Bistro Nolah — Restaurant in Dollard-des-Ormeaux

Our dining experience in Montreal has been somewhat disappointing recently, with restaurants charging very high prices for sub-par quality. I'm absolutely happy to pay for good quality food, and I understand the difficulties restaurants are facing post-pandemic. That being said, we went to Bistro Nolah tonight and were blown away by how wonderful everything was.

Ambiance was lovely, really loved how cozy the restaurant is, the jazz music and the decor. Tables are spaced well enough apart and music is a good volume so that you don't have to yell over any noise. My partner and I definitely plan to come back for another date night.

The service was great. I almost wished they came less frequently to our table, but we arrived at 5 pm when it was initially less busy. Still, it was not overbearing by any means. We were given plenty of time to relax after getting our check without us needing to search for our waiter to pay. And our waiter clearly knew the menu really well - we really appreciated his input when we were choosing our meals.

Finally, the food and drinks were fantastic. I had a Dark and Stormy which was double the size of a cocktail I'd get in the city. Great value, well made. Nothing special on the cocktail menu front, but still very much enjoyed my drink. Started out with some nice warm bread rolls with some very addictive smoky/sweet butter.

We shared the sausage gumbo appetizer. Really tasty and notably the texture of the rice in the gumbo was perfect, but can't speak to how it compares to gumbo from Louisiana. Not particularly spicy, as someone who eats a lot of spicy food, contrary to what some reviewers have said, but flavorful. I would recommend trying it, but will skip it next time and try out the fried chicken or mac and cheese, as a matter of personal preference.

We shared the brisket and creole shrimp mains. Brisket was phenomenal, especially the barbecue sauce. Love oyster mushrooms, but could take or leave the ones on top of the brisket. Felt like they could use a better sautée and that they didn't mesh that well with the dish. Mashed potatoes were also delicious. That said, it was my favorite dish we ate, as well as my partner's, but was very closely followed by the creole shrimp.

If you don't like heat of any kind, the creole shrimp might not be for you. We love spicy. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and the flavor was fantastic. The tomato sauce was also incredible and had the perfect amount of heat. The side of jambalaya and veggies were good too, but not the star of the show. To be fair, I was incredibly full and saved them for last - a testament to the nice portion size for what we paid and my mistake of eating a pain au chocolat an hour and a half before dinner.

For me, what makes a restaurant stand out is attention to detail, and Bistro Nolah does not disappoint in that regard. I can't wait to come back and try some dessert next time! If you're like us and live nowhere near the West Island, I hope this convinces you to make the trip. My only regret is not coming...

It’s disappointing to write this,as Nolah has long been one of our favourites.We’ve dined here at least six times,often with guests,and always left impressed,until our most recent visit.

We made a reservation for two to celebrate my fiancée’s birthday on a busy Sunday evening (Father’s Day and Grand Prix weekend).Despite arriving early,the terrace was already filling.Our server greeted us warmly and offered cocktails, which we accepted.Unfortunately,drinks took over 12 minutes to arrive,and water was only served after two requests.The cocktails lacked refinement,mine with a tired orange slice and his overrun with mint,resembling something from a resort buffet rather than a well-executed house cocktail.

We weren’t given the usual explanation of the menu or specials,something we’ve always appreciated here.We chose to share the crab cake,followed by the lobster macaroni for each of us.At this point,we realised our server was the only one managing the entire terrace,approximately 15 tables.She remained courteous and did her utmost,but service understandably suffered.

The crab cake was average,presented with a blob of sauce and scattered greens.More disappointing was the signature bread,which is usually warm, fluffy,and slightly sweet.This time,it was dense and dry.We requested another basket with our mains,hoping it was a one-off issue,but the second batch was just as tough.

Our lobster macaroni arrived in small skillets, featuring one modest tail and two overly spicy shrimp.The pasta was rich and well-cooked,but there was no lobster in the actual macaroni,just the topping.For the price,it felt more like gourmet mac and cheese with seafood garnish.

After finishing our meal,our table remained uncleared for 20 minutes.We declined dessert,though fond of their donuts,simply because of the delays and visible staff shortage. What stung most was the lack of acknowledgment of the birthday,which had been mentioned during booking.At an upscale restaurant,especially in the West Island,this is a basic courtesy that was notably missing.

Our server confirmed she was the only staff member covering the entire terrace.She truly did her best,but no one person could maintain the level of service Nolah is known for under such conditions.

This visit fell well short of what we’ve come to expect,both in food quality and experience.For a restaurant of this calibre,such an evening felt rushed,underwhelming,and overpriced.I share this as a loyal guest who has always held Nolah in high regard.I would welcome a response from management and hope they’ll consider making amends for what was meant to be a special evening,but...

I went for dinner with my husband last night and wanted to try this restaurant for the first time. We were pleasantly surprised that there actually was a good number of options for gluten-free food as my husband cannot eat gluten. Overall, they do not have a massive menu selection to choose from, but in this case I think it's quality over quantity (a very good thing) - the items they do have on the menu they can really focus on making sure it comes out with great quality: excellent presentation, flavor, etc. The alcoholic beverages (cocktails) are very pricy but do taste great and aren't watered down.

The overall ambiance of the place is cozy and the noise level is acceptable for a bar-restaurant. However, had I known better, I would not sit at the table which is directly under the AC unit again (it drips a lil bit of condensation) - that was the only minor issue I had with the whole experience (and kinda my fault for picking the spot before realizing about the AC dripping). Bistro Nolah - if you guys are reading this, maybe move that particular table a bit further out from the wall so the AC unit cannot drip on the table directly below it.

The staff are friendly, welcoming, helpful in answering any questions we had about the food, attentive (checking if everything is to our liking, asking if we need/want anything else, etc. at reasonable intervals), and also bilingual which I appreciated (I do speak/understand a bit of basic French, but English is still my main language). We were provided with 1 bread roll per person with their special chipotle butter (? I think) and I got to enjoy both 😅 (I did feel a bit bad for my husband missing out). For appetizers, my husband got a creamy corn soup and I got the boneless fried chicken. The corn soup was creamy, savory and refreshing (I took a lil taste test) and the chicken was fried to perfection - tender and crispy with a nice sweet and mildly spicy sauce drizzled on it. For the main entrée, we both went for the Beef Short Ribs with mashed sweet potato and vegetables which we both enjoyed. For dessert, my husband got the gluten-free Chocolate Torte, and I went for another round of the boneless fried chicken as strange as that might be (I'm trying to eat less sweets and the chicken was just too good for me to not to get seconds). I wanted to give my compliments/thanks to the chef(s) at the end because I was very impressed with how delicious everything was. We had an enjoyable evening here and would recommend this cozy lil...