Reviews portray Monarque as a refined Montreal dining destination that blends a chic brasserie vibe with a formal dining room, offering an elegant yet lively atmosphere. The cuisine is repeatedly described as superb, with standout dishes including bone marrow with escargots, bouillabaisse, tartare, duck, veal cheeks, and a highly praised seafood selection, though a few items are noted as overly salty or uneven in texture. The presentation is praised, ingredients are described as high quality and carefully balanced, and the open kitchen and kitchen-facing tables are frequently highlighted as special touches. Service is described as professional, attentive, and knowledgeable, with many guests feeling well taken care of, while some reviews mention variability in service levels, language gaps, or occasional delays. The wine list is extensive and a strength, though prices can be high. Ambiance is consistently described as beautiful, classic, and Montreal style, with some comments that the space can be loud or the temperature a bit cool, and a few complaints about dessert quality or portion sizes. Reservations are recommended given popularity and the two-menu structure, and many leave eager to return for another memorable meal. Overall, Monarque is viewed as one of Montreal's top dining experiences for technique, presentation, and hospitality, albeit with occasional inconsistencies in service and value.
We had an amazing night dinning here. There was a great selection of creative dishes but they also have classic ones which tasted fantastic as well. I especially liked the aged steak, it had great texture & great flavours. The balance between fat & meat was great, the mix of chewiness & softness was great as well & the pepper sauce that came with the steak complemented it quite nicely. The duck was pretty delicious too! The crispy skin paired so well with the tender meat & the flavours were nice as well. The service on the other hand varies quite a lot. We had a warm welcome initially from the waitresses & then some waiters were quite clumsy & rough which made it a bit less enjoyable. The contrast was too big not too notice. The atmosphere itself was great. There were so many customers that were enjoying the food, the vibe was just great. I do feel like the tables are a bit small making it feel a bit cramped but it was still quite nice.
Last night on Valentine's day was my first experience in Monarque restaurant.
The restaurant has a very nice atmosphere.
Our waitress was so nice & helpful.
We asked for a Medium cook for our steak; however, it was not cooked well (to my taste at least). I found the crust of our steak especially on the sides to be burnt. I've had better quality of steak with more reasonable prices in many other restaurants.
I mentioned this to the manager & she had a nice behaviour towards my comment which I truly appreciated.
Overall, I found the restaurant to be a nice spot with nice staff, but it wasn't worth the price at least to me ($520 for two!!).
Feb 15, 2026
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A beautiful brasserie with a refined, classic atmosphere. The space is elegant & very Montréal. Polished & quietly upscale.
I ordered a mocktail as I wasn't feeling well; service was discreet & reserved, very much in a European style. We shared the octopus, which was tender & well prepared. The steak frites were good & properly executed, satisfying, though not extraordinary.
Overall, a pleasant experience in a lovely setting. Worth visiting for the ambiance & solid brasserie fare.
We came here on the 3rd of day 8 of our trip from Vancouver to Montreal. Our server was Laura.
We ordered the:
Appy: fois gras parfait
Main: braised veal cheeks, steak frites (hangar)
Sweets: apple tartatin.
Fois gras parfait: this was absolutely divine. We've had this at numerous places in Vancouver & NYC. This was hands down the absolute best. Flavour was superb. Temperature was on point. Bread was toasted while not being crunchy. Pickled veg did not overpower. It was perfection.
Braised veal cheeks - perfectly braised, not grainy/dry cardboard that sometimes happens or overly braised melting into a mess in your mouth with no texture. Perfect mouthfeel. Celeriac gave a nice contrast to the richness of the meat compared to mashed potatoes. Sauce was amazingly decadent.
Steak frites: hangar steak was juicy, tender, & very beefy. Fries were perfectly crispy & seasoned! I cant say for certain but it tastes like they were brined before frying? Either way, the outside was not covered in salt but the entire fry was flavourful. Mayo - delicious. Got to 1/3 of the steak & realized it was a bit under temp. Laura agreed before I could finish my sentence. (More on Laura below). Laura came back after with the steak that was replated with new fries & mayo & an added bernaise sauce.
Tart: simple & delicious. While the bottom of the tart isnt crispy, I didnt find it detracted from the overall as the sides were crispy.
Laura: she is an amazing server. She didnt hover, but was always aware. She kept an eye on our drinks level out of her periphery, she immediately glanced at my steak after my first slice with the knife, she choreographed the next items masterfully. She managed the section like a true pro with customers feeling like she was always within reach, while not feeling hovered over. She struck that beautiful balance with ease.
In all of our dining experiences, this was the best - & Laura played no small part in that!
We came here for my wife's birthday. It's a nice place. Love the atmosphere. The open kitchen. The less formal vibes. It's really nice. However, it's also a pretty expensive place. Our bill was almost $300 before tip. & when we eat at places like that our expectations are high. & in this case Monarque didn't live up to our expectations.
They brought out bread & butter before the meal. Which was nice. But both the bread & the butter were cold. Would have expected warm bread & soft butter at a place like this.
I ordered the venison steak which was on their special menu for the day. Server recommended it medium rare so that's what I took. It came out blue. It was delicious & I ate it happily. I told the waiter'I trust the kitchen. I just want to make sure that this is how they meant to send it out.' & he confirmed. But again, when you pay $300 for dinner you expect the kitchen to cook your steak the way you ordered it.
Portions are small.
Drinks were good. Service was good. Vibes were good. But not worth the price. Probably won't be back.
Heard such good thing about this resto so booked a table at the brasserie. We ordered the bone marrow, ravioli, steak & the special of the day which was lamb shoulder. All dishes were well seasoned & delicious. Honestly for the quality & portion, I think the price is VERY reasonable especially for a restaurant in the old port. I really enjoyed the richness of the bone marrow & the steak was perfectly cooked & seasoned. Dare I say better than Gibbys. The fries were also perfectly crispy & seasoned. The lamb shoulder was also fabulous!! Would recommend the steak & bone marrow. Service was also very accommodating. Will come back again for a night out with friends or for a date.
My wife & I had an amazing dinner at Monarque while in town for a long weekend. We started with the steak tartare (pictured). I had the duck confit, which I loved. She had the veal cheeks & said it goes into her dining hall of fame. It was that good. Service was friendly with the right balance between tending to us while giving us space to enjoy our food & conversation. Oh & the dessert: we had the apple cider donuts. That might sound funny at a place like this. But wow! What a way to end a fantastic dining experience.
We stayed in Old Montreal, & it was walkable from our hotel, which was a plus.
Nov 1, 2025
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J'y suis allée trop de fois pour compter. J'ai essayé pas mal de restos haut de gamme & aucun ne compare à Monarque pour l'instant. Je crois que Monarque est même bien mieux que certains restaurants Michelin. L'atmostphère & le service sont impeccables.
Mes recommendations:
- Les cocktails & le cocktail hot yoga
- L'os à moelle
- Le tartare de boeuf
- Le burger (heure du lunch)
- Les gnocchis
- Le dry-aged steak, sauce béarnaise
- Le plateau de fromages
- Le Paris Brest
Merci à toute l'équipe pour le service incroyable qui m'a permis d'avoir des rencontres professionnelles tout comme des dîners en famille autour de repas déliceux! 5 ⭐?
The lunch menu was delicious. Had steak, salad, pork, coffee & tea. The open kitchen was meticulous each meal that came out was uniform precisely cooked & delicious. With staff was incredibly professional. decor was lovely.
Was very crowded yesterday, still, like always, the service is smooth, even with a lot of patrons we were able to make a full meal (drinks, appetizers, entrees & dessert) a little under 2h
For drinks we got a beer & a mocktail
The Not Into Yoga mocktail was just too good, peppery, with a very creamy coconut milk
The white beer we got was very good for 9$, bitter just enough
For appetizers we decided to try the tuna tartare on special that was amazing, & some nordic shrimps with succin which were very tasteful
We continued with the half lobster, served with salad, fried cauliflower, an extra order of fries & the butcher's cut which was flank steak served with fries. Everything was good, except that the meat had little bits of tendons inside which made it a little bit chewy
Finally the dessert was the pavlova with raspberries which we shared. It was really good, raspberries were just acid enough to counter the sugar from the meringue & whipped cream
Our experience started started strange & unpleasant: we came in just in time for our reservation & had to wait for almost 10 minutes for the hostess. She was on a phone the whole time, actually being quite rude to the phone guest, figuring out the reservation 2 months from now - while we just stood in front of her. When she finally decided to put her call on hold she didn't even apologize or acknowledge our long useless wait. Alright…
Then we waited for drinks for 30 minutes - our first app was served before our cocktails. Just because they didn't see them on the bar - they stood there melting for 20 minutes. Barely an apology here as well.
Food, however, compensated for this - great steak tartare, lovely octopus & desserts were amazing.
I really liked the food & the atmosphere of the restaurant, so I hope the service mishaps were a one time thing but it was still unacceptable for a restaurant of this level.
Overall we had an okay experience there. The fois gras parfait was good. We didn't feel it was heavy. Bone marrow & Burgundy snails were greasy. The bouillabaisse was tasty. The scallop was quite tender. We asked for a medium cooked beef rib eye steak & expected it to be tender. It turned out to be tougher than we expected. Also, 10.5oz was huge lol
The drinks we ordered were fine. I liked the pistache. My first time having a cocktail 🍸 with pistachio flavor. Quite interesting. Loved the cute butterfly 🦋 on the ice cube 🧊.
Love this spot - sitting at the bar is a vibe. Wine selection is vast & great, service great, & the food pretty darn good! I had the butchers cut steak & the fries that came with it were likely the best fries I've ever had.
Jun 26, 2025
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I had a wonderful birthday dinner at Monarque. The steak tartare may be the best I've had, & the bone marrow was very unique & flavorful. The jus for the duck was a bit on the salty side, but pretty much everything was wonderful. The servers also gave me some little desserts & a candle!
Beautiful atmosphere, very hard to talk over the music unless you are almost yelling. The restaurant was very clean & beautifully decorated. Restrooms were very clean & they give you actual towels to dry your hands. I did not particularly enjoy the ricotta ravioli I had nor the potatoes, but my husband enjoyed his pork steak. If you are looking for a nice fine dining place this is still a good option
Were able to snag a table without a reservation on a Friday night. Glad we did. The food was terrific (Rabbit & Spätzle & Steak & Frites) & the cocktails delivered!
We went to Monarque on recommendation from a bartender at another Montreal restaurant. It's a gorgeous twinkling restaurant with delicious everything. Lots of typical French stuff on menu. If you're a fan of simply dressed excellent lettuces, the green herb salad excels. Super bouillabaisse & steak frites. Best martini I've ever had (went with bartenders rec for locally produced gin from a Quebecois microdistillery - wow). Special. Absolutely recommend.
This restaurant offers an upscale, modern dining experience with two distinct areas: a formal dining room & a more casual bar area. Upon arrival, the host staff took our jackets, which was a nice touch. We chose to sit in the bar area since we were dressed more business casual, black pants, a black top, & a silver belt for me, & dark jeans with a blue button-up for my partner, paired with boots due to the snowy & icy weather. Unfortunately, our server was bit annoyed with us, because we weren't dressed as formally as others (he actually commented on it) . It was disappointing to feel treated differently compared to the table next to us, but we tried not to let that dampen the experience. The food was exceptional. The steak was perfectly cut & cooked to our liking-easily the best we've had in Montréal. The bass was flavorful & deliciously prepared, & the mushroom risotto melted in my mouth (my partner opted for fries which he said were crispy & delcious). We started with a cheese plate as an appetizer, which was also a fantastic choice. For dessert, we had the pear buckwheat cobbler with ice cream, which was amazing. I didn't think I'd have room for dessert, but I'm so glad I made it happen! I also ordered the Lady Marmalade cocktail, which was refreshing . Despite the service hiccup, the food & atmosphere made it a memorable evening. I'd return for the incredible food but would dress more formally next time.
