If I were a Victorian heiress suffering from the vapors and in need of the healing, restorative powers of the sun, I’d be certain to drink deeply of the photonic bliss doled out at Toqué! . The appeal of dining at such a food emporium amongst the bourgeois elite wherein each bite is a wondrous delight is palpable. Alas, I’m not a Victorian heiress, but merely an average middle class, hard working individual who’s weekly highlight is a once-per-week dose of Glee with a considerable amount of Chardonnay at my side. Happily, chef and owner Normand Laprise has found a way to fill my very pressing need for his famed flavours without breaking the bank.

Laprise has opened Toque!’s long-awaited sister restaurant, Brasserie T, as a means to reproduce his fine-but-unaffordable fare from the former to minions like myself, and offer it at the latter.

Located at the base of the Contemporary Art Museum, the space is clean, slick and has a whole “Chipotle-forced-industrial” look to it, softened with array of windows and therefore natural lighting. Designed by architect Daoust Lestage, the exterior closely resembles a large, thick piece of Jenga. The small interior and the 45-seat outdoor patio both have a high-energy atmosphere. Brasserie T ‘s buzzword is affordable. It’s pretty much like any other eatery in the city on a typical evening in Montreal. Except it’s Laprise -executed, so it just makes the whole package a touch more… fabulous.

I am always a fan of grazing on a plate of duck terrine while the group of hipsters at the next table argue over who should’ve won Project Runway . The food is quick, hot, a bit greasy, and to the point. It’s worth it if you’re needing some Toqué! love without breaking the bank. Which you do. Most of the expensive-sounding French-bistro menu items hover around $13-$20, the best of which include the dill salmon, skirt steak with Toque! butter, pork ribs, Montreal sausage, bacon grilled vegetables, Coquille St-Jacques, and the classic (but not so classic) burger and unnecessarily delicious French fries.

Bites, snacks and deli items include parmesan fondue, scalloped potatoes with goat cheese, duck terrine, chicken liver mousse, sausage in a brioche, ham la quercia, foie gras terrine, and many more. Of course, there’s a seasonal cheese list – among other seasonal changing dishes – and a wine list with bottles at $50-$90 each (but no alcohol until after July 5th when Brasserie T ‘s liquor license goes through). But hey, if you can’t indulge in alcohol, indulge in something even more sinful: dessert, which include Madelines, ice cream, sorbet, carrot cake and chocolate éclairs.

Brasserie T is now open sans-license, 5:30-11:00pm. July 6th, when it will open at 11:30-close.

1425 Rue Jeanne Mance, Montreal, QC
514-282-0808
11:30 – Close (midnight-ish)
Cuisine – French
Area – Downtown
Price – $$$ (Within Reach)