Les 3 Brasseurs- Montreal, Canada

http://www.les3brasseurs.ca/eng/index.php

Les 3 Brasseurs is a Canadian chain restaurant that has two locations in Montreal, one on the famous Sainte-Catherines Street and the other location that we tried, Sainte-Paul Street in the Old City.  The reason for our choice on this freezing sub zero winters night was simple, it was one of the only places actually open that was serving food.
When we arrived it was pretty full with people and resembled a neighbor hood bar where everybody knows your name. There was old time memorabilia on the walls and lots of Canadian sport themed decor including the shirts on the waitstaff. We were seated quick in a small corner along the wall beside the bar with a great view of the kettles inside the on site brewery which was pretty cool to see.

First, we placed our drink order. Simone had water and I decided on a Sangria ( which is popular in this city for some reason) The menu looked liked an newspaper and was even called The Gazette. I thought this was a nice touch to the ambiance of the place. My drink arrived and was very well balanced in flavor and fruity.

For our appetizer we decided on (of course) Poutine. Although it looked great, when it arrived at the table, I was a bit disappointed in my choice. The fries were not fresh cut, and the gravy was overly salty.  It was still real cheese curds and the dish was okay, but not great. I probably would pass it over next time, as you can find much better Poutine in Montreal ( see my other review for Montreal Poutine).

Simone chose for her entree, Chevre Chaud with Greens. This was an open faced sandwich consisting of two slices of French Bread topped with Goat cheese and Tomato Bruschetta, served with a mixed green salad with Herb Dressing. It was good but the Tomatoes were a bit over powered with all the cheese.  Simone was able to finish all of the salad, tomatoes and bread , but had to scrape some of the rich goat cheese off from the dish.

My choice for an entree was the 3 Brassuers Sauerkraut. The dish consisted of a German Bratwurst, a Frankfurt Sausage (AKA-big hot dog) a thick slice of Grilled Ham, Broccoli Crowns, a Boiled Potato and a large portion of Beer Brined Sauerkraut.  I couldn't actually taste a difference between the Hot Dog and The Bratwurst which i found a bit troubling, but both were good. The Grilled Ham was average and the same you could find in any supermarket. The Potato was about as taste less as a potato can be, and the Broccoli was fresh but only luke warm. The absolute star of this dish was the Sauerkraut which i used to top every item on the plate. It was delicious and I wish the rest of the dish measured up.

In addition to my meal, I also tried one of the 3 Brasseurs Micro Brews. I decided on the Blonde Beer. Although the description said fruity and light with a refreshing aftertaste, i didn't find it to be any more or less enjoyable then the bottle of Labatts I have in my fridge. So i guess the moral of this story is that a chain restaurant in Canada is kinda like a chain restaurant in the U.S. The food was average, the beer was average, the ambiance was above average.  Overall, i'll give Les 3 Brasseurs a half-hearted three stars, but if I have a choice I think I'll stick to the independent establishments next time. ***