A beautiful Sunday morning in the city always lends itself to a nice brunch. A couple of Sundays ago, the family was downtown for the weekend so it was the perfect opportunity to head down to old Montreal for a nice family meal. For the occasion, we decided to try out Le Cartet, a place that I had heard many good things about but hadn’t had the chance to try yet.
This restaurant and boutique offers breakfast and lunch as well as a takeout menu for the many workers in the area during weekdays . On the weekend, the focus switches to brunch. We arrived for the beginning of the brunch service and were able to grab one of the last tables in the back so thankfully we didn’t wait long. Given the lineup that was present on our exit an hour later, we made the right call to arrive early. The space is a perfect morning spot – tons of natural lighting, plain white walls and high ceilings. It’s a tight fit with everyone cramming in for brunch but still comfortable.
The brunch menu at Le Cartet is a combination of classic brunch dishes with some extra twists. The first dish that we ordered was their Coupe Santé – Fresh fruit salad, greek yogourt, blueberries, ginger-honey organic granola and cashew nuts. Wherever they get their greek yogourt, my family would love to know because it was some of the best we’ve ever had. I love blueberries so that’s the perfect option to pair with the yogurt and the granola was wonderful as well – a nice subtle hint of both honey and ginger. Mix everything together and you get a very nice yogurt parfait. The lightest option we tried and a hit for all of us.
The second dish we got was the Brunch Cartet – Scrambled eggs with mesclun salad, ham croissant, goat cheese and a sweet potato salmon cake. This was the most unconventional plate we ordered. I could take or leave the salad – it was good but rather unremarkable. The scrambled eggs were very done as one would hope from a breakfast/brunch place. The croissant was fresh and flaky, the ham was solid and the goat cheese was a nice creamy rich touch to a otherwise light plate. The real star in the end however was the salmon cake – nice crunch on the outside while keeping a flaky context inside. I would have loved that element to be more plentiful compared to the rest but a solid dish nevertheless.
The final dish was le Brunch des Cantons – Scrambled eggs with country ham, sausage, bacon, baked beans, toast and roasted herb potatoes cooked in duck fat. This dish was completely in my wheelhouse which makes the fact that I didn’t order it all the more shocking! Great items here – all the meats were delicious and I am always a sucker with anything cooked in duck fat.
Each of these dishes came with an amuse-gueule to enjoy before the meal however we didn’t get them during our meal! Our waiter, realizing his mistake, gave us a mini-bag of them on our exit – sucre a la creme. Deliciously rich and sweet – this ended up being a nice way to end the meal rather than start it.
Le Cartet was a solid brunch experience – all the dishes were well executed and the service was quick and to the point. Its location makes me a perfect starting point for a nice afternoon in Old Montreal. Whether or not I would stand in line to eat there however is a different question all together. In the end, I would easily recommend you give them a shot – however arrive early otherwise your day in the old port will become a quick afternoon stroll.
Cheers!
Le Cartet
106 Rue McGill
514 871 8887
Ramblings from the Complex Mind of a 30 Something 