Resto-Bar Chops - Montréal

Chops bills itself as an Asian fusion place, and there's a whole sushi menu, but we keep returning for the steaks. We began our recent visit with appetizers of Moroccan cigars, and beef dumplings in peanut butter sauce. The peanut sauce was very flavorful and had a good kick; the ground beef inside was relatively mild. I thought the dumpling dough was undercooked, though my wife did not agree. The cigars were blissfully oil free, and were nice and strongly spiced. We each had the same steak we had 7 months ago on our last visit. My 10 oz peppered tornedos of beef was coated with a blend of red and black pepper, with a side of black pepper sauce. An inch and a half - two inches? - thick, it was a great piece of meat, cooked perfectly to my taste at medium. It was accompanied by sauteed mixed vegetables, and I chose the roasted potatoes. My wife had the 12 oz garlic clove rib eye steak. She shared a bit, and it melted in my mouth. She chose the mashed potatoes.We accompanied our meal with a bottle of the Alfasi Merlot. As regular wine drinkers who buy by the case, we hate the 200% (or more) restaurant mark-up. The $50 bottle of Shiraz on the menu? That's about 400% of what we pay. For desert we happy to hear they had the halva non-dairy ice cream, which we've been making at home since discovering it here. This batch was creamier than in the past, and not so halvah-ey. We also had the praline pie, which was fairly bland. But the real stand out was, of course, the steaks, and that's why we'll return. And also for the excellent attentive service, for which they automatically add 18% service charge to the bill.

Where to begin....the decor is awful, chairs uncomfortable, and the HVAC system completely inadequate - or the owners are too cheap to run the heat.The prices are absurd, matching Queue de Cheval and/or Gibby's, but not delivering on its promises. Overall the food wasn't bad, but certainly not what you'd expect for upwards of $40.00 a plate.But the worst part of the experience by far was our cloying up-selling waiter who carried on like a car salesman trying at least three times to goad me into ordering the most expensive item on the menu.If you're strictly kosher, then I guess this is could be an option for you. If you're not, then there are dozens of places that would make you much happier for the same price, or even less.Would never go there again under any circumstances

This was our third visit to Chops, and it keeps getting better. The food is always great, as is the service. Maybe because we're Americans, and eat before the crowds come in? Or because we're older, and we eat before the younger groups in their 20's come in? We started with an order of peanut butter dumplings. I enjoyed the Pepper Crusted Tournedos., It was cooked as desired the first time: medium, with pink but no red. My wife -the meat queen - was very happy with her Garlic Clove Steak, which I had suggested she order with the sauce on the side. Good, sharp steak knives were brought for these. The roasted vegetables which accompanied were delicious. We were disappointment that the frozen halva dessert was sold out. It was a major winner two years ago, and we've duplicated it at home. Instead, we enjoyed a frozen praline crunch. At least one of us had a glass of wine. Dinner with tip was about $180 USD. Not cheap, but a fine kosher meal seldom is.

The non Chinese entrees were the better dishes. I highly recommend the steads, ribs and sea food, and skip the Chinese/Thai dishes. Very high end prices, so not sure that I would come back on my own, unless someone else was picking up the tab. It was busy because it is one of the few kosher restaurants in Montreal.

We were a group of 6 people out for dinner. We were given the option to sit in the lower level which was great as it was quieter which allow for better conversation. The food was just average. Amongst the 6 of us we ordered 2 steaks, 2 tuna, 1 chicken and a LoMein dish. The steaks were disappointing, the Tuna was overcooked and the low mein was a little oily. We also had appetizers but because this place was not very memorable I cannot even remember what I had! I give them an A for effort but the kitchen needs some work.