Else's comes across as a warm, cozy, and characterful spot on a charming Montreal street, with a welcoming energy and a mix of intimate tables and lively chatter that makes it feel both neighborhood and special; the menu is small but well loved, delivering comforting dishes like mac and cheese, dumplings, chicken curry, pulled pork tacos, and other crowd favorites, complemented by a house blonde beer and thoughtful cocktails; decor and atmosphere draw on Nordic roots and bookish curiosities, creating a unique sense of place that feels removed from the city grind; service is repeatedly praised for friendliness and attentiveness, though crowds can slow things down and noise levels can be high; the overall sentiment is that Else's is a must visit for a casual dinner, a date night, or a social hangout, described as a hidden gem by many and a place that invites return, with occasional notes about slower service or a wish for outdoor seating or moments of quieter conversation.
Une belle découverte sur la rue Roy, non-loin de la rue-St-Laurent. Une ambiance sympathique, une déco où on retrouve les racines norvégiennes de la fondatrice de la place. L'art sur les tables (voir photos), rend les tables uniques. Les décors donnent un certain cachet à l'endroit. C'est relax, on s'y sent bien. Du moins, moi je me sens transporté loin de la neige & du froid de ma vie dans les bois près du Mont-Tremblant (Arundel) où j'y opère un relais de motoneiges & de paintball/airsoft 4 saisons. Else's me donne des idées de déco!! Je vais d'ailleurs rechercher des endroits aux racines norvégiennes à Montréal, une partie de mes ancêtres maternelles.
J'ai dégusté la bière blonde maison du pub, un bon goût, servi bien froide & désaltérante. Mes tacos au porc effiloché très savoureux. Les côtes levées que ma femme a choisies furent succulentes… j'ai bien aimé mes tacos, mais la prochaine fois, je vais prendre les côtes levées!! Ou peut-être découvrir autre chose? Que me recommanderiez-vous? La salade de choix, fraîche & délicieuse. Je ne vous cacherai pas que j'ai terminé les côtes levées de ma femme!! Madeleine nous a super bien servi, merci!
On reviendra à ce super pub norvégien de quartier! Merci pour ce moment!
Just got the salad for myself & it was perfectly filling with so many flavors in one place!! Loved the roasted pecans, goat cheese & crispy prosciutto... with so many tables packed into one spot you can only expect service to be so quick. Go for the vibes & community, didn't feel rushed to leave even though the place was packed!!
Nov 27, 2025
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This place is truly a hidden gem in Montreal, tucked away on one of the city's cutest & most charming streets. We stumbled upon it on Halloween night, & it turned out to be one of the best spontaneous decisions we made that evening. The atmosphere was warm, cozy, & full of life - the kind of place that immediately makes you feel welcome. Despite showing up as a group of eight without a reservation, the staff went out of their way to find us a table, which was honestly impressive on such a busy night.
The service was excellent - friendly, attentive, & relaxed in the best way. We ordered a mix of dishes, including the chicken teriyaki, mac & cheese, salad, & mini burgers. The mac & cheese definitely stood out as the highlight: creamy, flavorful, & perfectly comforting for a chilly night. The mini burgers were also tasty, though they were quite small & better suited as individual portions rather than for sharing.
Overall, this spot strikes a perfect balance between cozy & lively. It's the kind of place that works equally well for a casual night out with friends or a laid-back dinner date. I'd definitely recommend giving it a try - especially if you love finding those lesser-known Montreal spots with great vibes & solid food.
Excellent service, belle ambiance, rapport qualité-prix exceptionnel pour les délicieux tapas! Personnel chaleureux.
La salade de choux de Bruxelles est un incontournable
Excellent sandwich de porc effiloché. Ce sont 2 mini burgers avec une portion de salade de choux.
Trop petite portion pour moi.
Endroit bruyant qui complique les discussions.
Très bel endroit.
Je recommande
Atmosphere perfect. Drinks delicious. Food was delicious but a little confusing. Had the salad & there was lots of competing flavours. I also noticed my friends side salad had dressing poured on it instead of mixed in. I think chefs often forget how challenging it is to mix the dressing into the salad on an already small plate.
I was pleasantly surprised with the variety & quality of the ingredients in the salad! Topped with bacon & honey peacans, it is a complete meal. But also Brussels sprouts, carrots & goat cheese! Healthy & Balanced!
Jul 17, 2024
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This is my first visit here. Early summer travel from Ottawa. At first glance at the menu I did not see the typical, appetizer, salad, soup, entree dinner menu selection one would normally expect. At first I was, ok, so I ordered the dumplings, wings & ribs to share with my wife. Catherine was on the ball for service. The food was amazing, I shared some food with my 4 friends at the table because I wanted to them to try it. The wings were served with an arugula noodle salad & it was delicious, ribs with a creamy double baked potato & the dumplings with 2 dipping sauces & charred just right on the edges. The whole table was impressed with all of their meals. We want to make a shout out to Sam & Josh who were the cooks working tonight's shift. Highly recommend this place, I suspect you will have to wait in like to get in here when it is busy. We'll worth it. Chris
2024: Chile & Espresso martini were great. Awesome music. Service was friendly but not particularly attentive when we went. 2022: Pleasant service, everyone enjoyed their food (chicken wings, latkes, salad, butter chicken), cool decor.
Very cute bar on the plateau, clearly a place peoples go for first dates, it was super crowded & the place is kinda small so you can be really stuck. As for the food it was ok nothing special & I ain’t a fan of resto/bar making food from so many different places instead of focusing on making one type of food right & excellent. Personally they tried to mixed different cuisine together & for me the quesadilla with the Portuguese sausage wasn’t really going together since the Portuguese sausage is really over powering the taste of the whole meal. The salad was missing dressing for sure. The shrimp taco were good tho. The service was super slow & not so good my water glass was always empty & I was the only one at my table not drinking alcool…the waitress also asked us if we wanted spicy sauce which we did but by the time she came back we ended up starting to eat since it was super long before she came back & everybody like to eat while it’s hot, we almost finish our plates by the time we had the sauce. But overall it’s a cute place, to eat maybe not the place but clearly it’s a bar first, I believe when you just go with a friend for a drink it’s a good place.
