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    Café Gentile

    3.8 (78 reviews)
    ModerateCafes, Italian
    Open 7:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Café Gentile Photos

    CAFÉ GENTILE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Trendy
    Loud
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Café Gentile

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    Ricotta crostini
    Jules N.

    We had a wonderful lunch at Cafe Gentile during our first trip to Montreal. The cafe was bustling, but the staff was friendly, welcoming, and hard-working. Service was fast and efficient, and the food was outstanding. I'm still drooling for the ricotta crostini! You MUST order it!

    Esteban Y.

    Nice cafe, great staff, great music. Homemade pasta with delicious sauce. The cappuccino was perfect. Will definitely come back.

    Tamar R.

    Go here for there signature ice tea. This place is great for lunch They have salads, sandwiches and they also have a weekly menu that changes that includes a meat dish and pasta. The pasta is always good when I go, always something different that I have never tried and I'm a sucker for pasta. I've been here a few times the girl in front has always been nice but waiters are not the most friendliest I've accountatred. I went alone the service was pretty fast, but I never saw the waiter after he took my order. So I had to get the attention from another waiter to get my bill. Definitely an OG Italian cafe to try.

    Calamari
    Nancy H.

    Wow. Now this was a real treat. I've rarely been afforded the opportunity for authentic Italian food (save for at my Italian friend's home) and as a result it's not on the top of my favourite cuisines list...but this could really start to change that! Really good food, with good ingredients and care. We got the tomato salad with burrata, the calamari, the eggplant parm, and the veal meatballs. We ordered for takeout. The food was neatly packaged and hot. The tomato salad was colorful and the burrata was sublime, rich and luscious and creamy. The tomatoes weren't as sweet as I'd hoped but they were decent and fresh. The veal meatballs were tender and meaty, with a delicate mouthfeel and a nice richness without being too fatty. They were huge! The tomato sauce worked nicely with them. The eggplant parm was also excellent, and the calamari was good and nicely crisp. I wish there was more dipping sauce though Altogether a fabulous meal. I wish prices were lower, but good ingredients and quality doesn't come cheap I guess.

    Michelle V.

    For those who guessed right, yes I was at Cafe Gentile this morning. Before heading to this restaurant for brunch, I had asked other people what they thought about this place. It was a bag of mixed reviews, therefore I knew I had to go in try it myself and not allowing other people's projecting their feelings of inadequacy onto mine. First, who dares to have pasta for breakfast? That's right: Me. If you know this by now, I am a real sucker for carbs and fresh pasta. Sure I may not die of hunger, but my girlfriend and I are convinced we may die of diabetes and cholesterol. Bad joke, but sort of true. Homemade tagliolini, mixed mushrooms, grana padano served with a fried Egg- Is this considered as breakfast since we've got ourselves an egg? I can't tell you how true Nonna's cooking taste like because I am clearly not Italian. But you know what else Italian's are great at? Coffee. At this present moment, I am still not a big fan of third-wave coffee with their "blueberry pie" sour coffee as Tony describes them. I think he and I see eye to eye on many things when it comes to Italian food culture. I don't know how your experience was at Café Gentile Westmount but personally, this place was a hit for me. Having the time to sit down and getting to know Anthony Gentile as a businessman, a father and husband truly made me respect this place even more. Sometimes the experience is not just about the food but the stories each individuals bring to the table. You can always sit with me. PS. Thank you Anthony for teaching me the proper ways of saying Bombolone like a true Italian.

    Cayla L.

    Love love love and lots of love! Café Gentile is such a tasty restaurant offering fresh pastas and great Italian food! The restaurant ambiance is quite cozy since it is pretty small. The decor is quite simple, minimalistic in a way but the wood and the saddle brown colours brings a bit of a rustic feel. To start, we ordered the Gentile's eggplant parmigiana. It was delicious! The wait was a bit long but it was definitely worth it. Each layer of the eggplant was cooked perfectly and the ratio of cheese to the eggplant was perfect. As for the main meals, we ordered the fresh daily pasta rigatoni with mushrooms, and the seafood tagliatelle. The rigatoni was cooked al dente. The only thing I didn't personally like was the strong taste of red wine. The seafood tagliatelle was very delicious. We ordered this dish since we saw a lot of people ordering this specific plate. So if you are looking for some cozy pasta restaurant, you should try out cafe gentile! Because life is about exploring pasta-bilities !!!

    Woman Feeling Bad because of Mistreatment in a Restaurant

    Café Gentile - Where Single Female Diners are Treated Like Garbage. .......................................................................................................................................First of all, as a single woman dining alone, after I waited to be served for over an hour and receiving cold, overpriced food at a small table for two, 2 severs approached me to evict me from the tiny table to sit at the counter. "We'll carry your coat and food over for you." People sitting around me were shocked and told these servers that they arrived a long time after me and were served first and their actions were totally unacceptable. . "We need the table." is what they were told. I said that I was not going to sit at the counter and would leave when I finished my meal. It's not as if I was someone who set up their laptop and used the place as their office, keeping other people waiting for a table. I just sat there, patiently waiting. . To be treated as a persona non grata was a horrible experience. "So this is why so many women will never dine alone." I thought to myself. . One of the wait staff, who could be part of the management or one of the owners had an extremely offensive body odour. . The regular coffee that was served to me cold was awful and the price is exorbitant. It's undrinkable. . . I will never go back there again! It is very unpleasant walking or driving by there. They made me feel like a trespasser and practically threw me out. Talk about feeling unwelcome! I think there should be a separate rating for service to a female dining alone. . Shame on them! Their name should be Café Dégueulasse - Personnel Pas Gentile - Waiter Qui Sens Le Swing - Avertissement : les convives célibataires seront jetées comme des ordures

    Cafe Gentile
    Daniel R.

    Honestly, it's not my type of place, however, I am being objective here: It is very nice for what it is. Everyone whom I have brought here for a casual lunch or dinner has loved. The prices are a bit high for the food, but you are paying also for ambiance and location. And then there is the service. This is a place where you can tell immediately that the waiters are professionals and each one takes pride in doing their job well. Not my type of place, but they deserve every star.

    Smoked salmon bagel
    Joana Z.

    Café Gentile is a small coffee shop located in a beautiful area next to a lot of other shops. As soon as we arrived, my friend and I were greeted by the waitress who asked us where we wanted to sit. We decided to have a seat on the outdoor terrace since it was very nice outside. The terrace is very cosy, but small! It makes it hard to have a conversation without hearing everyone else's conversation. Despite that, everything is very beautiful, inside and outside. As for the food, my friend ordered the smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel with the small potatoes and I had the avocado toast with a plate of fresh fruit. We also both had iced lattes with almond milk. The iced lattes were delicious, but only after we asked the waiter to add more almond milk because they felt bitter before that. The coffee was very strong, but very good! The cream cheese bagel was delicious, filled with smoked salmon and perfectly crunchy. The potatoes were also very good. I'd have to say I was a little bit disappointed with the avocado toast, I thought it was going to be a bigger portion than that, especially for the price. It was very good, just expected it to be bigger. The fresh fruit plate was huge and definitely fresh! I would recommend this place if you're grabbing coffee on the go or for a little breakfast date with friends or family. The service is very good as well, everything arrived fast and the waiters explained some items on the menu for us.

    Panini with pasta arrabiata
    Sam P.

    This is a great lunch spot in central mtl. I've come 3 times now and was satisfied each time. The interior and terrace are stunning. Super aesthetically pleasing without becoming pretentious. They have a large lunch menu full of sandwiches, wraps, salads and some daily specials. Every time I've gone, I've ordered one of their paninis with a side of their pasta of the day. The food is fresh and yummy and the prices are pretty reasonable. The last time I was there was yesterday (tuesday at lunch) and there was no wait when we arrived at 13:30. Other times I've been, there was a line out the door during the lunch rush. We both enjoyed our meals (both ordered a panini) and shared the medium portion of their pasta of the day (penne arrabiata) My friend ordered their "famous iced tea" which she said tasted exactly the same as a nestea but was 4.5$. She wasn't impressed. I've heard that the dinner menu is overpriced so I haven't gone for that reason. I will definitely be back for their delicious lunch menu!

    Rabbiya A.

    A friend worked here in the past and recommended this spot to us. We decided to meet here for dinner! I looked up reviews and photos on Yelp and decided to try out the Chicken Parmigiana with Sexy Fries. My friends ordered several things from the menu to share amongst each other! The food came after 40 minutes and was average at best. The chicken was dry, hard and bland. Everyone else had the same experience and the common response was that the food & ingredients didn't taste fresh! Service was average. One of the servers only decided to be nice, when it was time to pay the bill and tip. Establishments in Montreal take their interior, food & service seriously to compete with the competition! Would not recommend this restaurant until it starts to catch up!

    Chicken cutlet sandwich
    Nic Q.

    Stopped by here for lunch on a Friday, lucky for us they had the terrace open as it seemed pretty full. We ordered what the waiter suggested, their chicken cutlet sandwich with a side of arugula salad. It was very good, and their hot sauce was just the right spice. Service was ok, it was super busy and people lined up to get in.

    Tartare apetizer
    Bonnie Z.

    I went there at around 8. My friend told me that they have better food selection at noon, but I took a $20 pasta and wasn't satified because I was still very hungry. price wasn't worth the food to be honest. Service was meh, the waitress was super nice at first but she changed her vibe right after we have all ordered our plates.. which is odd. (Maybe it's because we didn't order any drinks or she had a bad day). I would come back but during lunch time instead. Their desert seems to be delicious from what I've seen from my neighbor table. PS- they have a terrasse!

    Seared scallops

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    I went there recently with friends for brunch and truly emjoyed the service, meal & ambience. i will definitely go back there again.

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    Café Gentile Reviews in Other Languages

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    Restaurant Siciliana - Snails

    Restaurant Siciliana

    3.5(96 reviews)
    1.8 kmVille-Marie
    $$

    Typical old Italian restaurant of Montreal. The salad looks good and great. The service is rapid…read moreand nicely done.

    Restaurants in Montreal with the name of an Italian region - 2 of 2…read more I had seen Restaurant Siciliana before. It is on Rue Stanley, not too far away from the Peel Metro Station. Rue Stanley always makes for a chuckle. I have known very few people with that name. However, it's the eponymous name of a (not even) B movie about someone's dangerous pet snake. I looked at the menu board at around lunch time. It seemed like a generic Italian restaurant, with a broad-based Italian menu and not one that was particularly Sicilian. But this was at lunch time, and I was walking down the street with something to do. I returned for dinner another day. Everything at Restaurant Siciliana was sort of perfunctory and ordinary. The interior is old school and has the red and white check tablecloths. The wood fired pizza oven is visible from the restaurant. They seat you quickly and I wanted to sit closer to the back and next to a wall, to which they obliged. Since I could not find a wall outlet, they were willing to charge my phone for me. I did not want a pizza. For that, I might go to dei Compari, which I very much like. I was looking for pasta. Since I couldn't see what it might look like or what others had ordered, I settled on the trio - three types of pasta. I've seen this done before at other Italian eateries and, within reason, they allow substitutions. Here, the wiggle room is not that much (that means no filled pasta or lasagna/e) and there is an upcharge for the allowed changes. I wanted to swap out a pasta with Alfredo sauce and they did so for another pasta that is also on their menu at the same price, but with a $3 upcharge (for U.S., divide by ~1.36). Is that that much of an inconvenience? Everything was ok - one in a Bolognese sauce, one in a rose' sauce, and one in a pesto sauce - except that the pesto sauce was a little oily and didn't sit with me. To drink, I had a ginger ale. I'm beginning to like that stuff. The service was good. It was also expedient, albeit a little reserved. This was a 3-star event and, going forward, I will continue to look for other Italian (and Sicilian) restaurants in the area. I would love to know of an authentic Sicilian restaurant in the agglomeration that is Montreal. The very first Italian restaurant at which I ate in Montreal was just up the street, at Stanely and Maisonneuve. Either a Chapters or a newer building went in. That restaurant was more of a diner, which explains why it wouldn't be there - close to the financial district - anymore. Change can be hard to accept. I remember that that was also the first time I had heard the term rose' sauce. This is what Eastern Canada refers to a pink tomato-cream sauce. The middle-aged dark-haired woman who helped me had to have been from the western part of Montreal or its island, spoke perfect English with mannerisms suitable for an Italian neighborhood the Northeastern U.S., and looked like Kaye Ballard. I would have preferred a restaurant like that to this one for the price-quality rapport of the food and a Rue Stanley/Financial District location. If you are a tourist and your time is metered, I might skip this one. If you are a local, you can try Restaurant Siciliana for pizzas and/or pasta and see if it suits you.

    Photos
    Restaurant Siciliana - Since, like French, Italian is gendered, Trattoria Siciliana would be correct but I'm not so sure about Restaurant Siciliana.

    Since, like French, Italian is gendered, Trattoria Siciliana would be correct but I'm not so sure about Restaurant Siciliana.

    Restaurant Siciliana - House salad.

    House salad.

    Restaurant Siciliana - House wine.

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    House wine.

    Marcella

    Marcella

    4.3(39 reviews)
    3.1 kmVille-Marie

    We went to Marcella for lunch on a Saturday and the place was hopping. Even without reservations,…read morewe were warmly greeted by Michael and were seated quickly. The menu has lots of choices for carnivores and vegetarians. I ordered the cavatelli alla pesto which was steaming hot (as pasta should be) and delicious. The pesto was fresh and aromatic. The dish was topped off with aged Parmesan and toasted pine nuts. My wife had the spaghetti pomodoro which was also well presented, delicious and served steaming hot. Service by Michael was superb, friendly, and good humored. Despite being overwhelmingly busy, he found time to gone by and chat with us. This is definitely a keeper for future visits.

    Came to Montreal for the weekend and was looking for a dinner spot near my apartment. Stumbled upon…read moreMarcella and absolutely loved it. They take reservations. Unfortunately, everything online was booked, but I gave them a call and they squeezed us in last minute. The ambient and decor inside are absolutely stunning. They have a nice bar area too. We stared off with Chianti wine and Calamari. Both fantastic. I ordered the bolognese pasta without the burrata (dairy free) and my fiancé ordered the cavatelli pasta. Extremely rich in flavor and delicious. They even placed the burrata on the side for my fiancé to have since I was unable to eat it. The service was great. They checked in often and were very polite. Had a wonderful experience and highly recommend them!!

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    Marcella
    Marcella
    Marcella

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    Cafe Presto

    Cafe Presto

    3.4(27 reviews)
    1.8 kmVille-Marie
    $

    Cafe Presto was a unique little storefront restaurant. We were standing around outside wondering…read morewhere to go have dinner when the owner of this little place stuck his head out and said "come on in." With such a quirky start, we did just that. Inside this little place there are maybe a dozen tables ... mostly for two. The place was casual, unpretentious, and relatively inexpensive. Service was friendly and spot on. Now the owner who drew us in - whatever his name - does it all here. He seated us, we saw him clean off some tables, and he goes back and forth in the kitchen personally making each dish. He had only two helpers ... one doing dishes and the other helping wait the tables especially when he was fixing a plate. The meals are essentially light pasta with light sauces ... nothing much heavy here. It is meant to be a quick lunch spot, and only stays open a while after hours. The menu - posted in the front window - is written on a sheet of paper and usually is about 8 different pastas and sauces; after you sit at a table you will find that the current list is generally smaller as they have run out of stuff during the day. Be that as it may, it was pretty good food. We had the Canelloni Rossini (4 stars with a light red sauce), Penne Arrabbiata (4 stars with another very light sauce), and a Calypso Salad (4 stars with very nice greens). The big takeaway was that he can make any kind of quick pasta and put any one of his light sauces on it for a quick meal. The sauces were nice - very light but nice. The pastas could have been a bit fresher. Interestingly, they only take cash - and that is not mentioned on the front window. He does have an ATM machine inside to help you cover the cash, but he should really announce this out front, especially for all the tourists that are in Montreal. Our bill came to $70 and he wrote down $80 ... maybe he included the tip for us - don't know, but pay attention to your bill on the way out. In fairness, the prices are reasonable here - $4.95 for a glass of the house Chianti, and every one of the pasta meals were simply $9.95. Canoli were $6.00 each.

    Hmmm, I've never gone to a restaurant where they don't offer menus, until this one. I personally…read moredid not like this, but whatever floats your boat and makes you happy. Of course after we ordered we discovered a have written, 8" x 11" menu on one of the walls. Would have been nice to have been directed to that earlier... anyway moving on. Food was okay, we ordered spaghetti... the sausage was really good, bread, meatball and red sauce were a little bland. ‍ overall we most likely wouldn't be back.

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    Cafe Presto - Home style beef stew

    Home style beef stew

    Cafe Presto - Inside

    Inside

    Cafe Presto

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    L'Usine de Spaghetti - Escargot

    L'Usine de Spaghetti

    4.0(223 reviews)
    3.6 kmVille-Marie
    $$

    We went to Bonsecours Market and was looking for somewhere to eat and most of the restaurants are…read moreclosed since it was in between lunch and dinner and this place was open so we decided to go in. Our waitress let us to our table. She was very hospitable and she spoke very good English and told us that they have a salad bar part of our meal. I ordered a classic spaghetti with meat sauce and hubby ordered spaghetti with steak. My meal was amazing. They put a lot of meat sauce and the spaghetti was just cooked right not to soft not too hard. My hubby's steak was cooked perfectly. I also tried the tiramisu not too bad. I wish they put a lot of rum. lol. Chocolate cake was delicious. The place looks elegant and expensive, although the prices are not too bad. I recommend this place.

    Cute spot in Old Port, Old Montreal…read more The placemat also served as the menu. I loved that there were fun facts scattered here and there. It also worked as conversation starters. Another interesting thing here is they have an unlimited self-serve salad bar for lunch (unsure about dinner). They had kale! There were a couple of salad dressings and a variety of toppings. What was memorable was the sweet, sweet corn. Bread and butter were served at our table. I didn't expect this for lunch. #14 Spaghetti with meatballs CAD$32 - The meatballs were good, but the spaghetti was lacking. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was just ok. (I had another Italian spot for dinner that night, and L'usine just didn't meet the bar.) The menu said this is the classic from L'usine. #19 Le Grand Prix CAD$38 - The lamb chops were pretty good! However again the pesto pasta was lacking again. Credit card/Apple Pay accepted. Bathroom is down the stairs. It reminded me of being under a pirate ship for some reason. Only indoor seating

    Photos
    L'Usine de Spaghetti - The ambiance

    The ambiance

    L'Usine de Spaghetti
    L'Usine de Spaghetti - Speakeasy vibe. 2nd floor for large parties

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    Speakeasy vibe. 2nd floor for large parties

    Café Gentile - cafes - Updated May 2026

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