Le Comptoir was the worst dining experience I've ever had in Montreal.
I'm generally sympathetic to a restaurant even if there are significant flaws, but Le Comptoir, in my opinion, committed the worst offense: the staff were unapologetically antagonistic towards me and my company.
The good: This is really unfortunate because the food, decor, and overall presentation is great. I had a tasty pork sandwich that was very hearty, came with a punchy BBQ sauce, charred just the right way, and exquisitely presented.
The bad: I made a reservation the day before and we showed up 5 mins late, but given that more than half of the tables were vacant, it did not seem to warrant any concern. Nonetheless, our server was immediately rude, gave us a bad table, ignored requests, reprimanded us for splitting the bill, and proceeded to chat with her coworkers for a full 15 minutes AFTER she saw us signal to her for attention.
What it came down to: we're Anglo, they're not, and they absolutely did NOT want us there. Our server insisted on speaking French throughout, which made ordering awkward for a few of us. As an American living in Montreal, I recuse myself from Franco-Anglo frictions (alleged or actual) and I'm not offended by some haughty, card-carrying sepratist, but what I think is patently unacceptable is poor service!
We headed over to Kem CoBa after for a treat and to wash down the bad taste that was left and all was mended!