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Ellefsen Café Scandinave
Categories: Restaurants Scandinavian Restaurants Cafes Scandinavian, Cafes [Edit]
414 St-Zotique EMontréal, QC H2S 1M1
- Hours:
Mon, Wed 7 am - 11 pm
Thu-Fri 7 am - 12 am
Sat 9 am - 12 am
Sun 9 am - 11 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
4 reviews for Ellefsen Café Scandinave
2 reviews in English
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Review from Emeline V.
Montréal, QC
12/26/2011 4 photos
Ahh Ellefsen, what to make of you? I am surprised to be the first to talk about this local Villeray/Rosemont joint! It used to be a rather sleazy dive, was promptly bought and has become the only competitor to everyone's favorite furniture store for Scandinavian food. Slight modification: Ellefsen is Norwegian(-style) rather than swedish.
The decor is lovely:pastel tones and wooden surfaces, the menu is written on blackboards (isn't that the new hip thing of the moment or what?). It's a a bit european-cliché but i'm totally buying it anyway. Their specialty is the smorrebrod (with dashed o's), a typically Scandinavian open-sandwich on rye bread, or rather a slice of bread, if you're a "glass-half-empty" kind of person. Their slection is astounding: squash, salmon, caviar, quails (?!!!). Ellefsen brings together chic cuisine in a café setting! I've had some excellent Elk bavette. Last time I went, they even offered horse bavette! Chanterelles also seem a staple of the menu. If you'd like to stay a bit closer to Quebec, try one of their poutines (one with meatballs, the other with cod). Their main dishes are all delicious, although the chef seems to like salt, alot, everywhere, on everything.
Their breakfast earned the european-parents-seal-of-approval: strong black coffee! The muffins and croissants are obviously fresh of the morning, and to die for (take note of the unusual flavours: orange-grapefruit muffins! YUM!). My own favorite is the Ellefsen fruit plate (it's huge! with sour yoghurt and muesli) with a glass of freshly-squeezed juice. Sadly, no desserts! :(
While I love the food, I'm still unsure of my opinion of Ellefsen. While i was snapping pictures for this review, an older lady randomly asked me: "Is it strictly for students?". And you'd think it's hipster central! Berets, leggings and white laptops galore! The free WIFI is extremely attractive I admit. I've also seen families, but only rarely encounter middle-aged people. Hmmmm. Alright, I'll say it: I'm bugged by the service: sometimes I'll come and the waitress will be at my table ready for my order, other times none of them will budge and after an epic wait, I'll go to the counter and then when I automatically go to the counter they seem surprised.. What to do for a smorrebrod!! Another thing I've picked up on is a discreet but steady rise in prices..
Regardless, I love the food, I love the setting and I am back, relentlessly..Listed in: Faim sans fin, Seeking Scandinavia
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Review from Scott T.
Westmount, QC
3/3/2012
They are trying too hard to be cool here. The no reservation thing? Who does that? And if you're going to do it, make it part of your marketing- make it KNOWN!. Otherwise it just seems like you are too cheap to buy a phoneline.
Food was lame. I felt like getting back on the boat to Scandinavia to get as far as possible from these plates. That night I tried everything on the menu that was so-called Norvegian style. The meatballs, Smoreborg, poutine, etc. Becuase, hey, you figure it has to be good if they're bold enough to make their ex-pat version. But, all I can say is, "No-Vay!" They totally missed the mark. I had to double check the sign outside to make sure this wasn't an Ikea cafe, because this was essentially glorified cafeteria food(from Scandinavia?). I doubt my best friend from Sweden, who is visiting in April would be impressed- If you want to be patriotic, slap a Norway sticker on your Audi like everyone else, don't start a resto. Ok, I am be a little spikey, but if you received the pathetically, dry pistachio bread and sad mini-pile of carrot cake crumbs I did, you wouldn't be such a happy Norvegian sailor either. If I was a viking, I would have thrown a chair into the kitchen. Anyway, this place is hit or miss. Some people looked like they were having a good time. Others, were just stressed about not being seated for a table. I would say pass on this one. There are many other cool restos to visit in VIlleray/Rosemont that have recently popped up.
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