Our last stop in Montreal was at Holder Restaurant for brunch. While the space was elegant and the food simple and satisfying, I found the price a touch high. For my purposes, I would’ve appreciated a more relaxed atmosphere with heartier portions. As is, Holder would be a nice stop for a more refined meal.

Atmosphere: As stated, Holder was a nice restaurant, with a masculine, industry feel. A large coat room was available for guests and diners were seated spaced away from each other. There were a few large groups (6+ people) that day and lots of families.

Service: We had no language issues placing our order. My cousin’s still learning English and I had to translate a few terms but the waiter was patient and helpful. Our plates arrived quickly and coffees were always refilled before I ever reached the bottom of my cup.

Food: For brunch, The Hubby and I decided to split one savoury and one sweet dish. He chose crepes while I went with eggs benedict, a classic and my favourite. Really I order it for the hollandaise sauce. The two crepes were simply presented, folder, topped with fresh berries and a side ramekin of maple syrup. The crepes were thin and had a delicate texture. My poached egg duo was served on smoked salmon and and English muffin. A small bowl of fresh fruit was served alongside with a small ramekin of hollandaise sauce. Again, each element of the plate was cooked well with fresh ingredients. The sauce was rich and I liked being able to control how much I ate.

My cousin ordered the classic breakfast with bacon, two glossy sunnyside up eggs, fruit bowl and a square of what looked like potato gratin. All three plates were minimalist.

Overall, breakfast at Holder Restaurant was simple and classic, set in a nice restaurant but I didn’t find any single element to be outstanding or especially memorable.

In the midst of this long Canadian winter, a weekend food trip to Montreal was just what I needed to avert any seasonal affective disorder. Yes, technically Montreal was colder and snowier than Toronto, but the change in scenery made the snow a lot prettier. On this trip, the Fiance and I stayed at the Westin, right at the Old Port and took advantage of the great location. I even woke up early on Saturday to get in breakfast at Le Gros Jambon, my quest to fit in as many meals as possible in 48 short hours.

Atmosphere: Le Gros Jambon had the diner feel down. The narrow restaurant has two rows of bar stools, one along a wall decorated with vintage posters and ads, the other facing the open kitchen. I would not come with a group bigger than 3. We were the first customers that day at 10am but the diner filled up quickly.

Service: Since we were there quite early, the staff was relaxed and enjoying their breakfast with us. All of the servers spoke English and were friendly. Food arrived quickly and bills were settled at the front of the restaurant.

Food: The Fiance and I split one savoury and one sweet dish. Both of our meals were served on adorable pig shaped platters. I chose to go with the classic two eggs platter, over easy and side of sausage. The platter came with a hash brown, a thimble of baked beans and two slices of buttered toast. My eggs had perfect runny yolks and the toast was generously buttered (wedding diet right??). The hash browns were almost croquette like and used mashed potatoes along with smoked ham, a tasty variant.

For our sweet dish, we picked the French Toast with fresh fruit, whipped cream, pecan crumble and toasted coconut. This came with three slices of french toast, a has brown and the same thimble of baked beans. I found the toast itself pretty standard but the combination of all the toppings made each bite great. All of the fruits used were ripe and extra sweet. The whipped cream was airy and I loved the candied pecans.

Rose & Sons has been on my restaurant wishlist since they opened a year ago. It’s a small space with no reservations taken for brunch. I anticipated a wait. So with the weather finally starting to warm up, I was willing to take the risk and suggested the diner for a catch up meal with a friend.

Atmosphere: Driving down Dupont St, we missed the restaurant completely. The storefront still uses the large “Food” sign from their predecessor and the small “Rose & Sons” signage is easy to miss. When we arrived at 11:30am, there was a queue outside the restaurant that moved at a steady pace. The dining area was small, composed of booths and 5 stools at the bar. Every square foot of space is used up. The open kitchen sits next to the bar in front of the entrance, greeting guests with savoury, rich scents from the grill. To help the wait, the hostess did offer to take down a number and call you back when a table is almost available. I wouldn’t recommend coming with a large group, no more than 4 people and it’s not a venue for lingering over coffee.

Service: The hostess was friendly and so were our servers. My group ended up sitting at the bar and we had front row seats to the kitchen prep. Food was a little slow to come out from the small kitchen but it was worth the wait. Utensils, napkins and sugar were set up on the table so we grabbed what we needed ourselves. Service was casual and relaxed but efficient.

Food: Between the three of us, we had five plates and dessert. Even with my friend eating for two, it was still a lot of food but we ate and enjoyed every bite.

I had the PLB special melt with fried egg, pickle, bacon, sausage, fried onions and a side of cherry jam. Of everything this was my favourite. I loved the thick cut bacon, the runny yolk on the egg and melted cheese. It was an overflowing breakfast sandwich, just perfect. I also liked the cherry jam that was tangy and used it on bites of cornbread as well. The griddled cornbread with brisket and hot sauce had a great balance of sweet, spicy and savoury flavours. I liked the fattiness of the brisket and the crunchy crust of the cornbread. The runny yolk added a creaminess to the dish.

The pastrami and lox scrambled eggs was only ok. This was the weakest dish for me but it was up against tough competition. My favourite component was the jalapeno challah bread that was fluffy, buttery and great for soaking up the yolk leftover from my PLB. The BF had the all day breakfast with sausage and added smoked pork chop. The hash was crispy but a little greasy. Overall it hit the breakfast craving on the dot and the smoked pork chop was an added bonus. The chop was juicy and had an awesome smokey flavour.

While we were waiting for our table a plate of apple fritters walked by and the smell was intoxicating. During the meal, we kept reminding ourselves to leave room for the dessert to come. Split between 3 people, the dish of five fritters was the perfect portion size (also after our 4 entrees). The fritters themselves were fried, rolled in cinnamon sugar and served on a bed of lemon ricotta cheese with candied walnuts. The tangy cheese balanced out the sweetness of the dish and lightened the textures.

In total, our bill was just over $100, a little pricey for brunch but the meal did include drinks and dessert. I also would’ve loved an option for drip coffee.