Junior

I heard they were opening a location in Toronto so I decided to give the original a try while I was in town. The restaurant is a bit on the small side and a bit cramped but it wasn’t too busy so it was okay. Just don’t come with a large party or you may have trouble with seating.
The music was great. They were spinning some tune from the 80’s. There was little doubt the music would be good since its owned by a DJ and his brother.
Since I was there in the early afternoon on a weekend I ate from the brunch menu. I’m part Filipino so I was excited to try some of the foods I grew up with. I tried the tonsilog. All «silog» style brunch dishes are the same except for the meat. Tonsilog includes tosino which is a sweet marinated pork. The rest of the dish was made up of garlic fried rice topped with two fried eggs, some green salad, atsara (which is a kind of relish) and plantain chips. I also had some longanisa, which is a homemade spicy and sweet sausage.
Overall I was not impressed. Maybe I miss how my mom used to make it or it didn’t taste like the store bought stuff I was more used to but it wasn’t the same. The garlic rice and eggs were fine. Kind of tough to mess that up. The green salad was probably store bought in a bag. There was nothing special about it. The plantain chips didn’t have much flavour. The atsara tasted okay though I don’t typically like it in the first place. The meats didn’t have the flavours I wanted to remember. They tasted dry. The tosino marinade could use some tweaking. And the longanisa seemed like it was made with leaner meat which made it more healthy but much less flavourful. I was disappointed.
They had some calamansi juice available which was nice. It’s sort of like lemonade. I suggest they put mango shake on the drink menu. And while they’re at it how about some halo-​halo?
Price was a bit on the high side. I wouldn’t mind spending the extra cash if the meal was better.
Service was great. The waitress was prompt and very attractive. (Hi Camille!)
Two stars… half a star extra for the hot waitress. Hopefully the other dishes are better. Otherwise the menu needs to improve when they get to Toronto. There are already some good Filipino restaurants established I Toronto so they will need to make themselves stick out and be special.
If the owners read this, please spell-​check your online menu. What are «cunnyside up» and «cured poek»?

Had the home-​made longanisa. Was just alright. The fried chicken and lechon were very good though. Fast and friendly service. Good throwback tunes. Bathroom cleanliness could be improved.

Came for brunch and it was awesome! The coconut in the waffles was a great surprise! Service was fast, friendly and attentive!

Tried this place about three times now as its very close to my place. It seemed to have lots of potential. Dishes seemed interesting, prices are ok (especially for Griffintown), portions decent. But there was not one dish I can say I loved, in fact Ive eaten filipino food several times now and Ive come to the conclusion that I just dont love their flavours. They tend to use alot of shrimp paste I believe it is and its a little overpowering.
I tried the Adobo Baboy (pork Shoulder), Adobe Manok, Pinakbet which had bitter melon in it which I really dont like, its really an acquired taste. And Palabok which was probably my favourite of them all but still not very good. As much as I dont love it here I will be back to try the brunch, I hear the chicken and waffles are really good…

Went there today for brunch it was all delicious. The flavors, the meat and the LECHON its a must try.
I found their page on Instagram and I came all the way from NYC.

Anyone paying attention to the Montréal restaurant scene has probably noticed the fact that between Griffintown, Little Burgundy and St-​Henri, Notre-​Dame Ouest has boomed restaurant-​wise. The number of new and awesome places that have opened up over the past few years is staggering and difficult to keep up with. I’ve had my eye on Junior, a Filipino restaurant for a while now but hadn’t truly made the time to visit. Over the holidays, getting the Montréal Cooks cookbook — a great book by the way — and trying a recipe from Chef Dre Mejia made me more anxious to go. This month, I finally find my moment to give them — and Filipino food — a proper try.
I went both for a late night snack and then for their «Rice n’ Shine» brunch on the weekend. I like the overall visual style of Junior — a indoor street vendor. Very colourful elements all around and the in-​house DJ is a nice touch. I enjoyed the selection of music both times I was there but it was a little too loud on my evening visit. When it is hard to have a conversation at the table, it’s not a good sign.
To start on my evening visit, I went with the dish that brought me there in the first place — the Adobo Baboy — Soy-​Vinegar braised pork shoulder. A nicely hearty portion of wonderfully tender and fall-​apart pork. Perfect braised texture. The sauce is very strong on the soy so could be too salty for some of you but the vinegar helps to tone it down and creates a light finish. Add some sweetness, acidity and saltiness to the fatty pork. Very enjoyable — my imitation version just didn’t match up!
One of my friends chose the palabok — rice noodles with pork and shrimp gravy. This was sadly a big disappointment. It looked good but surprisingly had no real flavour — the noodles felt overcooked and only the egg served on top came through taste wise. The gravy provided nothing and the pork and shrimp felt brand and lifeless.
Our third dish brought us back on the right track. We went with the Daing na Bangus — Baby Milkfish marinated in vinegar and garlic, de-​boned and butterflied and pan-​fried. First thing that hit us was the texture. Moist and flaky, the fish came apart so easily. The use of vinegar and garlic provided some sweetness and a little kick flavour wise.
2 out of 3 wasn’t what I had hoped but it was enough to come back for brunch with my sister. We first had the Longasilog — fried rice, sunnyside-​up eggs, sweet pork sausage, plantain chips and atsara. A solid dish all around — I really enjoy the sweetness of the housemate sausage and how it mixed well with the runny egg and the rice. The plantain chips provided some crunch and the atsara a little bitterness. Very homey and filling.
We also had the fried chicken and waffles — jollibee-​style fried chicken and coconut waffles with maple syrup. This dish stood out a little more. As much as I hate coconut normally, the little hint in the crispy waffles worked really well and the fried chicken was outstanding. Loved the crunch of the skin and the overall moistness of the chicken.
I’m happy to have finally been to Junior. It was great to try some Filipino food and realize how I do enjoy it and would like to come back. On the flip side, it was really disappointing to have a dish fall so flat on us. Junior is a solid part of my neighbourhood and a cool addition to the culinary scene in Montréal. Nice to have a generally underexposed cuisine be brought forth like this. I will be back Junior — I just hope that one blip was just that.
Cheers!

I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. This was as good as or better than most meals I’ve had in the Philippines, with an atmosphere to match. The sisig was crispy, the pancit was, well… pancit. And while the lumpia might have been cooked from frozen, I’m pretty positive that they were still homemade.
This isn’t fine dining, but damned if it’s not satisfying.

My wife and I went to try the breakfast. I’ve been wanting to go for some time now. My wife being of filipino origin we had to try it. My wife ordered the Lechon & wafflesCrispy fried pork belly and coconut waffles with maple syrup and I the Tortang Corned Beef (Corned beef and potato omelette served with garlic fried rice and plantain chips) and a side of atsara. we both enjoyed our meals. We tryed everything from each others plates and we’re quit happy. The only thing lacking from the experience was the service. The waitress seem to have a lack of experience and seem to have little knowledge of the menu. With only 2 other tables other than our she was in no hurry to tend to us. Our plates were empty in front of us for quit some time and I had to ask for our bill or i had a feeling we would have been waiting a long time .
With all that said I would go back, but this time I would like to try the dinner.

Super hip, super trendy, super good! One of the best filipino restaurants I’ve ever tried outside of the Philippine. After not having filipino food for so long, this place really took me back! The sisig they had was fantastic as well as the leche flan. We ordered so much that the owner/​manager gave us brunch coupons for next time. Definitely would come back again!

I loved it here! The place smelled like my mom’s filipino kitchen back home. The staff was very friendly from the moment we walked in. Even though I knew what all the items on the menu were, the waitress was still very helpful. The food was better than I expected. It tasted just like home. DELICIOUS! And the price was very reasonable! Worth every penny :)

Decided to try something different.
Restaurant is cute the DJ is a cool thing to.
But our waitress didn’t really help us as we weren’t to familiar with what to get.
Our order was given to the wrong people I got someone else’s.
It’s expensive for what it is.
I didn’t enjoy any of it.
Would I come back. No!
Happy I tried it? Meh

I was pretty exited to try this Filipino restaurant since my other half is from Philippines.
Unfortunately this failed:
— the lumpia are NOT good, this is usually one of my favourite dish, knowing how delicious this can be that was an epic fail.
— the music is VERY loud — feels like you are in a night club in the middle of the day which does not make any sense… made me want to eat as fast as possible and never come back.
why not opening a night club instead?!
On the bright side, the décor is cute, nice patio at the back, some dishes are ok and you will probably like it if you never tasted Filipino food before.
That’s all you need to know!

I went to Junior’s for the chicken and waffles and OMG … It was amazing. The chicken had that perfect golden colour and oh so crispy. The first bite came across a bit salty but once you pour some sirup on… The flavours balance out. The waffles now, they have flaked coconut mixed into the batter making them sorta sweet but not too much. I’m def going back for more!

Yo! This place is good. I don’t know why it only had 3 stars on Unilocal when I went. Seriously though it’s super cute inside and the servers are on point and adorable (re: half Asian early twenties good looking urban hipster types). The food is good too and there are tons of choices for vegetarians. For real though I’m definitely going back it’s low key and fun and not expensive.

We really loved Junior and are surprised it only got three stars. Our experience was great. It was a Friday night, The DJ was awesome and the place is funky and hip. Our waitress was sweet and french and like, that iconic, adorable, Indie film French… She suggested 3 plates and two pints and we went for it. The dry garlic spareribs were just a touch sweet with the perfect balance of chili and salt and then Bang! the garlic. We had a chicken that had a curry based sauce. The french adorable waitress said to get some rice, just to eat the sauce with, and she was so right. Wow! That sauce ROCKED and the chicken was cooked perfectly. I also love that the plate consisted only of thighs and legs. And the noodles were good too. I hate salty food and it was not, not greasy either. This was my first time eating Pilipino so I’m no expert, but good food it was.

I’ve been here a few times for dinner, brunch and takeout. I like the food. It’s comfort Asian food. Some dishes are packed with flavor, some are perhaps too greasy. Overall, I’d say it’s a good spot if you’re looking for a quick, affordable weeknight meal and want something different. I’d definitely recommend the pancit (rice vermicelli stirfried with small shrimps, veggies and fish sauce) and sweet sausage.

Junior was an interesting dining experience. It’s a very, very cute, little spot on Notre-​Dame. The dishes are served tapas style but the portions are fairly large which is nice. We ordered little dry ribs as an appy which were good. The chicken hearts were nice and the fried offal was good but everything seemed to have a basic overlaying salty flavour. I feel the dishes lacked flavour layers. We tried about 7 – 8 dishes in all. Some were good, some were meh. The shrimp was nice. My glass of wine (9 $) was very good but by far the smallest pour I’ve ever seen. So I chose not to order another one. I would come again to try the brunch.

Sadly I was really disappointed after eating here with some friends. The place looked really promising. The décor was straight out of southeast Asia and the menu items looked interesting. However, all the dishes fell flat and none where noteworthy in any regard. Additionally the service was lackluster. The place wasn’t even busy and it seems that we were forgotten much of the time. We sat in the terrace in the back, which in itself is a nice redeeming feature.

My family and I were in the area and we were looking for a Filipino restaurant and found this place. Walking inside reminded me of the restaurants in Portland, Oregon as they reused old furniture and tableware. Total hipster vibe. They have an outside patio in the back but we decided to dine inside since we had an infant with us. There is house music for your listening pleasure. We were there for Sunday morning brunch so I thought it was a little too early for it. Apparently the chef is also a DJ.
We all ordered the «silogs.» I had the tocsilog, which consists of tocino (cured sweet pork), sunny side eggs and garlic fried rice. Their silogs come with a simple green salad with vinaigrette dressing and fried plantain chips. It was delish. However, we were served lukewarm coffee. Service was good though. I would give them another try when I am in the area.

*** DO NOT ORDER DELIVERY ***
I ordered delivery from Junior using ALCE. My experience was mixed but somewhat negative overall.
I’ll start w the bad: the delivery experience was terrible and I don’t believe it’s ALCE’s fault. I ordered 4 items: 2 rice noodles, 1 pork adobo w rice and beans, and 1 pork belly w rice. They were all stacked together w the pork w rice and beans at the bottom of the bag — this was the only dish w liquid sauce. Result: the bag got soaked at the bottom and as the bag was removed from ALCE’s carting case, it collapsed… yielding a mess (thankfully, the food was salvageable… but I had to clean the mess). Who stacks a liquid dish at the bottom of heap like that? Why not just use two bags. You know what, I’m ok if they charge me for the extra bag.
Another bad: my order was incomplete (I think). The website claims it comes w sweet Mang Tomas sauce. Either it’s invisible or it was omitted. The net result was an ok dish w unmet potential. Again, this is not ALCE’s fault since they didn’t pack the bag.
The positive: the food was decent. Not great, but fine. Surprisingly, I felt the rice noodles were the best item — despite my strong ex-​ante personal inclination towards the pork dishes.
Verdict: I may try again, but definitely not w delivery. I will still use ALCE for other restos since many of my experiences w them (indeed, even the person who delivered this particular time) have been positive and painless. The problems (due to carelessness, I think) were mos def on Junior in this case.

Mention spécial au superbe décor avec des couleurs éclatantes et des graffitis. Le service est ok. Le prix du vin raisonnable. La bouffe était correcte mais sans plus, pas pour justifier une future visite. Petit détail: on a eu froid tout le long du repas. Un peu tannant. C’est l’hiver quand même!