The famous Cafe Gentile has recently opened a new location on Ste Catherine street in Westmount and judging by the line up at the door it has been very well received.
This spot is a great addition to the neighbourhood which lacks good quality, reasonably priced authentic options for lunch. My first experience here was excellent. We did have to wait a couple of minutes for a table as the place was 100% full, but the service was quick, the food was great and the atmosphere was lively and enjoyable. I will definitely be a regular.
I order the Tunisian Tuna Sandwich with a Ceasar salad on the side. The sandwich was excellent with the perfect amount of mayo, some egg and a bit of spice to give it a great flavour. My friend had one of the daily pasta specials which was great. We topped it off with a couple of cookies, the biscotti is made by the owner's mom, and a latte.
I have to admit that I'm generally not a big fan of biscotti, but I really enjoyed it here. It was crispy on the exterior, but when you bite into it the core was just ever so slightly chewy, which I really enjoyed.
Cafe Gentile has been consistently busy for lunch since it opened. Today we arrived at 12:40 and left slightly after 1:30 PM and there was a line the entire time. So you need to be prepared to wait a few minutes when you arrive. The staff does a good job of politely keeping the table turnover at a good rate, so you should not have to wait to long. The only issue could be if you are a group of 5 or more as there are only a couple of spots in the restaurant that can accommodate large groups.
They also do takeout.