Restaurant Le Grain De Sel

SEATTLE FOODIES - if you are in Montréal, GO HERE. I have been cooking organic & eating well in Seattle for over 5 years. I created a Yelp account just now to write about this place, so take that into consideration.

Menu is largely current with other recent posts. A few notes: The rum-soaked and GRILLED watermelon opener was unexpected and set the tone. Don't order the fresh & positively outstanding fois gras unless you know and appreciate what it is made from. The chocolate-banana-black pudding is a truly unique food experience. And the tarte-au-sucre took me back to memories of a small town in the Gaspé.

Ice cider!

Chef & waitstaff are creative, love to talk about food, and gave us everything we needed. Having a big table in the back made us feel like welcome locals. Language exchange was great, considering the level of detail: types of ingredients, where they were obtained, and how they were prepared, even local stores to get rare Spanish beer magnums.

Reservations recommended; we went early with a 7-month old and had a delightful evening.

Lovely little gem of a restaurant
Grain De Sel on St. Catherine east of The Village
Still undiscovered but not for long. I organized a dinner here for twenty and I was amazed at the chef's ability.His menu is market driven and very creative without being too far out there.
In the 10 years I have been coming to Montreal I have never been this far east on St. Catherine. A cab is suggested-but it is only a 15 minute walk from the subway if you choose.

VERY fair prices for the quality of the food.


Dinner began with good bread and an lovely assortments of spreads/condiments.Then a slice of house made saucisse en croute as an amuse bouche
My entree was Calamri cooked two ways=flash fried and cooked 12 hours sous vide.A very clever pairing along with a sauce picante drizzled on the side.
My main was a boneless quail with a stuffing flavored with its liver and apples seved with curried lentils and broccolli rabe-a great combination of flavors.
My dessert was a white chocolate creme with rubahrb-ordered this after seeing the gourgeous Quebecquios rhubarb in the Jean Talon market the day before-it was amazing.

Our waiter Patrick took wonderful care of us and the chef came by to say hello and offered to listen to any advice we might have. Jean Francios is a wonderful chef who is following his passion.

This place is going to be the next hot spot IMO

I first found this restaurant seven years ago when I took a long walk out Past Metro Papineau on Saint Catherine St into Montreal East. I finally made a reservation to go this year and I was glad I never forgot this place.
I dined alone and the staff noticed this. They made me feel welcome with occasional warm conversation and helpful menu suggestions.
The restaurant currently opens at 7PM. It's good to have a reservation as there are only about 12 tables.
While the menu is limited, which is a good idea for freshness, you'll still find a nice mix of meat, fish and vegetarian. I had the sausage, which was incredibly tasty. The butternut squash soup appetizer was also especially good.
No big city attitude here. A great place to invite friends to dine and linger.

Worth the trip. With foodie culture popping up in every major city, it's hard for me to walk out of a place and feel compelled to go back. The service is great (ask the owner about his story!) but more importantly, the food is somehow novel, yet classic, and unpretentious. Think classic French (yawn) but with twists and turns. I had steak and escargot, but we were in a big party so I sampled most entrees and apps and all desserts - blows away most bistros in the States.

They also lent us an umbrella as a torrential downpour started when we were leaving, and told us to keep it. I'll be returning some day, with said umbrella.

Great food, exactly as expected because of other people reviews. Very tasty! Great lentil soup and salad, pasta was delicious, fish and chips just good...

Long overdue. I just recommended a friend check this place out and he reminded me how wonderful and unique it is. Great food (the wild boar sliders were UNREAL) and a cool dining experience.

Montreal's best for this type of dining experience.

I go to Montreal twice a year for the day for shopping. As much as I love the city and the shopping at Simon's, I love to source a new place for an indulgent lunch. This year I stumbled on this place, and with a $12 CA cab ride arrived here, alone, ipad in hand.
The owner seated me and offered apologies for the all french menu. He returned for an interpretation, but alas while I don't speak french, I do read food french.
The setting was neat and small, it's obvious that the "in crowd" has found this place. The patrons were as neat and pretty as the setting. The menu is a plate composed of choice of starter and entree. I had the salad fraiche which was like a healthy slaw of fresh greens. Marvelously fresh and nice. The bread and 6 choice condiments, served along side, crashed my slow carb diet. Awesome touch.
My entree was the lamb chili of sorts wrapped in a chard leaf. It was served with broccoli, carrots and a mustard parsnip mash. The entree was ample and nice, though the leaf was hard to cut through, had it been steamed it might have been better. Service was very European, and the wine selection was nice and my Alacante was awesome with the lamb.
Nice job, love to try the fish and chips and the fries on the table next to me looked awesome.

Sometimes it pays to be in larger groups when the bill will be larger and provide bigger tips.

My wife and I seemed to be overlooked, especially towards the end of the meal. Took 16 minutes to order dessert. Way too long.

The ravioli was great and pork belly was tender. Ther prawns were a little over done. I would try going here again to see what happens. I was not going to cause a scene, but by the end, I was just trying to get out of there. The food was a 4, but the service seemed slow.

Went with a party of 5 people. Got the charcuiterie plate which was so much larger than we thought but good value. Had a rabbit dish and various others along with panna cotta dessert. Saw that the kitchen had a charcoal grill which gave great flavours in the dishes. Staff were super nice and atmosphere was casual and upbeat. Never felt rushed and were actually left alone to eat and chat. A bit on the pricey side however creativity and flavours were above average. Worth a visit if you are seeking a relaxed atmosphere yet good food.

One of the (many) restaurants we decided to visit while on a road trip to Montreal. This was probably one of the harder ones to find, especially when it was so far East. They have parking right in front of the restaurant so if you are driving, parking is quite convenient.

Décor was simple, yet chic and roomy. Everything is neat, and black and white with hard wood floors, which felt somewhat homey. Staff is friendly; we had the chance to meet their head chef, who was super friendly and warm. He took the time to introduce the dishes on their menu so that we know what we were ordering (and wouldn't complain after). Also had some chitchats about the city, which made it a casual and relaxing dining atmosphere. It was also quite convenient for us to be seated in the giant booth right in front of the kitchen (not too sure if it was a good idea for our clothes) so it was quite comfy and we could see what was happening in the kitchen; the chef would also visit us every now and then.

Onto the food: the calamari was nice, not too greasy and the crispiness was there. The coating was not overly thick so that all you're eating was breading and feel insanely bloated after. One of their classics, the Aritisan black pudding (blood sausage), was an interesting dish; probably the most interesting one I had in Montreal. The texture was not overly soft to my surprise, but would probably go better with some carbs on the side. The flavor was also pretty balanced, not overly salty or bland. Presentation was, well, the only thing that set me off (kind of reminded me of what my dogs would leave out in the backyard). The mushroom ravioli is also worth a try - presentation was very colourful but the portion was actually a bit too much. It was also a bit greasy so I had to skim it a bit, but overall the dish tasted fresh especially with the wine sauce and cheese and veggies, which helped to counter the greasiness a bit.

I would DEFINITELY come back for their Paris Brest - caramel cream sandwiched between two baked rings of choux pastry and garnished with caramelized almonds. A rather sweet dessert, but goes oh so well with a cup of coffee.

Friendly staff and fine food, what's not to love.