Tapas and drinks for after-work crowd
LE BUREAU is a nice place to unwind, with inexpensive prices and a focus on Mediterranean cuisine
It’s hard not to be drawn in to Le Bureau, especially on a dark winter night. Looking through the window, with our feet in slush on Notre Dame St., it seemed as though a set designer had been at work on the other side of the glass. The room is full of gleaming varnished tables, porthole mirrors, gorgeous lighting with brass fixtures and frosted shades, and studded leather benches (rescued from the now-defunct downtown landmark Thursdays). Given the location and the decor, it’s not a shocker to hear that it used to be an antique shop. Settling into chairs near the front, I realized that I hadn’t heard classical music in a restaurant, much less a bar, in pretty much forever. Orchestral, with strings: instant movie moment.
Double happiness: the menu is swimming with five-dollar signs. That puts the price of the tapas here just that little bit lower; we’ve all learned by now that small plates can be delicious but deceptive by the end of an evening. In keeping with aperitivo tradition, Le Bureau
Le Bureau Bar Tapas Fair to good bet
$ 1642 Notre Dame St. W. (near
Guy St.) Phone: 514-903-1642 Website: n/a Licensed: Yes Credit cards: MC, Visa Wheelchair accessible:
Two steps
Vegetarian friendly: Limited Open: Tues.–Wed. & Sun. 3 p.m.– 1 a.m., Thurs.–Sat. 3 p.m.–3 a.m.
Price range: Tapas $3-$12, desserts $4
appears to be genuinely set on staying inexpensive. Most of the tables around us — the place was barely one-third full mid-week — were ordering wines by the bottle and nibbling on bits and bobs. I don’t think I’ve ever uttered the words “young professionals” before, but there you have it. Le Bureau would be a nice local if it’s just a short walk home to one of the many condo developments that have gone up in the area.
As far as the food is concerned, this is a better class of bar snacks than we would have seen in town even a few years ago. The menu isn’t breaking new ground, but the selections are sort of Mediterranean eclectic: harissa chicken with mint yogurt, charcuterie, spinach dal (which I regret not trying).
Hummus and drinking? Discuss. I’ve never been entirely convinced about this combo myself — although lord knows I’ve done it. The less common artichoke dip had the edge. Smeared on bread, it was creamy, vegetal, with an undercurrent of bitterness — and possibly even harder to pair with wine than hummus.
Beef skewers got mixed comments. I appreciated the chewiness of the cubed meat and the herbal green chimichurri sauce, again faintly bitter. My dining partner thought it ought to be punchier and I certainly do a more garlicky version at home.
Saganaki, a slab of salty Greek sheep’s milk cheese, was fried and then set aflame for the table. It can be flambéed in ouzo or whisky for those people who don’t like anise, the waiter explained. The salty, chewy-creamy cheese, zinged with some lemon, is pretty irresistible stuff. I’m just not sure a flaming frying pan is the best thing to plunk in front of a group of drunk people, but hey, on this night the bar scene was pretty tame.
Most other dishes were cleanly presented and cared for. The deepfried items, in particular, were gentle and not greasy. Rounds of tender but still toothy calamari in a fine batter reminded me of onion rings, and as easy to eat while drinking. The cod croquettes had substance — not entirely fluffed out, they were part fish cakes, part niblets of firm fish. Beet salad with pistachios and coriander brought us some fresh, sweet notes.
I wasn’t entirely sure what I was supposed to be drinking at Le Bureau. Although I liked the coppercoloured and hoppy Cobra from La Micro de Bromont, somehow I thought there would be more regional drafts. The wine list is quite a good length and has personality, and there are a few cocktails, but no particular liquor focus. Similar to the food, the goal was to be allaround appealing.
All in all, this was a mid-tempo evening. It didn’t have a wow factor that made us sit back in our seats and catch our breath, but then again, we were already sitting back and breathing easy here.