Restaurant L'Express, located in Le Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal is one of Montreal's best-known French bistros. The menu rotates somewhat, and there are always daily specials, but l'Express specializes in: pâté, foie gras and bouillabaisse appetizers; steak tartare, steak-frites and veal kidney main courses; and cheeses, crème caramel or chocolate mousse desserts.
L'Express comes across as a Montreal institution that conjures a classic Parisian bistro with damier tiled floors, dark wood, mirrors and a lively, intimate atmosphere. The menu sticks to timeless French brasserie fare with touches of Quebec, delivering crowd pleasers such as bone marrow, celery remoulade, beef tartare, duck confit, octopus and ravioli alongside a dependable steak frites, all complemented by a strong wine list and the simple abundance of house pickles and bread at the table. Service is frequently praised as attentive and friendly, with guests noting warm welcomes and guidance in ordering, though some visits describe occasional lapses or a dining room that can become very noisy when busy. Desserts like creme brulee, profiteroles, baba au rhum and other classics are often highlighted as memorable finshers, while a few diners report dishes that were only good rather than outstanding or prices that feel high for the value. Taken together, the sentiment is that L'Express offers authentic French comfort with a nostalgic vibe, solid quality, and a reliable, if sometimes imperfect, experience that keeps guests returning and reservations advised.
Awesome dining experience here. My friend & I both got the steak frites, which were delicious. The steak was cooked perfectly & topped with a great herb butter while the fries were hot & crisp. My friend got a salad that tasted fresh & was a good opener. We also split some of their profiteroles for dessert, & those were extremely tasty. Would recommend.
Came here for dinner on a Tuesday night. Really great experience. Delicious food, great wine list, lovely service, great ambience. We ordered the goat cheese pastry, the shrimp & chorizo risotto, & steak frites. Very rich tasting food, but lovely & complex flavors. I would recommend getting the hangar steak medium as the medium rare was a bit too lacking form for me. All exceptional!
Apr 24, 2024
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This is a spectacular French restaurant. My friend & I took a day trip to Montreal & found this place on google. We walked in without a reservation & the maître d' was kind enough to seat us as long as we'd be finished by his next reservation. The service was excellent. Since we had to drive back to The States after our visit, the waitress recommended a half bottle of Chardonnay, which was very good. We shared the arancini & bone marrow to start. For our entrees, I had the hanger steak with mashed potatoes & my friend had the duck confit. All of the was delicious & perfectly cooked. The ambiance here is excellent as well. I'd highly recommend coming here if you're going to be in Montreal.
The steak frites was perfect & the dessert a fever dream: the eye-catching île flottante is so satisfying to break open & probably best shared between at least three people...
Delicious authentic French fare in its iconic locale on St-Denis, perfect for a date night. Make sure to reserve because they get booked solid! Love the giant jar of pickles that you get with your bread & butter at the beginning of the meal. The fries were crispy & served with mustard-mayo. The steak was cooked perfectly, with a generous pat of herby butter. The beef tartare was chopped a bit finer than I am used to, but so flavourful. Definitely recommend this dish! The île flottante was splendid to look at but a bit too sweet for my taste but still something worth ordering!
Beautiful decor that has an old soul vibe. The service was very good. You are served warm baguette with butter as well as their homemade (sour) pickles & dijon mustard. That mustard is potent & delicious! Just a dab & it'll clear your stuffy nostrils. We had the duck confit leg, which was very nicely cooked & the steak/frites.
Feb 27, 2024
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We go every time we're in Montreal. We love the bone marrow & the steak frittes. The atmosphere is bustling & energetic & the staff are en pointe. We live 500 miles away, but we will be back! Again.
The food here is good...not great, good. Best things were the appetizers of Japanese coleslaw & beet salad. Steak frites was forgettable sadly. The service & ambiance was nice & we were well taken care of.
I got the beef tartare & the steak with shallot butter & fries. The beef tartare was okay, not unique or better than anything I've had before. The steak quality was not the best, but the fries were light & crispy & the shallot butter was herby & savoury - so good. The restaurant vibe is like old diner style, which I thought was cute but I didn't love it. Service was great, no complaints.
Delicious food, reasonable prices & fun atmosphere. My steak tasted great & was cooked perfectly. The octopus was very tender & paired nicely with the red pepper sauce. Service was quick however sometimes too quick that it became less efficient: our appetizers arrived but we didn't have any plates or utensils then our dirty utensils were taken away but was not replaced for our mains. They were clearly understaffed & were running around all night. My partner & I enjoyed our night regardless & would still come back to try other dishes. Waiter also made an excellent wine recommendation that easily became one of my favourites!
Dec 20, 2023
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We walked-in on lunch time didn’t have a link up, the restaurant was very pretty, knowledgeable staff. I was very excited to try their steak frites, the steak was amazing with the butter it was just soo good but the frites was a 3/10 it doesn’t feel like fresh that was a big down for me.
