Breakfast and wi fi downtown or St. Henri

[williej]

I am looking for a place which serves 'real breakfast' in the downtown, westmount, or st. henri/notre dame west areas that also has free wi-fi. When I say real breakfast, I mean bacon and eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc. Most of the places on other sites list places with wifi and breakfast but most of them only have croissants, bagels and coffee. Thanks

[fullabeans]

I'll second Mariani - they have full breakfast options daily now, good coffee and wifi. St. Henri torrefacteur is another popular cafe/wifi, but they don't have breakfast (do have sandwiches and pastries).

[InterFoodie]

I have been to Cafe Joe a few times, while I find the food pretty good, its offset by the horrific service.
You can easily wait an hour for a breakfast sandwich and the waitress has the most ‘’I don’t give a dam attitude’’ I’ve ever seen. Numerous times I’ve seen clients come in after me and order the same thing and received it before me.
Clients are allowed to play any music they chose on the CD player so the type of music or loudness is completely out of control.
It’s nothing to see the staff chatting up regular clients at great length while you wait for them to fire your food.
Plus the general lack of cleanness of the place with the dead plants, ripped floor tile and baby seat ….. on the food counter has finally turned me off this place.

Midi Six, It’s not outstanding but quite decent. I’ve always received good service and I find it very reasonable

[RachelRo]

Café Mariani in St. Henri has a pretty good spread (although it's usually only pancakes OR waffles, and lately their waffle iron has been on the fritz). The wifi is strong and free and they come by to refill your coffee on the regular. It's my go-to breakfast spot when I have some interneting to do.

[raisecain]

I find there is no good interesting breakfast/brunch places in St-Henri. Not yet anyway. It's just the standard, non-organic eggs, waffles, bread. All the basics I could make at home. How about some ingenuity?

Tough for a gluten free person like myself.

[deadchildstar]

What about Cafe Joe on St Antoine? I'm not sure of their hours though.

Midi 6 (though I'm not the biggest fan, terrible service)

Unsure about wifi availability at any of these places.

In PSC, Cafe Cantina (Centre/Shearer) is open at 8am and serves espresso and breakfast burritos.

[raisecain]

Midi 6 looks awful, and you said it yourself. :)

Cafe Joe? Maybe I'll try that....

I know a Starbucks and Java U opened up across from each other on Notre Dame just east of Atwater. Bleh.

[deadchildstar]

Did you wind up trying Cafe Joe?

While I don't mind their food - and the price is right - I think I'm done with that place, and it's all because of the service. It's a shame, because they're not so bad otherwise.

Went today with a friend - and we waited over an hour for food. They were busy, but not tremendously so, and several parties came, ate and went in the time it took us to get served. It was completely unacceptable. We would have left, but on a Saturday, early afternoon brunch, we figured it would be crowded everywhere. I must've waited a half hour for my espresso drink alone ("it's coming") - and which point I just asked the bored server if I could just have a drip coffee. She offered a non-apologetic apology, and finally brought my cafe au lait.

I would say that it was a one time occurrence, but my friend has been there more often, and he said that same waitress appears to be completely incompetent and has done the same thing before, he's wound up waiting far too long for decent but middle of the road food. I was too hungry to be angry, but my friend was really pissed off by the end.

Plus, they don't offer milk-alternatives, which sucks.

The search continues?

[Fintastic]

The mirror best summed up Cafe Joe almost a decade ago:
http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVE...

To expect even remotely prompt service is far too optimistic. I once almost missed a flight to Paris waiting for brunch there. The waitress you speak of often forgets to bring requested water, is slow to brew more coffee, and invariably fails to bring enough cutlery for everyone at the table. But really, that's the point. If you've got stuff to do or are angered by missed expectations of service, then I think it's entirely the wrong place to go. Giving a shit is clearly not one of the concerns of most people who work and frequent this establishment. The food isn't breathtaking, nor is is super innovative, but it fits the bill.
That said, I think others didn't suggest it because it doesn't have internet.. unless something has changed recently?

[deadchildstar]

I mentioned it initially saying I wasn't sure if they had wireless or not...

You know, I'm OK with a wait for food - though on Saturday it seemed excessive and unnecessary - but you have to keep me at least a little bit occupied. Not bringing coffee? Coffee would shut me up for a good hour. Anyway. Funny that you know *exactly* the waitress I'm talking about.

Next time going to try Mariani!

[cherylmtl]

Mariani's service speed is not exactly one of their strong points...especially now that you can only order from your table, not at the counter, if you're eating in the restaurant.

[fullabeans]

re: Midi 6 - the food is standard (never been either disappointed or wowed) but have never had bad service - maybe this was a one-time thing? odd.

On de Courcelle toward St. Antoine there is now a place called "bon gout" that looks good but not sure if they have wifi. Will visit soon and report back.

[kpzoo]

It may not be full-breakfasty enough for you, but La Bistrote on Notre-Dame is really delicious and meets your other criteria. http://www.labistrote.com/

Toi, Moi et Café on Notre-Dame is pretty good (though some disagree - I always get the same thing!) and they seem to have free Wifi as well.

[williej]

Yes, went to La Bistrote this week. Had a bagel and smoked salmon, and the atmosphere was wonderful (it was quite empty at 9 am though!). But was looking for full breakfast. I didn't realize Toi Moi et Cafe had wifi as there is no sticker on their door saying that. Will check it out. Always looking for other recommendations too!

[McAttack]

The Burgundy Lion Pub has a large breakfast with great bacon (tastes like ribs!)

http://www.burgundylion.com/home.php

Not sure about the wifi, never checked to be honest.

[williej]

Thanks. I should have specified that when I wrote 'breakfast' I meant also at breakfast time on a weekday...ie. around 9 am! Burgundy Lion isn't open until 11:30 am on weekdays according to their website so not sure how they could serve breakfast at that hour!

[unlaced]

Burgandy Lion only serve breakfast on weekends (and not on public holiday Mondays) Breakfast finishes at 2pm on Sat/Sun.

[williej]

So, given my clarification, still looking for help for weekday breakfast and wifi!