Le Clara — Restaurant in Montreal

A few inevitable negative comments given this place hosts a couple hundred show-goers per evening, but I think much of the negativity is dated. The current chef has changed so much about this place, we were honestly very pleasantly surprised. While the menu is mostly classics, the chef (previously at le Hachoir) has added some really impressive spins on his dishes, the Burrata with crispy chickpeas was especially tasty! The boudin is homemade & they use filet mignon cut by hand (not frozen) for the tartare de bœuf. Some of the other comments are clearly made-up or simply dated, because I’m guessing this place actually looses money keeping this tartare on their menu. Also the chef makes his own homemade focaccia, he literally has the yeast rising for days for each batch…. it is no joke the best focaccia, don’t miss it, it’s amazing! I could have happily ruined my appetite eating three servings of just that. This place made no mistake poaching their current chef, he has made a massive improvement on the menu & the quality of the food. Also, a nod to the host who was very friendly and welcoming despite having a massive horde of people impatiently waiting. Show-goers are a tough crowd to contend with & this place deals well with it. It’s not their first rodeo, clearly! The host who seated us & the friendly manager who took our order certainly both deserved...

Perfect place to eat and/or have drinks before a concert or a show in the area. I would not recommend this place for a date or for food if you're not going to see a show afterwards, they really specialize in getting you the best pre-show experience. The waiter will ask you when does your show start, so as to coordinate with the kitchen so you don't have to rush. The food is good and the wine selection is very decent, with a wide variety of types and prices. I got the beef tartare with a red wine, my friend got the salmon tartare with a white wine. The waiter was very charming and he knew his menu very well, he was able to recommend a wine that paired perfectly with our order and our taste. We sat at the "table conviviale", a round high table that you share with other guests: it was really nice we got to talk about shows with complete strangers, while also entertaining private conversations. It was overall a very nice experience, we felt like the staff was taking care of us and there was nothing left to worry about. Again, this place is only for food before a show. There are better places in Montreal to eat if you're not...

Went in with a friend and because we had tickets for the theatre, we both ordered appetizers and bottled drinks. My friend’s food arrived and I thought mine would be coming up right after. A couple minutes passed and it didn’t, so I tried to signal one of the servers to ask about it but no one even glanced at our direction for long enough that my friend was already done with her food.

I got up and went to the bar to talk to our server. I said I had ordered food but never got it and had to cancel it because of the tickets. His only reaction was asking me if I needed the bill, then. When he brought it to the table, he was very blasé about it, said he thought I had already gotten it and eaten it, never tried to fix the issue or actually apologize. I’ll say he was very nice and polite when taking our orders, and might have been overworked, even though the place wasn’t full at all, because he was also mixing drinks.

By the time the show ended it was midnight, all restaurants were either close or crowded with drunk people. I ended up going home and ordering Uber eats, so with some luck I’ll be able to eat at 1am or so. Very...