La Bistrote
Montreal | $$ | Website
Located in an up and coming neighborhood called Griffintown, just on the outskirts of Downtown, La Bistrote is a quaint and cozy cafe/bistro offering gourmet sandwiches, pizzas, salads, soups and pastries. You can find them at 1510 Notre Dame West, just east of Guy and Notre Dame on the south side. Owner/chef Dana Elsliger treats all diners like guests in her own kitchen and the open relaxed atmosphere lends very well to a casual drop-in and some web-surfing courtesy of the WiFi network if that's your kinda' thing. A healthy sized list of warm liquid goodies like espresso, cafe au lait, machiato and mochachino are also available.
Pricing is very reasonable with very few if any main courses stretching beyond 12 or 13 bucks. You could get away with a soup/sandwich/drink deal for around 10 bucks and not be hungry at all until your next meal time comes around. Desserts are also a good deal at a couple bucks vs. the 6-8$ you'd pay for similar portions at formal sit-down restaurants in the City.
A lot of thought has gone into decorating, and although freshly renovated, a comfy lived-in feel is the impression the surroundings make on me.
The location is ideal for business functions and lunch meetings, not to mention a perfect setting for special events like bridal showers, X-Mas parties, and fund raising events. Talk to Chef Dana about about making arrangements for such affairs. You can reach the bistro at: 514-903-3858 or labistrote@yahoo.com.