Oncle Lee is widely praised for inventive modern twists on Asian flavors, with standout dishes like duck with condiments, mushrooms, scallops with XO sauce, spicy salmon, and sesame noodles. The menu favors sharing and portions are often described as generous, though some reviews note that prices can feel high for the portion size and that a few sauces are too salty or spicy. The service is frequently described as attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly, and the ambiance ranges from cozy bar vibes to a vibrant terrace and a chic dining room. The terrace and overall atmosphere are highlighted as perfect for social evenings, while busy nights can bring noise and slower bar service. Desserts such as French toast and certain rice cakes receive high marks, and drinks and cocktails are commonly praised as strong. Some experiences mention occasional uneven balance or pacing, but the overall consensus is that Oncle Lee delivers high quality cooking, engaging presentation, and a memorable dining experience that many would return for.
Had such a great experience at Oncle Lee! The food was absolutely delicious - the ribs were incredible & the spicy sesame noodles were easily one of my favorite dishes of the night. Everything we tried was full of flavor & clearly made with care.
The drinks were also fantastic, & the staff made the whole experience even better. Everyone was super friendly, attentive, & welcoming, which made the night feel relaxed & enjoyable.
I'd definitely recommend Oncle Lee for a dinner with friends or a date night. The atmosphere is lively & it seems to get busy - which makes sense because everything was perfect - so I recommend reserving in advance.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is beautiful.
We tried a variety of dishes from the menu & the ones that stood out were the salmon bites (appetizer) (8.5/10) & the miso mushrooms (9/10). We also tried the chow mein (6.5/10), the ribs with sweet sour sauce (7.5/10), the garlic fried vegetables (8/10) & the sesame spicy noodles (7/10).
The food was good & the price is reasonable (we were a group of four & shared everything). I did find that the food was too salty for my liking which hindered the flavors. I would highly recommend getting vegetables as it brings freshness & cuts the salt from other dishes. Note that the salmon bites are small, however I still recommend trying them out.
The service was great! I overall had high expectations for this restaurant & maybe should have picked dishes that were more varied to not get bored of the bold flavours.
Mar 7, 2026
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Ordered the hot pot, spicy noodles & mushrooms. Very disappointed to receive a plate of soba noodles & mushrooms drowning in a sauce flavoured with burnt garlic. All the dishes created a meal of indistinguishable flavours. I like trying new places & this was a birthday dinner letdown.
I have had my own Chinese restaurant for almost 12 years. I heard about this new Chinese restaurant for some time. Look at our names, Aunt Dai & Uncle Lee!
The birthday of one of my best friends is coming up. I invited her & her husband to try this famous restaurant. I checked the reviews before I made the reservation. I totally understand some customers had a high expectation about the flavour given the price tag for the dishes. With my own restaurant having much lower prices & bigger portions I feel I am a tiny little bit responsible for people expecting higher taste/dollar values. So I am thinking about either doubling the prices for all dishes in my own restaurant or giving this beautiful restaurant a visit myself. Three of us ordered the duck plate (ordered additional crepes for ONLY 3 dollars, I should have asked 10 orders of those additional crepes without ordering the duck at all if I want to save money), spicy noodles, tomato salad, salmon dish, two cocktails named'faire ca pour toi' & tea. The three of us are all from mainland China & we all think the food is very tasty. Me, looking from the angle of a Chinese restaurant owner I think their team is very dedicated to Chinese cooking & they are very into the details. I think it's a great contribution to Chinese food in Montreal. Very impressive! They deserve a lot of credit for doing what they are doing.
After this visit, I would assume Uncle Lee & Aunt Dai would follow each other on Tinder!
It is very interesting to see their creative takes on traditional dishes. However, I feel like because we know what the traditional way of preparing the food tastes like, the food here was a bit less appealing to us. The food itself was good & flavourful but I feel like the combination of flavours are not as good. The sauces were not complementing the duck as well as it could be & the tender meat did not create that variation in texture compared to the crispy skin of the duck in the traditional way of preparing this dish. The cucumber was also not properly marinated which was definitely less appetizing than the sweet & sour eggplant that had a great flavour profile. On the other hand, I really enjoyed their French toast dessert with red bean paste & ice cream. The sweetness was just right & the different flavours complemented each other so well. The service here was friendly but since they were so busy, I feel like they were a bit slow most of the time. It took them quite a while before bringing us our water & our drinks as well. The restaurant was packed with customers which made the place so lively & enjoyable but our tables were so small that the waiter couldn't put all the food we had ordered on the table. The food itself is priced a bit expensive. While the portions are decent, the side dishes are around 12$ a plate & the duck is 55$. Even though they are quite filling, I feel like some other restaurants do offer better tasting cucumber salads for half the price.
I recently visited Oncle Lee in Montreal, & it was a wonderful dining experience. The duck with condiments was beautifully prepared & full of depth, while the sesame noodles were definitely the highlight of the meal - rich, fragrant, & perfectly balanced.
Personally, I prefer food that's a little more spicy, but even so, the flavours never disappointed. Every dish had its own character, & the overall quality was consistent. A spot I'd happily return to for authentic & well-executed dishes.
We had a wonderful evening at Uncle Lee, thanks to its exquisite food, warm atmosphere & attentive service. We were a group of four, which was a perfect number for sharing dishes & conversation. Everything was delicious, but the three dishes that blew my mind were the'Mushrooms with Miso Beurre Blanc', the'Scallops with XO Sauce', & the'Dou Ban Jiang Beef Tartare'. Another fun choice for sharing in a small group is the'5 Spice Duck Platter', where you make your own wraps combining an assortment of flavourful ingredients. I've been looking forward to eating at Uncle Lee for some time now, & I'm happy that it lived up to all my expectations. This is high end cuisine, artfully crafted using a scrumptious blend of several Asian influences, presented in a relaxed & pleasant atmosphere. Highly recommended!
Mar 2, 2025
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I have been to Cadet a few times & very much enjoyed the food. When I heard of Oncle Lee, a Chinese joint with ties to the aforementioned restaurant & Bouillion Bulk, I couldn't resist. & folks, the experience did not disappoint. TLDR: Get a reservation! This place is excellent & I am a tough critic. Context: Four of us shared 8 plates & a few cocktails. Company was a former colleague & our +1s. Food: Well priced, perfect portion sizes. The menu is tight - every item has its role & there is something for everyone. Special callout for the spicy noodles, ribs & the eggplant dish. All the dishes were great, but those three really stood out. The portion sizes are important here because one could certainly over-indulge in some of these rich flavors. Dishes were portioned just right. Service: prompt, friendly, strong knowledge of the menu. Our server clearly knew his stuff. The menu is more complex than some, & he had no issue explaining ingredients, the specials, dishes or cocktails. Atmosphere: moody, busy but not overwhelming, music choice & volume was just right. A relatively small place; Oncle Lee has an atmospheric dining room which evolved over our dinner. The lights were turned down as the night went on & the mood definitely entices one to stay for one last round. The decor is subtle & suitable. There is a nice balance between recognizable Chinese aesthetics & trendy themes one expects in the Plateau area. Music volume was just right. Enough to maintain the atmosphere but never overbearing. All in all, excellent. Give Oncle Lee a try, it's unlikely to disappoint.
Great food & ambience. Really creative & yummy twists on chinese dishes. We had the sea bream, greens, cocktails & french toast. All very yummy. Left my wallet here & the staff were really kind & waited after closing for me to come get it back. Thank you so much!
Great place. Could be excellent with a bit more refinement. The food was excellent, service pretty good, atmosphere pretty good, mocktails very underwhelming. We had the soft shell crab bao buns, friend shrimp & calamari, 5 spice duck & the seafood chow mein. I would happily get any of those dishes again. I highly recommend the bao buns, 5 spice duck & chow mein. Really great quality food! The mocktails were expensive & I would have been just as happy with a water. It lacked flavour & dimension. I was so underwhelmed I didn't have more than a sip or two. The service was friendly but could have been more knowledgeable & attentive. Given my drink was 4/5 full the whole dinner, the waitress could have at least asked if I liked it let alone offer to spruce it up or change it. Overall I would happily go back but would stick to water, sake or wine to drink.
Sep 3, 2024
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Cool atmosphere for this modern Chinese restaurant. Went back in June as my friend wanted to try Oncle Lee for her birthday dinner. We made a reservation a few days before & indicated it was a birthday dinner. While the food was good, the portions were extremely small. For the small portions, I would consider this restaurant to be on the expensive side. It is a share style menu - we ordered 5 dishes to share between 3 people & had to grab a burger after. Service was nothing special. We were left waiting for our main dishes after the starters. After informing the server, I saw him enter it into the system, so I think he simply just forgot. The restaurant has a nice vibe with darker & moodier lightning. It is also very red inside, so unfortunately was not able to take nice photos of the food. Overall, was nice to try but was not memorable enough to entice me to come back.
This was such a great meal. Favorite dishes were the spicy noodles, ribs, & spicy salmon on rice cake. Service was a little slow but food was on point. It was nice to sit on the patio but the inside space had a great vibe too.
Solid spot, I'd recommend sticking to the small plates over the larger dishes & having a lot of variety. The eggplants & the scallops were the show stoppers.
Honestly one of my favourite dining experiences in the city. Everything was extremely tasty & perfectly prepared from start to finish. We had the deviled eggs, the shrimp & pork wonton soup, the eggplant side, the sea bream & the French toast for dessert. The sea bream & French toast were my two favourite dishes but everything was SO good. Plus, it's a really pleasant setting with nice lights & decor (hence why all the pics are bright red). Highly recommend, & will be back!!
May 23, 2024
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Went with a group of 6 for a birthday dinner, cannot say enough positive things! Beef tartare, sesame noodles & salmon rice cakes are just a few of many dishes we enjoyed, everything was fresh, innovative unique. Service was impeccable & friendly! Wish I was local so I could come back soon!
Overall, really good. Service, ambiance, food quality, etc. all A+. The only thing is that for some of the mains & veggie dishes, the quantity is ridiculously small compared to the price. Id come back but id order differently.
I visited Oncle Lee with a friend, grabbing a lucky last minute reservation (which are necessary at this PACKED restaurant). Service was quick, attentive but simple. Nothing bad to say about it. The food was very good. I expected much spicier dishes, & was surprised to find most dishes played on savoury/sweet/sour. But, it worked! The eggplant dish was a standout, & so was the yuzu sea bream. But: keep some stomach space for the pain perdu at the end of the meal, that was the standout. The atmosphere is relaxed, but quite noisy with tables close to each other given how busy the restaurant can get. Expect to have to talk louder than usual to hear your mates. Definitely a must eat in the area for a modern canadian twist on chinese fare.
Last minute reservation due to the power failure from the storm & glad that made us try Oncle Lee. Amazing modern take on Asian dishes, great cocktails & chill vibe. Great place to split dishes to try more things. Will definitely be back soon to try the other things on the menu that looked yummy!!
