Happy new year everyone! Yeah I’m know I’m 3 weeks behind but hey… this writing is a side project for me so how about you cut me a little slack, hum? Anyway, thank you everyone who reads these posts on a regular basis and who spread the word. I never imagined that less than 2 years into this little writing endeavour that people would actually be writing this thing! It is greatly appreciated. Here’s to an amazing 2014 of food and more culinary exploration within our fair city and elsewhere!
Now then, on with my last restaurant visit of 2013 – Hey, I did say I was a little behind didn’t I? – which brought me to the rapidly changing region of Griffintown. It is a part of town that I visit quite frequently. A friend of mine who lives nearby invited down to check out Le Bureau Tapas Bar for a little midweek drink and food. Now, Le Bureau has been on my to-visit list since the summer so I gladly accepted and away we went.
Walking in on a quiet snowy evening, Le Bureau has a very nice relaxed lounge feel – slow lighting, beautiful wood bars and bar tables with leather banquettes in the end. Add some more industriel touches with the exposed brick walls and steel ventilation tubes and you’re left with a nice setting that perfectly suits a great happy hour or after work visit.
The cocktail menu was pretty extensive – the right kind of options for a bar like this. Over the course of the evening, we had their Manhattan, Negroni, Old Fashioned and Tom Collins. All were executed well and enjoyable.
As for the food, Le Bureau offers a menu of tapas style dishes of various cultural influences. We went for a wide variety of dishes for this particular visit – Patatas Bravas, Cod croquettes, pancetta-wrapped figs, beef skewers with chimichurri and grilled chorizo with onions. The Patatas bravas were served with a chipotle lime sauce instead of the standard spicy tomato sauce. The cod croquettes were nice and crispy, served with a amarillo sauce. My big favourite on this night was the pancetta figs – a wonderful combination of sweetness and saltiness. The beef skewers themselves were fine but the real star here was that chimichurri. The grilled chorizo was good but I felt the sausage itself lacked the usual punch of most chorizo.
The food overall was solid however I personally found the portion sizes to be a little too small given their cost. Le Bureau strikes me as the perfect happy hour 5 à 7 location – it has a great look, a very relaxed feel, a great selection of drinks from their bar and tapas if you need a snack. I will definitely return here for a drink every now and then. However, if you are looking to have a complete meal, I don’t think the portions lend themselves well to that experience. Le Bureau is a great lounge bar experience and that’s perfectly acceptable if that’s what you are looking for.
Cheers!
Le Bureau Bar Tapas
1642 Notre-Dame West
514 903 1642
Ramblings from the Complex Mind of a 30 Something 
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