Best bar/casual restaurant near Trudeau airport (within 20 minute drive?)

[poloprincess]

Can anyone help me out? I'm looking for a place within a reasonable drive of the airport, that is casual, more 'neighbourhood' feel with great local food. Nothing fancy, no chains. Just a nice place to meet up with friends. One of them has never been to Quebec and they are only here for a quick overnight stay so some local quebecois foods served would be nice (poutine, tarte au sucre, etc)

[poloprincess]

Thanks all!

Well, believe it or not, they wanted St Hubert. To someone who isn't a foodie and hasn't been outside British Columbia, the idea of a Table d'Hote was super cool and the sugar pie was new to them. Went out for a game of pool later and they had a poutine too. Good enough for them, and we managed to have some amazing authentic Mexican earlier for lunch in Lachine so it wasn't a disappointment.

Thanks!
Still can't believe we went to St Hubert ...?

[C70]

nothing wrong with good, honest food. It's a chain and I know where to get better chicken, but they do their best.

[catroast]

i wouldn't call st-hubert good honest food. much of it is processed and prepackaged. having said that, there are worse options.

[C70]

I agree to a certain extent, but to each their own. It's what many quebecers (and visitors, obviously) want and that's what keeps them in business.

[porker]

Was your Mexican sojourn El Meson on St. Joseph?

[poloprincess]

Yes it was!!

[porker]

Good, family run restaurant. Their back terrace is great on a summer's eve - if its hot, if you've had enough tequila, and if you squint just so (looking at the sumac trees which kinda look like palms), you might think you're in Mexico.

[poloprincess]

I think we'll have to try it again! The back patio was closed and I'm pregnant so no booze, but I was rather jealous of the liquor menu!! :)

I was surprised at the amount of good authentic guac the nachos came with, usually you are given a tablespoon but this was a whole avocado.

[matt_in_montreal]

I remember taking my 10 yo. little brother to St-Hubert and just the fact that you had a chicken poutine (which is the perfect combination of two perfect meals for a 10 yo.) really made his day. At the end of the day, I was happy because he was happy, and thats what should matter IMO. You might want to try Rotisserie St-Moritz next time: its close and run by a european family. I was there when they opened 15 years ago and it was a nice experience.

[porker]

Speaking of a "perfect combination of two perfect meals for a 10 yo.", we stopped into Station de Sports on St. Catherine and Fort yesterday for a coupla drinks. A woman at the table next to us was eating a pizza poutine - it was a small, all-dressed pizza with a mound of fries in the middle, topped with gravy & curds. Although not very appealing to me, I was fascinated...

[porker]

A stone's throw from the airport is Deli Bees
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/834089
They do their own smoked meat (a rare thing in Montreal where most places sell factory product), which isn't necessarily Quebecois, but it certainly is Montreal and its VERY good. Certainly nothing fancy and its so cachet that mostly locals stop in.
They don't have alcohol, but theres a brasserie next door (same owner) where you can order the food. Important note: this brasserie is strictly beer (no wine, no booze).

[catroast]

there is a thread from ~1-2 months ago on this subject. If you go back a few pages you will find it. The short answer is that you are very unlikely to find local Quebecois food near the airport. Have a look.

[poloprincess]

Thank you. Well, we tried! I have managed to convince my friends to taxi their way back to the airport so we'll head downtown.

[porker]

If there was no traffic, downtown is within 20 minutes.....however, Montreal's traffic-free days are a dim memory.
Still, if you're travelling off-peak times (other than 7:00am-9:00am and 4:00pm-7:00pm) or on the weekend, it shouldn't be too long of a drive.

[poloprincess]

Thanks! They arrive at 4:30pm, we have to deal with all that luggage crap and then the airport traffic (ugh) on a Friday... so unfortunately it's just unpleasant.

[kpzoo]

If you are willing to give up on the idea of "Québécois" food (however that's defined) you could venture out further into the West Island - so traffic shouldn't bee too bad and you'd be avoiding downtown entirely - and check out one of these great places in DDO/Pierrefonds:

Shahi Palace - amazing Indian food, family-run casual place. Faves: balti chicken and channa bhatura. BYOB, there's an SAQ nearby
http://g.co/maps/6e6t8

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/539269

Aryana - Afghan food, homestyle, casual, BYOB
http://g.co/maps/uqxju

Reviews:
http://www.foodiedatenight.com/2012/01/aryana.html
http://willtravelforfood.com/2012/01/23/aryana-afghan-restaurant-montreal-west-island/
http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/C...

[catroast]

the ddo restaurants are pretty far from the airport

[kpzoo]

No more than a 20-minute drive in my experience. poloprincess also started a second thread saying they were willing to go a fair bit further afield than originally stated - perhaps I should have posted there.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849696

[foodinspace]

...though downtown is not the best place to find what you are looking for. You'll want to taxi to the neighbourhood known as the Plateau...unless you have a specific downtown restaurant you are looking for...but if you're just planning on wandering looking for Québec goodness, consider the Plateau.