Overall, reviews describe Garde Manger as a standout Montreal seafood and fine dining experience with a warm, inviting atmosphere, superb service, and inventive, beautifully presented dishes, especially the seafood offerings and tasting menus. The dining room is praised for its energy and hospitality, with many noting thoughtful wine pairings and attentive staff that make guests feel welcomed and well cared for. While most visits are glowing, a few reviewers report inconsistent experiences such as slower service, dishes arriving lukewarm or overly salty, and perceived value questions at higher price points, including crowded spaces and occasional noise. Despite these caveats, Garde Manger is widely regarded as a top destination in Old Montreal for seafood and creative cuisine, with many readers calling it a must visit and a memorable, celebratory dining experience.
I travel extensively for work & this is my upmost favourite restaurant. The best service, food & atmosphere by far!! The staff & food are absolutely incredible!! I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for an unforgettable experience.
One word - Awesome! Sat at the bar. Fantastic food & staff. Loved the whole vibe. Great experience. Made a point of going back a second time before heading back to the US. Highly recommend.
Jun 16, 2024
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Superb place, really enjoyed our time. Recommended to everyone. The staff is amazing, the food & wines choices are outstanding. My compliments to the chef!! I highly recommend to take the 4 course meal, it was truly an amazing experience.
This was our splurge meal on our trip to Montreal, & it did not disappoint. We had the chef's choice, which I recommend doing. You get a lot of different items & every dish was fantastic. I'm still thinking about the sweetbreads. So good. Our waiter was Nicholas with assistance from Wesley & the service was impeccable. Worth every penny!
We had a great experience here while visiting Montreal. It is a bit of a hole in the wall. There is no signage for the restaurant, you just have to know which door to go into based upon the street number. We were sat right on time & started with cocktails. The Smash cocktail was great! We decided to order the Chef's Menu ($100 per person). There are different levels to the Chef's Menu, with this being the lowest option, meaning you get the least customization with it. We were open to trying anything so this was fine with us. The first course was a seafood platter, the waiter brought out the food & explained every single item on the platter & the recommended way to eat it. It was delicious! The second course included a wonderful vinaigrette salad, a tartare, & some sort of incredibly delicious cod bites (they were amazing). The third course was duck in a beet roux, roasted carrots, scallions & artichoke. All wonderful. Finally, for the final course, we were brought two desserts. A lemon sponge cake with a crunch meringue & another creamy creation with a chocolate center that was delectable. Throughout the experience, our waters were constantly filled & plates & silverware exchanged for each course. Wonderful experience.
We were visiting Montreal & booked at a different restaurant for dinner which was horrible & ended up leaving. We decided to try Garde Manger. They worked to get us a seat at the bar & Julianne greeted us with humour & a smile & kept us laughing all night. There were two other couples sitting at the bar & we had the most delightful time. The service, ambience, food & experience were exceptional!! Best meal we have ever had travelling & I highly recommend.
Jordan & Jessica were amazing, so much attention to detail & made a wonderful romantic evening for my husband & I. Chuck Hughes himself was even in the restaurant by chance that night. He visited our table & had a quick chat, we were both totally star struck. Highly recommend the Lobster Pogos featuring black caviar. So yummy. Great service, great music, great food, great ambiance. A wonderful night. 12/10.
Amazing food, service, & ambience/music. My husband & I did the tasting menu & they were able to accommodate my gluten allergy. The entire experience was fantastic. Cannot recommend enough!
Sep 28, 2023
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Ordered the mid range Chef's Menu & it was phenominal. Service was fantastic but the food was even better. Higly recommend putting your experience in the Chef's hands.
Second review: went back 3 weeks ago. It was even better than the last time. We took the tasting menu & every single dish was delicious! Worth every penny. Definitely recommend this restaurant.
Quelle superbe expérience ce fut!! Comme tout le monde, j'étais bien curieuse d'aller au restaurant du célèbre Chuck Hughes & j'avais quand même de bonnes attentes, qui ne furent vraiment pas déçues. D'abord l'accueil & le service sont impeccables. Notre serveuse a passé une dizaine de minutes avec nous pour répondre à nos nombreuses questions, toujours avec écoute & sourire.
Pour débuter la soirée, mon conjoint & moi avons pris le cocktail du jour, qui était composé de bourbon, de liqueur de cerise noir & de jus de lime (excellent) & ma mère a pris le bloody caesar du moment avec beef jerkey & relish maison (tout simplement sublime). Nos choix d'entrées se sont arrêtées sur la tarte de champignons au cheddar fumé (exquis), la fleur de zucchini farcie de mousse de pétoncles sur salade de tomates (ça fondait dans la bouche) & le tartare de bison, avocat, tomates à la vanille & algues épicées (un pur bonheur).
Pour les plats principaux, notre serveuse a pris la peine de pairer nos plats avec des vins (à notre demande), tout en continuant à s'assurer que le tout était à notre goût. On a donc eu droit aux pétoncles, sauce aux pois verts, haricots & salade avec ail fraîche (c'est onctueux & totalement orgasmique), le risotto de homard (seul bémol, le risotto n'était pas assez cuit, mais on y retrouvait les deux pinces & la queue du homard) & le flanc de porc avec pommes de terre grelot cuites dans le gras de canard & chanterelles (plat savoureux)!
Pour terminer la soirée, nous avons complété le tout avec des barres de crème glacée maison sur brownies avec caramel salée (un péché) & le shortcake aux fraises crème de fromage (tout léger). C'est vrai que la musique est parfois plutôt forte & que l'éclairage est un peu sombre, mais quelle expérience culinaire extraordinaire on a vécu!! On a bien mangé, bien bu & on s'est amusé, avec une facture un peu moins salée qu'on ne l'aurait imaginée. Nous recommandons ce restaurant.
Excellent restaurant pour la découverte de sauveurs! J'ai choisi le classique Bloody Caesar avec pattes de crabes (succulent & on en a pour son argent!) La poutine au homard était très bonne, mais manquait un peu de homard! Pour le plat principal, le rissoto au homard est à recommander (vient avec une portion très bonne de queue de homard) & la magret de canard également (vient avec une mousse de foie gras succulente, mais bourre rapidement). La sauce aux champignons du magret de canard est très épaisse & très sucrée, ce qui le rend incroyablement goûteux, mais qui enlève son goût authentique que j'aurais davantage voulu déguster. Très bonne expérience, à vivre au moins une fois par année!
