Alto Restaurant — Restaurant in Montreal

To be entirely transparent, I came here out of complete desperation. I arrived in Montreal late for the weekend and to my disbelief, most restaurants are closed by 10 or 11pm. Spent almost an hour trying to find somewhere close to my hotel with "decent" food at midnight. Uber Eats claimed Alto was a top choice and reviews made it sound like it was worthwhile to go for.

Ambience? Don't expect any. Very casual dining experience. Had some hip-hop playing off Spotify, a few tv's showing sports highlights. Place was mostly filled intoxicated 16-21 yr. I suppose I would see the appeal too if I was still in their demographic.

Overly large menu. Way too many options. Reminds me of Pickle Barrel. And for anyone that's eaten at Pickle Barrel they'll understand what I mean. Overly large menu options is usually a sign of poor food. I personally find restaurants should stick to focusing on doing a smaller number of food options well. Versus trying to please everyone. There's probably nothing on this menu you won't find. Greek, Italian, burgers, pizza, sandwiches, subs and bar food. Anything you'd find in the freezer at your grocery store you can get here. Is it the same as what you find in the frozen section? Pretty much. I had a chicken on a pita (chicken was fresh and cooked very well so no complaints on the pita). The fries were a little on the crisper/oily side. Not my personal preference. We also ordered a cheese pizza that's cut in half with spaghetti in the middle of the plate. Interesting menu option. Pasta honestly was pretty bland. Pizza was nothing special or memorable.

Our server... 😂 This was a highlight. I couldn't get a read on her. She was either miserable or hated her job. She said she had been working like 10 hours with no food or water. And can't even take a washroom break. She appeared like she just running on fumes. Not sure what the deal was with that but she was an odd one to interact with. Anyways, I can see the appeal for the youngin's.. But as an adult there's zero reason to go here unless you literally need to eat to survive and there's no other options. Overrated by far...

I visited this restaurant on a Friday night around 11:50 pm, and while I had high hopes based on the reviews I’d heard, my experience was extremely disappointing, not because of the food, but because of the service and dishonesty.

At first, things seemed promising. The waitresses were friendly, we got a table for two right away, and we placed our order about 10 minutes later - curly fries and a Quebecois pizza. Drinks came quickly, which reassured us that everything was on track. The restaurant wasn’t even busy at the time, with maybe 12 customers total.

But then came the waiting. We sat there watching other people get their food, and after 40 minutes had passed, our waitress came over to ask if we had been served anything. When we told her no, she seemed surprised and said she would check with the kitchen. That’s when it became clear: our order hadn’t even been started. To realize that nearly an hour after we had ordered is absolutely unacceptable.

By 12:50, I went up to the counter myself to ask what was going on. The waitress told us the kitchen said “4 minutes,” so we decided to wait. But it wasn’t until 12:58 — more than an hour after ordering — that our food finally arrived, and by then it was so late we had to take it to go instead of dining in as we had planned.

Here’s where the dishonesty stings: if the staff had been upfront earlier and admitted the order wasn’t started, we could’ve made other choices. Instead, we were left in the dark until it was far too late. That lack of care and communication is what ruined the night for me.

The food itself was very good — the pizza was delicious and packed with flavor, while the fries were decent though a little too hard. If it weren’t for the experience, this could have been a go-to spot for me.

Unfortunately, the way this situation was handled showed a real disregard for the customer experience, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth that no amount of good food...

We ordered their Fettuccine with shrimps thru Uber eats last night and enjoyed it. The shrimps were grilled and very flavorful. The portion was good so I had some left over but not enough for me and my husband. So this afternoon we ordered again. I called the restaurant to ask how I can add more shrimps through the app and asked if they would be grilled and spiced like we received last night. They confirmed and the order was placed.

We received the pasta with steamed/lighty pan fried shrimps, that were bland. I called the restaurant, a different person picked up and I asked if the shrimps on their pasta were supposed to be grilled. He put me on hold and then confirmed that they should be grilled. I then informed him of what happened, put me on hold again and said they need my number and they'll provide me with a 20% off on our next order.

I asked if we could just order again on Uber eats (We'd be paying of course since it's through the app) and informed him that we didn't need the discount, we'll reorder and just need them to make sure they were grilled and spiced like we got last night. He puts me on hold again then apologizes and says, they can't do anything as they pan fry the shrimps and not grill them. I then reminded him that he confirmed earlier that they were supposed to be grilled and he just apologized again. This was a $35.45 plate, which we would've enjoyed had the shrimps been cooked seasoned properly. Phots of the one from last night and what we got today. The shrimps from last night just had so much flavor compared to the ones received today.

I do appreciate the first fellow whom I spoke to and assisted me on how to add the extra shrimps. However, I wish they more consistent with their recipe/cooking procedure. Also, the conversation ended without me taking anything from them. Just to be...