Established in 2018, Cantine Emilia aims to change the way Portuguese dishes are served in Montreal. With a local "twist", they have made going beyond the trends a point of honor. Emilia offers an explosive menu where both adventurers and fans of the classics will be satisfied.
Overall, reviews for Restaurant Emilia show a mix of strong flavors and concerns about price and portion size, with many dishes praised for bold spice and depth, especially bowls with chorizo and spicy sauces, while some items feel overpriced for their size. The signature hot sauce is repeatedly highlighted for flavor and consistency, with several diners noting it as a reason to return or even drive from afar to stock up. There are occasional issues such as dry chicken, missing sauce or utensils, and a few service hiccups when the cashier system is down, but the atmosphere is described as lively and part of the experience. Taken together, the impressions point to a place worth revisiting to explore more on the menu, particularly for fans of spicy, flavorful bowls and sauces.
Fries are good & crispy, unseasoned though, could use a little salt. The piri piri sauce is very good & flavourful. The chicken is delicious but a bit dry. The chorico is huge & delicious. Overall good food that I would try again.
I tried their Chorizo bowl(rice + salad) with spicy sauce & it was delicious!! The rice was very flavourful
One of the best meals I had in Montreal. A must try if you're into bowls.
Disapointed. Ordered a chicken with spicy sauce & utensils. Got home. No sauce... no utensils. So i ate my dry chicken & cold fries & it was probably close to the worst portuguese chicken i ever had.
I'll give this place 5 stars just for the hot sauce. I drive from Vermont to stock up. Great hot sauce is all about flavor & consistency & this sauce has both!
Good first experience, nice food, Portugese beer available (with & without alcohol), had the chicken & chorizo rice bowl with good flavors & nice portion, however it had lots more chorizo & I would have preferred a balanced mix (or more chicken!). Would return, but in Le Central there are so many options that in the future I will explore other foods. Service was difficult due to their cashier system being down, had to pay cash or wait for a fix alongside other customers. Due to this issue, order was not relayed to the kitchen & after a 10-15 minute wait had to ask & then get it prepped, ended up eating after my partner. Le Central atmosphere is crowded, narrow paths, lots of elbow rubbing, but this is part of the experience & even if sometimes difficult to find a table, you go there for all of it. Will return!
Tried their chicken dish for lunch. It's in Le Central food court & could be crowded. Food was tasty & good volume. More on pricy side for fast food though.
We liked the setting & how many options were inside- very relaxed & everyone could get something they liked. We ordered the spicy chicken & shrimp with rice & salad. The food was great, with a good amount of spice. The girl working the counter was not the friendliest though & was off putting.
