Chez La M?re Michel

Absolutely amazing! The restaurant is over 50 years old and gives you a feeling of stepping into someone’s living room. In fact, the owner herself dines there every night! Coq au vin was pure perfection! The desserts were heavenly. The place is cozy, light are dim and the mood is very romantic. You won’t believe you are in Montréal!

Pricey, yes, but worth every penny!
I’m not the biggest fan of red meat but I seen someone getting their fancy steak plate and just had to have it! Nice, upscale atmosphere, very unique décor, supper was delicious, and desert was outstanding. Would definitely recommend, at least for special occasions!

Perfectly executed classic french cuisine.
Excellent upscale service.
Entering the restaurant was a strange experience.
Outside, it’s Guy-​Concordia with its diverse, mostly anglophone, student population, and its mostly Asian or Shawarma restaurants.
But as soon as you enter La mère Michel, everything screams France.
From the elegant waiters, to the music, to the menu with its classic french dishes.
I had the Foie Gras, then the tenderloin, and finally the «Soufflé au Grand Marnier».
Everything was just as good as you would expect it to be in a great restaurant in France.
The meat in particular, was very tasty and perfectly cooked. It had that «wow» factor on the first bite.
Strongly recommend.

The best classic French restaurant in Montréal. Classy waiters, amazingly authentic cuisine, warm and cozy ambiance, a perfect experience !

Everything that was placed on the table of Chez la Mère Michel was as close to perfect that I have seen. Even the bread and butter was unique and delicious. The diligent and experienced traditional French waiters (although there only seemed to be two) had extensive knowledge of the menu and served without missing a thing. You can even see them cleaning the wine glasses until there was not a single speck of anything other than glass. He portions of food are, as you’d expect, fairly small, but each plate was simply perfect. The lamb as well as the Atlantic salmon (catch of the day) were cooked perfectly. It is expensive of course, but expect to be greatly served great food.

I have to agree that this restaurant deserves it’s 5 star rating. While it must be said that not everyone can appreciate French cuisine, you should to fully enjoy this fantastic restaurant. Service was fantastic, very attentive, patient and sincerely authentic. For appetizers we had the foie gras as well as lobster and celery soup. Entrees were duck and lamb, both of which cooked perfectly. Dessert was an amazing soufflé.
Will definitely recommend and return again.

I have just returned from eating at Chez La Mere Michel.
We walked in and were directed (very politely) to our seat. The restaurant was very quiet (only 2 other tables) at 8. The atmosphere is very cozy, and very stereotypical of a French restaurant.
We were given menus, all full of things we wanted to eat. While we chose our food we were served the best bread we had eaten in a while. It vanished very quickly.
We started with rabbit terrine, and foie gras. Both were excellent, but if I had to chose one it would be the foie gras. It goes amazingly with the aforementioned bread, and comes with a lovely berry jam.
For main courses we chose the duck medallions, and the pheasant. Both were excellent. The pheasant came with mushrooms which were just the right texture, topped with cheese that managed to not quite overpower everything. The duck was pink in the middle but slightly crispy on the edges, and seasoned perfectly.
We decided that we did not need dessert, but the adjacent table had a soufflé which looked very appetising.
I think I found my go-​to restaurant.

As soon as you cross the threshold, you are greeted enthusiastically by the waiter. This tiny restaurant has a massive reputation, but you would never guess it. It’s tucked away in a tiny refurbished house on Guy. I think this contributes to the cozy ambiance; you really feel welcomed into a friend’s home, but of course your friend is an EPIC cook.
The atmosphere sucks you in, it’s lovely and intimate, the walls are decked with this legitimate 60’s drapery. Speaking of the 60’s, they impregnate every inch of the place, from the deco to your service: the waiter is almost over-​zealous, and will stop at nothing to please you, he will make kind chit-​chat and hustle from table to table, he replies when you thank him. My parents identified the phenomenon as «old France», there is something pretty moving about it, both the fact that time seems to have stopped in there, as well as the dedication put into the place.
The menu is terrible in that everything is appetizing. My mom had to try the foie gras, which is not only excellent, but served with brioche, which I haven’t seen done anywhere else (great thought!). I ordered a sample of appetizers, which i would really recommend doing, they are all smashing. My onion pie was lovely, and the small salad came already seasoned. The Emmental soufflé was surprisingly large and filling, the texture was very spongy but the cheese taste was very strong, which was surprising in a good way. My snails were good, but then I love snails.
My mom’s stuffed pheasant was well-​seasoned and served with small mushrooms.
The star of the dessert menu is definitely the Grand Marnier soufflé. They offer it in 2 sizes, small and big, which is really, normal and MASSIVE. Just before you eat, the waiter breaks it for you and allows English cream to filter in it. Mmmmm.
The orange mini pie is very tasty and served with burning Rhum, totally unusual. Their specialty, strawberry mille-​feuilles is delicious but dense. They have a special menu for events, you can look it up on the web and make your selection since everything has to be per-​ordered in that case. You can also rent their stunning wine cellar for events! Our waiter joked that since we liked the foie gras so much, we could order it for Christmas (to bring home to eat). He might have said that as a joke, but I shall test that anyway.

I ate here a decade ago, and it stands out as the benchmark against which I judge all other dining experiences. There are only a handful of places in the world that can boast this combination of precision and perfection both in dining and in service. I will never forget the waiter. I consider it an honor to have dined here.

WOW. I don’t mean to yell, but it needs to be said. A perfect dining experience.
Chez La Mere Michel was recommended very highly by a couple from Montréal, so my girlfriend and I made the most of our short winter vacation there and made a reservation. Simply put: from the doorway to the check, this was the best dining experience I’ve had.
I won’t repeat what Sarah L. wrote, but she hit the nail on the head with her review. Service was impeccable, the atmosphere was upscale but comfortable and intimate, and the food was (and has been, at least in my life) unsurpassed.
I’ll just supplement Sarah L.‘s review with my own experience here. Outside, it was sleeting. Inside, we were immediately greeted by Marc, who welcomed us into the warmth as if we were family. In true French style, the staff wore tuxedoes, but made us feel right at home. We were seated, and immediately brought fresh-​baked bread and warmed butter, as well as great recommendations for wine pairings. I ended up deliberating over all the delicious entrees, but settled on the 20^th Anniversary Celebration menu (good timing for a visit!), which was a crab bisque appetizer, duck medallions a l’orange entrée, and a raspberry soufflé dessert. I picked the unconventional appetizer (given the entrée), so Marc recommended and brought a glass of chardonnay well-​paired with the appetizer and also segue-​ing nicely into the entrée, which was accompanied by a wonderful bordeaux the lady and I shared. My girlfriend had similar menu, with a strawberry pastry with cream dessert which, although I can’t remember the name, was absolutely amazing. It was expensive, but not overly so, given the world-​class cuisine.
If you are in Montréal, or within 100 miles of Montréal, stop by and have dinner here, you won’t regret it.

I think this might have been the best overall meal of my life and not the most expensive. Everything was perfect from the service to the presentation to the taste of the food. I had the coq au vin chicken which came with the most perfectly diced, seasoned, and cooked carrots. My husband had the rabbit dish. Both were pure perfection. The menu said everything was traditional French cooking. Our waiter grew up in France. He told us about the small town in Northern France where he grew up.
We were in Montréal for our summer vacation and were staying at the hotel right next door. We walked by Chez La Mere Michel each day as we walked to the metro station. The menu was out in a box by the street and we perused it. I had wanted to try and find a traditional French restaurant while we were in Montréal and it turned out we did not have to look far! We looked it up and found it had been named one of the top restaurants in Montréal by the New York Times so we figured that was a good sign and decided to try it for dinner.
Before we ordered our food, we had fresh bread with butter. The waiter also informed us if we wanted to have the chocolate soufflé, we would need to order it then as it would require about an hour for preparation. We decided on different desserts. I can’t remember the exact names of our desserts, but my husband had the frozen chocolate mousse. I had the poached pear which sat atop sherbet which was placed in a crispy almond bowl. I believe the sherbet was raspberry. This was the best dessert I’ve ever eaten. If I get back to Montréal, I will go there simply for this dessert! If you want a nice dinner that makes you feel like you have been transported to France, then give Chez La Mere Michel a go. You will not regret it. I don’t care for most wines, but they seemed to have many wine options and I believe have won awards for some of their wines.
Since Unilocal is not giving me the survey questions, I wanted to include the price range here. My husband and I spent $ 100 exactly (including tax, but not tip) for a beer, two entrees, a side vegetable, and two desserts.