Le Hangar

Le Hangar - opened by Le Local's team, and most notably, Francois Louis Marcotte - was the subject of much buzz when it first joined Montreal's restaurant scene. Located at the edge of Griffintown nearest to the Old Port, Le Hangar is nestled within an old brick warehouse, decorated with an industrial chic aesthetic and surrounded by condo constructions and highways. It was destined to be a hot spot - after all, it was opened by a local star chef and situated in an obscure location.

But, something happened since Le Hangar opened. At the end of March 2012, bowed out of both Le Local and Le Hangar. I had been to Le Hangar when it opened - it was delicious, the service was friendly and the atmosphere was fun. Now, how would the restaurant fare without the local star chef?

As we walked in, a cheerful (and ridiculously good-looking) host brought us to our table. Having seen the menu online and dreaming of a delicious meal after a hectic day at work in the marketing world, my friend and I knew exactly what we wanted to order.

We started with the fried mini-shrimp, herb butter, garlic and pecorino ($12). It was fun! Not particularly inventive, but the batter was great and the shrimp weren't overly dunked. The butter and garlic were a nice touch, and the cheese added a bit of a punch.

My friend had the mac & cheese with lobster and mushrooms ($20). It was really great. The pasta was cooked al dente, the sauce was tasty and there was actually a decent amount of lobster in there. Very well done.

I had the halibut with a pistachio-pesto crust, oyster mushrooms, and bouillon, topped with grapes and greens ($30). A surprising flavor at first, but it was tasty. I enjoyed it - the ingredients meshed surprisingly well together - but wished I could have tasted more of the fish among all of the ingredients.

The desserts, well... If you read my blog relatively regularly you know that few places impress me with their desserts (400 Coups and Pastaga deserve a special mention here, their desserts are flawless). Le Hangar falls into that category. The desserts were seemingly inexpensive, so we ordered two thinking that the portions would be small. Wrong! While I appreciate bang-for-buck, there's a lot to say about keeping desserts classy. It's easy to make them big, overly sweet and generally crude. It's much harder to make it the right size with a delicate sweetness and classy feel. The tiramisu sundae ($7) was an interesting idea, but should such a delicious classic be tampered with? Made with shortbread cookies, it was ok, but too heavy. The torta Caprese was also just ok, although the accompanying praline ice-cream (6$) was delicious.

But one thing left me particularly disappointed: the service. Yes, the courses were timely, but we had three different waiters throughout the evening. That's strange. Usually, a table is served by one waiter and a pleasant rapport usually develops throughout the evening... None of that at Le Hangar. Also, professionalism is important, but not when it comes at the price of friendly and personable service. Would it kill you to smile? Like, maybe a little bit? Anything!? Yes, apparently, it would.

This was the second time I went to Le Hangar, and I have to say, I enjoyed my first experience more. Has the reputation of a difficult reservation gone to the staff's heads? Possibly. Is it because of François Louis Marcotte's departure? Maybe. Either way, enjoying a meal has as much to do with the feel of the experience as it does with the food. So perk up guys, and drop the "cool" vibe. You have something good going. And based on my first experience, it could be really great.

Food 8/10, Atmosphere 7.5/10, Pretty people 8/10, Music (cantreallyhearit) ?/10, Service 6.5/10.

Pictures: http://www.belledenuitmontreal.com/posts/le-hangar/

Pas mauvais mais pas non plus extraordinaire. Service un peu "amateur". Bonne musique d'ambiance. Bel endroit.

On five choices, 3 appetizers, a main course and a dessert only the main course was disappointing. It was also the recommandation of the server and the most expensive plate on the menu...Go figure...
In general good service, great athmosphere and I intend to go back.

charming resto in the griffintown district. So glad they opened since it is close to home and walkable from the Lowney. We discovered it when we tried to go to Le Local restaurant and it was completely full! They recommended we trythis resto which belongs to the same owner. Indeed, we had a place right at the bar available for us!! Food is good, my "coup de coeur" is the octopus, it SO tender, they marinate it, it is absolutely delicious!!!! Good service and love the bar wall mirror which makes the place look so big! The bar-lounge area is very nice and apart from the main dining room, great!! You guys try it!!

Great atmosphere, the food however was not memorable. Seem like the chef is trying too hard, sometimes simple is better

Beautiful, clean lines and attractive new Montreal restaurant with excellent food. The only downside would be the VERY CHINTZY drinks. Perhaps I am comparing to the USA but you would never get an ice-filled glass with so little vodka you could hardly see it!!