La Paryse - Best poutine? Yes. Best burgers, non!

Stars: ** 1/2, *** on a good day
Price: $$$
Weirdness factor: 3

La Paryse
302 Rue Ontario Est Montreal QC, Canada

La Paryse is probably mentioned in every guidebook to Montreal, touting it as THE place to have THE greatest burger to be found in the city.

Maybe we went on an off night, but these guidebooks couldn't have been more wrong! Totally unimpressed by the burgers.

The atmosphere, while a little harried, was cute and informal, with a majority of French-speakers. This is also a VERY homosexual-friendly restaurant! I didn't care for the music, however; I enjoy Bjork and Sinead O'Connor as much as the next person, but in their place, and not while I'm eating a burger and fries, ya dig?

I'll start with the good news. La Paryse has the best poutine (that I've experienced, anyway) in Montreal. The fries are crispy and golden brown, the cheese is grated (not in huge, cold lumps, but in thin strips that melt away) and their gravy is excellent. The poutine gravy at La Paryse has a great complex, authentic taste - not prepackaged. This was my first time trying classic poutine, and nowhere else in the city quite lived up to it. I highly recommend La Paryse for its poutine above anywhere else in Montreal.

Now for the negative.

My friend got the regular Beef Burger, which (while it seemed to be 100% beef) was rather sawdusty. It was seasoned properly but just wasn't juicy enough. (Stay tuned for my review of 5 Guys Burgers in Orlando, the best burgers ever!)The fixins for the burger seemed to be fine. I chose the Pinto Bean Burger (they had 3 different veggie burger selections), and this was equally disappointing. It was heavy and sticky, with way too much mayo. Honestly, I would rather have had a black bean patty from Chili's. The only thing that saved this burger was the 'herb cheese' they put on it, which was pretty tasty.

The prices were normal, about 8 dollars for the burger, but $1 extra to share a plate.
We got a bottle of wine which completely sucked, and it was around 28 CAD! Take my advice and don't get wine there, just have a coke or something, don't get ripped off by their alcohol!

I would say, since this place is in a pretty busy and trendy area, to go there just to check out their poutine, as it is really great. But afterward, go elsewhere, maybe St. Denis, for dinner and drinks.