Garde Manger

Poutine and lobster were a match made in Heaven, and the angel in charge of solemnizing the match was named Chuck Hughes.
Now, these are facts that the clergy and the texts will not tell you, so you just need to eat the lobster poutine at Garde Manger to be blessed with such divine revelation. I showed up without a reservation at 7:30 PM on a Friday night (what was I thinking?), and was told that it would be 10 PM before I could get seated (at the bar!). I actually ended up getting seated 10 minutes before 10 PM (score!). No, I did not wait around at the restaurant for upwards of two hours; I just provided my name and phone number, and went out for a walk around the lovely city of Montréal on the beautiful summer evening.
The daily menu is scribed onto a couple of chalk boards (one in French and the other in English), and the only two items that are constant are the lobster poutine and the jerk spiced crab. Everything else changes regularly. Some nights, they have more exciting items, such as Cornish hen stuffed with foie gras, or a foie gras and short rib waffle; other nights, it’s more familiar items, such as Arctic char and walleye.
The lobster poutine, in my view, lives up to the hype. The mildly fishy succulence of the lobster claw meat pairs very nicely with the cheese curds, fries and gravy. I noticed that one of the reviewers here thought there was barely any lobster in the poutine. I have to suspect that his dining companion must have stolen all of the lobster when he was not looking, because there really is a very generous amount of lobster on every serving of the poutine that I have seen here.
The desserts also change regularly, and my favorite is the peanut butter and nutella profiterole, which is a rich confluence of sweet and salty flavors and smooth and crunchy textures.
Service is absolutely outstanding. Everybody is extremely friendly. My server, Awesome Alexander, recognized me from a prior visit to the restaurant (I can’t imagine how, given the sheer multitude of people dining here every night), and brought me a sweet gift of complimentary dessert (or, to continue with the theme of divinity, heavenly manna)!

Wow… Chuck knows his seafood! It’s not a cheap meal for sure… but you get what you pay for. This was very memorable… started with ahi tuna with fennel and tomatoes and had scallops with lentils, radicchio and crispy sweet potatoes for a main. Both amazing and unlike most high end places… the flavours comes without high doses of oil and salt. Definitely healthier than most restaurants you’ll eat at. Great service and great atmosphere! The only reason I would say 4.5 stars is price… but again, it’s worth it to spend to money for special occasions. Chuck Hughes’ rep is well earned!

An early AM bar seating reservation made us the first patrons of the night. The bartender Sam asked about our likes and dislikes and made us custom craft cocktails not from the menu. Appetizers were delish and main course was tasty too. I had the Char and my companion had the pork chop. (Same price although his was about three times as much food.) I wish the char had been a bit larger for the price while the pork chop was beyond generous. The staff was attentive and fun to interact with and we had an enjoyable experience.

What a place. The service is amazing. Food is the best. A must stop in Montréal. The food was the best I had in Montréal. The atmosphere is amazing

The service and the food was great. The waitress really helped explain the menu.
Their speciality is sea food, so try ordering at-​least one dish. I had the big eye tuna appetizer and it was delicious with the right seasoning.
The portions doesn’t do much justice for the price, but delicious none the less.
My only issue was with the lobster poutine. I am no poutine expert but I felt the fries were quite burned and was a little sparse on the gravy.
Ambience:5/5
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅

The Lobster Poutine was pretty good. The fries were very fresh and the gravy light tasting. Definitely worth the try. The Rock Shrimp Risotto was very tasty… finished with lemon zest. Enjoyable experience.

The last stop on my Food Day in Montréal was Garde Manger and I definitely made the right choice. I was dining alone so I sat at the bar where the absolutely adorable bartender offered to make me an Old Fashioned instead of the Basil Hayden’s, neat that I had ordered. It was perfect! I ordered the lobster poutine which came out fairly quickly. The huge chunks of lobster claw were sweet, the cheese curds were gooey and the gravy was savory. The fries were fresh and seasoned perfectly. Garde Manger was the highlight of my trip… I walked past it twice because it’s not clearly marked. Make sure you’re watching out for it!

Most underwhelming dining experience I have ever had. Lobster Poutine is the best dish? There was barely any lobster and you can eat poutine at any other bar in Montréal. I have had better poutine at bars. The crab dish came from the miscues off Red lobster’s reject menu, and the oysters were good, but isn’t that credit to the fish monger?
The whole chicken was mediocre, shrimp risotto was a recipe from Paula Dean, and the short rib tasted like a rubber tire. The deserts were not bad. Prince point is outrageous, for a Joe Beef knock off. Go to Petit Bourgundy for the real thing and don’t waste your time here.
The servers were on point, and it’s shame that they work there.

Famous for the lobster poutine that beat Iron Chef Bobby Flay, the other menu items here are just as good and mostly as opulent. The poutine can be a meal of its own due to the size and heaviness of it. Lobster and poutine were meant to go together and it’s amazing that no one else has thought of it. The gravy and curd go well with the succulent meat. The guinea hen, a meal meant for two, could also fill a family with the decadent truffle and foie gras stuffed inside. It’s classic French technique with modern Québécois ingredients through and through. The meat on the bird was deliciously moist and tender, imbuing flavor from the truffle and foie gras into the meat and skin. The root veggies it came with were a little bland, likely because they imparted most of their flavor into the hen. The bread served was also memorably tasty. There wasn’t much of a beer menu, but the wine list was top notch with a good selection on both the bottle and glass lists.
Service was very friendly, especially at the bar where it felt very personable. The ambiance is a bit hunting lodge like with wood features and mounted animals. Make a reservation if possible as very few tables are left for walk ins and it is constantly busy.

Went about two weeks ago with the boyfriend and everything was great!
For the appetizer I had the duck confit with foie gras served on a waffle with a sweet buttery sauce and it was absolutely delicious. The duck was crispy and the waffle was fluffy and the foie gras seared to perfection. As a main I got the short rib with gouda mashed potatoes and it was also delicious. The meat was very tender and you can tell it was cooked with love.
My boyfriend had the beef tartare, which was to die for and the flavors were perfect. A little spicy, creamy and served with toast and house marinated pickles. I couldnt help myself and stole a few bites. His main dish was the pork cheek with clams, also great. It was a little spicy for his taste but if you like it hot, its fine.
All the dishes were well balanced and the flavors mixed together perfectly.
For desert I had the peanut butter cream puffs which were AMAZING. So soft and moist, they were the best cream puffs I ever had in my life.
Wine was great and they have a huge list, and our server was very friendly and knowledgeable. She answered easily to all our questions and offered a great service.
Only negative, we ate way too much!
Will definitely be going back soon, Chuck definitely lives up to his name!

Came here cuz its popular and it’s one of Chucks establishments. Even though reviews were a bit mix but I’m that shallow that I need to try a Canadian celebrity chef place :) we came here for appetizers only because we had reservations for another delicious place down the street. So we picked what we wanted the most at this place which was seafood platter and the octopus.
I love lobster but just not a poutine fan, so didn’t want to waste good lobster on a pile of fries and gravy. And glad we didn’t get it. Lady sat next to our table ordered that as her main and was not impressed with it either. I see it used to have ½ portion n full portion options on the board from other Unilocalers photos but when we went, there’s only the $ 28.
Seafood platter! 4 kinds of oysters which were all fresh and delicious. My fav is the fresh scallops on shell and that’s what’d drawn me to this place. They didn’t have snow crab that night unfortunately. We also had the smoked salmon on beets salad place. It’s yummy but I think $ 10 for that tiny plate is a bit much.
The grilled octopus with potatoes and chorizo cream was delicious. The octopus was cooked perfectly, not rubbery. And potatoes and garnish were good. Although a tiny lack of seasoning.
Those were the only things we had. Seafood platter and octopus. No drinks. And $ 82 later. Guess seafood platter is $$$$. Although good seafood and rare scallops on shell. Don’t think it’s worth the price on appetizers along. Food is good and definitely on the pricey side. Wouldn’t give 5 star rating because the value just isn’t there. There are many much better restaurants in Montréal for way way better food and lesser price. But if you’re just loaded with cash, I’m sure the food here will satisfy you regardless.

Merveilleux!
Poutine aux homards: la sauce goûte le homard sans oublier les morceaux!
Le seul bémol; les frites… un peu trop salées.
Pieuvre: la cuisson parfaite avec le goût de fumée!
Pintade avec truffes et pleins d’autres saveurs: un délices! La truffe est tout simplement malade dans ce plat.
Short ribs: mashed patatoes: le meilleur! La viande et la sauce: extraordinaire.
Bloody cesar: malheureusement, ordinaire voire décevant. Le sel de céleri a été remplacé par un autre ingrédient, un peu molasse sans goût. Manqué de piquant, même avec l’ajout du raifort. L’accompagnement de jerk excellent!
Tout est bon…à quelques détails près…qu’on oublie avec la perfection des autres plats. h

Hubby ordered the seared foie gras with duck confit sitting on a buckwheat waffle and was really happy with it. While seared foie gras and duck confit are French components, the maple gastrique and buckwheat waffle were a great way to inject a little Canadiana. I had a difficult time choosing my starter because I wanted to eat everything but in the end I ordered the octopus with fingerlings, crème fraîche, chorizo, and butternut squash purée and I didn’t regret it for a second.
Hubby went with the short rib for his main. The meat, vacuum-​packed and slow-​cooked at a low temperature for 60 hours at 60 degrees, had great beefy flavour and a melt in your mouth texture. It was served upon a large pile of Gouda mashed potatoes and this made hubby a happy man. For some reason I was really feeling the seafood so I ordered the seared scallops with leek, romanesco, speck, and more butternut squash purée. Everything was cooked, seasoned, and plated to perfection but I was left a little bit hungry. I had chosen two fairly light dishes on purpose so that I could end our dinner on a sweet note. While all the options sounded tempting, I was drawn to the s’mores dessert because it involved marshmallows and I am a sucker for marshmallows. The decadent chocolate brownie, topped with warm, gooey marshmallow and graham crumb and vanilla ice cream was the perfect ending.
We left Garde Manger well satisfied and ready to paint the town ‘rouge’

You’ve heard the rumors, and they’re all true. It’s near impossible to get a reservation here, and you have to be fairly violent to snag any of the first-​come-​first-​served tables right when they open. Your best bet is to abandon your family and come here alone to get one of the few spots at the bar. Tell your family you’re not feeling well, and that you’re going to just get room service, and politely suggest they take their time eating at… wherever they’re going to eat… and then sneak out and enjoy an experience you can never tell them about.
It was easier for me because I was traveling solo for work, which is another convenient way to get a spot. The host was very nice, and the bartender was super friendly, not only providing fantastic service, but also adding the right amount of interaction without being too distant nor chatty. He also provided some great wine recommendations and got all of us solo bar patrons to chat with one another.
I know what you’re thinking. Shut up, Mike, I’m hungry and all of this reading is costing me on the expensive Canadian data plan that I purchased at the airport. Fine.
I had a pretty incredible plate of beef short ribs that were perfectly marinated and fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. But anything you get here will be prettttttty great.
Don’t plan to go out after eating here. Embrace the wonderful, wonderful food coma.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
Value: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅

Had high expectations for this place, especially having finally watched the episode where chef Chuck Hughes defeated Bobby Flay on Iron Chef and having gone to the Bremmer were we had an amazing dining experience.
We shared 5 appetizers, the clams, the bison tartar, the octopus, the lobster rolls and the lobster poutine.
Everything was good but nothing was spectacular or made we want to continue ordering.
The lobster poutine was original and they were definitely generous on the lobster serving but it wasn’t the best poutine I’ve ever had.
The octopus was somewhat dry, the lobster roll lacked seasoning and overall that wow factor you would expect at a place like this just wasn’t there.
Especially when considering the price, it just wasn’t worth it.
Probably won’t be going back again.

Last year we went to Le Bremner, another Chuck Hughes restaurant in Montréal, and had a great experience. As a matter of fact I swore I saw Steven Spielberg there although my husband said I just needed my eyeglass prescription checked because there was no way he’d be eating dinner at like 6 PM wearing a pair of shorts. So needless to say I had high hopes for this place.
We were able to weasel a last minute early bird reservation at the bar. It was actually perfect, a spot in the back, quiet and intimate but seated at the bar you feel like you’re in the middle of the action. They initially forgot to bring us bread, eventually I asked and boy am I glad I did. There were 3 different kinds of fresh bread that were each equally delicious and filling.
We fell prey to the tourist trap that is the lobster poutine. Sorry but honestly it’s overrated. Fries lack another dimension of flavor, were soggy, the gravy watery and the lobster felt wasted on this dish. I’d skip it, they had many other delicious apps on the menu.
My main course was the red snapped served with green beans, mushrooms and lobster. I don’t quite know how to describe it. It was crunchy, flavorful, light and delicious.
My husband got the short rib with aged cheddar grits and a parsley salad. The beef was heavenly, tender, and fell off the bone without a knife. The cheddar grits were the best I’ve ever had. His dish was the highlight of the meal.
Ambiance is trendy but not pretentious. Romantic and intimate. Waiters are friendly. Sure it’s a little pricey but isn’t that worth it if there’s a small chance you might run into Steven Spielberg.

Oh this place blew me away. It is very hard to get a reservation here so my boyfriend and I decided to go at 9 pm on a Tuesday night and managed to get a spot at the back bar. We had a blast.
The atmosphere can not be beat. Dark and cool. Now for the food. I had oysters from Nova Scotia that were crisp and so beyond fresh. I decided to treat myself to a raw scallop that was still on the shell. You can’t get that anywhere! So impressive.
Then the main event. The LOBSTER POUTINE. okay if you are going to get poutine, go hard and get lobster poutine. It’s as good as it sounds. Huge portion with large chunks of lobstah with a buttery gravy sauce with melted cheese curds over fries. Need I say aything else?
The service is ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Everyone is very nice and are open to making suggestions. Loved the vibe and I love this restaurant.

Came here based on VERY STRONG recs and it did not disappoint! We didn’t have reservations, but came right when they opened. Luckily, they let us have a table for 1.5 hrs since there was a reservation coming in then.
We started with the lobster poutine — the sauce was delicious and there was SO MUCH lobster on that dish! More than I expected! We also had the braised short rib which was SO TENDER and FLAVORFUL! It was such a filling dish and the sides were also surprisingly tasty.
Halfway thru our meal I saw another table order a seafood app and wanted some oysters. So, we ordered some of that too! The oysters were fresh and nicely shucked… delicious!
I also saw someone order a bloody mary with the large crab leg. Looks interesting… but not something I’m into.
Since it’s a pretty intimate place we started chatting with a couple from the table next to ours and found that they were from NY! It was a nice that we enjoyed our meal AND made new friends! It was a great experience and I highly recommend it!

It’s trendy, loud, and even an excellent restaurant. Be prepared to wait a bit for your table — whether you have a reservation or not — but ultimately it’s worth the wait. Cocktails were quite good and the wine list was very small print and hard to read in the dark dining area but had a few good selections. Service was friendly but not very experienced, in general Montréal these days is a young, vibrant city but servers seem to often fall into the young and not all that experienced category.
Lobster poutine was good but for $ 18 I would expect additional lobster or something to better justify the price for poutine. For the main course we went with two fish dishes and both were cooked perfectly and included accompanying Israeli Couscous and Spatzle along with vegetables and sauces that were excellent and didn’t seem overly filling. Because of this we opted for dessert which was unfortunately a mistake — the clafoutis was not great and the «ice cream sandwich» just didn’t work well — all of the components were quite good on their own but when put together the thick, dense, chocolate on either side of the «sandwich» just overpowered everything and made us leave half the dish on the plate.
I would return, but be aware that Garde Manger is one of the more expensive restaurants you’ll find in Montréal and while it’s very good there is definitely room for improvement. Maybe just don’t order dessert as a start.

After drooling over internet pictures of this place for years, I finally had the chance to try Chuck Hughes restaurant. We had reservations for a Thursday night, came in and were seated immediately.
The service was top notch, our waitress knew everything on the menu… scratch that as there were no physical menus. Just two black boards on the walls, one in English and the other in French. Because the English board was further away, she just started translating the French one for us, describing in great detail the ingredients of all the dishes and how they were prepared all of the top of her head. I was impressed by her knowledge and passion for the things she described. Since we had a group of 6, she altered the menu so everyone would have a decent bite of every dish ordered.
Lobster Poutine — great! good chunks of lobster, but quite pricey at $ 19 for regular size and $ 28 for a large.
Oysters — were fresh and tasty. we had a mix of 6 different ones in season that I can’t recall anymore.
Braised Short Rib — nothing memorable if that says anything about it
Seafood Risotto — very flavourable, but way too salty and I LOVE salty food.
Scallops with bacon and black truffle — These were plumb and juicy

My partner and I went to Garde Manger for dinner while we were visiting Montréal, and overall, we really enjoyed the food and service here.
We had heard about this restaurant through various food blogs, and understood that the chef is on TV. We were able to get a Saturday night reservation at the bar about five days beforehand. The restaurant itself is very small and you can see everyone from the bar. There was a very inviting and intimate feel to the place.
The menu was very eclectic, with different spins on normal dishes. We opted for some Canadian oysters, which were delicious. However, one of them was just bad — happens to anyone and it’s not a bad reflection on the kitchen — but then they brought us out more oysters and genuinely seemed to care whether our food was to our liking or not. I think that kind of attention to detail is what sets this restaurant apart from a lot of other ones.
We also opted for two appetizers, which were delicious, and for our entrée, we decided to split the most luxe option that they had — a Cornish hen stuffed with foie gras. It sounds decadent, and it was. There were lots of complex flavors with that dish, and I definitely liked the dish.
Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Garde Manger. It was probably our favorite meal in Montréal, and that’s saying something because there are a lot of great food options here.

Je suis allé là pour fêter mes 30 ans avec mon frère et mes parents! C’était sérieusement le plateau de fruits de mer le plus original que j’ai vu dans ma vie et les crab cakes et les bars Mars frites y étaient excellentes! Je rêve d’y retourner pour mon trente-​sixième anniversaire de naissance cette année!

Nous y sommes allé entre amis. Nous savions un peu à quoi s’attendre puisqu’on s’amuse depuis quelque temps avec les recettes de Chuck à la maison.
Petit conseil. Laissez vous inspirer par votre serveur plutôt que d’y aller à la carte. Nous lui avons donné quelques balises sur ce que nous voulions au minimum goûter et sur la fourchette de prix pour le vin. Il a pris le tout et à composer notre menu pour la soirée. Nous sommes passé de surprise en surprise. Excellent ! Puisque le menu change en fonction des arrivages, vous en sortirez gagnant.
Les huitres fraîches (3 variétés). Super.
La joue de veau et le foie gras sur gauffre. Définitivement un classique.
La poutine au homard. Fallait l’essayer…
Le flanc de porc, la queue de boeuf, les desserts… Tout était bon.
J’y retournerai. Mais pas facile d’avoir une place.

Une place qui semble au premier abord, dans le vieux Montréal, plutôt chic donc
Mais quand on regarde de plus près, d’abord pas d’enseigne en façade ce qui est fâcheux, ensuite une collection déco marine intéressante mais un peu poussiéreuse, quant aux toilettes, grosse fissure le long du comptoir, pour le standing c’est moyen.
J’ai aimé le côté authentique et aurais pu passer outré ces petits détails si la serveuse n’avait pas été agressive. Désolée mais quand je sors du boulot pour aller prendre un verre et une poignée d’huîtres en bonne compagnie lors d’un 5 à 7 j’aime bien avoir la paix et qu’on né me demande pas toutes les 5 mins si ça va, si je vais prendre un plat et me servir 4 gouttes de vin dans mon verre, rempli le de toute façon on repartira pas avec un fond de bouteille! Et il fallait bien ça pour remonter la température parce-​que la clim par 15 °C dehors né donne plus que 10 °C à l’intérieur, et on était bien content de sortir de là!

La popularité de Chuck Hughes parle d’elle-même, ce qui rend la réservation très difficile. J’y suis allée pour mon anniversaire de mariage en juillet 2011. Malgré que je m’y suis prise plus d’un mois d’avance, il y avait seulement de la disponibilité pour deux au bar. Nous sommes arrivés un peu avant notre heure de réservation, ils étaient toujours en préparation et nous né pouvions pas nous installer pour déguster un apéro, nous devions attendre à l’extérieur. Nous avons finalement été assis au bar. Même si nous étions assis au bar sur des tabouret, nous étions tout de même à l’aise. Des baguettes de pain nous ont été servies avec une tartinade au paprika très délicieuse. On né peut venir au Garde Manger sans essayer la poutine au homard. Nous en avons donc partagé une. Délicieuse et très goûteuse. Malgré que mon mari soit intolérant au crustacé, il n’a pu s’en empêcher. Comme plat principal, j’ai commandé le confit de canard et mon conjoint les ribs, les deux plats étaient EXCELLENTS. Comme dessert nous avons essayé la barre Mars frite, dont on a tant entendu parler. Un mot: collant. Elle donnait une sensation de tire extrêmement collante. Mauvais. Je né la recommande pas du tout et j’ai envié mes voisins de bar, qui eux, ont commandé le brownie au chocolat. Hmmmm j’y pense encore.
Deuxième tentative d’essai du Garde Manger avec des invités américains en août 2012. Nos touristes américains tentent de New York de faire une réservation, mais en vain, aucune réponse et le restaurant n’a même pas daigné retourner les appels. J’ai donc pris en charge de faire la réservation. Ils précisent sur leur boîte vocale qu’ils retournent seulement les appels des réservations confirmées. Quel service à la clientèle!!! J’ai tout de même eu la chance d’avoir un retour d’appel pour me dire qu’il n’y avait plus de disponibilité pour la date choisie.
Je donnerais bien 5 étoiles, si celà n’avait pas été du service à la clientèle lors de la réservation et le service un peu prétencieux.