Le Moineau Masqué — Restaurant in Montreal

Location: On the Plateau. If you're using transit and get off at Mont-Royal, it's about 10-minutes away on foot. Street parking available but in short supply.

The place: Tucked away on a quiet street, this café is small and offers up a bright but minimalist decor. Brick walls, large window, wood - it's got a very cottage feel to it that I like. A few tables and a couch are available to its patrons.

The coffee: They use 49th Parallel beans which I'm generally a fan of (think Old School Espresso), but I wasn't that crazy about the latté I ordered. It was too bitter for my taste and I've had tastier coffee using the same beans at other places, and at home (hey, I'm no barista - I'm just saying'). They also offer some baked goods that looked quite tasty, but I wasn't hungry enough to try anything.

Service: A little chilly. The woman who served us wasn't exactly brimming with energy or friendliness - something I would expect from a neighbourhood coffee shop. The fellow who showed up later, however, seemed friendlier and he took the time to chit chat to customers who left me with the impression that they'd never ordered coffee before. It was a big production for something so basic, but dude was cool about it and gave them some suggestions.

Price point: Average. I think the latté...

This cafe looks like a hidden gem, located away from the main streets between Rue Rachel and Avenue Du Mont-Royal. The inside of the cafe looks modern and cozy and the cafe also has an outside terrace with the mix between vegetations, a beautiful bird mural and the neighbourhood’s building. It’s also quiet considering that this place near the Pedestrianized Avenue Du Mont-Royal. The latte tastes good and the balance between the coffee and the milk is good. But one thing that I confused was why they served me in a plastic cup instead of the regular coffee cup like some of the pics that I saw and that includes all of the drinks that I saw while I was here. I wish I can give this place 5 stars, but the use of the plastic cup instead of the classic latte/coffee lowers my expectation a little bit, eventhough the latte tastes good. Hopefully in the future, they’re able to serve people back to the proper glass/cup and not using the plastic glass.

Edit : giving this place 5 stars because the owner took their time to explaining about the use of the plastic cups that I experienced with a...

Wasn’t allowed to read my book with my coffee. I understand not wanting laptops at tables but not being able to read with a coffee is absolutely ridiculous. Reading a book with a coffee on sunday afternoon is not working. And the shop wasn’t even that busy. The barista was very rude when telling me this and suggested that i instead go sit at a table with people having a loud conversation. Or telling me that he will ask them to move so that I can go read there. So because I wanted to sit 15 mins with my coffee and a book you are going to inconvenience 2 groups of people, and make me feel bad about interrupting the other clients. Makes absolutely no sense. I understand that rents are expensive but I don’t think makinh clients feel unwelcomed is a way of dealing with that. Good thing a more welcoming coffee shop opened just...