text: I remember passing by the beautiful faueade of this little joint on my way home one day and thought oh great somewhere that I could possibly get a decent cocktail aside from Sparrow and Nouveau Palais in the Mile End which albeit painful for my financial situation is great for my overall esprit and dispositionnnI actually went by last fall to grab a quick cocktail after work but alas due to Montrueals archaic lois sur les permis dalcool they only can serve a drink with a meal which I unfortunately was not in the mood fornnToday was the day Some lovely friends were visiting from out of town and seeing as though the place is a stones throw from chez nous we dropped in for a nice little early dinner We were seated at the bar I suppose because the server thought that we would take more than an hour to eatand given how long it took for our food to arrive that seems fair enoughnnWe ordered a round of drinks and I think that the barman forgot to put any gin in my Tom Collins Note to self just go up the road to Lawrence or Sparrow if a decent cocktail is desirednnAnyhoo after waiting for what seemed an inordinate amount of time our entruees all arrived Our friends each opted for the asparagus and moules it is the season apruestout which consisted of a whopping five pieces of asparagus and six mussels a piece My date and I went with the canard goulu and tartare de cheval The canard seemed to be the winner as it was not overcooked and tasted nice and ducky The horse tartare gave no surprises It seems as though the garde manger must have forgotten where the salt wasas well as the pepper mustard horseradish etc On the plus side the pain maison was lovely and tasty It seems as though the chef is trying to do his best to keep from offending the bland and genteel tastes of the Outremont richfolk who slum it out on the Main As for us we went home and dove into some baguettes and cold cuts from Guillaume and Chez Vito as we all left quite hungrynnUnfortunately tasteful duecor and adequate service staff does not equate to a fine dining experience Next time I feel like a mid to highpriced treat I will just go to Comptoir or Lawrence or literally any one of the seven other delicious restaurants in the immediate vicinity