Le Bourlingeur: Three's a Charm?

Le Bourlingueur: Three's a Charm?

May be. Except, in my case, I suspect there won't be the third time. I remember the first time being disappointed with Le Bourglingeur, a few months ago. Nevertheless, I took my chances and came back again, telling myself not to be too judgmental based on a single bad experience. My second visit confirmed what I already knew: I don't like this place. And here's why:

THE SERVICE

To give you an idea of the service, let me give you the chronology of our last visit:

Having distributed the menus, our waitress leaves us a few minutes to study them. So far, so good. She comes back a few minutes later and asks if we are ready. We are. To make sure we don't miss anything, she recites today's specials, and… leaves. For like a good half hour! And after we order our dishes, she's quickly gone again – forgetting to take our wine order. It's only after she finally comes back the third time that we successfully finish the ordering adventure.

Soon afterward, the wine arrives and the appetizers are served.
Then the main dishes start coming out. Sort of...

To be precise, three out of five arrive… and only two of them hot. The lucky (unlucky?) customers who ordered the two hot dishes courteously decide to wait for the missing two before whipping out their forks. Since, in my case, the plate was cold, I have no problem waiting as well.

A few minutes later, one of the missing dishes is served but.. the customer has the misfortune to spill a glass of wine all over his plate and shirt. Not to worry! He has ample time to go back home (ok, to be fair, he lives nearby), change and come back. The missing plates are still not served! The diners who had originally received hot plates are now excused and allowed to get started.

The last plates arrive soon thereafter. When everyone at the table was finally eating, I looked at my watch. I think a good 30 minutes separated the first and the second round.

THE FOOD

For my main dish, I ordered a smoked salmon plate, which consisted of several slices of salmon (fortunately!) and a small green salad. The latter had all the markings of being served fresh out one of those little plastic boxes with pre-washed salads one can buy at any supermarket. Best of all, it came with no dressing!

So, in aggregate, I had a half-sized gazpacho, a few straps of salmon and those salad leaves to assuage my hunger. Oh, yeah - I almost forgot! - a little piece of cake measuring approximately one square centimeter.

We decided to finish our dinner with a cup of coffee. Apparently, the table d'hôte special does not include espresso-type drinks (only drip coffee), so that little caprice on our part was an extra.

All in all, $140 for five ($28 per person), not including tips. I left slightly annoyed and certainly not culinarily satisfied. And above all, still hungry.

EPILOGUE

The menu defined the word “bourlingeur” as “somebody who travels a lot and by taste, who follows an adventurous path”. Forgive my skepticism, but next time, I'll sail right pass this restaurant and continue my journey elsewhere.
So, no, I am afraid there won't be the third time here.

Le Bourlingeur
363 Rue St-François-Xavier
Montreal, QC
(514) 845-3646

I remember that the first time I went to the B. was February 14th and I remember that the food was not bad and Mary and I were laughing coz a couple at the next table started to have a fight and the guy stood and walked out of the restaurant sticking out his tongue to the girl from the outside before disappearing.The other 2 times I have been there I noticed a slight change in the vibe and I think they might have had a rotation of ownership. Last time I remember that as soon as we ordered a bus stopped in front flooding in 50 to 60 people (turists) .I think our food came an hour late or so .

I think Mélanie is being overly critical. Old Montreal lacks casual restos and Le Bourlingeur is a place where I can go eat for less than $30. I've been there over a dozen times. Generally, it's decent food and certainly a good deal, especially for the neighbourhood.

To be honest, I am thinking of writing my own review. Perhaps, I'll test-drive it one more time, but if goes well, I'll counter with a positive follow-up.

Service has been inconsistent, the few times I've been there. But in general I think it's a very cosy relaxed place and the choucroutte (how do you spell that?) is delicious. If it's on the specials, you should order it!

Ree,

I just heeded your advice and ordered that special.. (the last one for the night, too!)... but I must say I didn't get it. It was kind of.. mediocre.

I really wanted to visit after Mélanie's review - to rebut and rewrite, mostly - but I am thinking I am going to side with the critics now. At our table (4 people) only Jérôme had something decent (the chicken special was actually good), the other three left disappointed. With odds like that I think I, too, will "continue my journey elsewhere".

too bad! I really liked that place.
anyone know if the management has changed recently?
keep in mind i haven't been there in at least a year and a half - a lot can happen to a restaurant in that time span.