We went to Garde Manger for double birthday celebration and all the seven of us were quite happy with the experience.
The ambiance of the restaurant was warm and welcoming. The service was good and our needs were attended timely. We sat in the inner hall at a cosy big table under the menu. The same menu is written on the black board and it has only the appetizers and main courses, drinks and desserts are announced by your host and I really prefer to read the ingredients of what I'm consuming.
The lobster poutine is amazing and believe me there is enough lobster in it. I had tomato salad for appetizer, which was not less amazing as the tomatoes were sweet like they have grown under the southern sun or may be the chef had some secret seasoning for them. My main course was the most expensive dish in the house, lobster risotto, but wow, it was freakin good. As my friend wisely explained, when you pay for risotto you don't pay for ingredients, but for work and experience. I managed to dig in the duck with mousse of foie gras dish and it was pretty good too. The sweet potato creme brûlée was interesting dessert to share, but next time we would rather try something else.
All drinks we had were solid. The girls fell in love with the Bloody Caesars, they still talk about them more then a month later. I was a little bit disappointed as the Caesars didn't come with the famous snow crab leg in them, just a massive fresh celery and some beef jerky instead. Now I need to come back for more Bloody drinks with the famous legs, this time I really would like to sit at the raw bar and try some fresh seafood. Conclusion this is one more place rated solid five stars on my personal scale of six. I find it overall expensive, but absolutely worth trying!