Le Bar Darling — Restaurant in Montreal

I grabbed a bite there with a friend of mine recently. She was new to Montreal and this place was recommended by a new friend of hers. We had no idea what to expect and let me tell you; Le Darling didn't deceive!

It was so hard to chose even if the menu had only a few items as EVERYTHING just looked amazingly appetizing. After discussing we decided to get a coupls of different items and share them. We went for some oysters which were really fresh and sourced "locally", so tasty! They came on ice with lemon, hot sauce, horse radish and another little purple sauce (can't remember what it was). Then we added a side of homemade french fries and mayo plus a side of cherry tomato & homemade ricotta salad. It was so, so, sooooo delicious! The flavors were rich and I could tell that only quality ingredients were used to create all of the item we had ordered. As for drinks, we ordered the rhubarb hydromel wine to pair with our meal but they were out of it. Our waiter happily recommended a couple of options and we opted for a cider which turned out to pair extremely well with what we had ordered. Our waiter was so joyful, confident and welcoming.

My experience at Le Darling was delightful! The ambiance was relaxed and inviting. The patio was booming and I could tell everyone was enjoying themselves. It was so marvelous that I caught myself thinking back on our meal often during the remaining of the evening.

One thing is that I did feel a bit rushed to finish my meal and leave the premises that night as a couple of different individuals, who didn't look like waiters, came to our table to frantically remove some of our items. They even picked up an unfinished item to put it back down afterwards. Then when we were done, another different individual came and assisted us with payment. A couple of minutes after paying, our waiter arrived asking us if we wanted anything else and didn't seem to be aware that we were done and had already paid.

I didn't really mind it that much because everything else about my experience was top notch and in their defence, they were really busy that night. I know it can get pretty overwhelming to work in a very busy restaurant so that won't change the fact that I will definitely be back to Le Darling next time I...

I am incredibly disappointed with our evening at Bar Darling. The food and the service were just awful. Based on the mostly positive reviews, I may give it a 2nd chance however here's how myself and my 2 friends were treated; I arrive at 6pm for their tap take over by Revel cider and sat at the bar. The 2 bartenders were amazing! I asked the hostess if when my friends arrived at 8 we could sit outside. Her response was that I would have to pay my inside tab and wait in a line up outside as they prioritize the line people over the indoor patrons. I have never once heard of this practice!

Thankfully it wasn't busy when my friends arrived so we were sat outside. The service was terrible. We waited about 30 minutes for our drinks. Then once order, the waitress forgot my cider. None of the waitress had any knowledge of the ciders which I thought was odd. We ordered fries (7$) salmon tartare (17$) and the popcorn chickens (17$). I initially wanted the guedilles de crevettes however they were out. The fries came cold, the tartare came in a small plate. The waitress said it was 200 g however I'd say it was more like 100g. The popcorn chicken was deep fried batter with slivers of chicken and the fries came out cold. We were rushed off the patio at 11 while other tables seemed to be able to finish their meals. At least a heads up would have been appreciated. The vibe was really great and I heard such great things about this place but of everything to discover in Montreal food/bar wise I can't see myself trying this...

The ambiance of the bar is great. Very spacious as well. However, the food was not good. I know 5 people at our large table that ordered their steaks in a very specific way and they all came back rare - despite nobody ordering rare. Myself and my friend both ordered the ribs. They were dry, difficult to eat, and not very good for a whopping price of $23. My friend wanted to send hers back and the server told you “well this is what you ordered”. I’ve never seen a server act like that when a customer has a problem with their food. The food is also very small portions for what you’re getting. Drinks are also expensive for the sizes you’re getting.

Our server also seemed annoyed every time we wanted to order more drinks or had any questions. We caught her rolling her eyes at our table too.

There is no organization to this place either. It was hard to order anything after placing our food orders, as our server never came to our table to check in on us. And upon wanting the bill, she did not ask how we wanted the bills split, and instead she came with bills for each individual person when there were multiple couples at the table that wanted our meals on the same bill.

I’ve never had such an unpleasant server at a bar or restaurant before. She made our group feel very unwelcome and annoying.

I would never go back to this location. Maybe you get better service as a smaller group, but if you’re a big group, I...