Le Garde Manger

Description:

• Nothing delicate about this newcomer. From the moderately attentive baseball-capped servers to the dark roadhouse decor to the rowdy slip of a bar, this giddy, buzzing resto is a smackdown to its gentrified Vieux-Montréal neighbors. On the plus side, the food is pretty good and generously portioned. The menu changes nightly, but we liked the Chilean sea bass and beef cheeks with bok choy, although the General Tao's lobster was terrifically hot and heavy. At the next table the assiette de fruits de mer was served in a small wooden barrel perched sideways and looked fun -- by the light of the Catholic saint candles, anyway. You'll need a lead stomach to survive a whole portion of the signature dessert, a fried Mars bar, unless deafening rock music helps you digest. When we last looked, there was no sign on the outside, just a blank, white cube.

• © Frommer's 2013