Grille-Nature by chef-owners Derek Damann and David McMillan is an end-of-career promise kept. These two longtime chefs, bound by mutual admiration, have teamed up to bring to their beloved West Island a restaurant for everyone. Seafood, vegetables, and prime cuts of responsibly farmed meats and local products are always on hand. A welcoming bar, an eclectic wine list, and a warm staff are ready to create something new in hospitality, surrounded by purveyors of true quality.
Two chefs, two farms, two families, one restaurant. Quality goods only.
Reviews of Grille Nature converge on a standout West Island dining experience, with generous portions, inventive and well executed dishes, and attentive service in a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Dishes range from crowd pleasers like burgers and seafood to ambitious specials, with many highlights such as scallops, foie gras, crispy fries, and a strong bread and butter service, and a well curated drink program. While the overall food quality and vibe receive high praise, several guests note high prices for the portion sizes and occasional inconsistencies in pacing or execution, including one steak that was chewy or overcooked, some sides priced a la carte, and a few visits where service or timing could be improved. Still, the restaurant is described as lively yet comfortable, with a family friendly vibe and a level of hospitality that makes visitors feel welcomed and well cared for, and many plan to return to try more dishes.
Incredible. Don't need to say too much more. Good service. Bright & open & vibrant. 4 women shared 8 different things. All delicious. Standouts were the croquetas, avocado, fries (honestly so good) & the porterhouse we shared was crazy good. Cooked to absolute perfection with a sauce I can't even explain... Incredible.
We ordered all the seafood appetizers + a miso black cod from the daily menu.
On the whole, the appetizers were good individually & one or two of them pretty interesting. Though I don't recommend doing what we did & order all of them tapas style. For one, some portions were pretty large. More consequentially, most of them had the same feel, where they cover seafood flavor & texture with cream, sauce & crispiness.
The two that we liked were the Baked Clams with some nice acidity from the peppers & the Tuna Aguachile Crudo. The least liked are the 2 Fried Oysters; texture & taste of the shellfish are covered & not present.
The Miso Black Cod from the blackboard was a miss for us. The waitress described it as light & flakey, but it was the opposite: dense, heavy & rich. Missing something light to complement it, it felt like a chore to eat.
We still very much enjoyed the experience overall, just wishing a bit more variety for the palate & not have everything rich/fried. Love that this kind of restaurant is popping up on the West Island.
May 6, 2026
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My wife & I dined at this establishment this evening.The service we received was first class.
Everything we ordered was incredibly delicious.
The crispy squid was far & away the best we ever had.The only dish that fell flat was the honey & ginger shrimp.It lacked flavour & should not have exited the kitchen.The duck confit was WOW!!!! but a little more sauce on that plate as well as a more decorative presentstion would have been nice.Overall the food is absolutely delicious.I was not at all expecting to see Gateau Marjolaine on the menu & that alone made my evening.I suspect that came by way of Joe Beef.There is nothing like Gateau Marjolaine.
The Negatives:
Noise levels can become a bit distractive
Dress code is a bit confusing.Are we casual or are we Smart casual.Some patrons looked like they were at a standup tubesteak supper at Lafleur's & others looked like they belonged in a saw dust joint.This is what happens when you combine haute gamme cuisine with ball park cuisine,you suffer from identity crisis.Not sure if the 2 can work together.Only time will tell.
Would we go back? The answer is a resounding YES!!!!! The food is just toooooo goooood not to return.
Went on a Thursday around 4:15 & we basically had the whole place to ourselves, which was amazing.
Our server was 10/10 he was super knowledgeable, explained everything on the menu, & made the whole experience even better.
The food was fantastic. I honestly don't think I've had better duck confit in Montreal (only time I've had it this good was in Paris). The béarnaise sauce was out of this world, & the calamari was perfectly coated, seasoned, & delicious.
Loved the atmosphere, & both chefs being there made it feel really special.
As someone who grew up in the West Island & a foodie for 34 years, I'm so happy there's finally a spot like this here. They really nailed it. Already planning my next visit.
I also shared a reel with more on my IG: @mtlfoodgal
Very disappointed with my main course that the waiter could have told me that it included only 6 shrimps. I then ordered also the broccolini which they were in a heavily sauce. It wasn't worth the trip & paying $350 for 3 people I would have gotten better food for that amount.
We were accompanied by another party of 3 which we definitely won't be returning.
Regards,
Grille Nature lived up to the expectations & I will definitely be coming back. The space is beautifully curated with rugs, warm lighting, thoughtful decor & soft jazz music-making it so that you feel as if you're having an intimate dinner at a friends home. The food was delicious- the ribs with their sweet red pepper sauce, & the bitter caramel of the sticky toffee pudding really stood out. Our server was a delight, being very personable. I dropped a star because the bathroom was not that clean (water all over the counters, & the toilet paper holder looked like it had rust or something brown splashed all over it), which took away a bit from the experience for a restaurant of this calibre you would think they had someone tending to the washrooms more often.
Honestly, I found it overrated. The presentation wasn't very appealing, & the meat was quite disappointing, as was the sauce. There was also a real lack of vegetables- even for a steakhouse, where you already don't expect many, there were barely any at all. Overall, everything felt underwhelming. The atmosphere felt more like an upscale pub than anything special, & the prices were extremely high for the experience you get. The service, however, was good.
Feb 18, 2026
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We had a reservation for a Wednesday night at 2030. It was busy but not crazy busy. We waited a descent amount of time for our entrees. They were delicious. We had squid & the chicken a la king soup. On a side note, I had asked about the hot avocado but waitress described it poorly. It sounded terrible. Sadly, we waited close to one hour for our main dishes. I think they forgot them under a heat lamp somewhere. When they arrived, they were luke warm. I ordered the baked ribs. The sauce was just off putting & they were very dry & inedible, actually. My friend ordered the chicken. It too was very dry. It also had a chemical tasting sauce on it. We both barely ate. Our waitress did not question this, even when she asked about take away & I said no. My dish was mostly untouched. The whole time we were there, there was a lot of staff but we had to ask for water to be refilled. Not a redo for me.
Went to Grille Nature with my wife, & my parents & had an absolutely wonderful experience!
We ordered the ginger shrimp & chopped salad to start! The shrimp were very tasty & the Chopped Salad tasted very very fresh!
For the main, we ordered two specials (New York steak & Black cod) & we also ordered the scallops which is on the regular menu! Steak was served in a jus that was absolutely delicious. It was cooked pretty rare & I wish it were closer to medium but it was still very very good! The black cod was also delicious. It had a slight sweetness to it (probably a sauce), & tasted very fresh! The scallops were very flavourful & super tender! I honestly would recommend all 3 dishes! (Pictures of the mains included)
The service was very polite but I found the pacing was a little off. The appetizers came in a good amount of time but it felt like 35-40 minutes between the end of the appetizer & when we got the dinner. All that being said, the server was very polite & I think she was pretty new so I should give her more slack than I am giving her.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this restaurant. It's so great to have a restaurant of this quality in the West Island
I will absolutely be back & I can't wait to try more things on their menu!
As a fan of Chef Derek Dammann & Maison Publique, I had very high expectations for this new spot. Unfortunately, despite the hype, it was one of the most disappointing steak experiences I've had in Montreal.
?The space feels similar to a refined McKiernan, industrial & modern but the ambiance was thrown off by three TVs over the bar blasting football. For the price point & the open-concept style, it felt out of place & cheapened the atmosphere.
?Service started well with a nice hostess, but things went downhill. We waited 45 minutes for our starters. The Caesar salad was unremarkable with scarce bacon & parmesan. Worse, the bread (which isn't complimentary) arrived late & ice cold with hard, unspreadable butter. We also had to ask for wine by the glass because it wasn't on the menu; the server brought bottles to the table with no price transparency, eventually suggesting glasses that turned out to be $17 each.
?But the main disappointment was the steak. We skipped appetizers to save room for the meat, which was a mistake. I ordered the $110 Australian Wagyu Delmonico special.I was told it was'Chef's choice' for temperature, but what I got was a disaster. The portion was massive (honestly, too big for one person), but the cut was absurdly thick, over 3 inches. Because of this thickness, the cook was terrible. It had an inch of dry, well-done gray band on top, while the bottom was completely blue, cold, & unrendered. For a Wagyu cut, you need a better cook to render the fat, but this was chewy & unseasoned inside.
?To make matters worse, both my steak & my partner's fillet were served in a pool of overwhelming, salty, HP-style sauce that completely masked the taste of the meat. Between the bad cook, the cold interior, & the heavy sauce, I struggled to finish even half. We ordered fries on the side, but they were oily & lacked crunch.
?The dessert sundae was good, but overall, for a restaurant of this caliber & price, the execution was shocking. I've eaten steaks all over the world (US, Japan, Spain), & this was a major letdown.
Accueil chaleureux. Décor hétéroclite & amusant qui divertit l'oeil. Grande pièce sans division, plafond hauts donc plutôt bruyant & écho mais on arrive à s'entendre parler malgré tout.
Côtes levées bien aromatisées mais malheureusement desséchées ne laissant qu'environ la moitié de la viande tendre. Servis avec quelques tranches de poivrons piquillo & ails rôtis sur une cuillerée de purée de légumes bien savoureuse. Sinon, la plupart des plats n'ont pas d'accompagnements, on doit prendre des à-côtés en extra. La portion d'énormes frites est saupoudrée de fromage, étrange au début mais devient lourde lorsqu'on atteint le fond du contenant. La mayo qui les accompagne n'est pas particulièrement intéressante. Un simple aioli ou mayo curry aurait été plus efficace. Un peu comme un aveu, la serveuse nous apporte de petits gobelets de ketchup. Peut-être aurais-je dû opter pour la pomme de terre au four.
Sinon, autour de la table:
Le repas de poulet semblait lui être un meilleur choix (rapport qualité/prix). Le plat était accompagné de frite & salade.
Bonne entrée d'avocat. Pâte sauce rosée correcte.
Crevettes peu nombreuses & un peu tristes dans l'assiette, mais malgré tout savoureuses.
Le restaurant tente d'offrir des repas selon deux gammes de prix. Nous sommes restés dans les options plus abordables. Peut-être aurions nous plus apprécié en dénouant davantage notre bourse. Reste que certains plats sont très chers (le'spécial' de la journée est à plus de 100$). Clairement, nous nous trouvons dans l'ouest de l'île & on tente d'appâter une clientèle plus aisée dans un secteur où les bons restaurants sont carrément absents. Grille-Nature semble vouloir tenter sa chance ici.
Le service était très bien, chaleureux & sympathique. Attente un tantinet longue à mes yeux pour le plat principal mais comme j'avais très faim, je ne suis peut-être pas objectif.
Nous sommes allés un mercredi soir & l'endroit semblait presque complet. Le restaurant semble jouir d'une grande popularité. Je souhaite un bon succès à ce restaurant.
Jan 12, 2026
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One of my new favorite restaurants, everything was amazing from the service to the food. I was hesitant to try the cheese burger because there were so many tasty looking options, but this burger really stood out it was so juicy & had such flavor, I would recommend it! My boyfriend got the steak frites & it was also amazing cooked to perfection. Even the French fries were really good. Also you HAVE to try the fried squid the batter was so tasty the sauce on the side was also really delicious.
Our server was very kind, & quick to ask how we were doing or if we wanted anything else. Also the host at the front remembering my name as we left & saying good bye was a sweet touch. Overall a really good experience & we can't wait to be back
First time trying this restaurant & it won't be our last! Everything was delicious & so nicely presented. Upon entering, you're greeted so warmly & everyone who approached the table once we were seated was so friendly which made the whole experience even nicer. We ordered some drinks & the Mortadella & the Hot Avocado as well as the bread service to start & all I can say is WOW! The mortadella had a drizzle of honey on it & put such a simple dish over the top. The Hot avocado was so original & tasty too. For mains we ordered the steak frites & the rotisserie half chicken. The chicken was fantastic - it came with a salad & fries. Those fries were just perfect! Crispy & crunchy on the outside & perfection on the inside. The chicken itself was amazing - almost buttery inside & the sauce is scrumptious & different than any other rotisserie chicken sauce. The salad it comes with, I believe is the Alpine salad & I was surprised by how fresh tasting it was - the slightly sweet vinaigrette was just right & I couldn't stop eating it. My husband had the steak frites & he was raving about it - saying if this is how tasty a steak frites is, imagine their better cuts of meat. We ended the meal with their tropical sundae, which was coconut gelato mixed with vanilla soft serve & coconut flakes with some infused pineapple & dulce de leche. It was the perfect ending. Honestly, this was a wonderful dining experience & we plan to go back soon so we can try other dishes on the menu that we missed. Go, you won't be disappointed!
Outrageous. One of the best salads I've ever had. Wagyu steak from Australia with the craziest Japanese steak sauce directly from chef. The chocolate cake you dream of. In the West Island? A dream come true.
Not only does the West Island have a new restaurant, but it's a David McMillan & Derek Damann venture. The food was mind-blowingly good & the service was outstanding. Sam was our waiter & all of his suggestions were perfect. We had two cocktails, appetizers were foie gras as well as a plate of calamari, mains were scallops in butter sauce & my husband had the'Salaberry steak' with a fried egg on top. We shared an alpine salad. Dessert was the amazing coconut & sucre à la creme pie (it's an entire pie, enough for 4 people). Can't wait to go back!
