Le Caffe Mariani

The 1 star rating is because they have closed.

Best breakfast I have ever had, My new favorite breakfast place in all of montreal!

Great food but terrible service! I understand having to wait on a busy Sunday morning… But once I’m seated and I have to wait 15 mins for a menu, not acceptable. It seemed like they didn’t have enough staff. The food was quite good. We got the breakfast quesadilla and burrito — very tasty and nice presentation. Coffee was just ok. I would go back again but never on the weekend…

On a recommendation from a friend from St Henri, I tried this place on a Saturday morning around 10.45. It was the right time to arrive as it filled up shortly after and there was a line-​up thereafter.
I loved the hip décor: two tone wood tables, walls clad in recovered wood «tiles» — it had a very European feel to it.
The menu had exactly the right amount of choice on it, from the more elaborate (cassoulet, burrito, huevos rancheros etc) to the more traditional (2 eggs + sausage + beer ham and various combinations thereof), at reasonable prices. We had huevos rancheros twice — one with fried eggs, one with scrambled — the special of waffles with strawberries and chantilly cream, and a vegetarian omelette. We drank the filter coffee, two of the selection of David’s Teas, and an apple juice which was the fresh, cloudy kind but golden yellow instead of the usual brown. Everything was good — the eggs were fluffy, the toast was perfectly grilled, the potatoes were crispy on the outside. The tea came in a big cup so you get a decent thirst-​quenching quantity!
The service was well timed and friendly, and perfectly bilingual.
Next time, I’ll get there earlier because I’d have liked to sit on the terrasse, which overlooks the park.

Came here for brunch and really loved it. Sat on the patio which was nice. I like the look of this place as others have commented. My food was great, and so was everyone’s I ate with. My chai latte was a bit bland but still okay.

To be honest, I was a little dismayed when I opened their brunch menu and was faced with a list of ‘complicated’ choices. None of those straight up ‘Two eggs with bacon and sausage’ fare here, nope.
I tried to find the simplest thing to order, but everything looked equally elaborate and foreign. I was lost. So I settled on what sounded somewhat familiar, which now that I think of it, I must have once had for breakfast on a plane trip: breakfast burrito.
When it arrived shortly after — this huge log of of a thing in the middle of a plate — my suspicion only grew larger. And then… all negative thoughts in my head went silent. The thing tasted fantastic! I couldn’t believe it! I think my pupils dilated with excitement with each bite.
I would have given the place five stars if it had not been for the slow-​ish service when we got there. I think we sat idle without a menu, without any water, for a good 5 to 10 minutes before a waitress noticed us and signaled, «I’ll be with you in a sec.» Granted, the place was busy and they seemed understaffed.
Everything else seemed fine though. The décor is hip and feels so ‘right at home’ with what the St. Henri neighbourhood is becoming. The white and blue landscape painting hanging on their wall is a great pick and very gorgeous. The price is comparable to what you’ll be paying at popular brunch places in the Plateau. Definitely will drop by Mariani next time I’m in St. Henri.

I ordered a side of bacon to go with my side of potatoes… I was siding my sides and making a meal out of it — I was having breakfast-​tapas… breakapas. It was bacon — not much to say about it that hasn’t been said before, however, points deducted for the slices being stuck together in a giant bacon chip, but points awarded for inventing «THE GIANT BACON CHIP».

Charmant petit café!
Après être passée plusieurs fois devant sans m’y arrêter, j’ai décidé d’aller au café Mariani pour le brunch avec mon copain. Je n’avais entendu que de bons commentaires sur l’endroit alors j’avais assez hâte d’y aller et j’avais également quelques attentes.
Je dois dire que j’ai été un peu déçue lorsque j’y suis entrée. L’attitude de la serveuse était totalement détestable. Aucun sourire, bête comme ses pieds… Ça commençait mal! Par contre, dès que nous nous sommes installés à une table, son attitude a légèrement changé. Elle né nous a pas offert un excellent service, mais bon… Disons que c’était passable. L’ambiance du restaurant était très chouette, je n’y serais p-​e pas restée des heures à lire vu que c’était assez bruyant (l’heure du brunch quand même), mais j’ose croire qu’en semaine c’est plus tranquille et idéal pour lire ou étudier calmement.
Passons à la nourriture… Mon omelette était vraiment excellente et bien cuite. Elle était remplie de bons légumes, miam! Mon assiette était si chargée, je n’en ai mangé que le quart, mais j’aurais aimé l’engloutir en entier tellement c’était bon. Mon latté était aussi excellent! Mon copain, n’a malheureusement pas tellement aimé son assiette de gauffre et jambon à la bière. Il né l’a trouvé que correcte, sans plus. J’ai pris quelques petites bouchées du jambon et j’avoue l’avoir adoré! Comme quoi tous nos goût sont différents!
J’y retournerai certainement pour goûter à un autre plat!

I just had a brunch at this place this morning. My husband had the cassoulet and was very happy with it; hot until the end, very good portion, have everything he likes– potato, egg, mushroom, bacon… I had the breakfast burrito. It was very good — anything has Mexican name, I usually avoid it in Montréal but it was surprisingly good. I might try Huevos Rancheros next time :)
Good brunch choices, fast service, nice take-​out box, good coffee, decent hot chocolate, and close to my apt. My husband and I will go back definitely to try other food. This might be it for our brunch spot!

I’ve been here before, and I have to say, I do love the new look! Caffe Mariani has been the «pioneer» of St-​Henri (Westside) in terms of being one of the first places on this side that opened it up for other newcomers.
I just want to say, I would totally throw them another star, but I just don’t love the coffee served there, and coffee is very important to me. I do however love the narrowed down menu items, the sit-​down service, the owners and staff are very kind and friendly and I had their sandwiches, they’re great!
I heard recently that coming up the hit and run pop up resto is going to be doing a night there, so that is also kinda SUPER exciting!
The inside décor is super cute and it has an amazing wall made of bottles! (It’s super cool!) So if you find yourself this side in summer, this is a great place for some good food, and I will have to note, it seems like the prices got re-​vamped, and are totally reasonable!
Another reason to come? Free Wifi and great place to hang out with friends plus licensed for liquor when served with food! I think I also saw a potential debit credit card machine by the cash!

I have a love/​hate relationship with this place…
LOVE: vegan/​vegetarian options, weekend brunch, decent filter coffee, great terrace, local beer, ambiance, friendly staff, proximity to park
HATE: slow service, inconsistent food prep (& pricing???), cash only, so-​so espresso drinks
When the servers are on top of things and the food comes out fast 5 stars hands-​down, however, 9 times out of 10, while servers have generally been friendly, they often forget drinks/​sides/​desserts/​special requests. Poor training? High turnover?
Worth a trip in the summer for brunch on the patio overlooking the park but be prepared to wait. If you’re in a hurry or are not a patient person, skip it.

I was hoping I would like this place. But I’m not sure what to make of my visit there today. I ordered Huevos Rancheros. First of all they ran out of breakfast potatoes, and then my egg yolks were cooked all the way through. I found the dish to be very bland.
Other than that the place is very nice. I enjoyed the atmosphere. I will try it again.

In a café the tables really mean a lot to me. In fact a café with a table I love gets four stars just for the table. This café had my all time favorite table so far in all my café adventures. I just loved it. This big round white table. We even got to sit around it with the owners themselves who treated us beautifully.
Do you think that your experience in a place is partly BECAUSE of the place? I mean I really enjoyed the people I was visiting with and our conversation was rich but I still wonder that the place itself contributed to it being an excellent experience. I think so.

Après avoir déjà déjeuné, j’avais simplement le goût de m’installer dans un café avec mon bon livre et y perdre quelques heures. J’avais passé devant Mariani mais je n’y étais jamais allée avant parce que je né me retrouve pas souvent dans le coin. Si j’ai bien compris, Mariani est à la fois un café, un presto et un endroit pour y siroter un bière ou un verre de vin.
Habituellement, les endroits qui essaient de faire d’un peu de tout né sont pas excellent mais plutôt seulement bien, sauf que de ce que j’ai vu, Mariani pourrait y faire exception. Nos cafés étaient bons quoi que le mien (filtre) un peu petit. J’avais l’équivalent d’une petite tasse à thé seulement. On a commandé au comptoir avant de se rendre compte qu’ils offrent un service aux tables. Erreur de débutant!
En regardant autour de nous, les déjeuners avaient l’air très appétissants avec la plupart des plats aux alentours du 10 $ à 12 $ l’assiette. L’endroit était rempli de gens de tous les âges et semblait très propice à des rencontres entre amis ou même pour des réunions de travail un peu plus relaxes. J’espère pouvoir y retourner un bon vendredi après-​midi pour terminer mes dernières heures de travail de la semaine en prenant un bon verre de vin.

In my month of hanging out in cafes in Montréal, this place takes near to the tippy top of experiences. There are a lot of cafes in Montréal. But Mariani hits near all the high notes. The design of the place is tres belle — both the inside, with their mix of 50’s modernist chairs and Louis XIV vintage pieces… combined with a really clean kitchen and competent counter staff… great selection of teas, coffee roasted by Café Union… and the insanely beautiful terrace with a view of a huge amazing park… the Saint Zotique church on the square, and a modernist masterpiece of a Dejardins bank right next to the church. Yes, the crowd is cool, the neighborhood is totally off the beaten path (for the NYers visiting, I liken the area to Prospect Heights… serene, and transitioning, with a mix of the most artistic hipsters in Montréal and immigrants)…c’est parfait.

yo this place blows. but thats just my two cents, take it as you will. while I see the previous reviewers points and I accept them as valid (he is right about it being a decent breakfast spot, the freshness of the food, the punky clientele et. al.) however I offer this in rebuttal:
often times at Mariani the service is is lackluster. as one of the «punky», «tattooed» types who (once) patronized mariani I must say that sometimes this place is can be a bit off (no tofu in the vegan buritto, come on!). also the «punks» are actually in the minority of this establishments clientele. in all honesty, Mariani is basically a YUPPIE spaceship! we live in St. Henri because its cheap and were broke artists and students. with $ 3.50 for coffee (no refills!), organic tea served over pieces of pasta and $ 15 meals this is obvious. also their Tofu Scramble is NOWHERE near as good (or cheap) as Patati Patata’s. one thing I sacrifice by living in St. Henri is good amenities for cheap rent. they also don’t accept debit (surprising considering how posh the damn place it) I realize that reality and am willing to either travel to the plateau for good veg eats or cook myself. In order to save our neighborhood, mariani must die.
J’déteste le caffe mariani! notre quartier n’est pas à vendre!

En Français après.
I’m really excited to talk about this place. Since what, the last 10 years Breakfast Franchise has tried to hit the restauration market with good breakfast, cheap and ready to go. Well unfortunately to my taste most of them SUCK!
NOT CAFÉ MARIANI
SOLID breakfast and SUPERB coffee. Weirdly it’s deep in the heart of St-​Henri, AKA Punk Town. Pretty much the only place where there’S lot of Punks and marginal people. I had a plate of real potatoes (not frozen stufF) and ham, bacon, eggs, With a nice smoothie and 2 – 3 shots of espresso. Under 20 $ with tip. I kind of like the ambiance mainly because there’s lot of Tatooed people that goes there. There’s a cool tattoo shop down the street so people hang out there before going to work. Confy not snob and still classy, Like the Bottle Wall. A classic! I like those little things that add a certain HMMPFFF to the place.
Je suis vraiment content d’être le premier a parler de cette place-​là. Mon ami avait hâte de me faire découvrir son spot a café dans St-​Henri. C’est vraiment un beau café dans le seul coin existant ou y’a des tonnes de punks. St-​Henri se donne des twist Plateau pas snob et c’est agréable. La gamique des resto-​déjeuner a explosé dans les dernières 10 années et la majorité ont plus ou moins réussis à mon goût. Les patates rissolées congelées sont un méga turn off pour moi. Enfin un endroit ou un sert un superbe café et un excellent déjeuner pour moins de 20 $ avec tip. J’ai pris une assiette avec pomme de terre rissolées, jambon, 2 oeufs bacon, avec un smoothies et 2 – 3 shot d’espresso. JUSTE AVANT D’ALLER AU DOCTEUR POUR UN CHECK UP DE SANTÉ! Disons que ça augmente la pression! C’est vraiment commique comme spot, y’A plein de punks, de tattoué, j’ai vu quelques lesbiennes sympathiques et des jeunes parents qui ont définitivement un restant punk en eux. Belle place, originale avec son mur en bouteille de bières et ces quelques petits spots confortable.