Bistro restaurants in Canada
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A
Le Café du Clocher Penché
This café serves classy, classic bistro fare and proudly shows off local products like Québécois fromages (cheeses). What sets it apart are the one-of-a-kind weekend brunches. Brioche comes with caramelized pears, homemade crème fraîche, caramel sauce and almonds. An English muffin is served with veggie pâté, poached eggs, cheddar cheese, pesto vinaigrette, roasted potatoes and vegetarian chili. Reservations recommended.
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B
Le Hobbit
This popular and inviting bistro on Rue St-Jean has outdoor seating, a casual atmosphere and good-value lunch and dinner specials (check out the chalkboard). The classics are all nicely done, including French onion soup, juicy duck confit and steak frites – plus Québécois specialties like elk with sautéed apples and leeks. There’s a small but fairly priced wine list. Various fresh pasta dishes and salads round out the menu.
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C
L’Échaudé
This classic little bistro has a refreshingly relaxed and nonstuffy waitstaff. All the classics are on offer – including duck confit, steak frites (steak with French fries), fresh fish of the day and braised lamb shank –along with more daring options like Cornish hen with braised shrimp, and pan-fried foie gras with grilled mushrooms. All come beautifully plated to the table and bursting with flavor, which is why L’Échaudé is one of the rare places in the Old Town where locals regularly outnumber tourists. The terrific wine list favors bottles from France.
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D
L’Avenue
This self-consciously hip restaurant is a magnet for the young, post-party brunch crowd. Over a dozen different types of omelets, plus all the classics – French toast, waffles, eggs Benedict – all arrive nicely prepared. Lunch and dinner, with middling veggie burgers and salads, are less of a draw. Electronic music plays overhead at all hours, and artwork and urban murals adorn the walls. The surreal multimedia-infused washroom is an experience in itself.
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E
Le Café du Monde
This Paris-style bistro is the only restaurant in town directly on the St Lawrence River. Bright, airy and casually elegant, it has been a local favorite for years, swearing by bistro classics like steak frites and saucisse de Toulouse. The menu is authentic and there’s a great choice of other dishes like roasted pork rack with honey and lobster ravioli. The accent is on local Québec products.
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F
Boris Bistro
You’ll be elbowing your way through everyone from Armani-clad executives and disheveled artists to maple-syrup-toting tourists in order to get a table at this popular bistro. Once settled, however, you can feast on a mouthwatering assortment of dishes, including artfully presented salads, a much-touted duck risotto with mushrooms or uncomplicated bistro favorites like pasta with spicy chorizo. Whether you want to eat inside or underneath the high ceilings and exposed heat conductors or in the outdoor courtyard, it’s a good idea to reserve ahead during the lunch rush.
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G
Beer Bistro
Packed to the gills with city lunchers during the day and boozy, flush-faced suits after dark, this stylish bistro offers sensational sandwiches, salads, meat and seafood dishes, each with a suggested beer pairing. Descriptions of the alcoholic experience include 'spicy, ' 'bold, ' 'robust' and 'sociable.' Try the grilled lamb loin niçoise with a pint of 'appetizing' Petrus Oud Bruin ($22). Avoid the side patio unless it's balmy beer weather.
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H
L'Ardoise
This place just keeps racking up the praise, and it's easy to see why. Not only does it have a mouth-watering bistro menu with beautifully turned out classics like confit de canard, along with tantalizing twists like caribou medallions, horse steak and duck with blueberry sausage. To top if off, the setting is stunning; tiffany style lamps hang from the ceiling, along with all manner of greenery. It's cluttered, cosy and bright.
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I
Downtown
Fun, relaxed and reasonable, this place is especially popular for lunch during the week. All the usual suspects are featured on the menu including salmon and beef tartare with fries and salads, along with pasta dishes and all-you-can-eat mussels (around C$16). Inside it's cozy with exposed brick walls, and there's none of the nervous energy of a lot of other bistro-type eateries in town. A children's menu is also available.
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J
Sweet Basil
Halifax's finest cuisine need not cost a fortune; lunch at this chic, country-style bistro will appease your inner gourmet, guilt-free. Try the creative lunch crepe special that changes daily, or the walnut-crusted chicken breast at dinner. Whatever you do, save room for dessert; a separate kitchen is dedicated to fantastical creations that make Haligonians' mouths water. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available.
reviewed
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K
Café St-Paul
With so much hullabaloo in Old Montréal, this is the place visitors stop for a low-key rest from exploring the area or start their days with breakfast while going over their brochures and guidebooks before heading out. It's got grey, exposed stone walls and understated bare, black and chrome colored tables and chairs. Burgers, salads and bacon and egg breakfasts.
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L
Biff's
A short flight from the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, Biff's is a welcoming place for all occasions: a high-stakes business lunch, a pre-theatre supper or a romantic full-course meal spent lingering over champagne on the sidewalk patio. Chef Basilio Pesce's specials include roast wing of skate with sauce vierge and preserved lemon ($22).
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M
Restaurant Holder
High ceilings, a warm color scheme and beautifully turned-out dishes are just part of the appeal of this classic bistro on busy Rue McGill. It’s a buzzing place (sometimes quite noisy), where the crowd – good-looking media and corporate types – dines on tuna niçoise, grilled hangar steak, pan-seared tilapia and other bistro classics.
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N
Le Grain de Sel
This tiny, friendly bistro just beyond the eastern edge of the Village exudes old-world ambience with a small bar and open kitchen. The menu has bistro favorites such as pheasant terrine, bavette (undercut steak), mussels cooked in beer and goat cheese salad, but with Asian accents. The waiters will marry the right wines with your meal.
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O
Midi
Romantic in a restrained, sophisticated, Gallic kind of way, Midi serves trad faves like Alberta lamb shanks, fresh market fish and steamed mussels (done seven different ways) in its crimson-colored room. Couples purr over tables at night; business types discuss tomorrow's takeovers during lunch, which focuses on quiches, salads and terrines.
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P
Le 48 International
This stylish spot leans toward theatricality with its sleek black tables and chairs and Cirque du Soleil footage playing in the background. The menu features tasty global bistro fare (Asian noodle soups, gourmet burgers, salads, pizzas) and there’s an outdoor patio. Service is hit-or-miss.
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Q
Chien Noir
Urbane, sleek and modern in design, this French-style bistro delivers the gastronomic goods. The menu, featuring a broad assortment of steaks and seafood, will surely leave customers plagued with indecision. The tantalizing brunch menu is a real nail-biter too.
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R
Le Petit Coin Latin
For a French-style breakfast, try this excellent, European spot near Rue St-Jean for croissants, muffins or eggs. In summer you can eat the low-priced lunch specials out on the patio. A wide variety of fresh salads and soups rounds out the menu.
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S
13 West
Inventive meals grace the plates at this bistro, such as linguini smothered in scallops, cashews, curried cream sauce and chutney. The lunch specials (about $11) with dessert are a steal. Vegetarians even get a couple of choices.
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T
Bistro One
A diamond in the rough hidden amongst clunky uninspired neighbors, Bistro One sizzles with an innovative, ever-changing menu, sleek decor and a legendary wine list.
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Rain
A trendy lounge-bistro with a hipster interior, a rooftop deck and an open kitchen that sends out a steady stream of creative and fresh meals.
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Oh! Pino
One of the most authentic French bistros in town, the elegantly set Oh! Pino attracts a well-heeled, slightly older crowd that comes for tasty bouillabaisse, grilled filet mignon or roasted scallops in pear sauce with leek fondue; Oh! Pino also offers more than 20 different mussel dishes. The roomy terrace in front is a fine spot for people-watching. Thursday nights feature a live accordionist, to help give the place that Rive Gauche (Left Bank) feel.
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