Henri upholds the timeless traditions of the grand French brasseries in one of Montreal’s most beautiful and welcoming dining rooms. Our kitchen creates fresh, vibrant dishes, showcasing the finest seasonal Canadian products from the land and sea. We invite you to join us at all times, for your everyday meals and your landmark celebrations.
Overall, Henri Brasserie Française + Lounge is described as a stylish, beautifully designed venue with a warm, upscale atmosphere and a strong wine and cocktail program, housed in the historic Birks building by Philip Square; the menu features refined French brasserie options and seafood, with many standout dishes and desserts, but experiences vary in food quality, portion sizes, and consistency of service, and some visits feel pricey or rushed, while others deliver memorable, well presented meals.
Decadent & bougie. An indescribable experience, except, I just described it in two words! If you've got a few bucks laying around, you could spend it on worse things, just saying!
The restaurant is an impressive nod to old-world elegance & fine dining. We chose it to celebrate an important occasion & had been looking forward to the experience. Unfortunately, service from the kitchen was inconsistent throughout the evening. Dishes arrived at different times, & one entrée was completely different from what had been ordered. That said, the food itself was very well prepared & genuinely delicious. The escargot & octopus appetizers were standouts & are absolutely worth recommending.
What happened afterwards, however, overshadowed the entire evening.
While waiting for dessert, I saw a rat scurry across the dining room floor toward the corner table near the entrance. Naturally, we were alarmed & immediately picked our bags up off the floor. We discreetly asked to speak with the manager, Maxim, because we genuinely felt the restaurant should be made aware immediately & given the opportunity to address the situation appropriately & quietly.
What shocked us even more than the rat itself was the response. There was no apology, no concern, & no sense of urgency. Instead, Maxim became defensive & raised his voice during the interaction. When I mentioned that I intended to share the experience publicly, he dismissively told me to'go right ahead' & implied that we were looking for a discount - something we neither requested nor hinted at. At that point, I simply paid the bill & left. No follow-up apology was offered for either the incident itself or the way the situation was handled.
A restaurant associated with the Birks name carries an expectation of professionalism, hospitality, & excellence. Sadly, the management response we experienced reflected none of those qualities. For context, our bill was north of $800 so it was not an inexpensive evening.
I did report the incident to the hotel's night manager afterward & hope the matter is taken seriously. The food may be very good, but diners should be aware that the overall experience fell far below the standard one would reasonably expect from an establishment of this reputation. No food in the world is worth dealing with a manager such at Maxim or contracting the Hanta virus!
May 11, 2026
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Overall it was a nice meal. Can't really complain but just not something I can give a 5 star too. Our waiter was not the friendliest to english speaking people. Meal was so so.
I brought an important client here for lunch, hoping for a polished meal in a professional setting. The restaurant presents itself as refined, & given the prices, I expected the kind of experience where the food, service, & overall execution would match the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the lunch turned into one of the most unpleasant dining experiences I have had.
I ordered the Saumon fumé maison as an hors d'oeuvre & the Contre-filet AAA as my main. From the beginning, something felt off. The food had a strange smell, particularly the fish, but I tried to give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt. In hindsight, I should have trusted my instincts, especially after noticing repeated lineups for the bathroom during the meal. That is not exactly the kind of ambience you want when trying to impress someone who flew in from New York for a business meeting.
Shortly after eating, both my client & I became extremely sick. What was meant to be a serious lunch to help move a deal forward quickly became uncomfortable & embarrassing. My client ended up missing her return flight because she was too unwell to travel, which made the situation even worse. It is hard to overstate how damaging that is when you are trying to host someone professionally.
There was almost a tragic comedy to it, in the most unfortunate way possible. I came in hoping to discuss business over a nice meal, & instead I spent the afternoon apologizing while both of us regretted every decision that led us there. What a disaster!
For a restaurant at this level, this was completely unacceptable. The setting may be elegant, but the food quality & aftermath were not. I would honestly have been better off taking my client to Tim Hortons. At least then the expectations would have been clear, & the damage to both our stomachs & the business relationship may have been less severe.
I will not be returning, & I would strongly caution anyone considering this restaurant for a business lunch, client meeting, or important occasion.
Apr 23, 2026
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On est allés avec des amis & on a littéralement vécu une expérience de fine dining. Le menu est préparé avec des produits de saison & on sent vraiment cette attention dans chaque assiette. Les choix de vins & de cocktails étaient aussi très réussis. L'équipe de service est très compétente & leurs recommandations étaient vraiment justes. L'ambiance est animée, mais sans être dérangeante. Je vais définitivement revenir.
Atmosphere & location were extra ordinary. Food wise I was disappointed with my chicken & waffles because while the syrup was advertised as maple syrup, at best it was corn syrup which almost ruined the dish. Not only is it false advertising but an insult because Quebec is the world's major producer of maple syrup. Please do better!!
Toujours une expérience agréable lorsque j'y vais, que ce soit pour le déjeuner ou le dîner, c'est un vrai plaisir. Le seul inconvénient serait le changement fréquent de chef. Les plats restent les mêmes, mais chaque chef y apporte sa touche personnelle. J'apprécie beaucoup cette approche, même si parfois je préfère retrouver mes habitudes, surtout que je reviens souvent pour le même plat.
This restaurant was amazing. Great staff, excellent customer service. Our host/waiter was Kadeem! He was phenomenal. He was very knowledgeable with the right wine pair for the meals, his recommendations for entrée were spot on. Every selection looked amazing & fulfilling. I recommend this restaurant & if you get Kadeem as your wait staff consider you night a plus & complete 😉 😀
Excellent service , for the most part (until my coffee was forgotten & we had to ask for it twice).
Can't give it 5 stars for food though. It was good don't get me wrong, but not 5 star good. A little overpriced for what we had. Steak tartare was meh…not much flavor, as was the crab cake.
3 people for dinner, entrees, cocktails, dinner & dessert with one bottle wine cost me 625$.
This place had been on my list to try for a while. Glad I went but don't know if I'd go back.
J'y était pour le petit déjeuner, la nourriture, le service impeccable, endroit très propre, mais le café !
très amer, je ne sucre jamais mais cette fois j'en ai mis. SVP changer de sorte de café Merci
I do not typically write reviews of restaurants, but I felt particularly implored to do so after experiencing such terrible service. To save my time as well as anyone reading, I'll simply put it in bullet form.
-Food was quite good, but lacking in quantity. 22ish dollars for a slice of French toast is almost criminal.
-Service was molasses-like slow & for the most part non- existent. It took the entire duration of the meal to get a refill of water. Zero attention to detail.
-The Maître d, Maxime, was not warm at all, where I felt almost like a second class citizen, seeing other clients being served even if they had ordered after us. We ordered a salad & a French toast respectively, but a whole table of 4 was served their hot meals well before ours.
-Care was not consistent as the table beside us had the courtesy of regular coffee & water refills.
-Less than stellar seating even when there was ample room in the restaurant.
une expérience des plus mauvaises, un groupe de 20 personnes de haut dirigeant dans une salle privée. Un service d'une lenteur, la nourriture froide, & pas de réponse par la suite de la personne responsable des évènements pour expliquer ou s'excuser. On se fout du client totalement
Restaurant au cadre très élégant, avec un intérieur soigné & agréable qui donne tout de suite une bonne première impression.
Les prix sont assez élevés pour une qualité de nourriture plutôt normale, sans réelle surprise. La carte manque un peu de diversité, bien qu'elle propose surtout des fruits de mer & des viandes. Le service est correct, sans être particulièrement remarquable.
Entrée-plat-verre ? 110$ (15%tip inclu)
I used to adore this place, but my recent visit was a letdown after a considerable absence.
On December 31st, 2023, I visited for brunch with my significant other, anticipating a great experience. While the waiter was amiable & described the food options well, the actual meal left much to be desired.
For starters, we had 6 fresh oysters & a delightful soup. However, our usual order of eggs benedict with smoked salmon & the hanger steak was shockingly disappointing. Despite previous satisfying visits, the quality, portion size, & presentation were all notably subpar this time. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos to illustrate.
The eggs benedict arrived on small yellow bread with the salmon scattered around the plate, lacking the usual salad & appearing notably smaller. It felt like a fraction of what they used to serve & resembled something from an average all-inclusive hotel in Cuba.
The hanger steak, ordered medium rare, arrived overcooked & resembling a brick. The fries were flavorless & overdone, a far cry from what one might expect. I returned it, opting for my usual steak tartare, but to my dismay, that too was disappointing - dry & lacking in taste, with an unappealing presentation.
When I inquired about the drastic change in quality, the manager informed me they had changed chefs. While I refrained from stating it, it seemed apparent they should consider replacing the new chef swiftly. Even the dishes served to others nearby lacked appeal.
The manager offered three small pastries to compensate for the inconvenience. Considering the $200 CAD bill (inclusive of a surprising $66 for two glasses of champagne, totaling $87 with tax & tip), it felt inadequate.
Montreal boasts numerous exceptional brunch spots, & unfortunately, this one won't make it back on my list unless I hear promising reviews in the future.
