Chez Dévi — Restaurant in Montreal

Before writing the review for this restaurant, I went through all the other reviews and found that the problem with service issues and tipping policy is very old and still persists. There are owners comments two and three years ago but still have not done anything to resolve this issue. Unfortunately, this time they are getting another negative review. Me and my wife visited this place on Sunday Sep 9 for lunch. The hostess/ server was courteous and sat us graciously. The food on the buffet looked good so we decided to have lunch at this restaurant. We really enjoyed the experience as the quality of food was great. Where the experience went down was half way through our meals, we could hear consistent loud noises of staff and owner(she) quarrelling which could be overheard in the restaurant. This happened for a good 30-40 mins. There was a male server(moustaches) on the floor who seemed to be rude to other guests in his conversation. At the end of our meal, I asked my server for check and she flagged down that male server... the male server was rude to her too.... after sometime he brought over the machine(not the check) and asked for my card to insert in the machine. First I didnt hand him the card, looked at the machine and the price for 2 buffets was $42. It seemed fishy as the price per person was $15.95. I asked him why he was charging extra and he said it was the house policy to charge 15% service charge. I told him that there is no such policy and is only applicable for parties of 8 and above. I also asked him to show me where this house policy was posted. He still refused to take the charge off and I refused to pay the 15%. Then he adjusted the amount on the machine to the amount on the bill. I paid the amount on the bill with $0 tip and handed back the machine. He took the machine and asked “ So you are not paying any tip” and I said “NO” and he just walked off.

Message to Owner- tell your staff how to be friendly and courteous to your guests. We do not want to be overhearing any screaming or shouting in the restaurant when we dine out.

Remember - great food+great service = great profit and great tips for staff.

You haven’t done anything about the man with moustache as he is very rude to the customers. Seems like he has worked there for a long time as he appears on other reviews too.

Try posting a sign that says 15 or 20% service charge is applicable to...

I went there with my 3 friends during my recent visit to Montreal. We chose this place based on google reviews. The food was ok in terms of taste but not aligned to what they charge. We ordered starters and were told we will get 5 to 6 pieces of chicken. It came only with 3. When we mentioned to the host, He said he will check with the superior. Within few minutes, gentleman came to us claiming he is the owner (I doubt) and asked how can he help. Meanwhile the host came and said what was the matter. To our surprise, the owner said it’s only 3 to 4 pieces and just walk away from our table(that was actually rude). The host then said “let me see what I can do”. Within few minutes he came and said we will give you additional 3 pieces due to miscommunication. We appreciate kind gesture for sure but it was just a fix for their own miscommunication.

The host told us they make all food as per guest’s request and customize as per our requirement. They took more than normal wait time which we thought may be because they make everything fresh. I wish we were right.

We specifically asked for Indian style spicy food but the food was no way near to even medium spicy. We asked the host and once again the owner came and tried to convince us why it is not good to eat so much spicy. He started talking about body’s inner system why they don’t make such spicy food. I am like are u a physician or an restaurant owner ? We want to eat spicy it is non of his business and we asked to customize because they claimed that they make customized food. Finally he suggested to order bullet naan which is just a naan bread made up with potatoes and red and green chilli. It came complimentary toward the end when we were almost done with our food.

At the end when we were leaving the owner tried to talk nicely by saying he had multiple restaurants and projects even in New York’s Manhattan (nothing currently though) and he asked how many places I have been to. Being from Indian background and having visited multiple Indian restaurants (from road side Dhaba to premium 5 star restaurants) I know what is Indian taste and how it is made. This place really disappointed with Indian food. Just a waste of money. Do not recommend at all due to the rude owner (so called) and exorbitantly high prices of...

in simple, avoid this place. more detailed review below.

i just couldn't go below 1 star. After a long time I wanted to take my wife for a quick dine and she loves Gobi Manchurian. So wanted to try Indian.

1st part they asked 15% service tax even before we ordered the food!! just a rude way of doing business. i would simply call its robbing !! In the food business i only know tip is once client likes the service and food, then he adds to bill.

I agreed to pay 15% addition as a symbol of respect to service. there we go we started with food. Gobi Manchurian, you never could imaging cauliflower cut in two big rounds dipped in tomato sauce...oh my god, what in the world do you even call it Gobi dish. Then we ordered Butter chicken masala with bread and rice. if you ever had real this dish in your life time from avg. cook, you would even call it dish in this place. i normally respect food, but trust me this place food is worst and possible that you may fall sick too due to such worst food.

after main course, we are simply waiting for our dessert then i couldnt wait more and asked for cheque then he paid little attention. here we go funny part. he told me that they are preparing desserts. Rasmalai, in what world you can prepare in next 1 hour..LOL.. finally after 30mins wait they got us desserts. its only the item for that evening i could feel positive.

here comes the worst part. bill payment. he punches your bill+taxes+ TIP 15% and handover the machine to your hand for payment.

I'm done with this place and never going back. take my word, there are many other places in montreal you wanted to try. but just not this place.

if you ever want to try this place, my advise dont waste your money, you cook on your own, i bet you will cook better than what...