Modavie — Restaurant in Montreal

This was my second time visiting Modavie, more than five years after my first visit. I had a fond memory of this restaurant, so we made a reservation for 8:30PM on Easter Sunday. Despite being a Sunday, the restaurant was quite busy. We were seated on the second floor, where there was a live performance.

Our main server was very pleasant throughout the whole service, but, unfortunately, that's where the good service ended. We already knew what we wanted to get, so we ordered right away - beef tartare with bone marrow for the appetizer and two orders of steak and fries for the main course. I also ordered a guava sour (a mocktail) while my partner ordered a mojito mocktail for drinks. The drinks arrived within a reasonable amount of time and were delicious. However, it took more than 40 minutes for the appetizer to be delivered to our table. This was too long of a wait, but we were quite pleased with the beef tartare. The subtle beef flavour from the marrow and the raw minced beef was very well balanced against other complementary ingredients. It was a fantastic starter that got us excited for the main course.

Even after we finished the appetizer, we had to wait another 30 minutes or so before our main course arrived. My partner ordered his steak medium and I ordered mine medium rare. The server indicated which dish was medium, so I directed that dish to my partner while I was given the latter dish. However, after a few bites, I noticed my partner's steak looked pinker than my steak. My steak was a bit chewy and dry; it tasted and looked closer to medium well-done and most certainly not medium rare. The jus served with the steak was quite good, but the steak itself was under seasoned and also a bit tough and overcooked. The fries were seasoned well enough, but rather dry; it felt as though they had served us fries that were not freshly out of the deep fryer despite the excessive wait time. Overall, my partner and I were both underwhelmed by the main course.

We ordered profiterole with vanilla ice cream and chocolate ganauche for dessert. This was the biggest disappointment; profiterole was quite dense and tough, it didn't have the light and crispy texture that a good profiterole should have. It took a lot of effort to break apart the profiterole, and the ice cream was basically on the verge of being fully melted when it was served to us. In a matter of few minutes, we were basically spooning tough pieces of profiterole from a cold melted soup of chocolate vanilla ice cream. There were structural issues with the dessert that I felt were just clumsy for a restaurant of this caliber to be making.

In total, we were at the restaurant for around two hours, which I didn't feel was appropriate given the number of dishes we ordered. Before tip, the bill came to $170 between the two of us, which felt pricey given the quality of the food and the fact that we didn't order any alcoholic beverages. The steak in particular was only 7 oz and didn't feel like a good quality cut, so I didn't find the price to be reasonable.

Given the experience we had, I don't think I'll be coming back, nor would I be recommending this place to anyone. I would recommend checking other options, as there are many other French restaurants within close...

A bitter sweet disappointment in French Canadian cuisine

The quick and dirty: Wonderful service and accoutrements sold short by a lackluster kitchen

A longer review: I decided that the first and most important part of my trip in Montreal was to acquire my favorite French dish, Boeuf Tartar. Or for the non French speaking philistines like myself, beef tartare. It was through the recommendation of a lovely young hostess nearby that I try the Modavie and I can certainly say I do not think she is in the business of bad recommendations. The hostess at the Modavie and my waiter, perhaps for the American a truly stereotypical French man donning the combination of hair that is a bald head and handsome mustache, were nothing short of wonderful. Ambience is in no short supply and from the moment you sit down looking at the historic buildings nearby with the slight privacy afforded by a shoulder high shear curtain with the gentle yellow lighting overhead and from the candle in front of you, the experience begins.

It is only in hindsight that I know this was the point from which the experience begins to mellow and trend downwards. My order, in my opinion very usual for any restaurant serving French cuisine, was beef tartare as an appetizer followed by duck confit. Before I continue, for the lovers of alcohol and grape juice amongst you, I did not order wine and I can not comment on the drink menu. However, based on the selection of drinks and service, I doubt that the wine drinker will be disappointed here. However, and to add to my own self degradation, a díet çoke was all that complimented my fine French dining.

Now, to start with the appetizer. I am not overly judgmental of beef tartare, after all who can control the flavors that develop in every cubic inch of a cows body or the egg yolk that binds it together. Perhaps tartare is a reflection of the supplier of animal products more than the restaurant itself, but I do not judge the truck driver with this review after all. The tartare was mediocre, I happily finished it with the provided bread and can’t say that if you are ONLY in the mood for tartare that you will be disappointed.

Next, the entree, quite literally the meat (does duck count as meat?) and potatoes. I prefer to reserve judgment but several decades of being from The Bronx leads me to wish to say “when you say that duck confit means to cook in oil, are you using burnt motor oil or is this French for leftover, tasteless, dry, tough duck smothered in a horrendous thick amalgamation of bbq sauce and sludge?” Perhaps I am just too harsh and don’t posses a refined enough palatte to make a fair judgement.

In all, I would say that the ambience, the service, the bread, and the coffee were all wonderful. However, if that was all I wanted I would travel to a bakery ran by hooters instead of spending the money on a kitchen who seemingly learned cooking from YouTube tutorials for the blind and the deaf.

I truthfully think that this meal in its entirety deserves roughly a 3.8/5 but being that I can not rate in fractions and I worry that a 4 may convince people to eat here, I must give the Modavie a 3 and hope that my next meal there...

First time in beautiful Montreal, specifically chose this restaurant for the live music.

The Good

The live music was indeed happening and sounded great – which is literally the only reason to visit this place.

The Bad (Everything Else)

Let me start with the basics. We made a formal reservation with a ton of time in advance specifically because we wanted to experience live music during our first night in Montreal. Nowhere during the booking process were we informed that you need to make a separate phone call to actually reserve seating near the performance area. This crucial detail should be prominently displayed during online reservations or mentioned during confirmation calls.

Terrible Host Experience: Upon arrival, we were told we couldn’t sit near the live music area despite our reservation. Fine – miscommunication happens. But then we waited 15 minutes for a table while staring at at least 6 empty, clean tables right in front of us. The hostess showed zero concern about our situation or the obvious disconnect between available seating and our wait time. No explanation, no timeline, no acknowledgment of the frustration.

Management can be better: Not once during our disappointing start did anyone in a leadership position come over to address the situation. A simple visit from a manager to acknowledge the reservation confusion and lengthy wait would have completely changed the tone of our evening. Instead, we began our Montreal dining experience on an unnecessarily sour note.

So-so Food at Premium Prices: The food was average at best – certainly nothing special for a city known for its incredible culinary scene. Steak was cooked ok but lacked flavor. Fries under salted. Foie gras was underwhelming. For the prices they charge, the quality doesn’t even come close to justifying the cost. Montreal has an abundance of restaurants offering significantly better food for similar prices..

Bottom Line

This restaurant exemplifies how poor operational management can completely undermine what could be a great concept. The live music is genuinely good, but everything else – from the confusing reservation system to the indifferent staff to the overpriced, average food – creates an experience that falls far short of Montreal’s dining standards.

Only recommended if you specifically want to hear live music and don’t care about anything else.

For everyone else: Skip it. Montreal is amazing and has countless restaurants offering better food, better service, and better value for your money.

This is exactly how restaurants lose customers and slowly decline. Fix the operational issues, train your staff to show basic concern for customer satisfaction, and price your food appropriately for its quality – or watch people choose the many superior options this...