Holder
SuggestionsView All
Info & Location
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...
Amenities, services & more
Restaurants NearbyView All
Suggested Articles
on GoogleBest Old Montreal Restaurants
Events Nearby
Montreal International Black Film Festival 2025
Sep 24, 2025 to Sep 28, 2025
SHÉRIF FESTIVAL 2025 Montréal
Sep 19, 2025 to Sep 21, 2025
Reviews often mention
Display Allfrench(69) recommend(41) steak(40) tartare(40) beef(39) confit(38) dessert(37) duck(37) soup(36)Page 1 of 1 - 30 Reviews
Rixon
One of the few places we were lucky to get dinner reservations...which is both good & bad. The service was excellent...well trained & knowledgeable wait staff. Ours was Anabelle & she made some great suggestions, topped off our wine & checked in on us. The food on the other hand was ok...we 4 got the Hanger steak (was cooked medii but was still tough/, Lobster ravioli (no flavor, wouldn't reco), the duck confit was good & the veal Marsala steak was the best among the 4 dishes.View more
PJ
I would give our recent dining experience at Holder six stars if I could. The food was excellent. We shared the calamari & mozzarella di bufala to start. The braised beef cheek was outstanding - rich & flavourful. The grilled hanger steak was bistro perfection. But what made the evening was possibly the best service we've had ever. Professional of course. But friendly & kind & genuine. Joe made a great evening unforgettable. His food & wine suggestions were spot on. So if you're gonna go to Holder, ask for a table in Joe's section. It's worth it.View more
Ali
Atmosphere & service were excellent. I ordered a steak & it was way overdone. The soup tasted like Campbell. The chocolate mousse was excellent though.View more
G
I love this place. Always consistent, great French bistro with a versatile menu. Decor & ambiance make this place perfect for a date. I would highly recommend if you like French cusine. I would highly recommend the clams, steak, & french onion soup. The venue is not too loud or pretentious.
A very comfortable & well-managed place to eat.View more
Vanessa
This place seems classic. Lots of business people, family celebrations, & special occasions.
The fish soup & mushroom pistachio pasta with the QC Chardonnay btg was the perfect seasoning.
Philippe was a pro server. My husband enjoyed the French Onion soup & hanger steak, the chef's choice of prep.
This was my birthday meal out. I have no regrets!
The only thing lacking in the atmosphere was the sound level. I think this place is best for groups of three or more. For some reason it was loud for the two of us but really, we managed fine.
Also, the seating is beautiful but not cushy.View more
Rosie
We came here with some business vendors who took us out for dinner. The inside is very classy & chique. & our waiter was very friendly & attentive during the whole meal. We started with some appetizers of oysters, steak tartare, foie gras & French onion soup. My main was the lobster ravioli. We finished with a few dessert samplings including crème brûlée. It was an amazing meal. Everything was delicious! I will definitely come back here when I'm back in Montreal!View more
David
Beautiful location for a meal, & the flank steak is just unbelievable. Highly recommended.View more
Adam
Could use a wider selection of appetizers, but great steak frite! Good service too.View more
Laura
This was truly one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The food here is beyond delicious, even down to the free bread. We ordered the French onion soup, the grilled hanger steak with shallots & fries, the pappardelle with mushrooms, pine nuts, & pancetta, & a side of sautéed rapini. Everything exceeded our already high expectations. For dessert, we ordered the butterscotch mi-cuit with Maldon salt & butterscotch ice cream- I don't think I've ever had a better dessert. The wine selection is fantastic & my boyfriend loved the cider on tap! If you find yourself in Montréal, this place is a must!View more
Laurence
Wonderful full-service restaurant on Rue McGill on the edge of Old Montreal. Delicious French-inspired food steak, pasta, seafood, salads. Spacious brasserie style room. Excellent wine & cocktails. Highly recommended.View more
Mia
We always come here when we're in Montreal. Book ahead & always ask for a windows seat. Less traffic that way. Bustling restaurant filled with lots of energy, business folk, people on dates, family, tourists, & locals. Service is always top-notch, friendly, attentive, & knowledgeable. Food has always been great, & we always order too much. Our faves are the foil gras, grilled octopus salad, & the boeuf cheek a la borguignon. Portions are just right, for us. Prices have gone up over the last year, but I feel like it's gone up everywhere. Photos don't do the food justice. Probably the best mashed potatoes. Veal & steak, cooked to a perfect rare. We'll be back againView more
Ali
I'm so impressed with this place! The design is stylish & modern, creating a warm & inviting atmosphere. But the real showstopper is the food , it's absolutely mouthwatering! The steak is cooked to perfection, & the caramelized onions add a sweet & savory flavor that complements it perfectly. I'm a total steak lover, & this dish exceeded my expectations. If you're a fellow steak enthusiast or just looking for a great dining experience, I highly recommend checking this place out. You won't be disappointed!View more
Anas
The restaurant offered good food. Good for a date or even famil gathering. Food was delicious l, but a but pricey. We ord the hanger steak, veal, salad, calamari, & oysters. All were good, veal was very tender.View more
Dan
Excellent bar. Nice selection of martinis. I had hanger steak which was cooked perfectly, but tough. Overall a nice place, staff was great. Just would not order the steak.View more
Moaeez
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.View more
Andre
Steak was rubbery, duck confit was a bit too dry. Their vegetable soup was the only thing that I enjoyed.View more
Matthew
I had the hanger steak, wife had the paella. Paella was decent. But my steak was awful. I ordered medium rare & it came out blue. The center was completely raw & sinewy. But with this kind of place, you pay for what you get. It's cheap, i just got in to the city, wasnt about to make a scene sending food back. Nothing worth noting to be honest at this restaurant. Atmosphere was probably the best part. Food was the worst part. Service was fine, but the waiter somehow managed to spill water on the table? Waiter also didnt ask if i wanted a drink So i just didnt order a drink lol i didnt say anything & tipped normally but it's just unusal. I just wasnt impressed at all, & no real reason to be back. Cant recommend.View more
Lingchao
It is a decent French restaurant. A bit expensive (reasonable for being a French restaurant). The steak is not the best. The salad quite salty. The duck confit is okay. Not my personal favorite. Took almost 30 min to wait for the dishes. No waitress refilled our water.View more
Amina
OVERALL: 4/5 Food: 3/5 Service: 5/5 Ambiance: 5/5 - Clean & Fresh Visiting beautiful Montreal & this place was recommended by a friend. The ambiance was that of a typical upscale French bistro. The service was amazing (even though we had 3 different servers in the course of our meal). We had.. - Country Vegetable Soup - light & fresh but too much salt. - Steak Frites - The fries were limp & soggy. The steak was fine. - Burrata Salad - Excellent. Enjoyed the figs. - Lemon Cream & Mascarponne Mousse - Excellent The food was absolutely amazing. The best Thai food I have eaten in the city.View more
Andrew
Small portions. Very flavorful food but the steak was extremely tough.View more
G
After driving 7 hours to arrive in Montreal, I dropped in here for dinner. The bar staff were welcoming & friendly. They helped me with my French & Quebecois. I had the frisée salad, steak frites, & crème brûlée. All were excellent. I came back the next night for dessert with a date. More creme brûlée & the butterscotch cake. Again another phenomenal experience. PS: so glad I skipped 5 guys. I was so tired & ready to just do takeout. LOL!View more
Janice
Food very good if you ordered it but service was lacking. The server assumed that we wanted steak when we wanted duck. The server also had it well done when we preferred rare (like everyone else at the table). Due to lack of time, we accepted the steak but it spoiled our appetite & desire to stay.View more
Paria
The stars I'm giving is mainly for service, which was top notch. The food was not so good. The duck & the rack of lamb were one of the worst I tried, Hanger steak & the veal were fine. Duck confit was dry & did not taste good. Rack of lamb was not cooked well & the smell was bad.View more
Ernest
Just ok, steak was a bit undercooked & underseasoned, but I was too hungry to complain. Wine was not poured at the table. Server was good & attentive.View more
Angela
We were able to be seated right away without a reservation - the restaurant was moderately busy at 7 pm on a Friday night. My mom thoroughly enjoyed the lobster ravioli. Unfortunately I had the hanger steak (dairy free) & didn't quite enjoy it - it lacked flavour. The fries were also not wonderful. I will say the virgin mojito was amazing! I was happy that they did have oat milk substitute - my cappuccino was lovely. Unfortunately, the service after our initial server sign off was quite slow - we waited 40 minutes for our bill.View more
Laura
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.View more
Alaleh
We came here on a Tuesday night for a group gathering & the staff put a few plates together behind the bar for us to sit together. I was surprised by how busy the restaurant was in the middle of the week & it's not a small one! Maybe it's because of the great service & amazing food! ;) We ordered a few appetizers to share for the tables; Fried Calamari, Mussels, & Fries. Mussel were generously portioned & the calamari was delicious. For entrée, we ordered "Grilled salmon filet, lemon beurre blanc, potato puree", "Grilled hanger steak with shallots, house fries", "Duck confit, roasted potatoes, arugula, white truffle dressing" & "Grilled veal T-bon steak". Salmon was medium rare & very tasty. Steaks were perfectly cooked to everyone's preferences & we all enjoyed our drinks & food.View more
Mark
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.
View more
Nahrek
The food here was fantastic, but I have never experienced such slow service before. It took nearly 45 minutes just to get drinks to the table & the meal took nearly 3 hours in total. Our waiter practically ignored us unless we flagged him down, & after we asked for the bill, he took another 20 minutes to bring it to us.
It’s a shame, because the food itself was excellent. I’m particular I loved the French onion soup, the beef tartare, & the steak. But I wouldn’t experience that poor of service again, no matter how good the food is.
View more