Chez José Café — Restaurant in Montreal

Wow, that was disappointing. A nasty experience. The thing is that this review has nothing to do with the food, since I couldn’t try it. This is about the disgraceful service at Chez José.

I got there with two of my friends on a Sunday for brunch. There were already two tables on the waiting list, but the host told me it was a 15-20-minute wait. Hence, we thought it should be ok to wait.

Two other groups of 2 and 3 arrived after us and demanded to be put on the waiting list. 20 minutes went by, and people kept coming out of the restaurant, but no tables were assigned. Then, a group of 6 who had been just waiting for 5 minutes got a table. Strike 1.

Surprised and a bit annoyed, I approached the host to ask her why this was happening. With a smile she answered that my friends and I were the next on the list, but it was easier for them to assign a table for 6. Strike 2.

Another 30 minutes under the sun went by. We were starving, (getting hangry here glare) but no one was called. Rarely one of the hosts came out to tell us what we already knew: “You are next on the list, as soon as a table is available”. Strike 3.

We decided to leave since not even a cup of coffee, or a glass of water was offered to make the wait more bearable. No options were offered by the staff. We were really hungry and starting to feel weak. It was awful that they did not show any interest in apologizing for the misfortunate situation. To who is reading this, just think that another two groups were still waiting after us.

My thoughts. No one deserves to be treated like this. First, don’t lie to your costumers if the wait will take for longer. Second, if various groups are already waiting for over 20 minutes, do not offer a table to a larger group because it makes things "easier". Not only was it disrespectful, but it displayed a lack of professionalism and touch from the staff. I suggest that if you see a line of people here ask the food to to-go, because the kitchen seems to be quick, but the staff not so much.

I am sorry I have to disagree about how amazing this place is, because our experience was the...

Great smoothies and food (albeit expensive, with the portions getting smaller and smaller over the years), but the staff is very slow and laissez faire. Waited twenty minutes for them to make a smoothie, had to remind the cashier to remind the cooks to make it after 15 minutes of waiting. One of the owners told me that they had a lot in their mind lately...there were five customers on the terrace. The chef even said "ok, two seconds!". I waited another five minutes for them to blend some fruit and ice, and put it in a cup. Not cool.

Edit (after the owner's totally professionalresponse):

1. You are the irresponsible one, not enforcing mask policy at all in the dining room. There were five people eating there, none of them had masks (so explain why I should have worn a mask please). I was wearing a mask when I ordered, then saw that all the other customers weren't...so I took it off after ten minutes because I was sweating bullets. Also, you don't tell anyone to sanitize their hands as they walk in. Shame on you, how can you run your business like that during these times, and have the NERVE to berate a paying customer about it?

2. The fact that I waited ten minutes across the street for my haircut is irrelevant - no one should have to wait 20 minutes for a smoothie, especially when there are hardly any customers. The fact that your staff didn't apologize, and didn't seem to care that they had literally forgotten my order was rude and unprofessional. Maybe you should have offered it to me for free, for wasting my time, instead of making excuses and being rude?

3. I used to love getting your Churasco chicken sandwich, but over the years, the price has gone up while the amount of chicken has reduced dramatically. It's like those shaved, processed deli slices. So disappointing.

4. Finally, here's a business tip for free: never allow a customer to leave with a bad taste in their mouths - it has a ripple effect. They'll tell all their friends and family of their negative (and positive,...

This place has a truly unique and eccentric vibe!

Located in what looked like a hippy neighborhood, its colorful decorations from the past century, such as old TV posters and other memorabilia, add a distinct charm. The design is truly one-of-a-kind. The atmosphere is vibrant and diverse, and the menu offers a variety of food and drinks to choose from.

The service was friendly and nice, not exactly attentive but doing a decent job. I loved the way they served water - in empty liquor bottles! What a creative and cool idea!

Unfortunately the only one thing I didn’t appreciate was the food, it was honestly quite a let down for me. The Portuguese breakfast, in particular, lacked proper seasoning and was a bit greasy. The looks just didn't match the taste! On top of that, the majority of the Portuguese breakfast consisted of chorizo slices (it was overwhelming) and the side salad had some sort of odd looking and tasting dressing, not a very good one! The omelet with ham was decent, but even the generous portions couldn't salvage my overall experience.

The Pasteis de Natas were also a letdown. Having tasted the real deal in Portugal, I could immediately tell that something was not right. They were mushy and didn't have that fresh taste I was looking for. I thought cappuccino might help, but even here I didn't win the lottery, it was very average in taste.

It was worth the try as I love Portuguese food, but it quite did not hit the mark! Visited on Saturday, June 2023....