Café Chato — Restaurant in Montreal

First time visiting, was hoping to become a regular as it's close to my home, but the experience was sour and I probably wouldn't return. It seems I came at a bad time, as there was a professional photographer set up taking photos of the food (have to wonder if this couldn't be done at night), but what really put me off was the atmosphere. As a person with anxiety, it was really tense and no effort was made to put me at ease.

Menu is on the wall, in french (unattractive for tourists or anglos who want to feel welcome) and there was no attempt to greet us, explain rules or entice the cats to want to spend time with people. I get that you can't force cats to be around people (in fact, they shouldn't), but this is a massive cafe and between the children, all day music and flash photography, the cats were mostly hidden away in the back. Those that weren't were sleeping. Because the rules weren't explained, I had no idea if it was ok to 'annoy' the cats and since I have anxiety I was too nervous to ask or even make an attempt to get closer. It's not a good place if you are introverted or have anxiety, but extroverts might enjoy it. If you want to sit and study in a place where you might occasionally see a cat, perhaps you'll like it.

To me, it seemed, the cats didn't seem to really want to interact with people and the place is so big I worry that the cats are learning to be aloof as opposed to friendly (something that will get them adopted, I love that they are working with shelters). Since the place seems to be staffed by young people I expected a more friendly, happy atmosphere that encouraged the cats to be out and about. There's an area in the back where they are all hiding where, presumably, we are not allow to go (but again there was no explanation of this).

In terms of decor and food, meh. The food was ok, but again almost no guidance. I ended up trading food as the chocolate chip cookies had nuts. An allergy sufferers nightmare. The hot chocolate was good, though (and this is maybe nitpicking) none of the cups matched and it felt cheap and dirty as a result (though it was in fact very clean). I found it to be a little over-priced.

The decor looks like a thrift store, which generally I don't mind and I know a lot of hip young cafes have this look. But let's be clear, this is just shabby, not shabby chic. In terms of stuff for the cats, it was lovely to see so many natural trees and shelves for them.

I feel they are wasting a massive opportunity and good location, I've been to other cat cafes which I was too nervous too interact much, but I could see they were well-run. This cafe is prime to have insta worthy moments, lots of interaction and be a hotbed place for older or anxious people who have a need to relax with cats, but you don't feel any of that when you walk in the door.

There's really no excuse for bad customer service. There was seemingly three employees just milling around, but nothing was explained, we were barely spoken to and it just felt awkward and stunted. It didn't even seem like they were caring for the cats, they just didn't seem to do much other than stand around quietly. The atmosphere was so tense. I didn't tip and usually I tip above regular for normal service.

It wasn't hellish, just supremely disappointing. Cat cafes are new to Montreal and this doesn't create a buzz at all. Considering anyone who walks in the door can be a reviewer, or in my case an interested local, it's a wasted...

So... honestly, for a café, it's pretty average. Some items were reasonably priced, and others were not.

If I had to name an item I was truly satisfied with, it was the soup of the day. The soup was done perfectly, with no flaws to me at the very least. I loved it, even though I am often very picky on soup and the flavors from it.

I had the berries smoothie, and it was really good. It was honestly very good for the price as well.

I did not have the pastries, but my friends who were with me mentioned that it was good. However, the sandwiches and paninj were overpriced and questionable. At the very least... the sandwiches were really small despite their price... (10,45$)

There really is not much to say considering that it is a cafe, not a restaurant, nor a bakery. As such, here's the main thing to pay attention to.

Surely, if people go to a cat cafe, it's mainly for the cats, not the food.

Well, if you're fine with drinks here, then it's definitely worth the visits. The cats were very adorable and playful. The cafe is fairly peaceful, so it is a great place to study and relax around cats. They provide cat toys as well so that customers can play with the cats. Although it is outside of downtown Montreal and that the food is pretty average, I have to agree that it is worth visiting at least once.

I think it's also important to mention that they have adorable merchandise at decent prices. I got a pair of cats that can connect with one another, and that was 7$.

Another thing: there is another cat café in downtown Montreal. However, I didn't like how it was really crowded, making it hard to relax with cats. So really, this place was great for giving the sense of...

ive been there a couple times now and i usually enjoy it quite a lot. However, it seems to be a recurring issue that employees do not reinforce the rules of not picking up cats or chasing after them which is very unfortunate. I keep seeing children handle cats in a way that they do not like. They also run after cats that clearly want to be left alone.

I understand not having an age restriction in a public cafe, but when the children are making the ground shake and CRAWLING under other customers' table, maybe let's interfere. Also, a mother and her two children felt entitled to come into our table in order to pet a cat that was sleeping next to us. The kids literally STEPPED on my friend's bag while the other SAT on our coats.

Additionally, a customer came to our table KNOCKED DOWN our cup just to come abruptly wake the same cat for some pictures. There is absolutely no respect for personal space from some of the customers which makes for an extremely uncomfortable atmosphere.

Employees are super nice and friendly. They bring your food to your table even! I really do feel like they should be more adamant about reinforcing rules and making sure customers don't disturb other customers.

Oh also soup is heavily underseasoned 🧍🏼‍♀️ im still ate it but...