Lou's Pointe-Claire — Restaurant in Pointe-Claire

This place has really dropped off a cliff. I have been to Lou's four times in the past and always really enjoyed it, the atmosphere and decor are beautiful. After not having gone for a few months my parents wanted to try it out for my dad's birthday so I made a reservation. I had been warned by a friend who had been recently that they were very unimpressed by their recent experience, but having been before I didn't think much of it as I have never personally had a bad experience there. Last night was completely different. We only got our food after an hour and 15 minutes of already being seated. Two tables near us that were both seated AFTER us received the food before us, one of which had only been seated AFTER we had already ordered. And that was just the start. My mother and I both ordered striploin steaks, both were received lukewarm at best, nowhere near warm enough to melt the herbed butter placed on top of the meat. My father ordered a pasta dish which he enjoyed but felt sick when he got home. My sister got the rigatoni with the sausage vodka sauce and experienced severe food poisoning throughout the night and is still feeling very ill this morning. This is unfortunate as all of the meals were in fact very tasty, but not worth the cost. On top of this when it came time for dessert my mother's tea was spilled by the server getting some on her, fortunately for her the tea was also lukewarm at best which is another complaint, it should have been hot. The server who spilled the tea also appeared to be the same one who spilled a full beer onto a customer at the table next to us. Another thing during the desert, my sister clearly still had two bites of her cake left on her plate and was mid bite when one of the servers came by and snatched her plate up. I am very disappointed by this experience. I always spoke highly of Lou's and would often recommend it to friends looking for a nice quiet place to dine. This place has really gone from a hidden gem to an overpriced disappointment. I really hope they can turn things back around and I will not be returning unless I hear of improvements from friends whose opinions I can trust. It was also VERY cold inside the restaurant, we were seated close to the windows which seem to be very...

Heard good things about the restaurant so decided to try it when family was in town. Table of four sat at around 6pm. Greeted and seated right away but no drinks order taken for 10 minutes (we did get water). Eventually got drinks and gave our appetizer order (brioches and 12 oysters) and mains at the same time. Drinks were excellent although beer selection was poor due to lack of options. Then time slowed down, a table of 6 and 3 seated got seated near us. The table of 3 got their appetizers and mains before us and the table of 6 their appetizers. We ordered nothing that would indicate long wait times nor did the staff let us know of any delays. We had to ask were our appetizers where after 40 minutes but once they arrived were great, no issues! Brioche was excellent as was the butter and you can’t really mess up oysters. We added fries to our order as they looked great on other tables.

Received main meals at 1940, so 90 minutes after we arrived and a good 70-75 minutes after we ordered. One issue we had was partially our fault as the sea bass had a dairy based sauce and we never stipulated that the individual ordering it had a dairy allergy. They refired the meal and had it out in 8 minutes so great service there.

Overall, meals were great, the demi poulet/chicken had some weird kale confection that was unappealing but the chicken itself was excellent. The eggplant parm and the seabass were very good choices. Not the best but very well done by any standard. We didn’t complain but the restaurant was proactive and did comp us for some drinks and the fries stating that the service was not up to their standard. It would have been nice to have the delay(s) acknowledged before the bill arrived, but we did appreciate them acknowledging the fact the service was poor.

Can’t say we would ever go back and likely our bad experience was a one off but given the prices are a tad high for what they offer, I can’t see...

We have wanted to try Lou's out since they opened several months ago but were never able to snag a reservation (probably because we tried to late...obviously) but lady luck finally called in the new year and we got a table (bar only) at the beginning of January 2024. Although there are a number of restaurants in the Pointe Claire Village, Lou's has created both an elegant yet casual ambiance with a mixed Italian/American-style cuisine.

After sitting us at the bar and placing our order, a table cleared and we asked to move to it which they happily agreed to...that's appreciated as many restaurants don't want to hassle with moving patrons to new tables.

The menu is not extensive but I would say that all types of eaters can find at least one thing on the menu to enjoy. For our meal, we started with the Parker Rolls (good...but the portion was a bit on the small side) and Crab Cake (very good, excellent sauce but a bit on the pricey side for a single cake)...for our main we had the Pasta Genovese (excellent), Eggplant Parmigiana (it seems they fried the eggplant slices to be crispy before being baked...was excellent...highly recommend it) and a side of Creamed Greens (sounds weird, I know, but was actually quite good). When moving from the bar to the table there was an issue with timing of the main meal being delivered. Due to the delay, the manager complimented us with a tasty Strawberry Cookie dessert and a glass of Amara. Both of which were greatly appreciated and enjoyed as well.

Service was very good and attentive and we never felt wanting. Although note that there is (currently) a draft due to a faulty door at the back that affects the left side of the restaurant (as you enter). It wasn't terrible but it was noticeable...just ask to sit on the right side if you can.

The restaurant is very busy so reservations are highly recommended...at least several days in...