Reviews for Societé Bistro, Pub Sir Joseph and More

Ten days have passed since Lesley Chesterman announced that she had just had her worst restaurant experience in ages. We now know that the restaurant in question was Le Société Bistro in the Loews Hotel Vogue. The expensive Toronto-bred concept's numerous failings resulted in Chesterman's first no-star review in a decade. The evisceration was grisly: "While scanning La Société Bistro's website, I found a line of copy that states that a meal here is all about, 'Trouver l'âme de Paris au coeur de Montréal.' ('Finding the soul of Paris in the heart of Montreal.') Funny, all I found here was the Toronto version of a Paris bistro. And a poor one at that." [The Gazette]

Just in time for the restaurant's 75th anniversary, Moishes' run of positive press continued with a strong review from Jean-Philippe Tastet. Le Devoir's critic cheekily debunked some myths about the Jewish steakhouse for his paper's typically souverainiste readership: "Mythe numéro 2: « Moishes, c'est très anglophone quand même. » Sans doute certains soirs, mais certainement pas les deux dernières fois que j'y suis passé." [Le Devoir]

Pub Sir Joseph was one of the most hotly anticipated new restaurants of the summer but Martin Juneau's gastropub gets a "meh" from Sarah Musgrave: "A British pub should have a fighting chance on this cursed corner. This is one of those troubled addresses that needs a strong business plan, so here's hoping this will work. Still, the feeling of Sir Joseph was too commercial for me to really fall in love with — more smarts than soul (...)." [The Gazette]

Marie-Claude Lortie took a 180 degree turn from summer food trips to Copenhagen and Lima to review a modest barbecue spot on the Décarie expressway. The critic was sufficiently pleased with Moonshine Barbecue's rustic fare: "Pour nourrir des ados aux estomacs sans fond à prix abordable, avec de la bonne nourriture savoureuse préparée à l'aide d'ingrédients de qualité et qu'ils aiment, voilà résolument une des bonnes adresses en ville." [La Presse]

In a mini-review for Cult MTL, Erik Leijon sings the praises of a burger joint with huge shoes to fill: "Uniburger, located in Quartier Latin, where a previous paramour, La Paryse, used to reside, may very well be the Montreal burger I've been searching for." [Cult MTL]
[Photo: Loews Hotel Vogue]