burgundy lion

i’ve been all about brunch lately and last weekend was no exception. i headed to griffintown’s burgundy lion for a british take on a boozy morning meal. i went for a twist on a classic: the english toast (crumpet french toast and lyle’s golden syrup) which honestly tasted like an english muffin drenched in maple syrup, and gen went for the full english breakfast which looked amazing. -lea 

honest good good food!. have been going to burgundy lion for a few years now and they have never failed to satisfy! just great honest food, delicious and in such a fun place. great staff, james is a real gent! a real pub not far from home.

fishn' chips. to satisfy david's craving.. pricey, but worth the detour

the comment made by one reviewer about there being preferential treatment and service accorded to some patrons and not others sums up all of my experiences at the burgundy lion and underlines the lack of professionalism allowed to thrive and flourish. i don't have the patience to put up with a school cafeteria mentality where the supposed cool kids are going to serve their friends first, ensure they have attentive service and act as though the other paying customers are to be only served between inside jokes with their friends. all that being said, i just want to pay my money, be served and treated as equal to customers and enjoy great food, which is difficult at this place because the employees are allowed to act as if they are doing customers a favourite when it comes to seat selection and service levels at the table. many of the staff are even too cool to smile or even be friendly as they honestly feel they are doing customers a favourite. very warped perception of reality in the burgundy lion.


-----17 may, 2012-----

the food and service are way below average. the food is way below average. i had the tasteless portobello burger. another problem is that while the place obviously hires their young and trendy male and female waiters based on looks and not their customer service skills or waiting experience, what you also get thrown in free of charge is a healthy dose of attitude that borders on arrogance. a group of us went for a late brunch on sunday may 13 and wanted to sit next to the window. simple request. the seats were empty (no reservation sign on the table) and restaurant had lots of other seating available and no line up at the door. when the waitress arrived to seat us, we politely told her our seating preference. she then asked a guy tending bar (i guess the floor manager) who told her no. she then told us "you are sitting there" and pointed to seats near the back of the restaurant. we were starving and between errands, so we did as we were told (although we the paying customers). i would have definitely complained, but we were starving and it would have made my brunch companions uncomfortable. the employees are arrogant. they have little respect for customers. the feeling given to customers is that you're lucky we let you eat here, so shut up and do as told. the food is then below average and the place is too loud to have an average conversation without raising your voice. avoid this place and go somewhere that respects their customers and where the male and female staff do not view themselves as doing you a favour! to sum up... the food is average and the staff lack respect for paying customers.

it does offer above average pub fare. i find their fish and chips to be hit or miss - the batter often tastes undercooked - doughy and raw. have had many of their desserts some of which are better than others. decent choice of beers on tap. prompt, friendly service. we do enjoy their trivia night on mondays.

the waitress we had today was terrible. i waited 30 minutes for a cesar and the coffee my friend ordered never showed. she was indifferent and rude and i think assumed because we were a couple young people clearly not from money that we didn't deserve proper treatment. we're all bartenders or waitresses ourselves so we were particularly displeased with the service. food was average.

nice cosy place. almost packed with high music. the cod cakes were good comes with lime and spicy mayo sauce. the salad portions are big. good to try it once

great english pub. their own beer is great matched with the best fish and chips in the area. the ambiance is very welcoming and pleasant. burgundy lion is a unique place in montreal. you wont be disappointed.

good service! very cheap and good quality ordered the lamb shank was very pleased. the plate costed 22$ i believe. if you are looking for a place to go with friends for drinks and good food this is the place for you.

went there with my work mates on my first friday drinks. the place was lively and fully occupied. good that we had a booking. the beers were good and the food was pretty good too.
service - 3.5/5
food - 4/5
ambience - 4/5

the beer selection and flavor were disappointing. food and service was only okay. so loud that we couldn't hear each other across the table.

consistently decent food, though limited by some of the conceits of the format--i mean, seriously, you need to have maple syrup, whether they have it in britain or not.

often busy, service can be on or off, depending on the day.

we go if we're nearby, but it's never a destination.

only had a few drinks before going out for dinner but their beer is delicious and light and their service was really good. we sat out on the patio on the street. our waitress accommodated us to the shaded area without having to ask her, which was a very nice touch. i have this on my list for a place to actually eat,,as the food that was being served looked fantastic and have heard great local reviews as well. this place was recommended for me to try and we were very pleased.

what better place than montreal, quebec to get our first taste of authentic british food? okay, fine, quebec’s not quite the province you think of when you think about having british food, but we heard good things about the burgundy lion, a british pub, so we figured why not? in any case, it’d at least be a small bastion of english speakers in a predominantly french city. 
the full english breakfast ($13)

2 eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, blood pudding, mushrooms, baked beans, potatoes, fried tomato, and crumpet

we’ve always heard/seen/read about british food and their distinctive breakfast, so what better place to start than a “full english breakfast”? needless to say, it’s quite a plateful. the eggs, overeasy on this plate, were done as well as eggs can be. the sausage was…interesting. instead of the savoury breakfast sausages that we are accustomed to, this sausage, seen in the front-left on top of the ham in the photo above, was spiced differently and was a bit drier, less greasy, and…scratchier? definitely unique. the ham and mushrooms were well done, tender, and seasoned well. the bacon was also different from the thinly sliced, smoked, and salty breakfast bacon you would usually get. this is a thick piece of bacon meat, smoked and barbecued with a sweet, almost candied flavour. it was pleasantly delicious. the blood pudding was certainly distinct: while dan wasn’t sure if he liked it or not, though he leans toward not. while the taste of blood was definitely distinct, it’s muted by the spices and flavouring of the other ingredients. we can’t really tell if the fried tomato was fried or not, it was probably seared in a pan. it tasted like a tomato. the baked beans had a relatively strong tomato base. typically dan prefers the beans to be a bit sweeter, but this is likely more authentic to its british roots. the home fries were pretty standard, but spiced well with paprika and had a pleasant smokiness to is flavour. finally, the crumpet. we’ve never had a crumpet before either. it’s a bit like a spongy hybrid between a crêpe and an english muffin. it’s quite interesting, though we’re not sure if we ate it properly (with the right toppings, etc.); bland probably wasn’t the way to go.

very good service and food. the service was very quick. we were greeted as soon as we walked in the door. the the veggies were amazing and i enjoyed the mash potatoes and steak.