Welcome to Ethan restaurant, located on De La Gauchetiere West, in the heart of Montreal's Chinatown. You will be delighted to taste this delicious authentic Chinese food, where all the dishes cost less than $10! You can find a variety of delicious dishes, such pork, roast duck, the famous General Tao chicken, or the delicious noodle soup, prepared with honey BBQ pork. In short, the menu will suit all tastes and appetites!
Ethan restaurant is also well known by the locals, who appreciate not only its exquisite meal, but the speed and courtesy of the staff, which allows you to take time to eat your lunch, especially if you are on your lunch hour!
Come and try this unceremoniously friendly restaurant, for which you will remember as a feast of flavors!
Ethan serves a very large Cantonese menu with generous portions and prices that many reviewers call excellent value, making it a go to for affordable Chinese food in Chinatown. Dishes like Peking duck, soft rice rolls, congee with shrimp wonton soup, dumplings, and Cantonese fried noodles are frequently praised for staying tasty and satisfying, and dim sum offerings and bubble tea get positive mentions for flavor and portion size. The atmosphere is described as lively and fast paced, with quick service that suits hungry crowds, though some note that the pace can feel brisk and the staff sometimes appear stressed or overly pushy about tipping. Several reviews warn that not every item hits the same note, with some dishes being hit or miss and a few reporting off flavors or undercooked dumplings. A few accounts recount a troubling incident involving a homeless patron and criticism of how the situation was handled, influencing loyalty for some readers. While there are criticisms about service or ethics, others emphasize great value and reliable comfort food that keep them returning. Overall, Ethan is seen as a dependable, inexpensive option for big portions and authentic flavors, albeit with a caveat to temper expectations on consistency and service.
A solid spot in Chinatown if you're looking for affordable Chinese food. The prices are very reasonable, which makes it a great option for a quick & casual meal. The dishes came out very quickly, which was nice when we were hungry & didn't want to wait long.
The flavors were good & satisfying - not overly fancy, but definitely tasty for the price. The staff were also quite friendly & welcoming, which made the experience pleasant.
Overall, it's a great value restaurant if you want simple Chinese food at a very good price. I would come back again for a quick meal in Chinatown. 👍
Je trouve qu'une étoile, c'est déjà trop généreux.
Mes deux arguments à faire
1. Le restaurant n'a pas respecté la loi 96 sur la langue du Québec, s'adressant à moi en anglais & en chinois dès le début.
2. Le plat qu'on m'a servi avait clairement été laissé de côté pendant un certain temps, il n'avait pas été préparé à la commande (je l'ai comparé au même plat servi à la table blanche à côté de moi). Servir des restes à des clients asiatiques, c'est pas vraiment acceptable, non ? (Malheureusement, je me suis rendu compte qu'il y avait un problème seulement après avoir fini mon repas & je n'ai pas pris de photo sur le moment.)
La caissière était extrêmement désagréable. Elle était aimable avec les Blancs, mais pas avec les Asiatiques. Sans parler des restes de nourriture ; tant la nourriture que l'expérience en général m'ont donné l'impression que le restaurant pratiquait une discrimination envers les Asiatiques. Il s'agit d'un cas de discrimination inversée.
J'ai trouvé que même un pourboire de 20 % était excessif ; je n'aurais pas payé un centime. J'ai commandé un plat de riz combiné au canard & au porc, mais par rapport au repas identique servi aux clients blancs de la table voisine, mes légumes semblaient rassis, sans saveur & extrêmement difficiles à mâcher. En y repensant chez moi, le riz lui-même était également tiède & dur (après avoir observé le repas du client blanc voisin). En tant que client asiatique, j'ai d'abord écarté mes inquiétudes en recevant le plat. Cependant, pendant mon trajet de retour, j'ai soigneusement repensé à cette expérience & l'ai comparée au plat identique servi aux clients blancs à côté de moi, ce qui m'a conduit à cette conclusion.
Il s'agit d'un cas où le racisme intériorisé s'accompagne d'hostilité horizontale.
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I think one star is already too generous.
My two arguments
1. The restaurant did not respect Quebec's Law 96 on the language, addressing me in English & Chinese from the start.
2. The dish I was served had clearly been left out for some time; it hadn't been prepared to order (I compared it to the same dish served at the white table next to me). Serving leftovers to Asian customers isn't really acceptable, is it? (Unfortunately, I only realized there was a problem after I finished my meal, & I didn't take a picture at the time.)
I felt that even a 20% tip was excessive; I wouldn't have paid a cent. I ordered a rice dish with duck & pork, but compared to the identical meal served to the white customers at the next table, my vegetables seemed stale, tasteless, & extremely difficult to chew. Looking back at it at home, the rice itself was also lukewarm & hard (after observing the white customer's meal). As an Asian customer, I initially dismissed my concerns upon receiving the dish. However, during my journey home, I carefully considered the experience & compared it to the identical dish served to the white customers next to me, which led me to this conclusion.
The cashier was extremely rude. She was nice to white people but not to Asians. Including the leftover food I received, both the food itself & the dining experience made me feel that the restaurant was discriminating against Asians. This is a case of Internalized Racism comes with Horizontal Hostility.
Mar 3, 2026
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I have been a regular customer at Ethan for quite some time. I dine in & order takeout frequently, around three to four times a month, because they serve good food at an affordable price & the restaurant is only a few minutes' walk from my place. It has always been my go to Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. However, after my most recent experience, I decided never to eat there again.
During my visit, a homeless man entered the restaurant. He appeared extremely hungry & stood quietly, staring at the food. He eventually approached the serving area & touched a plate, though he did not touch the food itself. The servers immediately noticed him & scolded him, after which he sincerely apologized.
The cashier then charged him for touching the plate, which I understand is reasonable. That said, if I had been in their position, I would have chosen to offer him food out of sympathy & basic human decency. The man apologized again & paid for the food using what appeared to be his last few dollars.
After paying & receiving his meal, he attempted to sit down, but the server refused & insisted that he leave the restaurant. Feeling frustrated & humiliated after being treated this way despite paying for his food, the man threw the meal on the ground & walked out. While I agree that his reaction was wrong, I can understand the emotions behind it given how he was treated.
Unfortunately, the food landed near me & the sauce splashed all over my jacket. The servers witnessed the entire incident, yet I did not receive a single apology or any acknowledgment.
Because of this experience, I made the decision to never return to this restaurant, despite being a loyal & frequent customer for a long time.
La nourriture de ce restaurant chinois est bonne, c'est de la vraie cuisine chinoise, authentique & savoureuse. Cependant, l'expérience est gâchée par l'attitude des propriétaires. Ils semblent très avares & ne paient pas correctement leurs employés.
Le serveur nous a mis beaucoup de pression pour donner un pourboire de 10 $ ou plus, en disant qu'ils ne reçoivent pas un salaire adéquat & qu'ils vivent uniquement des pourboires. Ce genre de situation est très inconfortable pour les clients & injuste pour les employés.
Je pense sincèrement que le gouvernement devrait vérifier ce genre de pratiques. Une bonne nourriture ne justifie pas de mauvaises conditions de travail.
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The food at this Chinese restaurant is good; it's real, authentic, & tasty Chinese food. However, the experience is spoiled by the owners' attitude. They seem very stingy & don't pay their employees properly.
The waiter pressured us into leaving a $10 or more tip, saying they don't receive an adequate wage & live solely off tips. This kind of situation is very uncomfortable for customers & unfair to employees.
I sincerely believe the government should investigate these kinds of practices. Good food doesn't justify poor working conditions.
Food was good, & our server was great. The price was good, choose individual portions we fed 4 of us for under $50 with tip!
The restaurant is meh, old dirty (ish) but I expect that in an old downtown Chinese restaurant. I would definitely eat here again.
Jul 23, 2025
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While visiting China town this place became my go-to for lunch. Ended up visiting multiple times & trying different delicious Chinese dishes. Thank you nice waitress who even advised me to fix my sitting posture & told me I am pretty.
The food was satisfying & met expectations. As with many Chinese restaurants, I didn't expect five-star service, so that wasn't a concern. While the portions were a bit smaller than at other places, the main issue was hygiene-specifically, the utensils, which had some visible food stains & overheard the family next table found a hair. That aside, I'd still consider coming back for a simple & familiar Chinese meal.
Gave an old Chinese restaurant We landed in Montreal & found this restaurant because my friends were craving for duck. We ordered some other dishes. In general, food was fine but I'd not come back if I crave for Chinese food
An authentic Chinese food restaurant with quick service, delicious dishes, & plenty of options to choose from. The review rating doesn't do this place justice! Highly recommend.
Little Chinese restaurant in chinatown with over 150 choices on the menu. Also serving Bbq duck & pork. Service is extremely fast. Received all my food within 10 minutes of ordering. Prices are very affordable! Probably, not the best in chinatown, but definitely worth a try. 8.2/10
Always looking forward to try different Chinese restaurants. Indeed, this was also the best one. My personal fav was the soup dumpling. It was nice restaurant + friendly staff. Even the kitchen chef's at the kitchen also serve the food. ❤️
Jan 7, 2025
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Visited this Chinese cantonese restaurant because we we searching for a place to warm up with some good hot soup. We ordered chicken corn soup & the beef soup with a side of crispy spring rolls:). Both were excellent! We also ordered the chicken fried rice, broccoli chicken, chow mein, we enjoyed all dishes the General taos chicken could have been crispier but it wasn't bad. Overall we had a nice experience. Ambiance was decent however the restroom could have used some attention. One staff member should be dedicated to this. Will visit again when in Montreal!
Good service. Missing some A/C. Dumplings shrimp soup ok. It was not a great choice on a very muggy day [ my fault] . The shrimp toast was very good. The 20 dumplings for 10$ were soggy on the inside , not the best I have ever had, but the beef & broccoli were capital D elicious ,so much in the plate. Would have loved more of the beef sauce for the Chinese broccoli . Second time there. Very good prices for the amount of food. 46 plus tip for 3 people, soft drinks & extra rice. Good value
A very casual Chinese spot, with very cheap eats & average food. While they offer a wide variety to satiate the Chinese food urge, I can't say it is of the best quality. For a tourist visiting Montreal, I would have preferred a higher quality experience with actual recipes. The General Tao chicken, for example, seemed merely to be a plate of bulk chicken nuggets doused in sauce. The dumplings just tasted like bulk frozen dumplings & lazily fried. I'd say this place is probably good for take out or hangover Asian food, but not necessarily worth an intentional visit for a sit down meal.
