Less heavy options for Toronto visitors....

[aser]

Did some poking around and plan on hitting up.

APDC
Joe Beef
Schwartz
DDC pub
Vices & Verses (drinking only)

Possible options include...

Le Comptoir
Le Clube Chasse et Peche
Le Local
Garde Manger

As you can see, the list is quite heavy. Any lighter suggestions? Not really looking for Asian food as that is a strong point of Toronto. Or a case to be made to remove Joe Beef for one on my "possible" list.

thanks......

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Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA

Le Local
740 rue William, Montréal, QC H3C 1P1, CA

[prima]

I found the food at Europea, Rosalie, Ferreira (the seafood rice dish and the cataplana are very generous portions on the verge of heavy, but the grilled fish or shellfish dishes are not heavy), La Montee ( I visited La Montee on Bishop & haven't been since that location closed, but La Montee de Lait is still open on St Laurent http://www.lamonteedelait.com/ ), Bice, Le Latini, Toque, and Raza to be on the lighter side. Some of these restaurants still use rich ingredients, but the portion sizes are manageable and/or on the lighter side.

I love the grilled octopus at Milos (already mentioned by lagatta). When I'm looking for a lighter meal, I order 2 appetizers, or an appetizer and a salad, at Milos. There are no Greek restaurants in Toronto that compare to Milos.

Also enjoyed a light meal at Kitchen Galerie Poisson last winter.

Here is a link to an older thread, re: looking for lighter options in Mtl: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/618399

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Europea
1227, rue de la Montagne, Montreal, QC H3G1Z2, CA

Ferreira Cafe
1446 Peel, Montreal, QC H3A 1S8, CA

Restaurant Le Latini
1130 Jeanne-Mance, Montreal, QC H2Z 1L7, CA

Estiatorio Milos- Montreal
5357 Park Ave, Montreal, QC H2V 4G9, CA

Ristorante Bice
1504, Rue Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC H3G 1L3, CA

Restaurant Toque!
900 Place Jean-Paul Riopelle, Montreal, QC H2Z 2B2, CA

Europea Restaurant
1227 Rue De La Montagne, Montreal, QC H3G1Z2, CA

Rosalie Restaurant
1232 Rue De La Montagne, Montreal, QC H3G1Z1, CA

Restaurant Raza
114 Av Laurier W, Montreal, QC H2T2N7, CA

Restaurant La Montee De Lait
5171 Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2T1M1, CA

[sarahinmtl]

keep Joe Beef on the list...another good one in that area is Tuck Shop....skip Le Local (good atmosphere, food lacking)...le Comptoir ok....Garde Manger is a keeper.....and if you head to the Plateau add Salle a Manger, Chien Fumant, Chez Victoire and Quartier General is best in the area for BYOW! These are all worth trying!

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Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA

Le Local
740 rue William, Montréal, QC H3C 1P1, CA

Chez Victoire
1453 Avenue du Mont Royal Est, Montreal, QC H2J, CA

[Maximilien]

All those are good, but "less heavy" ?

[sarahinmtl]

PDC is the only one on the list that leaves me aching from the 'heaviness' (in a good way:))...well, garde manger too, but that's only because the seafood tower gets me every time! Chien Fumant is on the same level as Tuck Shop and Joe Beef for heaviness....in fact, I can usually share a meal at CF easily with someone and be quite satisfied...but I would argue that Salle a manger and Chez Victoire are the lighter options of the group...

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Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA

Chez Victoire
1453 Avenue du Mont Royal Est, Montreal, QC H2J, CA

[looosia]

I think Salle a Manger can have "less heavy" options. There, as well as Au Cinquieme Peche, are two great spots in the Plateau that are great for visitors and townies alike, and have both heavy and lighter far available.

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Au Cinquieme Peche
4475 St-Denis, Montreal, QC H2J 2K8, CA

[Querencia]

Le Commensal (google for details, location etc) is a vegetarian buffet that has the most elaborate and splendiferous salad bar I have ever seen in my life. If you're looking for a light meal, consider this---dozens of selections, really elegant. Google "Le Commensal Toronto".

[petek]

I love the word "splendiferous" !!
I must add it to my repertoire :)

[looosia]

I really, really dislike Le Commensal. I find the whole buffet price a rip-off, the food bland, and just not very inventive. If you want to go for vegetarian/vegan food, I'd suggest going to Aux Vivres. It's probably the best vegetarian/vegan place I've ever been to, which is ironic given that Montreal is a very meat-centric town.

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Aux Vivres
4631 Boul Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2T1R2, CA

[SnackHappy]

Excuse the dumb question, but what is DDC pub?

[estilker]

Prolly Dieu Du Ciel brewpub

[SnackHappy]

Oh yeah, makes sense. Thanks. I would never have figured that out by myself.

[kpaxonite]

DNA

[wcundill]

Id keep joe beef,
for a something lighter i would try mas cuisine (have not been in a while but was great when i went)
Dont forget bagels.

[CookEatSleep]

I'd replace Joe Beef with something lighter and more French, maybe Le Comptoir, Trois Petits Bouchons, Leméac, or Au Cinquième Pêché?

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Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA

[Plateaumaman]

Asian food you can't get in Toronto (I have searched!), authentic Hanoi style bun cha at Pho Tay Ho, also hard to match Cuisine Szechuan. Also the juicy dumpling places here are rather cleaner and more chic than most in TO, eg. Qing Hua Dumplings so worth checking out. We have a very good Indonesian restaurant in Nonya, another cuisine missing in Toronnah. Which is just to say, rather than falling back on stereotypes of which city does what best, it is good to try everything, non?

[aser]

Look, I know you're repping hometown pride and all, but nothing in life is equal. Some places will be better than others for certain foods, it's not a stereotype. Why not take advantage of a city's specialties, especially if they're damn good at it. Montreal just doesn't scream dumplings and sichuan to me.

For the record I went to.......

Joe Beef
Le Comptoir (twice!)
APDC
Schwartz's
DDC (twice!)
Cafe de l'apothecarie - really really generic brunch
Vices & Versa (twice! wish I could go every week for trou du diable double ipa)
Pho Cali - yes I caved in because I needed to detox after the heavy heavy week.

I'll write more detailed reviews after I unwind from the eating marathon. A general theme, portions in Mtl are huge. Even the pho, which had way too much meat imo, hah.

thanks for the advice everybody, I'll keep a lot of these in mind for my next visit.

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Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA

[sweettoothMTL]

From this list, I would say Le Comptoir, and even le Club Chasse et Pêche, because of their fish option, are lighter. But it depens what you mean by lighter. Le Comptoir has a few plates that are just vegetables, or fish/seafood.

[foodinspace]

If you're going to Vices et Versa for beer, then you should also make Dieu du Ciel a must visit. For chicken, there is indeed Coco Rico but I prefer grilled to rotisserie chicken. If this describes you, check out Romado's instead of Coco Rico. I wish I could help in the non-heavy department but, indeed, the only things I can think of are Asian food. Except for meat-heavy French-inspired food, Toronto does pretty much everything better. Maybe Middle Eastern and North African, as lagatta mentions.

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Coco Rico
3907 Boul Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2W1X9, CA

[lagatta]

Perhaps not (East) Asian food, but food from the Middle East and the Maghreb is strong here. Kaza Maza, Damas, Alep / Petit Alep.

And of course there is Milos.

As for drinking, I think you mean Vices & Versa (craft beers).

[SourberryLily]

I'll second Alep or Le Petit Alep.

How is Damas? I saw a recent offer on tuango and was intrigued.

[aser]

I will def look more into this area next time I'm back up, slept on that this go around.

[petek]

Hey aser.Fellow Torontonian here.I've been to APDC-very rich and heavy but a must visit if you've haven't been.Didn't have a great time at Garde Manger but YMMV.My favorite was LeCC etP.One of the best meal I've ever had.Schwartz's was hit or miss for me.Try to check out Coco Rico just up the street for sum good rotisserie chicken.I'm sure you"ll get some great feedback from the locals soon.Enjoy!!
If you do go to APDC(which you should) ask about the daily specials.

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Coco Rico
3907 Boul Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2W1X9, CA