Old Montreal restaurant classics in the heart of Little Burgundy. An homage to Charles "Joe-Beef" McKiernan, 19th century innkeeper and Montreal working class hero. A drunken crawl away from the Historic Atwater market. Steaks and seafood.
Joe Beef is described as a Montreal institution with a bold, indulgent kitchen and a warm, unpretentious vibe that draws crowds and keeps the energy lively. The service is repeatedly praised as attentive, knowledgeable and friendly, with many noting it as a standout part of the experience, though a few visits mention occasional slow pacing or inconsistency during busy nights. The menu is celebrated for rich, butter-forward dishes and crowd-pleasers like foie gras double down, lobster spaghetti, hanger steak, duck and croquettes, with sides and oysters earning praise as well; desserts such as marjolaine and chocolate mousse often shine, while some fish and seafood dishes are described as either extraordinary or a touch salty or under seasoned. The lobster pasta remains a lightning rod for opinion, highly regarded by many but not universally, and price levels are noted as steep, prompting critiques of value on some visits. Overall, it’s viewed as a memorable, sometimes polarizing but quintessential Montreal dining experience, best enjoyed with appetite, an open mind, and a willingness to embrace the theatre and hospitality that define the place.
Lovely restaurant. As you walk in, you are immediately welcomed by the smiling staff. We were seated on the outdoor "terrasse". It was a bit windy but they turned on the heaters for us. The outdoor "terrasse" is really lovely. I tried the raw tuna & foie gras as appetizers. The raw tuna was just ok. The foie gras was really good with the raisin bread. My friend had the filet mignon which was the daily special. He asked for rare & got a medium rare. For 98$, I don't think this is acceptable. I had the Sweetbreads (Ris de veau). The sauce was so salty that I couldn't finish it. For dessert, we tried the marjolaine & the sorbet "sgroppino" which were excellent. The BaBeigne au Rhum was disappointing because the doughnut was just too dry.
The food was good but very overpriced & not worth it. At this price point ($50-70 per main course), the meals should include a vegetable side dish, rather than charging an extra $17 for 6 pieces of zucchini. The food was mediocre (other than the halibut), & I have no idea why they are in the top 100 restaurants list. Maybe they used to be good? Spending so much money, they then had the nerve to charge an extra $1 for 2 more slices of bread to go along with the fois gras appetizer (which cost $40 to begin with). I am disappointed.
Jul 27, 2024
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Cute atmosphere, spectacular food presentation, great taste + flavour, friendly knowledgeable service. What more could you ask for 🫶 Highlights: halibut, beef gravy, jambon appetizer, & the nut cake!! will definitely be back 🤞
Fantastic dinner, probably the best we had on our trip. Had the seafood special appetizer with the aoli sauce which was incredible. Beef tartare was great too! Split the New York strip with the bone marrow. Cooked to perfection & so rich with the marrow also liked the side horse radish cabbage. Someone else got the lobster pasta which was outstanding! Enjoyed the lemon sorbet thoroughly!
Amazing experience all in all, food absolutely perfect & service excellent. We shared a strip steak with potatoes & marrow (the biggest piece of marrow I've ever been served!), cooked perfectly. Even the beer was perfect. I tried the babeigne au rhum for dessert. Will definitely go back to try what our table neighbors had, lobster spaghetti, which was a whole lobster on pasta! We spent 250$ for a shared meal with no appetizers, so expect to spend a little. Worth every penny!
It's definitely an antagonistic restaurant. They started very well. Service was great & we got a nice wine option. Although overpriced for the quality, I give points to the waitress for capturing our desire. Appetizers were really good. That had set up the bar. We got a quiche & a rice on bacon with egg on top. Really good options. Present flavours & well served. The main dish we got to share ny strips. Honestly, a bummer. The meat was ok & the sauce felt like a meat brouillon diluted in water. Some potatoes were even burnt. Dessert was really good. Their signature, well done. Another point loss was the forceful 18% tipping. Service was good, but 15% standard was more than enough. Staff was very receptive & great. One of the waitresses slipped wine a few times on the table. Overall it was a 9 out of 10. Honestly, it was an ok restaurant. Not a should go back one.
The service is excellent & the staff is really friendly. The appetizers (shrimp cocktail & raw scallops) were decent, but underwhelming. The mains were generous in portion (lobster spaghetti & the whole cornish hen), but they were very salty (I like salt, so it wasn't a problem for me, but my date went through about 5 cups of water during the mains). The peas & morels were so sparce in the dish that I wouldn't really include them in the description on the menu. There weren't many choices for side vegetables either (I think carrots was the only option). The star of the show was the bread rolls with salt & butter. My 250$ bill was worth it for the bread! The restaurant is good, really good, so I'm not trying to say it wasn't. It just didn't meet my expectations for what has become a staple of the Montreal culinary scene.
Feb 17, 2024
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We had a lovely experience at Joe Beef for a party of 4. We were recommended to order 4 appetizers, 4 mains & 1-2 side dishes, which might have been a bit overkill, but we enjoyed every bit. One less main would have been the perfect amount. We had the snails, paté en croute, Époisses tart & the daily special (their twist on ham & cheese sandwich). The snails & paté en croute were delicious. The daily special was on the smaller side & the cheese overpowered most of the dish. For mains, we had the daily fish, which was good but not at the same level as other dishes. The chicken, sweetbreads & lobster pasta were all amazing - I understand why the lobster spaghetti has been on their menu for the past 19 years! The wine was great too!
FUN place! Excellent customer service & recommendations. It was the perfect amount of food for 3 of us. The special appetizer was grilled eggplant. Food was fantastic.
Food was hit or miss, we ordered 3 appetizers & 4 entrees that were shared. The service was great, it's just a shame that the food didn't live up to the hype. We would definitely not recommend, especially when you consider how expensive it is.
Jun 8, 2023
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Very Disappointed..!
After hearing so much about this place, & being told it was classified as Canada’s Number 2 best restaurant, my expectations were high. Having previously worked in a high end restaurant, I was expecting a great gastronomical experience.
Let’s start by saying that our waitress was pleasant & charming, we were seated in a booth near the back of the restaurant, next to the common bathroom, the traffic of people going in & out is a bit disruptive & bothersome, strike one.
I chose the wine for our table a Red 2012 Nebbiolo that should have paired well with the appetizers we ordered, upon the pouring of the wine for the first taste I immediately notice the yellowish off color of the wine, I told the waitress even before tasting it that it might be bad; she just blankly look at me until I tried the wine, as I thought the 2012 Nebbiolo was overly acidic & bitter, so I asked our waitress to replace the bottle; surprisingly our waitress poured two other taste glasses for our table & asked my guests to taste it; my guests gave her the same answer; it’s bitter; it does not taste very good..!
After receiving three negative answers from the clients; this young energetic waitress told us that the Nebbiolo 2012 is a young wine & it’s supposed to taste like this, she told us that she would decant the wine into a carafe & that it would help. She returned with an empty vintage glass bottle of milk & then poured the wine very fast into it looking a bit annoyed as if we the customer had no idea what tasted good to our palate; Strike two, I’ve been drinking wine years before this vibrant young waitress was born & I’ve had more bottles of Nebbiolo than she’s had birthdays. I did not insult or make a fuss about the situation, but as a note to anyone reading this; her mistakes were
1- The customer that is paying for the wine as the right to tell you he does not like it.
2- Never second guess a customer by making his guests judge his decision it’s embarrassing.
3- Don’t get cocky; just because you work in a trendy restaurant it does not make you a wine expert.
4- Nebbiolo wine should rest for a minimum of 9 to 10 months before drinking, a 2012 should have been very well rested, I think this one was well passed drinking prime.
Finally the food; I must admit our appetizers were delicious, the main dish was well presented & the portions plentiful, the French Fries simply amazing, the meal was well washed down with another bottle of wine “Not the Nebbiolo”.
The only downfall to the food is that it was overly salty, my wife & I drank over 3 bottles of water over night, Strike Three.
Sadly after hearing so much about this restaurant, my expectations were shattered; I’m left with a feeling of disappointment in having tried this overly price & hyped restaurant.
