Bar Suzanne — Restaurant in Montreal

I went here with my friends on a Saturday night, group of 6. It took us a while to be seated but that’s expected. However once we were seated it took 15/20 minutes for one of the servers to come and take our order - slightly an issue but nothing major. I order a beer, my friends order mixed drinks and glasses of champagne.

15/20 minutes more passes by, the place is emptying out - still no drinks. The servers appear to be in a corner by the kitchen dancing and chatting (the bar is at the opposite end). One of my friends asks our server (once she can finally get her attention) where our drinks are. Like magic 5 minutes later our drinks arrive. ~40 minutes to get a simple drinks order, pretty bad.

So to signal my dissatisfaction with the service without being rude or hurting someone’s feelings directly (perhaps they’re new?) - I decide to tip 10% instead of the customary 15. That is until I realise the machine won’t let me - it declines my card twice, then the catty server says loudly “perhaps one of your friends can pay for you”. I know there’s no issue with my card so I try one last time, putting in 15% - voila! It works.

Poor service on a busy night is one thing, but a dark UX pattern at the point of payment that won’t let customers give feedback to servers in the most polite and understood way (in the food industry anyway) is another thing entirely. Shame because the place has a nice interior and reasonable prices, but I won’t be returning any time soon - especially with the multitude of superior alternatives...

We have been to Suzanne for the second time, a bit after mid-September 2021. We opted to stay in the calmer tables outside because the indoors was packed, with loud music.

Our reception was without ceremonies. Although our waiter was kind, he did not care much about us. He did not clean our table. He did not care to let us know that we should look into the menu from our phones. He did not even check our vaccination passports or the ones from the tables close to us.

However, the drink and food options we ordered really let us down.

All beers that we ordered tasted awful and did not correspond to their category. We questioned why, from so many excellent breweries in Québec, Bar Suzanne decided to populate their menu with beers that are generally not well-appreciated. Many of the beers by West Shefford are consistently voted below 3 (from 5) points.

The food we ordered was exorbitantly expensive and ordinary for what it looked and tasted like. Dumplings were unsatisfactory. Fries came with a sauce that added an interesting touch to them, but the portion was absurdly small. The crispy chicken came in a size that would only justify half of its menu price.

It is very difficult for me to understand why Bar Suzanne is having this hype. Much has to be improved. Despite having a trendy indoors decoration, we were underwhelmed with the food and drinks we ordered, the service we received, and the quality-price ratio that...

The vibes in this place are immaculate. Plants on the ceiling, cozy lighting, and great décor! I felt like I was walking in to a room of best friends, but not at all in an exclusionary way if that makes any sense.

I do not drink alcohol, and decided to have a mocktail as their drinks menu indicated cocktails can easily be made alcohol-free. It was the best beverage I have had in a very long time- it was some sort of an herbaceous, effervescent lemonade. 10/10

The cocktail menu was very impressive, as was their very carefully selected whiskey/bourbons and other spirits. We were just coming for drinks, and we did not feel pressured to get any food by the waitstaff, although we very much regretted eating before hand because their dumplings looked delicious.

Accessibility: the bar at the top of a long flight of stairs. It is unclear if there is a lift to take people to the top of the stairs. Washrooms were gender neutral (thank you!). The stalls were in one room, the sinks and mirrors were...