Restaurant Mélisse — Restaurant in Montreal

Restaurant Mélisse had an incredibly pleasant atmosphere and was certainly a place for a group to socialize with cocktails. The interior was beautiful and the staff were dressed well - it felt like a relaxed fine dining spot you might find next to a beach resort. The manager was very nice to us when seating us, making us feel at home. It goes downhill from here... The cocktails we ordered were refreshing but had little flavour. No one offered another drink after we finished them. We ordered the fish, falafel, and meat dishes, and while the first two arrived within 15 minutes, the meat dish never came. My girlfriend doesn't eat red meat, so I tried a little of the fish and let her finish it. It came out as ceviche which was a surprise as we expected something cooked. No big deal, it was refreshing and had good flavours, but very simple. The falafels were small and hard, so I assume they were reheated, which made them difficult to eat with cutlery. Guests that arrived after us were served several dishes while we waited (all cold or simple dishes such as salads and lemon dressed spaghetti). After 40 minutes and no staff asking us for drinks or other food items, I had to flag the hostess to ask where the last dish was - if it hasn't started, please bring the check instead. She informed me after checking with the kitchen that it was cooked and coming. 15 minutes later I flagged a different host for the check since the prior hostess appeared to be avoiding me. 5 minutes later the manager comes to the table with cutlery for the meat dish, even though I wanted to leave. She informed me it was being made now. No thanks - please let me pay and leave so I can eat elsewhere. The manager then insisted we not pay the bill due to the inconvenience, and unnecessarily added that the menu is designed for sharing plates so they don't come out at once. I have never been to a tapas restaurant that takes longer than 20 minutes to serve a dish let alone an hour with no staff checking in. This was unacceptable and comping the check does not change that. Please be more mindful of your guests and consider removing cooked items from the menu if your kitchen can't handle them. Only being able to handle simple or reheated dishes makes Restaurant Mélisse come across pretentious even though it has a lot...

I can only speak to the take-out service and it is lacklustre at best. If they are incapable of providing decent service for take-out customers, they shouldn't offer it at all.

I tried to call ahead because it is always well over 10 minutes wait to get 2 coffees. The phone went straight to voicemail.

I placed my order at the front counter, was told to go to the counter at the other side of the restaurant...The person there seemed to have no idea of my order. I waited for them to talk to someone else, to whom I gave my order for a second time.

A server with short untied hair was reaching over the uncovered croissants on the bar, completely unaware that her hair was brushing all over the food...

I ordered 2 coffees to go. Since I only have 2 hands and would like to be able to open and close doors... I asked for a tray. You would have thought that I'd requested a golden calf from the reaction I got!

A server asked me twice if I wanted a tray (after I asked for a tray) and he then put both coffees on the counter NEXT to the tray. Upon meeting my gaze, he placed the coffee in the tray and non-apologized by saying something to the effect of "I'm sorry, it's just that I can't believe that in 2021, people are still asking for trays!" if I hadn't been purchasing the coffee for someone else, I would have walked out then and there.

As far as I'm concerned, a server's personal opinions about the use of CARDBOARD (which last I heard is RECYCLABLE) trays should be taken up with management, not paying customers. Unless the trays come out of his paycheck, that was completely inappropriate & unnecessary.

I wanted a coffee not a sermon about my environmental impact.

The service left a bitter taste in my mouth that had nothing to do...

Not a great experience and this is my second time. I usually never leave comments but it's mother's day and everything went wrong.

We arrived 10 min before time for the reservation, another pair of ladies arrived after us. Those ladies actually insisted the staff serve us first. They seated the other 2 guests first even though our table was empty. This just felt really rude and unprofessional. I don't want to say this but my mother who never ever says mean things about staff after we left the restaurant, told us she felt distinctly snubbed because we're visibly not of Caucasian decent in a restaurant full of them. This is literally the first time in 30 years we've settled in Montreal she said this about any restaurant.

The service was slow. This time we waited 20 minutes for a server to take our order. Another 40 minutes at least before the food was served. My mom was looking forward to the 3 set brunch course which they got wrong. At this point we were so hungry and livid we just wanted to finish eating and leave.

Food and pricing for Montreal brunch in that location is standard. Presentation is nice. My brother and father told me privately after they found the taste bland. My mom trying to salvage this experience says it's nice and healthy. The only standout piece taste wise was the small slice of cake priced at $10.

I've never had such a chaotic brunch experience with some of the most inefficient waitstaff I've encountered. Except maybe 1 man who tried. The music was also too loud on top of the general crowd noise. It is impossible to have a conversation while waiting 1hr for a meal.

Honestly I'm going to spare my mom and the rest of my family next year and take her to our usual...