Modavie is a timeless place that brings us back to our roots, where ladies & gents gather and eat in a lively atmosphere caused by great conversation, live music and the wooden scents of a vintage room. Born in 1997, it quickly became popular among locals & visitors, and is now considered a Montreal institution.
Treat yourself to refined French fare in an antique & dimmed corner locale spawning two floors. From the classic beef tartare, to tasty sweetbread, to the famous ratatouille, your cravings will be easily satiated.
Modavie comes across as a warm, lively French bistro in Old Montreal with inviting lighting, timeless charm and nightly live jazz. Reviewers consistently highlight friendly, attentive service and a welcoming staff that makes celebrations feel special. The menu features crowd pleasers like duck confit, rack of lamb and lamb chops, escargots, onion soup and mussels with fries, with many dishes praised for bold flavors and generous portions. The atmosphere blends old world charm with modern warmth, and the two level space with live music creates a vibrant yet conversation friendly setting. While busy nights can bring a bit of hustle and occasional slower pacing, the overall experience is described as memorable and well worth returning for.
Great location in Old Montreal, & 4 of us visited the week of Happening Gourmand March/26. Great ambiance with or without the jazz music that started around 7 PM Priced competitively with a solid menu selection but we opted for the fix prix 2 course special & were not disappointed, & of course added dessert. Excellent drink list. Service with Rad was superb & when a server has been with the restaurant 29 years, that tells you something too. Definitely would visit again!
We had a great day at Modavie. We had reservations at night but we were in the area in the afternoon so we stopped in. We had never been here before. We had a fabulous time listening to the live jazz music in the other room, enjoying some specialty drinks, & light food sitting at the bar. The manager (possibly the owner) who greeted us was ao nice!! He chatted with us in both languages & he was so charming & paid lots of attention to my Mom. We came back at night to a lovely table on the 2nd floor where we thoroughly enjoyed more live jazz music from a different trio. The manager/owner & the serving staff were once again amazing & the food was delicious. We are from Ottawa & my 80 year old mother hadn't been to Old Montreal in over 20 years & wanted to visit. Thanks to the manager, a very nice gentleman, its a great experience she will never forget. On the way out, the manager went out of his way during a busy time for him, to catch up to my Mom as she was about to step into the street, to say thank you. Its the little things that matter the most & we will never forget this restaurant & we highly recommend it after two visits in the same day. Thank you for the memorable day!!
Mar 7, 2026
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Cool vibe. Band was great. Service was average. Food was overpriced for the quality (esp the rack of lamb) but I guess you're paying for the band. They also seated us at a table in what should've been a walkway so crowded, busy, w servers constantly going back & forth, bumping you/your table. May give it another shot but likely sit at the bar & have drinks & apps only.
Great place for a fun evening with friends! All food options were delicious! Duck pasta & mushroom risotto were big winners! Staff was fun, friendly, & did a great job with our specifics on food & drink orders. The music was certainly & added bonus enjoyed by all. I highly recommend this restaurant!
My husband & I don't always get the chance to have a date night, once or twice a year I would say. We almost aways go to Modavie as the atmosphere, food, drink & service always proves to be amazing. On January 17th, our expectations were surpassed & our evening was absolutely perfect.
We were seated in Isma's (apologies for mis spelling of her name). Right from the start she was attentive. I was unsure of which wine to choose, & she brought me 2 samples.
The food was beyond good, we had the risotto & the steak frites.
To end our night, we were even presented a glass of dessert wine on the house.
Our night was absolutely special & our next date night will definitely be back at Modavie in Isma's section! Thank you so much!
I didn't eat here. So when I'm saying That I'm reading this as a Four star. That's based off of my experience & the cocktail menu. So I can't speak to the food selection or anything like that.
That being said we came here with the hopes of watching live jazz. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that that ended at 10 PM. So we were a little bummed that we had just missed it. We decided to sit at the bar to have a cocktail anyhow.
I forget the name of the one I ordered, but it was a tequila-based drink with coconut milk. It was really nice but a little bit on the sweet side for me. I didn't end up finishing it. Which is a shame because these drinks are definitely very expensive.
My coworkers each had an old-fashioned & they said that there's were quite lovely. Also, expensive however.
The bar area was nice good vibe in there. The bartender didn't seem to want to converse with us so he was a little bit grumpy. It seemed when I go back? Yes as long as there was live jazz happening. No if there was no jazz.
Walked in with no reservation & was immediately sat! The restaurant itself beautiful, very cozy & it was the perfect place to people watch. My drink was delicious, as were the scallops & filet mignon. Everything was cooked to perfection. My waiter was also extremely attentive, he provided the BEST service. I will definitely be returning my next visit to this gorgeous city!
Tasty cocktails, great entertainment, great service from our primary server. Food server was challenged by our two person table size to position our dishes, my side sauce was overly seasoned (for my taste) - Caesar salad was tasty & well dessed, but romaine was in larger, awkward pieces that you had to cut with a knife, rolls were pleasantly warm & crusty. Although you are told up front when you reserve you have two hours at your table, this puzzled me, as our intent was to enjoy dinner & the entertainment to mark a special ocasion. You pay hundreds for dinner, then are told to wrap it up when the entertainment starts. Feels rather unsophisticated. Perhaps there is a more palatable solution, such as a mandatory drink order each hour per person once the entertainment begins (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), otherwise an entertainment cover charge added to your bill... That said, our hostess offered us an extra half hour beyond the two hour window, as we were celebrating a special occasion. Great location in the Old Port. Primary server kindly added some sparkle to our occasion, a nice touch. Overall, a fun evening, tasty food & drink, & an enjoyable musician.
Aug 12, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Came in at 8:30 with reservation & were promptly seated by 8:35. However, only received bread at 9:30 along with our drinks. 2 main course & starter took another 40 minutes.
Dinner for 2 took 2 whole hours…food was average at best. Honestly I think we would have given food more credit if not for the long wait time after being seated. It really killed our appetite.
Came in to celebrate my 30th birthday..joke's on me! Would not recommend.
Great location, the food was mostly good - we had calamari, charcuterie & cheese board & the beef tartare (don't get the beef tartare it isn't going to be what you want it to be).
I had a nice glass of red wine & my husband had a beer which he had to ask for a couple times before it showed up. We liked the atmosphere & planned to stay but nobody ever came back to check on us or see if we wanted another drink - what a shame! We had to hunt our server down for the bill & then we left. & no, it wasn't busy at the time.
my friend & I went here for lunch today & had such a great welcoming experience, the service was great especially our new friend Lorenzo. Such a kind funny soul he made us feel so comfortable & made us laugh the whole time. Food was amazing we had the filet mignon & the pesto gnocci, drinks were also very tasty. We thank Lorenzo for our positive moment of the day, might even come back tomorrow!! From Sophie & Olivia
Mar 10, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Nice atmosphere, included live music. The drinks were delicious. The bone marrow was unimpressive. The French onion soup was terrific!!! Mushroom risotto has WAY to much cheese sauce compared to the rice. The rice was swimming in the cheese sauce. I would try again.
I really chose this place because they offered live music which didn't disappoint. You really enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant. The food was delicious. We had the escargot since we wanted to have a French Canadian food experience. The truffle fries were delicious. I also had the rack of lamb, which was good. The drinks were also really good, but we are too full to have dessert which I guess I'll have to come back for at some point when I'm in Montreal again. The staff were absolutely lovely & it was just an overall great evening.
We went there on saturday evening. There was a live band which was cool & good music. However the service could be better. You shouldn't have to ask the waitress for water. Its looks like I had to beg for water & she didn't ask if food was ok. I didn't feel a warmth in her service. The type of vibe "I have to do my job & serve them".
I've ordered linguine seafood. Quality was good & tasty but it was overly small & very pricey,
as well as for the drinks I thought it would be a bigger plate for the price. They didn't serve any bread which is a minus.
So if you are really hungry & you're not ready to spend hundreds of dollars don't come here.
