More from Montreal: Juliette et Chocolat

By Ashley Thompson

The city of Montreal does plenty of things well. Its European architecture melds seamlessly into modern design, its expansive green spaces encourage both athletic endeavors and peaceful meandering, and its lengthy list of cultural attractions easily fill up a weekend getaway, as I found out last month. What was also all-too-easily filled up was my stomach, be it with poutine, brunch at the hip Bagels, Etc…, or luscious Quebecois beer. Or chocolate, another area where the multi-talented Montreal truly shines.

Enter Juliette et Chocolat, a Latin Quarter establishment that causes cocoa-lovers’ hearts to quiver. Upon stepping inside (and waiting for a coveted table), red-and-white clad servers with bow ties taunt you with a parade of plates piled with chocolate in all forms. Brownies. Cake. Crepes. Ice Cream. Hot Chocolate. Mousse. Fondue. Fondants. An occasional panini disrupts the theme, as it’s also a bistro with a  nice assortment of salty dishes.

Once you’re lucky enough to snag a table (expect to stand around–with wobbly knees–for more than 20 minutes on weekends), the ever-important decisions facing you on the extensive menu might make you go a little cuckoo for cocoa. But relax. You cannot make a bad choice. And if you’re with a large party, try sampling a bit of everything. Fellow researcher Kristen, friends, and I shared chocolate praline crepes, a fondant, hot chocolate, as well as the famed Fleur de Sel brownie, with ribbons of caramel dousing the dense brownie. None of us could take a bite of it without grinning. It was almost a reflex.

We were entirely satisfied with the choices we had made, until we saw the chocolate mousse at the neighboring table. Oh well. Can’t try everything. And we had dinner plans two hours later. But rest assured, it didn’t outshine Juliette et Chocolat.

Juliette et Chocolat is located at

1615 rue St Denis

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Photo via Sheep Sheep’s Flickr