Fun, entertaining restaurants in Montreal

[deabot]

Hello, Planning an upcoming trip to Montreal and Mont Tremblant later this month. Looking for some good eats in Mont Tremblant for fine dining and fun, lively places to eat in Montreal. Uhockey's rec for LeMeac really piqued my interest. Any other suggestions would be much appreciated!

We are staying downtown.

thanks in advance!

[mangoannie]

maybe some place with music might interest you, Bistro Le Balmoral has jazz on weekends

[deabot]

Thank you all very much. These are great suggestions. :)

[blonde_fringe]

Mechant Boeuf is a good bet for fun & lively. It's in Old Montreal which is a great spot for walking around and finding other fun places, and although it's been around a little while the atmosphere never disappoints. To paint a picture: they have a DJ that is covered in tattoos and has a stick through his nose that plays some awesome tunes :)

[catroast]

Garde Manger is the quintessential lively restaurant in montreal

[mangoannie]

depends on what kind of crowd and food you want. Le Bremner in Old Montreal and Ferreira downtown on Peel are noisy with crowds and have good food, one focused on seafood and the other Portuguese high end resto. Lemeac is not really lively in atmosphere and is on quiet stretch of street in Outremont, not far from downtown.. Dominion Tavern is downtown and popular for lunch and dinner (same area as Ferreira)

[Fintastic]

Lemeac is great, though not what I'd consider fun and entertaining. Fortunately Montreal is full of places that are. Maybe check out a few of the usual suspects:

-Pied de Cochon
-Joe Beef
-Kazu

[514eats]

These are good choices.

And I agree, Lemeac is a good place, but not one I would recommend for someone from out of town. It's just a decent typical French bistro, they're a dime a dozen all over North America. Good for locals, but nothing spectacular or unique about it.

[catroast]

Lemeac is not a dime a dozen across north America

[superbossmom]

Lemeac is definitely not in the category of " a dime a dozen in NA", I cab from downtown to eat there, it's my go to bistro that never disappoints. It has a lively vibe although it's not entertaining.

[514eats]

I am not denying that Lemeac is good. U said it; it's a classic French bistro. Every city in NA has at least three solid French bistros. That's why I wouldn't recommend it for a tourist or someone looking for a unique experience.

[EaterBob]

I strongly doubt that there is one "solid" French Bistro in Phoenix, let alone Columbus, Raleigh, Dallas, Edmonton, Newark or Fort Lauderdale - and that's just limiting the list to cities with NHL Hockey teams...

[catroast]

Lemeac is not a classic french bistro fyi

[EaterBob]

I'll bite. How exactly would you define "Classic French Bistro"? And what exactly does Lemeac have or not have that disqualifies it? (Other than not being in France.)

[catroast]

the food and presentations are refined for modern tastes. it definitely sets itself far apart from the classic bistros of north america, with exceptions.

[Ghostquatre]

Also I believe the dining room is too big to be considered a real bistro

[SnackHappy]

Lemeac and its ilk are much more refined than so-called classic french bistros. A true French bistro would not have white table clothes or printed menus for example. Lemeac is closer to a brasserie. A bistro is a much more modest place.

[Maximilien]

Lemeac is more a "Brasserie" than a Bistro.

[C70]

I find Lemeac more Brasserie-like.