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.
We booked a last minute reservation, & were very glad we did. There was lovely live music in the next room. The atmosphere was festive, with nice moody lighting, a gorgeous old building & great bistro-type decor. There are hundreds of wine choices & the server was knowledgable about all the wines we asked about. I had the risotto, & my husband had an off-menu steak. We had tuna tartare as an appetizer. We were so impressed with the service (see the photo of him posing) & the food, & with the beautiful ambiance. Highly recommended!
Great place for French food & live music. The rack of lamb was some of the best I've had at a restaurant & our server was very helpful on helping us pick out our wine, appetizer & desserts. Will be back!
Found this amazing french wine bar & restaurant with live music! Great wine selection & french food! Booking on weekend is recommended! Friendly staff.
Had an amazing meal with a fantastic bottle of wine while Jazz music played live in the background. I took my fiancé here for a birthday dinner & it did not disappoint. The crème brûlée was the cherry on top. Highly recommend!
We had an amazing meal at Modavie. Our server, George, gave us great suggestions from the wine to main dishes to desserts. Everything was on point. He was very attentive & friendly. Go for the lamb chops. They are to die for! My son has the mussels & my husband had the duck- both superb. In addition, there's live music which gives the experience a nice touch. We wanted to have a great French meal & Modavie did not disappoint. ❤️❤️❤️
We came on Saturday after 5pm mass at the Basilica & shockingly were able to get seated without a reservation. Good wine list & cocktails. I had the filet mignon. All the food was delicious, service was good & my 1 year old was dancing to the live jazz music! Great experience!
May 26, 2024
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Amazing food, service & ambiance. We had the snails followed by the lamb chops & mushroom risotto. Everything was delicious. Creme brûlée for dessert was also amazing. Cocktails were great, mirage was delicious - only critique would be that they could offer more wines by the glass. But the ones offered were enough to pair with the meal.
I would return again & again purely to see Lorenzo & have the experience with him! He is truly wonderful! The young lady with the gold glasses was delightful (sorry I don't know her name). Music, ambiance, wine choice & food, all delicious! We were recommended by friends in Toronto as British visitors, it didn't disappoint. Thank you so much 🍸
We traveled to Montreal for the 2024 total eclipse & afterward headed to dine at Modavie . Upon arrival, we were surprised to learn that our dining time was limited to 2 hours-a unexpected limitation. Our server, Stephan, was outstanding, entertaining us with jokes & offering great recommendations. While the wine & some of the dishes were enjoyable, the Nicoise salad was disappointing-overly oily & lacking expected flavors like anchovies or dejon mustard. Also, the Lamb Cavatelli was well made but boring. Lastly, the Fondant au Chocolat was overly sweet & lacked complexity, tasting more like a store-bought brownie than a freshly made dessert crafted by a pastry chef. Overall, our experience was underwhelming, & we don't plan to return. The price for two was above average.
Beautiful food, staff & music throughout the night. Felt full, satisfied & relaxed after an evening of Jazz music fine Italian wine & gorgeous food. It is not cheap but it was a lovely treat & a fair price for the quality.
This was one of the best meals I've had in Montreal, hands down. We had booked another place but decided to cancel last minute & came across Modavie & was intrigued by the menu. We were able to book a table for 5:30pm & so glad we did. We were one of the first tables in & our server, Jessica was absolutely amazing. She was attentive, recommended dishes that she vouched for (ex sweetbread) & a wine (Cotes du Rhone, Le Caillou Rouge) that paired well with our meal. We had never had sweetbread before, & trust me it's not what you think. It's a part of the lamb & if not cooked well, can taste gamey. But Modavie is known for their lamb dishes & the sweetbread was fabulous. We also ordered the lamb chops & it was cooked to perfection. It wasn't over-seasoned, had amazing grill flavour & was so tender. & of course, not gamey at all. We also tried their risotto, French onion soup, & escargots. Oh & the basket of bread. Wow. It was so fresh, so hot that I couldn't stop eating it. The only reason I didn't give'Atmosphere' a 5-star is because we did feel a bit squished in the corner, but understand that most places are like this. This was definitely a meal to remember & Modavie is now on my list of must go-to when in Montreal.
Me & my boyfriend came here with high expectations considering this place is on the'top rated' lists of restaurants in Montreal. Very overrated place. Surprisingly the food was really disappointing, for the price paid we expected a lot more flavour but we could've made better at home. Only 2-3 choices of wine by the glass or excessive prices for bottles. I've eaten at many other places for 20-30$ per person & got better food. Save your money. Only thing that was good was the service & live jazz.
Mar 3, 2024
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The vibes here were amazing, super elegant yet homey & cozy. Everyday they have an accompaniment for music & the day we went had jazz playing while we were eating. The apps (escargot & soup) were 🤌- both were not your standard snails or french onion soup. The soup had an extremely rich flavour shine through that came from the deep caramelization of the onions. The accompanying garlic butter & cheese that was paired with the escargot was salty which was good. Onto the mains, the table favourite was the duck confit. The duck was so tender & when paired with the sweetness of the walnuts & the acid from the pickled cabbage, it made a wonderful bite. The lamb chops were great as well, the meat was cooked to our liking. We do wish there was a sauce to accompany the lamb, perhaps a sweet red wine sauce to cut through the saltiness of the veggies & enhance the lamb taste. As an aside, the potatoes were delicious LOL. The lamb pasta was amazing as well, flavour-wise. We wish there would have been more lamb in the pasta as the portion of meat felt lacklustre. The pasta was perfectly cooked & held onto the sauce very well. Lastly, the drinks were delicious- perfectly balanced between sweet & tangy. The service here was phenomenal, they consistently checked up on us & made sure we were well taken care of. Overall, the restaurant was a great experience in MTL, a good place to go to if you're in the area & are looking for a more expensive dinner.
Food was great. Had the lamb chops & was delicious. Waiter was great at wine pairing & helpful about allergies. Food & drinks came quick even though it was busy. Jazx blues music was good but a bit loud. Heat was cranked up in our area & it was too hot. Washrooms had 2 stalls & were very small & in basement. Not accessible.
Everything was really good! Tasty food (we ordered onion soup, escargot, mussels & duck, wine, additionally they brought hot delicious bread with butter). Really nice service & amazing atmosphere with jazz music.
We were recommended to go here by our hotel because we wanted to listen to live music. We were far from disappointed. We came for brunch & Lorenzo made us feel at home the moment we arrived & the music really set the tone. To top it off the food is delicious & we couldn't wait to come back to try dinner. We came back again that evening & we were served by George who created a seamless experience for us & our two young kids. We appreciated his wine suggestions & once again the food was so delicious. This restaurant really was the highlight of our trip, if you're looking for a cool vibe with live music, delicious food & great staff this is your place ! Nicole
Be prepared to spend for sure. It was a very expensive dinner. Portions are huge. Went on a Tuesday night. The live jazz was good & the restaurant was packed. Food is pricy but good. Poutine & Mussels were excellent. Wine was alright, not the best.
