Reviewers consistently praise Cafe Gentile for authentic Italian flavors, fresh ingredients, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere that feels both elegant and homey. The menu earns high marks for variety and quality, with standouts from pastas and pizzas to sandwiches and brunch items, and the coffee and desserts are frequently highlighted as well. Service is described as friendly, attentive, and efficient, though a few visits note slower pacing during busy periods or larger groups. Prices are sometimes considered high for the value, but many feel the quality and presentation justify it, and the decor and vibe are repeatedly singled out as appealing. The venue is described as versatile for casual meals, business lunches, family gatherings, or special occasions, including Mother’s Day and wedding receptions, with guests often describing the experience as memorable. Overall Cafe Gentile comes across as a Montreal staple that delivers solid food, memorable atmosphere, and dependable hospitality, inviting repeat visits despite occasional inconsistencies.
Visited Montreal & my friend highly recommended this place & it did not disappoint. Amazing pasta, delicious appetizers & the coffee is a must try along with a Zeppole! Service was excellent but make sure you make a reservations as this place gets busy fast for lunch or dinner! Located 15 minutes from the airport!
Lunch: the soup of the day (pasta fagioli scarola) was dull & the grilled chicken sandwich was dry & tasteless. The service was very good & the atmosphere was lively & welcoming. People must go there for service & atmosphere but not for the food! They should make more of an effort & not treat their customers with such contempt.
Yesterday was my first visit to Café Gentile on the West Island &-no surprise-it was superb. The staff was warm, attentive, upbeat, & completely on their game. The food was everything I've come to expect from Gentile: incredibly fresh, full of flavour, & consistently delicious. From their meat dishes to the pastas, salads, breakfasts, & that perfect coffee… every bite feels intentional.
So grateful this Montreal gem now shines in more than one location.
Nice little terrace & decor, the ambiance was fun!
However, 2 out of the 4 dishes we ordered were overly sweet & felt more like a dessert than dishes that were part of the meal. On the menu, it stated that the burrata was served with a raddichio & fennel slaw but it was more like a jam overpowered with sweet grapes. Disapointing as we missed the crunchiness & freshnesh from raw veggies as the meal was advertised in the « insalata » section.
Unfortunately, the roasted cauliflower side also lacked balance in terms of flavors as all we could taste was the agrodolce (water & honey) that gave it almost a « chinese take out » feel. The bread crumbs & pine nuts shouldve been way more seasoned to create more depth & balance in the dish. The parsley stated on the menu was nowhere to be found. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a sweet & savory dish. Hence why we ordered these but it truly felt like we were eating dessert.
The funghi tagliatele were the star of the night & was delicious. Pasta cooked to perfection & well seasoned. The textures of the artichoke crostini were very interesting & well executed though the bread could've been more cooked.
Only reviewing this as, if I was the chef, I would like to know this type of stuff only to improve the experience for my guests.
110% top notch experience 👌🏼💪🏻🙏🏼 with bonus points
First of all the staff are all A1! Great service from start to finish. The hosts, servers, management are all super polite, friendly, hospitable & helpful.
They work like a synchronized Olympic serving team without being pushy or in your face.
Can't sing enough praise for the staff!
The food?
Freaking fantastic always!
Their pastas, pizzas & apparently brunch (we went for the Mother's Day brunch special today) is all stellar & authentic.
Today we had a lobster, egg, hollandaise deliciousness
& a boogie take on a bacon, sausage, egg, French toast plate that was mind blowing.
The starters were delicious as well
A beat salad & smoked salmon, avocado toast
Will be back again & again for this fantastic experience
Good job guys! 👌🏼🫶🏼💪🏻🙏🏼
May 11, 2025
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Been wanting to try this place for a while now & finally got the opportunity to! However not sure I'll be going back…. The service was great! Nothing to say on that front… but the food left a lot to be desired, order the Cacio e Pepe & a lot of my noodles were hard I figured maybe they do things more al denté here… well I was definitely sick when I got home & my stomach was not enjoying the raw pasta one bit. The restaurant was also super noisy, but I believe that was our misfortune of having a large group next to us that had been drinking quite a bit, overall decent, but nothing to write home about.
Been to Gentile for several years, even when I worked near Chabanel. The food is always delicious with great presentation. Their rosé sauce & fresh pasta is one of the best in the city, as is their margherita pizza. This visit had some amazing sandwiches, the classic chicken cutlet & the Caesar chicken wrap. So fresh & delicious. But don't forget to wash it all down with their savoury fries, the perfect compliment to any dish on their menu! Too full this time for dessert, but I highly recommend their cannolis & tiramisu. You will definitely need a reservation for Friday or Saturday nights!
I was pleasantly surprised by Cafe Gentile. The menu is pretty well diversified, with plenty of homemade pasta dishes available, along with a great drink selection. The Peach Me Up was notably delightful. Gnocchi was a real treat, & the Sexy Fries were to die for. Service was good too. There is only one issue... The prices are a little out of control. I'm well aware that eating out costs more than it used to, & I have no qualms dropping good money on a good dinner. Our dinner was $127 before tip, with two mains, fries, a mocktail, & two desserts. I have had more economical meals that were arguably better. $30 or more for a plate of pasta is a bit too rich for my tastes (it was good, don't get me wrong). That may not be the case for everyone, but it's why I took off one star.
Ice tea is always crisp & I highly recommend it. Their sandwiches & pasta are also good. This cafe has a great location with a great design. However, the fries were not that good.
Jun 30, 2024
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Recently, I went to Cafe Gentile for dinner service. I go for lunch fairly often, but it's been years since i've been there for dinner, & something has changed in the kitchen. I was honestly disappointed in the quality & flavor of the food. For the high price (200$ for 2 people), I expected more. We shared 3 appetizers + 2 pasta dishes as the main dish. Every dish except for the meatball entree was mediocre. The tomato sauce in the grilled squid was acidic & tasted like it just came out of the can. The 21$ Argula salad had a bunch of yellow, wilted leaves, like 2 tomatoes & 3 shavings of parm. & the pesto burrata pasta portion was TINY, lukewarm, & barely had any burrata on it. & it lacked a depth of flavor for 34$. It was really underwhelming. The service was very friendly, but SO slow even though it was early dinner service (like 6pm) & it wasn't even busy. After our food was served, the server never came to check on us once. We had to waive him down twice to ask for bread & to clear our plates & for the bills. The only redeeming quality this restaurant has at the moment is the atmosphere. The decor is trendy & the vibe is nice.
Although only open for a few years, the trendy Italian bistro has the feel of a local institution. Nominally a café during the day (serving all manners of Italian coffees), it turns into a happening & bustling restaurant in the evening, populated by both young & old. The menu is innovative & the food is very tasty but it is all on the pricier side considering its mostly pasta. Specially call out to DANNY our server...who was friendly, informative; always available but never in your face. Enjoy!
Not bad, but not worth it. I did not like my pesto pasta. The portions were quite small. & the prices were high. Our server was nice & very attentive. Service was a little slow on the side of the food. I would recommend for a casual dinner but nothing to write home about. My friend had the lamb ragu pasta, she did not like it either. The pasta was too salty & too acidic. The lamb was tough. Lastly, there were a lot of flies & fruit flies in our area, it was not a nice sight.
Honestly this place is a true gem! The pastas are always amazing, the brunch menu has everything you want with an extra twist. Overall this is a 5 star experience through & through. From having a simple espresso to experiencing so much flavour from a simple sandwich, they have you covered.
