Le Grand Comptoir

Nous sommes tombés par hasard sur ce petit bistro français sur la rue square Philipps caché entre d’autres petits restaurants. Nous allions initialement à la pizzeria mais mon père adore la cuisine française. Nous n’avons pas été déçus, plats simples mais savoureux, des portions assez généreuses, un service courtois. Plats quand même un peu dispendieux mais papa prenait l’addition ;) le décor devrait être rafraîchi, né donne pas trop envie surtout pour une soirée en amoureux…

The server was very attentive. We are outside (there is good outdoor seating). The food:
Bread with butter. Wait to dip that in the cold soup, which is delicious. The escargot with artichoke is also very good. Their cheese plate is okay, and their brownies are the BEST.
If you want your steak to be a little pink, do the medium rare, not the medium, which has almost no pink. The fries are really good (you will have to ask for ketchup if you want any). Overall, I would definitely go to this restaurant again.

Very good bistro. They had a special menu of the day for $ 35 because it was Valentines day weekend. It was lovely fresh french food. I had a vegetable soup (purée) that was nice, hot and rich. Considering it was –11 that day it hit the spot. That was followed by the Escargot with artichokes. I have had Escargot at fancier places that tasted like dirt. These were nice and clean and the sauce was good enough to slurp off the plate when no one was looking. The entrée was a pork tenderloin with salad and fries. The pork had a mustard sauce. The sauce was nice and rich as expected for french food and the pork was cooked well, just a little medium-​well as it should be but it was not very favorable, maybe an herb crust or something to add some extra to it would be better. It was probably the low point of the meal but the sauce made up for it and I assume that was the intent. I finished with a mint tea and chocolate mousse. The mousse is made by the my server’s wife (I assume he is the owner). It was everything I wanted in a mousse. This is not fancy french food but good old Bistro food and wonderful.

J’y vais le midi car je travaille dans le coin.
Ambiance bistro
Le menu d’hôte est bon mais pas très copieux (j’avais encore faim après la saucisse et les frites.), et pas donné (16.95 il me semble)
Les autres plats sont encore plus chers
Le service est ok, pas exceptionnel
Le midi, on sent qu’il faut manger vite et partir vite car il y a du monde qui attend.
Bref, pas mal si vous êtes dans le coin, mais pas extraordinaire j’ai trouvé

Went here with a friend for lunch today. I ordered a very uninspiring steak frite. Honestly the dish was okay. The steak was alright. The fries were alright. The salad was a complete afterthought, just lettuce with tomato. I paid $ 30 including tax and tip. By Montréal standards for this price, I’m expecting to be impressed. Or at least an attempt at originality. There are so many good restos in this city, and this one is just not one of them.

I was with a group of Friends and our experience here was spectacular. The Wait staff was so wonderful, the best I’ve experienced in a long time. I had the Pasta of the day which was delicious, and shared a pitcher of Sangria with my Friends which was also very good. We were seated on the Patio so we were able to enjoy the beautiful Summer day in Montréal. One word; my favourite word; fabulous:-).

We were the first two customers in Le Grand Compoir Restaurant on this Friday evening around 6:30pm in a busy area of Montréal. We called around earlier to several 5 star French Restaurants but they were all booked solid. Initially we felt lucky to have found this place that wasn’t busy at all.
My wife ordered the special which was Osso Bucco (Pork with gravy), broccoli, salad and a bowl of vegetable soup (actually looked and tasted like split pea). The Osso Bucco was good but not outstanding. The broccoli was steamed perfectly but lacked favor.
I had the Salmon which came with diced tomatoes and basil on top. The rest of the dish came with broccoli, rice and also with the same vegetable soup. All the food was served hot. But I found the way the Salmon was prepared just didn’t work. While the Salmon was hot and moist, putting cold diced tomatoes and basil on top did nothing to enhance the taste. The rice also lacked taste and really didn’t go with Salmon. Again the broccoli for me also lacked taste.
We also had the house Merlot wine. Here again, it just wasn’t that good.
The service was excellent.

It was closed (looked like permanently — couldn’t really tell…) there was no sign in the window explaining why they were closed, but we were pretty disappointed since we read the reviews on Unilocal & hoofed it there with a long walk and no dinner at the end of our journey. Sad Face.

Bonne ambiance, service efficace et prix raisonnable
Parfait pour un voyageur cherchant calme et dîner de bonne qualité au centre de Montréal

I chose to eat at this place based on Unilocal reviews, and also the fact that it is really close to the Centre Eaton and shopping area, which is where we were at the time. Le Grand Comptoir was just a quick walk away, and is located very close to the McGill Metro stop.
We were a little bit wary about entering the restaurant when we arrived around 7 pm, because there were only two other groups dining in there. The place was virtually empty on a Saturday night! We went for it anyways, and I guess the relative quiet ended up being a good thing, since we felt like the service was particularly attentive. The waiter/​owner was very friendly.
The special of the night was cannelloni stuffed with veal for $ 15.95, so we ordered that. It came with a side salad. I ordered entrecôte (steak) bordelaise which came with fries and a little side salad, and my dad ordered grilled salmon. We shared an appetizer which was escargots with artichokes ($ 8.50) and came in a creamy sauce. I thought they were pretty good. The waiter originally told me that there would be 6 snails, but we ended up with 8. They were a good texture, not too chewy, not too hard. I ordered my steak medium rare and thought it was a tad overcooked, but not so bad that it was unpleasant to eat. The bordelaise sauce was interesting, it had kind of a sour undertone, and overall I thought my steak was okay. Not the best, but then again, this is a little French restaurant and not like a world-​renowned steakhouse, plus it was only $ 22. The fries were fantastic though, they were thin and crispy, kind of like McDonald’s fries but better. I couldn’t stop eating them and my mouth is watering just thinking about them now.
The inside of the restaurant is really cute! They have tried really, really hard to give it a French vibe, with lots of photos of French landmarks i.e. Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Notre Dame, etc. I would say they did a pretty good job, at least the décor and feel of the restaurant has a pretty French vibe! I fairly enjoyed my dinner here and wouldn’t mind coming back if I was in the area again!

We were staying at a hotel down the street and planned to have our first French dinner at this place. We arrived about an hour before the posted closing time and upon arrival we were told they were closed. We walked around the neighborhood looking for somewhere else and on the way back, saw new people being served, seated in the window, who hadn’t been there before.

It was alright. But for the prices they have, I had expected something a little better.
Tomato cream soup was good! The steak is so-​so.
Overall impression: not too bad but could be better.

The food was very fresh and tasty. We ordered salads (chicken and Niçoise) from the lunch menu. For desert we took caramelized apple and cappuccino. Well it was nice though I was not trilled :-). Overall service and food were excellent.

Great deck overlooking the square. The food is pretty good. The mustard pork tenderloin was highly recommended, but I can’t rave about the smoked salmon salad. Should have gone with the Salade Nicoise instead.

Solid three stars for both service and food! Neither is too shabby, but it’s still midrange. Decent selection of drinks as well. The portion sizes are actually really great, however, fries and salad are a bit ‘over-​featured’ while the ‘main parts’ (protein) are small. The soup is pretty nice. The environment is that of an older café, and frequented by an older crowd, but it beats many other Montréal establishments (in that their fries are crisp (not soggy) and crunchy).

I do not have too much to say. But after finishing the piece of steak, I really would like to have another one. Enjoy your food here! It is not looking so well but taste so great. Meat here are all so great!

I stopped in here recently and was pleasantly surprised. This place didn’t have quite as good reviews as the places I typically choose, but we chose to go here based on its convenient location between hotels. It was a very simple place but the service was friendly and the food was good so I can’t complain.
I ordered the duck and it was cooked perfectly. Other than the duck itself the meal was kind of boring. It came with a salad and fries similar to what you would receive at a deli. The wine menu is cheaper than most of the others in the area and the selection is still very good.
Overall I’m giving it 4 stars for its great location, decent prices, and good food. I wouldn’t call this a hidden gem but I would happily return if I were in the area.

Good food, reasonable price, and good service. would go back there again, next time when I am in Montréal.

A good place to have affordable French cuisine. There is nothing fancy about this restaurant, food is good but nothing special.

Found Le Grand Comptoir through Unilocal.I walked far far distances to dine here because of the reviews. haha
We ordered a half pitcher of sangria, the braised steak and the poutine. It was my first time having poutine duing this year’s visit to Montréal so I was super excited.
With the meals, we got some sort of soup along with sliced baguette and butter. When our entrée came, it looked great. The poutine however, was not as I remembered it from last year. The fries were thin, there was gravy but then just shredded Swiss cheese. I thought… Hmm maybe it’s just because its a different restaurant that I went to. It was a big portion, so I couldn’t finish it.
Service was wonderful. It was this lady who was very attentive and always had a smile on her face.
A tip I received: Later that evening, I went to a bar and the bartender told me to never go to a French joint for poutine and to get it some place else. So hint hint, go someplace else if you want the cheese curds with thick slices of potatoes.

Excellent bistro français. Menu classique. Un voyage à Paris à peu de frais.

Simple food, very good service. The escargot appetizer was very good. The terrace is nice an big. It’s not too far from la Place des Festivals and it is a solid alternative to the more expensive restaurants like Brasserie T. The steaks are of very good quality and perfectly cooked. The wine list is decent, but limited, correctly priced. Good value for the money!

Le Grand Comptoir… un vrai délice!
I grew up going to this place every week. At 10 years-​old, I could hardly describe the foreign feeling happening on my plate… a perfect fusion of flavors exploded in my mouth. I couldn’t get enough of the bavette with the side of fries and salad.
Years later I understood. I had my first foodgasm at Le Grand Comptoir.

Friends and I lunched at Le Grand Comptoir, a pleasant bistro in Phillips Square. The owner greeted us, seating us at a table by the window.
Their menu is typical French but their cooking is anything but. To start, we shared a plate of escargot with artichokes (C$ 7.95), deliciously finished in a creamy sauce, and an order of the pâté du jour (C$ 5.95). My pork cutlet was seasoned just right, was quite good, coming with a side of fries. I decided against wine[1].
Service at Le Grand Comptoir was great, and it’s easy to recommend them for a satisfying French repast.
[1]I had imbibed copious drink the night before, so a glass of apple juice kept me company instead.