Restaurant L'osso — Restaurant in Montreal

Avoid L’Osso Restaurant – Shady Tipping Practices and Arrogant Management

L’Osso Restaurant in Montreal is an absolute disgrace when it comes to ethical business practices. While the food might be passable, their blatant and dishonest tipping policy completely ruins the dining experience.

This restaurant has the audacity to impose an automatic 18% gratuity—not just on the meal, but ON THE TAX. That’s right. They calculate the tip based on the total after adding GST and QST, essentially forcing you to tip on a government charge. This is not just unethical—it’s an outright scam designed to squeeze extra dollars out of unsuspecting customers.

When I questioned the manager about this shady practice, instead of offering any reasonable explanation, he smugly responded that it was "legal" and that I had "no choice" but to pay the predetermined tip. Excuse me? Since when do restaurants have the right to dictate how much customers tip? Gratuity is meant to reward good service, not to be enforced like a mandatory tax.

The Law in Quebec Let’s set the record straight: There is NO law in Quebec that forces customers to accept a predetermined tip. According to the Consumer Protection Act (CQLR c P-40.1, s. 224(c)), businesses cannot impose fees that are not disclosed beforehand in a transparent manner. If a restaurant wants to enforce a mandatory service charge, they must clearly inform customers before they order—not sneak it onto the bill after the fact. Moreover, gratuities are voluntary, except in cases where a pre-arranged service charge is agreed upon for large groups (which was not the case here).

Adding a tip over the tax is an especially deceptive move, as it inflates the final bill beyond what most customers would reasonably expect. This is not standard practice in Montreal, and any restaurant that does this is engaging in predatory pricing tactics.

Final Verdict: Stay Away L’Osso has made it clear that they do not respect their customers. Their arrogant attitude, their deceptive billing practices, and their refusal to let customers decide on a fair tip make this place an absolute ripoff. There are countless excellent restaurants in Montreal that respect their patrons—this is NOT one of them. Save your money and go somewhere that actually values honesty and...

My visit to Montreal was only five days long, so I had to be selective about which restaurants made the cut from the city’s endless list of amazing options. But when I came across L’osso on TikTok, I knew I had to include it—and I’m so glad I did.

It was amazing. My friend (who is a chef and culinary school graduate) and I walked in curious, and walked out beyond happy. You know how they say “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?” Well, L’Osso found its way into two girls’ hearts that night—and we left very, very, very happy.

We started with warm bread and olive oil, along with a complimentary bruschetta. The bread was soft, fresh, and warm enough to make me want 50 more, and the bruschetta was perfectly savory and fresh—an exciting start.

We ordered two dishes: Gnocchi in tomato sauce – It literally melted in my mouth. Rich, savory, and comforting—it touched my soul.

Mushroom ravioli – My personal favorite. I still dream about it. The dish had the perfect umami flavor, and the sauce—though not creamy in ingredients—had a rich, velvety texture that made it feel incredibly indulgent. The ravioli was soft and filling, and the cheese (Parmesan, I think) tied everything together beautifully. We dipped our still-warm bread into the sauce—it was marvellous.

We ended with a chocolate lava cake, and it was the perfect dessert to close such a satisfying experience.

The restaurant was fairly quiet that night—it was snowing and freezing outside (not that it stopped me, haha)—but according to our kind and attentive server, it’s usually more lively. The interior was elegant and cozy, with a vibe that felt intimate and romantic.

Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience—from the food to the ambiance to the service. If I lived in Montreal, I’d find myself returning just for that mushroom ravioli every few weeks....

My wife and I wanted to try a new restaurant and we are so happy that we found this gem! The food was delicious, the service was great, and the overall vibe of the restaurant is nice! I highly recommend it!

Now here's the more detailed review for those who are interested.

When you first arrive, they provide you with a free appetizer of olives, bruschetta, and slices of Calabrese. I thought this was a super nice touch! However, it would have been nice to have been told they were complimentary by the server because at first we weren't sure if they were!

The kitchen staff was super helpful with accommodating my wife's legume allergy and were willing to change the bean salad that comes with the octopus to a green salad.

The oysters were fresh. The octopus was well cooked. The osso bucco was tender. The clam pasta that I ordered was a special on the evening that I went, but I think it should be a permanent part of the menu! It was delicious!

The dessert was probably the weakest point of the evening. My wife had a special that evening that was essentially fried dough with filling. It was a little underwhelming. I ordered the pistachio lava cake. It was also okay. They put the ice cream on the top of the cake. So it defeats the purpose of it being a lava cake since the ice cream cools the center. I would suggest ownership putting it on the side to keep the lava cake hot!

Despite the dessert being lackluster, I would still highly recommend L'osso for anyone looking for a new Italian...