Osco! — Restaurant in Montreal

I had a truly disrespectful and appalling experience at Osco last Saturday. Truly insulting.

The waiter shows up and gives is the snacks menu. We told him we’re here for the MTLATable and would like to see that menu. He tells us the kitchen closes at 10 and they can only serve us the snack menu. We explain that we were here for 10, our reservations are for 10, but he said the kitchen is closed. We asked to speak to whoever is in charge of the restaurant. 20 minutes later, the waiter shows up with the person who’s supposedly in charge of the restaurant. Her name was Julie. We explained to her that we had a 10:00 pm reservations, and that we were her for MTLATable not to have snacks. She said in a very cold manner that the kitchen is closed and there’s nothing she can do about it. I was shocked. We showed her our reservation confirmation, and she said she’s not sure how that happened and that we should not have been able to make a 10:00 pm reservation because the kitchen closes at 10. I mean is it my job to explain why their system allows for this? What kind of an answer is that? I told her that I called the night before to confirm, and the person said the latest reservation is 10, she says she doesn’t know who I spoke to and that they were mistaken. Apparently, according to her, since the kitchen closes at 10, the latest reservations they can take is 9. It’s as if we’ve never been to restaurants before! Then she just abruptly says she will speak with someone to see why we had a 10pm reservation, and that we can order off the snack menu, or go have dinner somewhere else. She will not open the kitchen for us. EXCUSE ME? We then ask her how can she not take responsibility for her own staff, and how can she not know who answers the phone and responds to customers. She says she’s not in charge of the restaurant, she’s just the “Duty Manager”. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? And why should I care? And why was I speaking to someone who’s not in charge? We ask her to get us someone who’s actually in charge of the restaurant, and she says there’s no one there. I ask for a contact name because this unprofessional and disrespectful treatment cannot go unanswered, she gives us a generic card for the Intercontinental number and writes the name of the manager on the back. We asked her for the name of the waiter who was serving us, and she says “I don’t know”. I literally tell her you don’t know who went to get you so you can speak to us? She pauses, flashes a truly smug smile, and simply writes a name at the back of the same card again. Truly truly shameful and appalling behaviour. I of course call the number and leave a message for the manager (Mr. Jacky Bruchez) to call me back. He did call me back, and I explained our Godawful experience to him, and the repulsive and unprofessional behaviour of Julie the Duty Manager. He was apologetic, says their must be some confusion because the Kitchen is supposed to serve those who arrive for a 10:00 pm reservation, and on top of that they can always make exceptions and provide the full menu to customers. I told him straight up Julie the Duty Manager has lied to us, told us the latest reservations they can honor are those made at 9pm, and that she cannot open the kitchen. He again says she was mistaken and doesn’t fully know how the system, works. Clearly this establishment thinks it’s ok for some customers to be treated with disrespect and doesn’t think honoring their reservations is something they must do. I must say that Mr. Jacky did invited us back and said he would prepare something special for us, but I explained to him that none of us would ever return to this restaurant, which he understood. I then told him for his sake and the sake of the restaurant I hope he has a talk with that Julie person and explain to her that lying to and deceiving customers just because you’re lazy or don’t know how to manage is unacceptable...

Hello. I have literally never been compelled to write a public review before today. I have, in fact, never written a bad review in my life. However, my experience at Osco! was so uniquely awful that I must inform the good public of Google Reviews what we experienced today.

First of all, the entrance is inside of a mall, which in and of itself is not a problem. However, the entrance is exceptionally difficult to find, I literally found the forbidden section of an active construction zone in attempting to follow the signage to this restaurant.

Once we did find the entrance, which involved a separate, unmarked door, an escalator, and asking hotel lobby staff, we were seated with our first waiter. We asked for recommendations about the Absinthe, as it is marketed as an Absinthe bar. However, he seemed confused, and simply read us the menu. After the first waitor took our order, a different waiter came, without explanation, and confirmed our order in a tone of voice that made me think we had somehow ordered incorrectly. He was our waiter for the rest of this unique experience, despite the fact that first waiter was still there and serving other people. Stuff happens and it's literally fine, but we don't know if we somehow mortally offended the first waiter by asking for recommendations.

Our drinks came, and were fine. For $18 they could have been better.

We both ended up ordering the same thing, the half Cornish hen, which I feel the need to point out was like $40. It was around this time that we realized that everyone else had bread, and we did not. We would have maybe brought this up, but the waiter change and what was to come made that seem like the least of our problems.

Our half Cornish game hens arrived. Like, I am not a seasoning freak. I am literally Irish. However. It was so unseasoned. But after penetrating it's season-less, slippery skin, we realized both were raw on the inside, while overcooked on the outside. Again, not an expert, but it was literally bleeding as well. I ate some of mine, and my sister ate two bites. The accompanying fries were just okay.

At this point, we simply had to make a hasty retreat. We tried to flag second waiter. At one point, he came and asked if everything was okay, to which the raw meat was ostensibly obvious. I started with "yeah, just the-" but before I could finish the sentence, he was gone. To be fair, it's a little bit on us for not complaining about the meal. We also could have taken pictures, but thats not something we would normally do, and were just so confused. We were so dumbfounded we just needed to leave.

Next, we tried to wave him down. He just waved back and walked away. Eventually, we were able for the check. He cleared the untouched plates. Here again, I will admit we could have complained, but we didn't want to draw out the experience any longer or have a conversation about the raw meat, lack of bread, and waiter confusion.

We left 18% tip, because life is hard. We don't know what to say, but felt the need to warn others. If you see this, Osco!, please let us know if we mortally offended first waiter. Also please know it is NOT on second waiter, he seemed like a lovely person. Also there two managers there, which I cannot reconcile with the weird service or raw chicken.

Overall, go here if you want, but do NOT be bamboozled by the promise of the charming exclamation point or eclectic...

We had an incredible breakfast at the @oscorestaurant located adjacent to the lobby of the @intercontinentalmontreal.

The ambiance was very French country and the gentleman that served our table informed us that they serve locally sourced ingredients to produce Provence-inspired dishes.

The breakfast menu was not extensive but ample enough to satisfy anyone’s desire.

Each order of their main course plate, gives one access to the buffet selections of cheeses, fresh fruits, pastries and more.

My favourites from the buffet were the croissant (best one I’ve had in years) and the cheeses.

We ordered the following:

• The Benedictine - Two Eggs Benedict with bacon and mushrooms and served with potatoes. The eggs were perfectly cooked and with just enough hollandaise sauce to round up this delectable entrée. The crispy shallots/onions on the top of the eggs gave the dish that extra texture. WOWZA and YUMZA! 10/10!
• The Smoked Salmon Bagel - Fairmount bagel, smoked salmon, cream cheese and arugula served with salad and potatoes. The highlight of this dish was definitely the amazing quality of the smoked salmon. I cannot get enough of it! WOWZA and YUMZA! 10/10!

The Mimosa and the outstanding service from everyone just elevated the entire breakfast experience.

I would love to come back to the restaurant the next time I stay in the property to check out their...