening Tomorrow "Lawrence", 5201 Blvd St Laurent

[tocino.]

The staff formerly of The Sparrow is opening their new restaurant tomorrow evening, Dec 1st. "Lawrence" will be open for lunch as of Dec 2nd and weekend brunch will begin Dec 4th. The restaurant is located on the North East corner of Fairmount and St Laurent.

[unlaced]

Just a note, as I have Lawrence being suggested in a number of recent threads as a place for visitors to eat -
from their twitter feed
To all: we will be closing for holidays this Monday, the 20th of June, and reopening on Wednesday, July 13th. Thank you.

[unlaced]

I haven't seen much raving about Lawrence on the board, and when I visited in the first couple of weeks after opening I was very underwhelmed about the dinner (though I thought the sommelier and her recommendations was fantastic)

But the Gazette has a rave review in tomorrow's paper (online now)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/f...

Anyone else been recently for dinner? Rave or "meh"?

[jay_81k]

I Went for dinner there a couple weeks ago. I had braised squid which was very good and a beef tartar which was only ok in my opinion. I really like the people who work there. They were very nice and gave me a free dessert! The menu isn't for everybody as it offers hearts, livers and kidneys, but they usually execute they're dishes well and their prices are reasonable. I'll be back for sure.

[mainsqueeze]

Had dinner there a few nights ago and really enjoyed it. The first time I'd gone none of the appetizers at our table had been all that impressive so this time my friend and I opted to share a main course as an appetizer - seared foie gras with a duck broth, lentils and prunes. This was a hit. For mains we had the rare beef with beetroot and dripping toast - the beef was a bit tough but overall this dish was very tasty - and the gnocchi, which were quite delicious as well. The star of the show was the tarte tatin for dessert, which may be the best dessert I've had in a restaurant in Montreal, ever. We shared it two ways but I think it's probably better suited for four. No regrets from me, however. The staff is super friendly and accommodating. Our waiter was very warm and approachable. I look forward to trying their brunch!

[TheSnowpea]

Had supper there with two fellow Mtl Hounds a few weekends ago: we really liked it. I had the squid with samphire and parmesan for starters, and the stripped bass with jerusalem artichokes as a main. Both were simple and flavourful.

My fellow diners went for oysters, one of them had the ox tongue appetizer + stripped bass, I think the other went for the slow roasted pork app. + calf brains with capers main.

Desserts were the chocolate tart, the Most Evil Crème Brûlée in the World, and wonderful apple donuts. Here's that night's menu: http://twitpic.com/3z4owq

The sommelier had excellent advice for the wine selection, and service was simply lovely.

[blond_america]

Are they cash only?

[blond_america]

No, they accept credit and debit.

[tibetanpeachpie]

Please - someone tell me about the brunch!
What did you have? What's on the menu? Prices?

[BLM]

Check them on Twitter(check above on this thread for their Twitter account). From there, you can check their brunch menu.

[kpzoo]

Thankfully, the brunch looks nearly identical to Sparrow's, including the prices. Only thing that looks like it's changed is that coffee is no longer included. Here was this weekend's menu, for example:

http://www.twitpic.com/3h4e3i

[williej]

Anyone know if they are open January 1 or 2? Thanks

[kpzoo]

No, they won't be open Jan. 1 or 2.

"The restaurant will be closing at the end of lunch on Friday and reopening on Wednesday, the fifth of January. Happy holidays."
http://twitter.com/#!/Lawrencefood/st...

[waziboy]

This place has the right stuff. Excellent food and very friendly staff.
Last night I had: rhode island oysters to start, salt cod with sauerkraut and sausage for the main, millefeuille for dessert. (and I got to try my friend's gnocchi which were also delicious)

[kpzoo]

Lawrence now has a website with basic information like phone number and hours. Hopefully it will be expanded in the future, but it's a good start!

http://www.lawrencerestaurant.com/

[BLM]

They're also back on twitter, & through that you can check their latest menus http://twitter.com/lawrencefood

[kpzoo]

Yup, they just renamed their old Sparrow account, so if you used to follow @sparrowfood you don't need to re-follow @lawrencefood.

[hillarwee]

Went here on Saturday for their first brunch service. As a brunch regular at The Sparrow I was not disappointed. Actually, I think for a breakfast place I prefer the atmosphere at Lawrence over that of The Sparrow...its brighter, with more windows, larger tables and cute coffee cups. Speaking of coffee, its no longer included in the price of breakfast, which given its quality (compared to like Le Vieux St. Laurent, but I'm no connoisseur ), I'm okay with. Menu was almost identical to The Sparrow's brunch menu and the food is totally up to par with what was being served at the old place.
Will definitely be returning probably for dinner as well. Although I'm kind of embarrassed at how much the kitchen/waitstaff has seen me eat there. I'm like often in line at like 9:45 which makes me feel like a desperate food addict. Oh well.
Also, has anyone noticed how like beautiful everyone that works there is? I want Ethan Wills inside me.

[extrabrocolli]

Wow, foodie groupies. A first on this board?
I always hate it when coffee is separated price wise from a breakfast menu, it always seems like a pricing scam. I mean you could separate every item on the plate if you want to go that way.

[hillarwee]

It's still bottomless cup.

[sweettoothMTL]

And how was the line up for this first week-end? Any chances of slipping in before word really gets out and it gets to crazy to go again?

[hillarwee]

No line when I went! Actually a few empty tables and I arrived at 11, an hour after it opens for brunch. I'm sure things will change when/if it gets a website/facebook page up and running and when all of ubisoft starts going there for lunch everyday.

[sweettoothMTL]

Yeah. Hopefully, we'll get until Christmas to enjoy it...

[Fintastic]

With 3 people we found the line to be short at 1pm on Saturday (maybe 15 minutes or so), but there were several empty 2 person tables throughout our time there.

However, the layout of the restaurant is not as conducive to lines as was Sparrow. I can't really explain (or even figure out) why, but I just feel like it will be far more chaotic when the crowds do inevitably return, so they might have to engineer some sort of system to keep those waiting from disturbing the wait staff and those who are seated. It just felt a bit awkward, even when it was just two groups waiting in line..

[alexthecook]

Here is a blurrycam image of Lawrence's opening night menu.

Wine list (not reproduced) was crafted by Etheliya Hananova (from CC&P). It features many private imports.

[afoodyear]

Argh. I can't make out anything that says until "Rice Pudding" :(

[mammab]

Don't worry about the menu. Just go! Trust me you won't be disappointed.

[waziboy]

Excellent news! Is there a phone number so we can make reservations?

[itrempe]

I loved the Sparrow! Such a awesome atmosphere for lunch and the food...yum. I can't wait to see the new digs!

[mammab]

What are the deets? Menu? Hours?

[sonnerie]

Hours posted on the door were, as I recall (not 100% sure)
Mon-tues : Closed
Lunch
Wed-Fri: 11am-3pm
Brunch
Sat-Sun
11am-3pm
Dinner, if i recall correctly was Wed-Sun 5-11, but I'm less sure about that.

[Fintastic]

Part of me was hoping that this would stay quiet until the weekend so that I could sneak in for a line-less Brunch on Saturday. But thats selfish of me...

Anyways, word is that many things will be the similar to Sparrow (at least brunch-wise), but there will also be a lot of new things added to the menu (I'm assuming that was regarding the dinner menu).
I'm not much help at all...

[tocino.]

To further calirify sonnierie's and kpzoo's posts - as I just reserved for Saturday evening.

Their reservation policy is as following:
Brunch reservations are only for groups 6 or more.
Dinner reservations are accepted for any number of guests,

Weekend brunch is 10-3. Lunch is Wed-Fri 11:30-3. Dinner is Wed-Sat 5:30-11.

[kpzoo]

Great info, thanks!

[Mandarine]

What's the phone number? I'd like to make reservations if that is possible.....

[kpzoo]

The number is 514-503-1070. They take reservations for groups, not sure if there's a minimum.

[waziboy]

I got a reservation for 3 people next week. Can't wait!