I just had to go Ramsay's new place here in Montreal. I just HAD to. And I can tell you most of the reviews are spot-on: this place is just average. I really really really wanted to like this place, I really did. But truthfully--and I never lie--St. Hubert's rotisserie chicken is better. NO JOKE. Like the taste just wasn't there! I mean the decor is really awesome and the whole atmosphere is really quite alluring and very Montreal but the food was thoroughly average.
My parents and I all ordered the quarter chicken dinners (dark meat) with the fries and homemade coleslaw. The fries were just plain bad. They were so over-seasoned. I like to think of myself as something of a 'fries expert' as I've had amazing French fries all over the damn place and these were just not up to par! They were bad. Like over fried and just really inedible. Maybe we just got the dregs from the bottom of the frier and we had a bad batch but they were seriously NOT GOOD. The coleslaw was super dry--I much prefer a more 'saucy' coleslaw with my chicken dinners. The gravy was good however, I really did enjoy it. But honestly people you can go down the street to the St-Hubert Express on Parc (south of Prince-Arthur) and enjoy a better chicken dinner for about 1/16 the price. While I salute Gordon for keeping the price points fairly low-ish (like it was $15 for chicken, fries, coleslaw) I still think they're charging too much for what is basically standard fare in any diner here in la belle province.
The poor waitress was like the only gal working the room too. She was so frantic, running back and forth that she forgot to submit our drink orders and waited soooooo long to clear our plates after we were clearly done. My parents are Anglophones and don't speak French and she made such a fuss out of switching from French to English. I know I know: hot topic, shouldn't mention it but she was noticeably irritated when my parents could not understand her French. ALSO the table was super wobbly and she just laughed about it. Like didn't make an effort to fix it, so we didn't bother to press the issue. ALSO the stools we sat at (near the bar area) were like tiny! Now I am not a big boy by any means but my little ass was squished on that chair and it was highly uncomfortable. Definitely a design over function decision there.
So if you're a local: go for it, try it out, I've heard the chicken wings and sliders are good (we didn't order them) but if you're looking for grade-A rotisserie chicken check out your local St-Hubert or if you're from Ontario just grab some Swiss Chalet once you're over the border. Nothing exciting here. Now if you're a Gordon Ramsay fan (which I am) it might be worth the trip up to Laurier to enjoy a nice night at a beautifully designed restaurant with adequate food.