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| - I'm quite surprised Grinder only has 3 stars.
Sure, the restaurant is a mix of hipster and business-casual, it's located in the hottest new area of Montreal, and the prices are a little higher than they should be. That's been the gossip about this restaurant for as long as it's been around, which is why I had never actively chosen to go there. Well, last week, a buddy of mine was in town and wanted to go to Grinder with a bunch of friends to catch up. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but figured I'd take the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.
At the table, people ordered burgers, lamb chops, salads, and a bunch of stuff from the raw bar. There were no negative comments from anyone. The burgers were thick and juicy, the fries were crispy and salted just right, the lamb chops were cooked to a perfect medium rare, the salads were fresh, and the drinks paired nicely.
The kicker... the raw bar! My fiancée and I decided to go for an all raw dinner. We started with the beef tartare and shared the salmon and tuna tartares as the mains. Aside from being platted beautifully and being absolutely delicious, the three tartares had completely different flavors. It was really nice to see that some great creativity had gone into the prep. The portions were nice, making the entire meal a worthwhile expense.
Our buddy broke some news that he received a promotion, so we arranged for the waiter to bring him a dessert. Not only did he bring a delicious pouding chomeur, but he also brought a round of hot shots for the 12 of us at the table... all on the house. To top it off, although I was full, the brownie on the dessert menu was calling my name. Unfortunately, it was bone dry and terribly disappointing. The waiter noticed we hadn't eaten it and, without hesitation, offered another dessert saying we wouldn't be charged for either. The service had been great all night, but these were small gestures that went a long way.
(The brownie was replaced with a carrot cake that was delectable... definitely go for that one!)
All in all, I'm really happy my buddy suggested we go there. I'll be back and I recommend you go too!
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