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Lagerstatten.ca
09-10-2010, 12:20 PM
Stealing the review format from another post, but here's my review of Laurier Lounge. Been driving by the place for a long time and finally decided to give it a try after a co-worker went there a while back and said the burger was awesome there!

Details:

Laurier Lounge
1111 - 7th Street SW (right next to The Bike Shop)
*It's in an old burgandy/red house, a bit hard to find.
(403) 228-3771
http://www.laurierlounge.com


Booked a table for two using OpenTable - confirmation was sent and a call from Laurier Lounge was made the day of the reservation which was a nice reminder.

Ambiance/Atmosphere: 7/10

I'm sure this place is in a historic builder as it's freaking old. Floors and stairs creak when you step on to them, haha. The decor is very simple and nice but the ambiance is very dark. That's my only complaint - it was just a bit too dark. Can't really see your food or anything when we were sitting upstairs. Plus the creepy photo of Sir Wilfred Laurier staring at you while you eat isn't cool either. Otherwise the location would be good for a first date.

Food - 9/10

Now comes the important part the "food". It was absolutely delicious! Here's what we had:

1. Smoked Salmon Bruschetta
2. The Original Poutine
3. Montreal Filet Mignon Hambourgeois
4. St. Louis Style BBQ Ribs
5. Molten Lava Cake
+ Two Drinks (Ginger Ale and Guiness)

The smoked salmon bruschetta was very nice and light, served on a fire toasted sliced baguette. The subtle burnt taste to the toast was a nice addition to the flavors of the bruschetta.

Hambourgeois - it was good but not the best burger I've had. It did come with a mountain of fries though.

BBQ Ribs - these were delicious and were fall off the bone tender. The BBQ sauce was tangy and a tad spicy. I'd definitely get these again!

Poutine - this was the winner for the night. I've only had my fair share of poutine from other places (NY Fries, Costco, etc) but these were awesome! With real cheese curds, finely chopped green onions and parsley (?) and the gravy, I would drink this gravy if it came as a beverage! It was salty, but sweet but had a bit of heat to it too. It wasn't over bearing with saltiness but it wasn't as sweet as say the sauce from Swiss Chalet. In short it was perfect.

Service - 10/10

The service was normal - in line with places like Joeys or Muriettas. Shannon our server made sure our drinks were full and that we were enjoying our meal. Our food came out in logical order (appies then entrees and then dessert) and were timed really well too. After appies were taken away our entrees came out about 5 minutes afterwards. It was nice to have that time to chase down the appies with our drinks and prep for the entrees.

Pricing 9/10

I was under the impression that this place was going to be one of those "pay a lot but get very little" type of restaurants but I was dead wrong.

The above meal cost us a total of $78.00 excluding tip. I was stuff and could barely move afterwards. I think the addition of the poutine did me in as it was easily a meal by itself - but I had to try it.

Overall - 8/10

I really enjoyed my meal there at Laurier Lounge and will be making plans to go back soon. I wanna try all the different poutines they have there - you can find their menu on their website. It's a great place to go for a date and it appears to be a great place just to go hang out with some friends over a couple of appies and beers. Apparently they carry this one brand of french (?) beers that's always one of the top rated beers in the world (according to a friend). I didn't know but will be asking for it next time.

The only bad thing about their location is that there's hardly any parking. It's all street parking and the whole street is now pay parking as well. You can try parking in The Bike Shop's lot but I'd be careful about getting towed and even more dangerous would be the bums lurking around the recycling bins behind Safeway. Parking on the street along 12th Ave is probably your best bet during the evening.

cherpintow
09-10-2010, 12:40 PM
I live directly across the street from this place. Very cool spot, great for bringing a date to. It's funny you mention the French beer, this is the place where I discovered Don De Dieu, really good stuff

http://www.mothkettle.com/blog/uploaded_images/don-de-dieu-723587.jpg

ExtraSlow
09-10-2010, 01:13 PM
Notes:
1) I use OpenTable, and I like it a lot
2) Love the Unibroue beers. Pretty much all excellent, and my local liquor store carries a good selection of them
3) This reminds me I haven't been to Laurier Lounge in a while, need to go back.