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| - Such a lovely place! It felt quite SoHo - and in another context I might say that sneeringly. Here, it means the cafe is on a corner in clean, pristine Old Montreal, surrounded by cast-iron-style architecture, open cobblestone alleyways, and horse-drawn carriages passing by the window every minute.
(Horses in Manhattan's SoHo would go on a mad killing spree after 5 minutes, but you get the idea)
Olive + Gourmando was PACKED for lunch on an early weekday afternoon. It felt a bit touristy but also had its share of locals (e.g. people on laptops). The location is walking distance from the touristiest (!) part of town, by the Notre Dame Basilica.
The ordering process is a little funny. The hostess gives you a blank memo paper with your table #. Go up to the cafe counter or sandwich counter, give them your slip, and place your order. They keep the slip, food is brought to your table, and you can order more at any time by telling them your table #. When you go up to pay, they will already have your complete bill.
The lunch menu is small, with 4 cold/4 hot sandwiches plus soup/salad. There are pegs on the chalkboard to hang signs indicating which are sold out - but they replenish frequently. Our hostess spoke English natively, but the menu is in French. But if you can read English you can easily figure it out (thanks for being 30% French-origin, English Language!)
I was so happy to find that not only is this place adorable, the food is da bomb (technical term). My smoked fish sandwich (a cold option, $10) was packed with shredded smoked trout and slightly sinful with a slab of herbed cream cheese. The centimeter-thick layer of spinach was not overwhelming in the least. The salty trout was balanced out by capers, which I normally dislike but were fabulous here mixed in with sun-dried tomatoes.
The Cuban (hot option, $11) was nothing short of amazing - pressed very thin with pancetta instead of ham, and served very hot, with plenty of pickle that imbued just the right tartness to combat all that cheese. Ever had a great Cuban? You won't even know that you WANT MORE delicate pickly tartness til you've had O+G's version. Mmmmm.
Both sandwiches came promptly, which surprised me because the restaurant was so busy.
The espresso ($3.25) was fine, nothing spectacular. We also had an apple turnover ($3.75) that was fresh but really not on the adventurous side on either our part or O+G's. It seems their regular drip coffee is good, since many, many, people came in to order coffee to go.
If you're looking for a hectic but lovely luncheon or cafe visit with plenty of Montrealaise flair, try Olive et Gourmando! If you don't care for the hectic part, come well after the lunchtime rush. The food will still be fabulous.
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