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.
Everything was great overall-the food & atmosphere were enjoyable. I visited last week during the long weekend, but the service could have been better. I had to wait over 20 minutes after ordering to get my food. It might just be due to the busy time, but they could definitely use more staff.
Sep 4, 2025
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One of the best dining experiences in Montreal! The mussels with fries were absolutely delicious, & the lamb cavatelli was just as amazing. Every dish felt fresh & full of flavor. What truly made the night memorable, though, was our waiter Radouan, hands down one of the best waiters we've ever had. He struck the perfect balance between friendly & professional, making us feel right at home while keeping the experience special. Incredible food, amazing atmosphere, & service that goes above & beyond. Can't wait to come back!
Quel service exceptionnel, tout en sourires, offert par Buddy ! C'est sincèrement l'un des meilleurs repas que j'ai eu l'occasion de déguster à Montréal. La viande était parfaitement cuite, accompagnée d'une mayonnaise truffée pour les frites & d'un foie gras Rossini cuit à la perfection, que dire de plus ? Cette soirée a été sublimée par de la musique jazz live. Ma famille & moi avons été incroyablement surpris & heureux de célébrer mon anniversaire dans ce restaurant chaleureux & élégant !
Incredible restaurant that we went to twice on our 5 day trip. Food is delicious - rack of lamb, lamb chops & lamb cavetelli all excellent. I'd recommend the cavetelli - lamb,pasta & sauce were excellent but everything was delicious. Live music was great. Family friendly restaurant & the hospitality & generosity of the waiters made it feel like home. They washed my 2 year old daughter's plate we brought at the end. Very kind gesture that we've never experienced anywhere else. Thank you hope to come again soon.
What a great place! We had the duck with pasta, escargot & lamb poutine. We listened to jazz & also had some nice cocktails. Really appreciated the great service from our waiter George. He was helpful & friendly.
Delicious food & good vibe. We booked early for dinner at 5pm, 2 hour sitting time, recommended reservations, especially if you want to come around 7pm to experience Jazz live music. Their onions soup is a must try, they are also popular for lamb chops, my partner said it's is really good. Will definitely come back
I recently dined at Modavie & have mixed feelings about the experience. I was very excited based on the other reviews I had read. The food was great, & the restaurant itself has a beautiful atmosphere. However, the service left much to be desired. Our server made us feel a bit unwelcome, & the pace of service was very slow. Maybe it was because it might have been busy but it took quite a while before our order was taken, & even longer to receive the bill at the end. Unfortunately, this meant we stayed much longer than we had intended. If the server was more welcoming, we wouldn't have thought too much about the slow service.
Overall, the food & ambiance were wonderful, but the service really detracted from the experience.
Aug 26, 2025
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We went to Modavie on the weekend & had a great experience start to finish. We had an early reservation for our wedding anniversary that we unfortunately had to cancel. However, the hostess on the phone let us know that a walk in might be available. We tried that around 7pm & the hostess was kind & accommodating. We sat on the patio where we could hear the live music but it was not too loud. Service was fantastic & so was our server, Tyler. He was warm, attentive, & friendly. He brought us out a dessert to celebrate our anniversary, even though I was only able to write that it was our anniversary on the first reservation I did- so they must have remembered from that. Also the lamb burger was amazing. Would recommend to anyone visiting the city.
We came for the early special, 3 courses for 42$ 1130am to 4pm. I HIGHLY recommend. The decor was very fun & inviting, tin ceilings & old posters. The staff were helpful & friendly. We started with warm bread, it was delicious. First course was a turnip soup of the day. Then the main for kids menu was a macaroni cheese pasta. It was so good we kept stealing bites from the kids. Our main was the short rib, came with a beet mash puree, vegetables & a delicious sauce. The ribs were succulent, tender, & still held a crust. 10/10. For dessert we had creme Brule & cheesecake. Go for the cheese cake, it had texture, & flavor. The creme Brule was standard good. Will come again, highly recommend.
They serve some classic French dishes, but why do I get the feeling the cooks don't know how to cook. For one the lamb rack is overcooked & soggy, demi glace & steak sauce's overly starchy.
Aug 26, 2025
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We really enjoyed a late lunch at this restaurant. The calming atmosphere was just what a tired tourist needs. The food was wonderfully fresh & delicious-we had the best Caesar salad we've ever tasted. Even the complimentary bread was warm, flavorful, & melted in our mouths. Both the fried calamari & the seafood linguine were bursting with flavor. Service was very friendly.
The service & food here is great. Would highly recommend booking in advance as they are busy almost always. Thank you to my waiter for proactively (without my prompting) checking on my French onion soup! This is also a must.
Appetizers were good. The main was ok, I was expecting much better for $100/head. They sat us on the 2nd floor near the toilets & we pretty much froze the whole night. The ac was on blast & pointed directly at us. It was very uncomfortable the whole night. Our waiter was very good but the food was very slow to come out.
We arrived in Montreal late & were looking for a late dinner without a reservation. Even on a weekday, most of the well-reviewed spots near Rue St.Paul were full, so we ended up here. About a 15-minute wait, & we were seated.
They were playing live jazz in the back dining area, but without a reservation we were placed in a quieter, more secluded space. Service was friendly & efficient, & we decided to skip a full meal for some hot appetizers & entrées.
The onion soup was a good start even during the summer months. Not quite the same satisfaction as in the dead of winter, but flavor-wise, it sat in the same tier as most great French onion soups I've had. If there was a difference, it was in the cheese (richer, not too rubbery, & nice aroma).
Calamari was calamari. Good as expected, but nothing to write home about. I had high hopes for the Normandy sweetbread, but it wasn't the kind I was looking for. The Calvados-&-apple combination doubled on sweetness, which unfortunately overshadowed the natural flavors of the sweetbread. The sauce itself was pleasant at first, but it was so dominant that it was hard to tell if I was picking up a piece of morel mushrooms or a sweetbread.
Thankfully, the two entrées we ordered were amazing. We got the mushroom risotto as a filler, but it turned out to be our second favorite dish. The truffle aroma & pine nuts worked together really well. The Lamb chop was highly recommended from our server, & since all the lamb I had in Montreal/Quebec were phenomenal, I decided to trust her. This was no exception. Sides were fairly basic, but even without a sauce, the meat was just so tender & flavorful.
