SubscribeDINNER January 28, 2008
Every once in a while you hear about a restaurant and you really want it to be good. Montreal could really use a restaurant that serves a top hamburger, so when news broke that venerable steakhouse Moishe’s was opening a high end burger joint, I crossed my fingers that everything would work out.
Looking nothing like your traditional burger joint, M:brgr is a modern looking space dominated by a massive bar with lots of wood, glass and old photos of cityscapes screened onto the walls. The restaurant serves up high-end versions of diner classics such as hamburgers, fries, milkshakes and hotdogs. There are a few hamburgers on offer including a “AAA” Beef burger, a Kobe burger, an organic beef burger, a tuna burger and a plate of sliders. A wide selection of toppings, including all the classics, as well as oddities such as asparagus, a fried egg or black truffle shavings, can be added to the burgers. Underscoring that it is a “burger bar” the restaurant also has a large selection of bottled beer, wine by the glass and bubbly on ice, although the selection of beer on tap consists only of Boreale products.
I opt for the “AAA” beef burger with cheddar not wanting any exotic topping to interfere with my appreciation of the burger. A little investigation reveals that it is “mostly” chuck, ground and mixed on the premises and cooked on a gas grill. The burgers are cooked medium-well which I understood as being non-negotiable, although I doubt well-done would be a problem. The patty was nicely seasoned and cooked evenly to the advertised doneness with a nice crisp exterior and a moist interior. The fresh onion and tomato were crisp and the pickle crunchy. So far , so good. If I had a complaint it would be about the bun: an essential component of the hamburger that is often overlooked in our focus on the perfect patty. This one had been toasted well, which is to say not so much that it was hard or brittle and not too little that it was cold and doughy, but the underlying product was a very ordinary kaiser roll that varied little from the type that gets bought in packs of 8 at your local Metro. A bit of a mood killer but I still rank the M:brgr hamburger as one of the better burgers I have had in Montreal (let’s face it, this is not exactly like playing against the varsity team).
The sweet potato fries were solid and the fries were alright, although at $7 to have them tossed in a little truffle oil they are probably not an investment that will be repeated. We finished off with the chocolate covered peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which turned out to be a triangular piece of peanut butter fudge topped with strawberry jelly and chocolate and served with a shooter of milk. A little too sweet for my tastes but ultimately satisfying in a piggy way.
Service was exceedingly slow (we waited half an hour for our hamburgers in a still mostly empty restaurant) and not very professional, but it was service with a smile and effort nonetheless. Our one complaint was that the waitress was really pushing to sell the extras, more drinks etc… to a degree that was almost annoying. And you have to watch what you order at M:brgr unless you want your bill for a burger and fries to match your monthly car payment. Everything on this menu is expensive, from the most ordinary of burgers with fries starting at $12.75 to everyday bottled beer at $7 a pop. If you want to try any of the fancy menu items the bill starts to go up dramatically. Our bill for two burgers, sweet potato fries, truffle fries, a beer, a cider, a shared dessert and two coffees came to $76 with tip and I thought our order was fairly spartan.
Best burger in Montreal? Debatable, but at least M:brgr has a seat at the table. Overpriced? I would say yes. Will I be back? Most certainly, at the very least to try that Kobe burger.
Cost with tip: $76
M:brgr
2025 Drummond
514.906.2747
It is my knowledge that the restaurant only opened about a week ago…at least one should give it a month before reviewing it…the kinks are probably just getting worked out now, altho the prices do look a little high
Generally I would agree with you and when I do write about new restaurants I usually put in a disclaimer to that effect. In this case, I think the service might well improve over time but, since the menu is quite simple, they should already have their act together in the kitchen. Part of the problem is that I am not a restaurant reviewer but just somebody who writes about what I eat. I was excited to eat there and couldn’t wait for a month!
This will be an unusual review because I never got to taste the food. The blasting from the loudspeakers was overwhelming. I asked the host to lower volume of the speakers. He refused. I then decided that I would try the food, eat quickly and get away from the noise. My two buddies and I could not even hear each other unless we shouted. After waiting an unreasonable amount of time and getting a progressively worse headache, I excused myself before the food arrived and left. After all,who needs to spend $20 before tax and tip for a hamburger, fries and a coke and get a noise-induced headache as a reward. Incidentally, in my many years of restaurant dining, this was the first time I ever walked out while waiting for ordered food.
Could you elaborate when you say, that what M:brgr uses in making their ground beef burgers is “mostly” chuck(so it’s not just chuck as I was told by M:brgr)?
“Mostly chuck” is also a direct quote from one of the owners (I believe based on pic in the Gazette). I was told that the patty mixture at M:brgr has about 30% fat content (which sounds good to me) and I would guess that fat is added to the ground chuck (which explains why he said it was “mostly chuck” as opposed to “chuck with fat added to it”). This is just a hunch as I suppose the fat content of chuck can very fairly widely but I understand it to generally be lower.
Great blog–just what the doctor ordered for Montreal.
It’s disheartening to hear that the rolls are the tired Metro variety–it’s a plague here in Montreal. And I’ve been searching in vain for the perfect burger here (such as can be had in NY or SFO) and was so wanting this new place to be the one.
I’ll hit it up but go straight to the Kobe–or should we say “Wagyu”, as it is not possible to get Kobe beef from Kobe in N. America (see my comments on this at http://tiedtothesteak.blogspot.com/)–perhaps they’ll do something nice with the roll.
I thought Meatmarket’s burger was pretty decent.
Ah, the burger quest . . . just looking for that holy grill.
If it’s 30% fat content of the ‘mostly’ chuck, then fat is added(I’ve never heard it this high for chuck).
Made it back to M:brgr for the kobe burger. It was cooked more thoroughly than the regular burger I had on my first visit. Was this done on purpose to render a little more fat from the meat or was it an accidental overcooking?
In any event, it was fine but I was probably more impressed with the classic burger from my first visit. At a price of $18 for the kobe burger, I highly recommend not upgrading from the classic burger.
By the way, the poutine is god-awful…
Ok – what does everyone really expect, the best burger in town. Comm’on even simply judging a book by its cover you could tell that it was going to be decent/good but not the best you have ever had. Regarding, the option to be able to order an organic beef burger was fantastic – side of smoked apple bacon – awesome – and for those of you who like a float, the absolute BEST float I have ever had. I sat at the bar which was a fun atmosphere, great music and the service was good from where I sat.
I was here in February and haven’t been back since as I find it very expensive for a hamburger. True that it is one of the better ones in town… But I’d rather go to The Works http://www.worksburger.com in Ottawa for my hamburger fix and order my meat medium-rare.
) and sent us a complimentary chocolate chip cook served hot in a pan. Though the cookie reminded me of Pillsbury dough…
Lenny Lighter was very warm and welcoming (especially to my date who was waiting for me at the bar as I was 20minutes late
For $70, I’d rather go somewhere else like Pintxo or tapeo.
This place sucks. Sorry I couldn’t think of a more eloquent way to describe an overpriced burger. An overpriced burger is equivalent to an overpriced lollipop. It makes absolutely no sense. If you are going to spend 10$+ on a burger, I would expect to get any toppings I want included (ok maybe not the truffles or foie gras or whatever the expensive toppings are) and I especially expect to get a decent bun, not a grocery store bought piece of crap. I went to this place once, and would never go back. It is an insult to any foodie in Montreal.
I have actually been back a couple of times since my last comments and my impression of m:brgr has only gotten worse. the quality of the food is very uneven, th place is overstaffed and everyone is always overselling (no I don’t want any champagne with my hamburger). Why do I go back? There are not a lot of good options downtown for lunch on the weekend. Still, I think my last visit was the last straw. I may have eaten my last m:brgr hamburger.
Hi, found your site through chowhound.com. I’m new to Montreal and am looking for recommendations. My dining experiences here have been very hit and miss, but I’ve been to M Brgr twice and liked the food very much both times. It is exceedingly crowded and noisy, but mostly for me, unless these are overwhelming, the food itself is the deciding factor.
So if M Brgr is out, where do you recommend going for good burgers in the downtown area? I live in Westmount, almost at the NDG border and would love any/all recommendations you might have, although I fully expect to investigate your blog a great deal more as well! Cheers.