Located in a beautiful turn of the century building in Old Montreal, Brasserie Holder's design makes good use of its high ceilings and wide open space creating a sense of European charm that is hard to find anywhere else in town. Specializing in Old World European cuisine, Restaurant Holder is famous for its vast selection of brasserie-style seafood, pasta and meat dishes. Sample Menu items at Holder include: grilled beefsteak, steamed clams, salads, tartares, etc...
Holder offers classic French brasserie fare with generous portions and a lively, welcoming atmosphere, where attentive service and a solid wine list elevate many meals; across visits the beef cheeks, duck confit, mussels, oysters, calamari, lobster ravioli, and French onion soup are frequently praised, while some guests note a noisy room, crowded tables, and occasional inconsistencies in a few dishes, yet the overall impression is of reliable quality, good value for the area, and a strong desire to return.
Great food, service, & atmosphere. Loved the onion soup, lobster ravioli, & braised beef cheek was just amazing! Tender, flavorful, with delicious mashed potatoes underneath it with crunchy sring beans. Would definitely visit this place again next time I'm in Montreal!
Great place, would highly recommend going if you're in Montreal. The beef cheek was really good. Good food, busy & a bit crowded but good atmosphere in general. Recommend a reservation. The service was particularly good! We ate there on October 4, & our server Joe was incredible. Never had to wait on anything, quick on new drinks, great recommendations, & just a pleasure to talk with.
Oct 7, 2024
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Exactly what we would look for having lunch. The waitress was extremely nice with a personal style that I liked. I ordered beef cheek & creme brûlé, both were delicious. Little bit expensive for what it is but in Montreal to find a place with a high French food best value is almost impossible, always expensive
Duck confit was good for the first time though not as crispy as desired. Beef cheek was divine. Definitely some cool stuff on the menu, a shame we didn't have time to try dessert. Fun & attentive service too.
My boyfriend & I love this place! Their service is wonderful & very mindful of their guests despite having such busy nights. Food is always delicious & leaves you feeling satisfied - & the restaurant has a lovely ambiance. The beef cheek is truly chef's kiss.
Marvelous braised beef cheek. I was pleased & enjoyed the balance of flavours as expected of French cuisine. A hearty dish that pleased my palate. Timely service from seating to bill. A great place if you are looking for phenomenal French cuisine for any occasion.
To start, the ambiance & look of the restaurant are absolutely outstanding. & the service was fast & the staff were very kind & helpful. An excellent choice if you're looking to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. We opted to share the seafood paella, which was listed as a main, & it exceeded our expectations. The server recommended a spicy twist on the classic beef tartare, which was delightful. However, the highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the chicken paté, which was extraordinary. For our main courses, we enjoyed the hanger steak, braised beef, lobster ravioli, & duck confit. Each dish was exquisite & worth trying, but the lobster ravioli stood out as my personal favorite. Holder is a must-visit in Montreal.
Jul 7, 2024
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One of the best restaurants i've been to during my trip in montreal. The oysters, foie gras, & the beef tartare was amazing & certainly worth the price. Will definitely come back again!
Can be a bit loud, overall would recommend for brunch & lunch but dinner can be hit or miss. Their beef isn't great, on the tougher side. Lobster ravioli is excellent.
It's a pretty happening place for dinner. The food was excellent, beef cheeks & mussels in particular. Everything we tried was top notch. It may be a little loud for some people & for some reason, it was really warm inside. But great otherwise.
Apr 28, 2024
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We came for lunch & had the soup, burrata salad & beef tartare. The burrata was fresh, the beef tartare one of the best I ever had but the soup underwhelming. Would definitely come back & try more tartare.
Had a fantastic experience here, food & service was top notch! Our favourites were the warm goat cheese entrée, beef tartare, & duck confit. The butterscotch mi-cuit was amazing as well. Will definitely come again next time we're in the city.
Excellent service, quickly served & polite waiters. The food was unbelievably delicious! We had beef tartare as an entree, then I had the duck confit which was very well seasoned & tender, & then we had crème brûlée for the first time & it was very good!! Highly recommend
An amazing dinner, we had the oysters, beef cheek, salad with parm, & the goat cheese warmed, all amazing choices. We went here because of the reviews, & it did not disappoint. Service was top-notch plates cleared instantly, drinks brought over super quick, a very well run shop with very friendly people. Almost went back a second night it was impressive.
Feb 17, 2024
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Well, this was a very happy choice for a second-last meal in Montreal. The space is a lovely, classic & grand dining room that also manages to have a cozy & warm feeling. The service was perfect & the food really was delectable. The braised beef cheek really stands out - so buttery, meltingly tender & extremely tasty. Overall, this resto is a definite recommend!
During my visit to Montreal, eating at a French bistro was at the top of my to-do list. Appearance-wise, the restaurant looked like a typical French bistro but a lot bigger than the average one. When we sat down, we were famished & waiting to be attended to. Service, however, was mediocre at best, as servers were not very attentive & seldom checked up on us. It took a while before the servers took our order & a long time for food to arrive. When the server arrived, we ordered the salmon tartare, the beef tartare, the grilled salmon filet with beurre blanc, & the duck confit. For appetizers, the beef & salmon tartare were under seasoned & could use more acidity to bring out their freshness. For mains, the salmon was cooked well but bland while the duck confit was dry & sat on top of a mountain of underdressed arugula. The finger potatoes that went with the confit were seasoned well & delicious, but there were too few of them (5 pcs) as compared to the mountain of arugula. Overall, Holder fell short of my expectations from a French bistro in Montreal & I'd recommend eating elsewhere for French cuisine.
We live in the Old Port with my husband & baby, we love trying restaurants around the area & we were always intrigued to try Holder as we walked by. Finally last Sunday we decided to go & we were so disappointed. We ordered the onion soup which was okay eventhough it was watery. We had the mozzarella de bufala starter, the tomatoes were not fresh but the balsamic dressing made it better. For main we had the steak & fries, got two small pieces instead of one piece & the fries were okay, had to try for 15 minutes to get the waiters attention to order ketchup so at the end they were cold. My husband had the braised beef, he ate half of it. Overall, we were very disappointed especially considering the price, the food was bland, the dish we enjoyed the most was the bread & butter.
I have been here a few times now in the past year, most recently 2 weeks ago, & it has always been excellent. The food is delicious & I would recommend the duck confit, lobster ravioli & beef tartare. The service has always been top notch as well. It makes for a perfect evening dinner.
We had a fabulous dinner for 6 here last night. Way beyond expectation! This restaurant has great service, a nice a non-touristy vibe, & really excellent food. They were also super accommodating of my sister-in-law, who requires a wheel chair.
We arrived around 6 on a Saturday, & the large restaurant was about 20% full, by the time we left, between 8:30 & 9:00 it was jam packed & very loud, .
The food was great. perfectly prepared & presented... we ate through the classics, like steak tartare (the best I have had), Faux Gras with pear- extraordinary, salmon gnocchi & an awesome beef cheeks dish. My nephew & niece, who had not eaten in a fine French restaurant before were blown away. My Sister-in-law, who had been a chef, was also limitless in her praise.
The dishes are classic, nothing way out of the ordinary, but super well done. The front of house was awesome. As the place filled up all the staff were chipping in... even the greeter was serving wine. I bet we had 8 different staff doing one thing or another at the tabke & all seamlessly.
To top it all - with appetizers, 2 bottles or Prosecco, various drinks by the glass, entrees & 2 desserts the bill came to $75USD apiece including 20% tip. Living in the wine country in California, it seemed an extraordinary value.
