Our First Montreal Meal at Bar George

Considering our late arrival and the raging snow storm, we decided not to venture too far for our first meal. Bar George is part of our hotel, so we went there for dinner and a drink.

The bar has wood panelling all over, and a bunch of semi-private alcoves. Upon first entering, I was unsure they had room for us, but a waitress insisted they had space for two in the rear of the bar near the windows.

We were seated at a tiny table, which would have been sufficient for drinks but probably could not fit a single plate.

Our drinks arrived in less than two minutes from ordering them, which was a pleasant surprise. The two groups of people on our left and right were speaking French, which made us feel confident that this must be a decent place if the locals go here.

I was curious how they planned on fitting two dinner plates on the tiny table in front of us. Much to my surprise, right before our meals came out, a server brought over what appeared to be a side table to hold our plates. At first I thought this was an interesting solution to our problem, and praised their ingenuity.

However, when the food arrived, I felt as though we were in an episode of Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm. The gentleman set the table down about ten feet from where we sat, and our meals arrived and were placed on the table. This is when I began to hear the intro/outro music to Curb in my head.

Having not yet brought enough attention to the odd foreigners, the server dragged this table across the bar floor, with the feet of the table squeaking loudly against the hardwood floor. With the sound of nails on chalkboard ringing about the room, everyone there could not help notice the fat American getting his cheeseburger.

It didn’t help matters that the side table they provided was at an awkward height and angle. Additionally, instead of moving our drinks over to the new table, we now had two tables in front of us, one for our drinks and one for our food. Yeah, we really fit right in.

The food and drinks were quite good, even though I had to do that weird thing when you’re in a low chair trying to eat on a table that is too high and far away where you have to lurch forward when you take a bite to make sure you don’t get food all over yourself.

Aside from the awkward eating logistics, the food and drinks were good. If we could get a proper seat at the bar, I’d consider going back. That said, there are so many places to try in this city and we’re only here for a few more nights so I doubt we’ll be back.