olive et gourmando

it's been a few years since my last visit to olive & gourmando so i decided to take c with me for brunch. they're still as popular as ever, perhaps even more so.

we dropped in on a sunday (around 11:00am) and had towait15 minutes for a table to open up. the inside is open air and has a lively, vibrant vibe to it.

if you don't want to eat a meal here, grabbing a pastry or two is worth a quick pitstop. there's three separate menus for breakfast, brunch and lunch. seems a little excessive with an overlap of some items.

- the mr. miami ($14.95) - smoked beef brisket, grilled red onion, cilantro pesto mayo, havarti, pineapple and jalapeño salsa. the sandwich was okay but there was no wow factor. 
- tartine ($18.00) - house ricotta, cucumber, roasted squash, asian pear, nuts and a herbs & honey + lemon + aleppo pear dressing. this was impressive. the combo of flavours worked wonders.

o&g is still a classic spot in the old port.

for some reason, we managed to get a table of 4 for us when the group of 3 in front of us had towaitan hour. it’s such a bustling and happy place. the waiters were really well mannered and the food came very quickly. i really enjoyed sitting by the window as it gave nice vibes. we ordered “the cuban”, the “mister miami” panini and the cold chicken sandwich. i also ordered a hot chocolate and my friends ordered the raspberry lemonade and the montreal cola.

overall, the food was amazing! would definitely recommend this place ❤️ the brunch menu is only available on the weekend though.

had the opportunity to go there in mid-february with a friend. it was freezing cold outside, about -25 celsius, but since this place has such a hype around it, we decided we wouldwaituntil we got in to understand what the hype was all about. we waited for approximately an hour outside, despite it being 2 pm. 

one thing there is to know about this place is that it's tiny, even the seating area is tiny. they made us sit in an area in front of a window where we were next to each other and not in front of each other, which felt weird. if we were towaitfor a table, it could've taken 10-15minutes more. it's also very crowded, and in the winter, it gets fairly loud and hard to hear the conversation you're trying to have. 

the food itself is good, but a bit overrated and overpriced. i'm eating a sandwich and a soup and i'm paying almost as much as a full meal at other restaurants. also, it's not like it was the best sandwich i've ever had for it to be priced that way.... so i didn't get that part. i had the mr. miami sandwich with the soup of the day (which i specified to remove cilantro from and i guess they forgot). i wasn't surprised or really excited about the food, but the desserts were delicious and totally worth the price. i've had a blueberry danoise and a latte. 

the service was acceptable, they were very crowded so the waitress had a hard time going from table to table in a decent amount of time. it took 30 minutes to get the sandwich after we received the soup...

i really like this breakfast / brunch location. i’m glad that the place is so popular now. it’s about 45min-1.5 hour wait. for new comers make sure you come inside to leave your name for the waitress/hostess. they will call for parties 4+, but if you’re dining with 1-3 people just gotta stand around andwaitfor a table to open up / name to be called. food is amazing.

absolute best mac & cheese in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all the food was exceptional, great service, but be prepared towait(it's well worth it!).

make a reservation as soon as you can, because you don’t want to miss having lunch at this fun and quirky place with awesome food. if not, you can probably expect a 15-30 minutewaitbut it’s definitely worth it. two of their paninis worth your vote are “the cuban” (pancetta, roasted pork, gruyere, and housemade lime/cilantro/chipotle/pickle mayonnaise) or “the pomme” (ham, apples, cheddar, garlic vinaigrette and housemade walnut butter). they also sell wonderful pastries and baked goods at the front, including a noteworthy apple chai brioche, oatmeal cookie and espresso brownie.

longwaitto get in. nice decor and atmosphere! the food we had was good but not that great. coffee and almond croissant are average, but i liked their blueberry scone. service was not pleasant as the manager was very arrogant and rude when i had a small suggestion. anyway, service is very important to me :)

the food here is fantastic - the vegetable tartine of roast squash, cucumber, mint, fresh ricotta and asian pear on sourdough tasted refreshing. the chia seed pudding was also served very sophisticatedly, with layers of fruit purée, fresh fruit, and house made granola. the baked goods out the front looked absolutely amazing as well, i wish i had the stomach space for it! my gripe about olive et gourmando is of its slow and inattentive service. unfortunately it took around twenty minutes to settle the bill and thewaitstaff was very rude when we enquired about menu items.

i visited this place with my wife for brunch on a sunday during my stay in montreal and we both loved the place even though we had towaitfor a long time to get a table. we ordered for poached eggs and panini along with cappuccino. poached eggs were really delicious. the service is good too here.

i came here with a friend on vacation. we had towaitfor bit, but thewaitwas worth it. this place isn't pricey considering it's in the old montreal. the portions were generous, we didn't even have a desert since we were so full. although the pastries there look appetizing. the soup was incredibly fresh. i would definitely go back.

we have had a few friends who had eaten here previously and had recommended eating here. the weekend had an exceptionally longwaitto have brunch, and so we ended up back on a monday. the lattes were absolutely delicious paired with our brunch. we had the poached egg and cuban sandwiches, i preferred the latter as it most reminded me of the sandwiches i have had in joints in miami. paired with their daily soup of mushroom and and fresh lemon creme fresh.. my taste buds died and went to heaven. both came with a small salad with a light vinegrette, as to not feel completely lethargic from the richness of flavour. having said that, we could have easily shared a sandwich with both having soup and salad. very rich!!! you must grab one of their pastries to go, i had the pain du chocolate... yum! butter overload ☺ can'twaitto do brunch here again!

living very close to this restaurant, i have been several times. my recent experience was extremely disappointing. when you pay 17 dollars for a ricotta and piece of bread you expect something very good. i found a first hair in my meal, and having worked in the restaurant business in the past, this can happen, so i moved it aside and didn't let it phase me. but when i found a second hair, i just couldn't eat anymore. i advised the closest waitress about the hairs and what happened next was what shocked me. instead of being understanding, she went on a rampage, pointing a finger at me and telling me that i should have told her at the first hair i found and notwaituntil the second. she kept repeating this in front of all the patrons. so much so, that my husband and i just got up and left. she came over to me and advised that she did not charge me for my meal ( thank goodness considering i had not finished it!) but did not apologize. my husband paid for the rest of the food and i asked for the manager. i was advised that it was the same individual who had spoken to me. this was extremely disappointing and i will never go again. a little apology and respect goes a long way!

defintely more on the $$ side but really tasty food. their hot chocolate is to die for. viennoiseries are great! table service is also good but it's a small space so there isn't always room for everyone and thewaitcan be long. salads and sandwiches are very good.

listening to ccr in old montreal at olive&gourmando with my buddy robin.. having my favorite sandwich "le cubain" with pork, pancetta, coriander and chipotle mayo. i finish my lunch with an espresso coffee sharing a "chocolaté killer cookie". good service, lively place and you can "laisser le bon temps rouler". beware: you will have towaita little while but it is worth it.

a favourite place in montreal.  asked a montreal resident for its best coffee places, and this was in her top three for brunch hangouts. make sure you don't have a large group, though, because you will probably have towaita long time before there's space for you. it's a very happening place, lines for takeouts and lines for dine in-ers. sis and i put our names down upon arrival. being just the two of us we got a table pretty quickly. unfortunately, very hungry sis had gone exploring around by then so we almost lost our table. eek, hurry back, sis! for drinks, she ordered an orange juice and loved it so much that she gulped it down and wanted another. they only do a limited batch per day, though, and there were none left. she was so disappointed. settled down for a lemonade, but it wasn't the same for her. i got a long macchiato and set about planning on the routes of the day. i love the old montreal area. so charming, with beautiful buildings. it was cold so not many tourists were ou