In Montreal recently for the Formula One week-end we were in the Hochelaga neighborhood for the first time, our hosts left a few recommendations and Piri Piri was one of them. I don't have a good Portuguese chicken resto in my area so when I saw this was the specialty here at Piri Piri I knew I wanted to try it. The menu is all en Francais so be sure to know what you're looking to order before you go in in case the server doesn't speak English very well. I knew the dishes I wanted and my travelling companion and I both had the chicken sandwich with potatoes. Service was quick, we ordered a small plate of wings too, nothing to drink as we were going out for beers after. Damn, that deep red sauce on the bbq chicken, so damned good! And they're not stingy either, you get the perfect amount. Potatoes were cooked perfectly, with a nice amount of whatever that delicious Portuguese potato sauce is that tastes so good!. All the chicken is being cooked at the front of the restaurant in an open grille area with huge hoods so you can see all the smoke through the well-cleaned glass. The restaurant is more like a deli counter type situation where you order and then get your food from the counter and clean up after yourself. The bathrooms were in a bit of a state but I think that was due more to a recent customer than negligence, otherwise the place was very clean and I felt very comfortable having my food there. We were here on the Friday night but went back again on the Sunday to pick up some takeout even tho we had just finished dinner elsewhere, we were still a little hungry but moreso just wanted more of that blindingly good chicken and super soft, small, delicious roast potatoes. Both meals were fantastic, I wouldn't hesitate next time I'm in Montreal to see if one of the Piri Piri locations is close by. Easy to reach from the metro too, Station Joliette. Great value on the chicken!

In town recently for the Formula One week-end I was staying a little east of downtown close to Station Prefontaine. The hosts of the house left a few recommendations for food and drink in the area and after looking online at some of the menus we felt Le Blind Pig had the cuisine we most wanted to try. One stop east to Station Joliette and a block south took us to this "Neighborhood bar inspired by American breweries", it was fairly busy on the Saturday night but we managed to secure a spot at the bar and grabbed a few menus. We didn't wait too long for service and we managed to get by speaking mainly English (sorry, didn't pay attention in school) ? I ordered the Kentucky Mule and substituted the liquor with amber rum, after that I switched to just rum and ginger beer, drinks were very tasty. My travelling companion ordered "Le Big Blind" and I ordered "Southern Comfort" (fried chicken sandwich) both with fresh cut fries. Food didn't take too long, and that's where everything went into the next level?damn the food here is great! I tried my buddy's burger and he tried the chicken, fries were perfectly cooked and really nicely seasoned too, everything was served hot and fresh and hadn't been sitting under a heating lamp for 10 mins (the advantage of a smaller-ish restaurant), we were so impressed that??we came back the next night! Sunday night of F1 week-end you're pretty spent by the time Sunday night rolls around, so the comfort of Le Blind Pig served us well again. More rum and ginger beers and this time we swapped dishes, my partner had the chicken sandwich and I had the burger and we ordered a fish and chips (sub salade du chef) to split in the middle?yes we were hungry. Again, everything was served in a timely fashion nice and hot. Wow I'm so glad we tried the salad with the fish (we both had fresh cut fries with our sandwiches) as it was bloody amazing! Good service, nice ambience (not too loud) and easy to reach from the metro. Definitely don't miss Le Blind Pig if you're in the Hochelaga area of Montreal.