Alfie’s

800 Place Victoria

Price range: Moderate
Food: Fair to good
Service: Fair to good
Décor: Excellent

The décor of this relatively new restaurant is tastefully done in warm red brick accented with the beautiful collection of antique doors that are left from its predecessor, La Vieille Porte. Alfie’s specializes in roast beef, or so says all the advertising, and as of our last visit we tend to agree. The best thing offered here and the only item on the dinner menu is the roast beef which is tender and juicy. The beef is accompanied however, by only mediocre Yorkshire pudding and insipid vegetables. At lunch the businessmen’s specials include additional choices to the roast beef, but on a recent visit they were unacceptable, and as a rule overcooked. Desserts from the pastry cart are impressive to behold, but on occasion not as fresh as desired. Service strives for correctness, but can be unpolished and abrupt — surely time will even out many of these rough spots.

À la carte main dishes at lunch $5.50 to $9; table d’hôte lunch $4.50 to $7.95, dinner, roast beef only $6.95. Open six days a week; 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Mon. thru Fri. and from 5:30 p.m. to midnight Sat. Closed all statutory holidays. Reservations advisable. Jackets required. Can accommodate groups over 100; group lunches and dinners at regular menu prices. Fully licensed. Honors AE, CB, CX, DC, MC.

***

Notes for 2008 Readers

This restaurant, reviewed in 1976, no longer exists. This restaurant appears to have been located within the Place Victoria shopping centre underneath the Tour de la Bourse, on Square-Victoria, but we cannot find any record of it there today, nor if it moved elsewhere.

Share your memories of this restaurant in the comments. If you have period (1974-1979) or current (2006-2008) photographs of this location that you’d like to share, drop us a line at gyron.malloway@gmail.com.

Al Cantuccio

150 Jean Talon East

Price range: Inexpensive to Moderate
Food: Excellent
Service: Excellent
Décor: Good

An Italian restaurant which benefits from its proximity to the Jean Talon farmers’ market, the interior is decorated with mosaic, oil paintings, large plants, an aquarium and mirrors to give an illusion of space. The effect is clean and bright. Tables are close together and, when crowded, the restaurant is extremely noisy. Besides the standard hors d’oeuvres, the menu includes Moules et Palourdes à la marinara. The garlic is not too strong and the wine sauce is excellent. The mixed antipasta is not exceptional but is attractively presented. Soup is homemade, very substantial, hot and very good. There are some delicious items on the menu; the Scallopine de Veau au Citron — tender pieces of veal done with lemon is a choice dish. The Copa Bianca (custard with wine) is on display in the glass case at the bar and probably is a favorite. It is scrumptious. Italian wine, available in three sizes of carafons is excellent. To end the meal, small glass cups of espresso coffee are a change from the usual beverage. On Fridays, a complete fish menu is offered, including an Italian Bouillabaise. Service is cheerful and helpful even when the restaurant is very crowded.

À la carte main dishes at lunch and dinner from $4.95 to $8.75; daily specials $2.50 to $3.25. Open six days a week 11:30 a.m. to midnight Tues. thru Sun. Closed Mondays and Christmas Day. Reservations necessary. Group lunches and dinners at regular menu prices. Fully licensed. Honors CX, AE, MC.

***

Notes for 2008 Readers

This restaurant, reviewed in 1976, no longer exists. Another Italian restaurant, Il Bongusto, now operates from the same address.

Share your memories of this restaurant in the comments. If you have period (1974-1979) or current (2006-2008) photographs of this location that you’d like to share, drop us a line at gyron.malloway@gmail.com.

À La Crêpe Bretonne

Four locations:

5182 Côte des Neiges
2080 Mountain Street
808 St. Catherine Street West
360 St. François Xavier Street

Price range: Inexpensive to moderate
Food: Good to excellent
Service: Fair to good
Décor: Excellent

The cornerstone of Louis Tavan’s restaurant empire has expanded to four locations in and around Montreal. All have beautiful décor, a Tavan trademark, with rough walls, exposed beams and oak furniture. The menu lists different crêpes from plain ($1.35) to crabmeat filled ($4.95). There are two different crêpe batters, lightly salted buckwheat for main course dishes, and slightly sweet wheat for dessert-type crêpes. Fillings-to-crêpes ratio has improved of late; the crêpes are now more generously filled. The Salade de Louis ($1.85) is also very good. Service tends to be erratic, depending on location, time of day and luck. On Mountain Street, the upstairs room, known as Le Colbert, is exquisitely designed to resemble the interior of an old ship with beautiful curving woodwork.

À la carte crêpes from $1.35 to $4.95; crêpe du jour, $1.95 to $2.95, includes coffee. Open every day of the year; 11 a.m. to midnight Sun. thru Wed., 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sat. on Côte des Neiges St.; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Mon. thru Fri., 10 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Sat., 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sun. on Mountain St.; 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Mon. thru Thurs., 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fri., 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Sat., 4 p.m. to midnight Sun. on St. Catherine St.; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon. thru Thurs., 11:30 am to midnight Fri., noon to midnight Sat. and Sun. on St. François Xavier St. Reservations advisable. Group arrangements are possible. Fully licensed. Honors AC, AE, CB, CX, DC, MC.

***

Notes for 2008 readers:

This restaurant, reviewed in 1976, no longer exists. There does not appear to be any business at the former Côte des Neiges location; the Mountain Street location is now a club called Bluroom; the approximate location of the Sainte Catherine Street location is where the Aveda store is today; and we cannot find any business or restaurant at 360 St. Francois Xavier.

There had been a single remaining À la Crêpe Bretonne restaurant, at 5058 avenue du Parc, just below Laurier, but this location is now occupied by Le Margaux, a mid-priced French restaurant very popular with neighborhood diners.

Share your memories of this restaurant in the comments. If you have period (1974-1979) or current (2006-2008) photographs of this location that you’d like to share, drop us a line at gyron.malloway@gmail.com.

À La Catalogne

311 St. Paul Street East

Price range: Moderate to expensive
Food: Good
Service: Good
Décor: Excellent

This restaurant, offering Old Quebec and French cuisine, is situated in the heart of Old Montreal. Windows on two sides offer a good view of the passing scene. The interior is artistically decorated in authentic early French-Canadian style with hand-woven curtains of catalogne cloth, blending tablecloths, walls of granite blocks, brick and fieldstone. The appetizers are most attractively served — the Coquille à la Catalogne ($2.85) in a shell on a service plate with lace doily. The tourtière (85 cents) is absolutely first-class (good pastry, delicious filling). The Entrecôte Catalogne, a recent special on the menu, is a tender steak garnished with an artichoke on top. The lunch time beef casserole contains tender pieces of beef in pan gravy. Cauliflower au gratin is quite acceptable, but some vegetables have a canned flavor. The maple desserts are delicious and the tarte au sucre (60 cents) is outstanding. Except for one house special at lunch, the menu is à la carte. Attentive and courteous service begins the minute you enter.

À la carte main dishes at lunch $3.75 to $8.75, dinner $5.25 to $11.50; table d’hôte lunch $3.50. Open every day of the year, noon to midnight, Mon. thru Sun. Reservations necessary. No special group arrangements. Fully licensed. Honors AC, AE, CB, CX, DC, MC.

***

Notes for 2008 readers:

This restaurant, reviewed in 1976, no longer exists. Laurent Godbout’s acclaimed Chez L’Epicier now occupies the same location.

Share your memories of this restaurant in the comments. If you have period (1974-1979) or current (2006-2008) photographs of this location that you’d like to share, drop us a line at gyron.malloway@gmail.com.