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Universel Restaurant Cafe
Category: Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
3630 Rue St-DenisMontreal, QC H2X 3L7
(514) 598-7136
- Hours:
Mon-Tue 7 am - 10 pm
Wed-Thu 7 am - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 7 am - 12 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Breakfast, Brunch
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Trendy
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
17 reviews for Universel Restaurant Cafe
Review Highlights
"...also got a blueberry crepe to share with real maple syrup."
(in 3 reviews)
"I've never seen so many variations of eggs Benedict."
(in 3 reviews)
"Omlettes and crepes are also solid bets."
(in 6 reviews)
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15 reviews in English
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Review from Steve H.
Gananoque, ON
2/4/2012
Had breakfast there this morning based on reviews from Yelp. I took two of my daughters aged 8 and 10. I love Montreal because everyone says "Bonjour" but as soon as you reply "Hello" you are met courteously with English and not made to feel awkward. My kids were offered coloring books and crayons. Superb service from male server and another male that I'm assuming was an owner. My kids had never had crepes so the server offered the significantly lower priced child's menu which included juice for $4.50 when I was prepared to pay full price for an adult portion. I ordered the Universel Breakfast with 1 meat (could have had 3 meats and I was tempted) 2 eggs, real potato home fries, toast, beans, cretons, and bananas and strawberries on my crepes (was $14.95). All dishes came with an abundance of fruit (cantelope, pineapple, oranges). My meal was HUGE. I could not finish it and I'm a big eater and neither could my kids. My 8 year old devoured my baked beans. Neither liked the creton (I had to look this up because I never had it) but I loved it; a lardy spicy pork dish...yum (it reminded me of corned beef hash but different). Very clean, well decorated. I only visit Montreal once every couple of years but every time I am there I will definitely make this a stop for breakfast.
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Review from Risa D.
2/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
Nice brunch spot, just a cool, clean diner with a bit of a brasserie vibe: warm and cozy, fresh and sexy, next to Carré St Louis. A perfect starting point for a walk and shop on St Denis, or a browse and carouse on Prince Arthur.
The waffles are fat fluffy homemade, the mounds of fruit are immaculately fresh and generous. All the plates we tried came with large portions of potatoes and fruit on the side. The service has been lovable, friendly and fast.
On a could-be-better note: the mimosa was a little watery today, and the apple, bacon, cheddar crêpe had us pretty excited but flavour-wise fell a little flat - maybe if the apples were more caramelized, the cheddar a little sharper, the bacon more abundant, the crêpe a little lighter?
But these amount to small tweaks, overall Universel is a sweet solid option. You can't help but love to be tucked into a big, back booth all loaded up with breakfast food. -
Review from Caitlin C.
1/30/2012
Looking for a nearby brunch destination to chase our hunger and hangovers away, we popped into Universel on a Sunday morning at the recommendation of the hotel receptionist. And we were not disappointed.
Our lovely, red-haired waitress was very attentive and patient with our rather rusty French. I had the eggs benedict with bacon, homefries, and a very generous fruit salad. He had a combination plate which featured scrambled eggs, homefries, deux crepes avec sucre et beurre, creton (pate) with toast, and sausages. I traded a benedict for a crepe, which I enhanced with a nice pour of real maple syrup (I know it's Canada, but I was quite surprised and pleased that they offered us a huge bottle of it with our meal).
The one minor let-down was my chocolat chaud. It seemed to consist of warm milk and Hersey's syrup. It didn't appear to be on the menu though, so I assume they improvised for me, and I can't really complain about that!
Everything was delicious, service was excellent, prices were reasonable, the decor was chic, and we left feeling revived for our long journey home. -
Review from John B.
1/7/2012
I really enjoyed watching a tiny older caricature at an adjoining table tell the waiter he had left a "rather generous tip." This tip turned out to be about three quarters and a few nickels on a full breakfast tab. Even allowing for the presence of old Monsieur Skinflint, there's a convivial atmosphere. Lots of older regulars and lots of characters.
The food was fine. To hear it described here and elsewhere, one might think that diner food had been revolutionized. Not so. As far as I'm concerned, nothing out of the ordinary. That's not such a bad thing when the omelettes aren't greasy and the tab is reasonable. And I guess since the United States is entirely opting out of the good proletariat diner genre, a place like l'Universel might get a little extra credit. -
Review from Kiera S.
Montréal, QC
8/16/2011
Weekend brunch favourite in the neighbourhood. Great atmosphere, great food, and (almost always) great staff. Lots of options, generous portions. Really love the crowd here.
The benedicts are usually my favourite (the Billy Goat and the Universel in particular). Omlettes and crepes are also solid bets. Actually, pretty much everything is a solid bet. Given the volume of food, it is often nice to order one salty item off the menu (i.e. omlette) and one sweet thing (i.e. crepe) and split them half-half with a friend to get a good mix of both flavours.
Note: some items come with a free coffee, and some don't, which can be confusing. -
Review from Mick T.
5/15/2011
Good service, good food, and they do brunch till late in the day and maybe all day.
I was visiting Montreal and was staying just around the corner from this place, it's easy to walk past as the signage isn't too obvious unless your across the street. The food is good, and my friends enjoyed the smoothies, they also serve pitchers of beer and probably wine. It's looks classy and all sorts of people seem to eat here, from hung over tourists, locals with their wee'uns (kids), and young lovers. On a busy morning they pleasantly found seating for our party of 9!
I enjoyed their omelet, and their Universal breakfast that came with choice of meat, 2 eggs, fried potatoes, baked bean, crepes/french toast/waffles with real maple syrup, and a small side of a pork dish I wasn't familiar with. They also serve fresh squeezed orange juice. However, I didn't think the coffee matched the quality of the rest of the food, but it was drinkable. Their sandwiches and salads looked good also.
On a funny note, one of my friends wanted pancakes and the waitress told him "pancakes are for children" and he could only have crepes, French toast, or waffles. :) -
Review from tokill a.
Etobicoke, ON
5/1/2011
Fantastic!
We stumbled upon this place on our last day...the food is amazing, portions generous, price pretty reasonable for what you get.
I'd lived in Montreal previously, and never been able to find a place like this. It was either one end of the spectrum: super healthy or really greasy. This is a brilliant balance of the two, with the "greasy" (ie. home-fries, bacon) not greasy at all. -
Review from Matthew A.
8/7/2008
I used to like this place a lot until it moved to St Denis street.
Now it is a much longer walk and out of the gay village.
So dispointing, as their old location is now vacant on rue Sherbrooke.
I miss their crepes with REAL maple syrup. -
Review from C M.
Montréal, QC
5/30/2011
I have only been to the location on Peel, but I' assuming that they are pretty much the same. The menu is extensive and the food is amazing. Well-priced for what you get (which is a lot!) and the service is pretty good for a Montreal restaurant. Highly recommended.
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Review from Patricia M.
Edmonton, AB
6/16/2010
Too bad we found this place on the last day of our stay in Montreal. Located by my favorite place in Montreal (St Louis Square), Universel has something for everyone.
The menu selection was overwhelming, everything from crepes, to grilled cheese, to waffles, to parfait, to omelette's, to a dozen other things. We sat reading and re-reading the menu for almost 20 minutes, there were so many delicious choices.
I finally chose the grilled cheese sandwich with home fries, while my dining partner choose eggs Benedict. We also got a blueberry crepe to share with real maple syrup. To say that we were impressed is an understatement.
The food was delicious, the prices were perfect, and the service was friendly. I miss this place already. -
Review from Lizz M.
8/12/2009
Universel was a great stop to our long day of touristing. The salads were superb and adorned with a variety of vegetables. I had a chicken souvlaki salad which I would recommend to anyone that comes to this place. My bf had a chicken club and we are beginning to realize that the chicken comes out pretty dry on the clubs in Montreal. I would highly recommend extra mayo to go with it.
We were easily tempted by the dessert case and had a slice of the blueberry tart. Best decision EVER!!! So delicious and didn't break our wallets. -
Review from Sherry A.
5/15/2011
We chose Universel based on other yelper reviews and even then, it exceeded our expectations. We were in Montreal just for the weekend, visiting McGill with our high school junior and 12 yr old brother in tow. The entire family was delighted with this pick for brunch. The florentine eggs Benedict, the omelettes and "les combos" with crepes/waffles and strawberries, bananas and chocolate were all both visually appealing and delicious. The overly generous servings all cane with fresh delicious fruit (kiwi, pineapple included - not just your typically boring fruit salad!) Service was terrific and we really enjoyed the atmosphere - crowded, tight tables, good background music, good selection of newspapers and an eclectic group of people moving in and really gave the place a local distinctive flavor. We would definitely recommend.
Meals were on average $10; speciality coffees could push bill up a little but well worth it ( great cafe au lait!). Overall terrific value. Would visit again. -
Review from Isidro G.
1/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Awesome breakfast! Yelpers got it right again. I've never seen so many variations of eggs Benedict. The bacon one was fantastic. The cappuccino is also great. Great service and kid friendly. They offer my 5 yr old a coloring book and crayons as soon as we were seated. Great find in Montreal.
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Review from Fred B.
Montréal, QC
5/24/2010
Good food, good price, great location!
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Review from nadir s.
Vancouver, BC
4/30/2010
This is a great place for breakfast/brunch. The lunch items looked appetizing as well.
Nice atmosphere inside.
Excellent waffles, crepes and omelette's. Good home fries too and large portions. Highly recommended, I would definitely go back.
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French (2)
