Universel

Propose des déjeuners et repas pour le lunch et le dîner. La nourriture n’est pas exceptionnelle mais juste correcte. Je n’ai pas raffolé des gaufres qui semblaient bonnes mais finalement sèches. Service un peu trop froid à mon goût. J’aime bien la terrasse en été elle donne sur la rue Peel et ai assez calme. Bonne option pour un déjeuner simple mais sans plus. Au moins les portions sont généreuses

Excellent restaurant pour bruncher!!! Les plats sont copieux. L’endroit est très décontracté mais le service est parfois un peu brut.

This place has a heated patio and is a super popular breakfast destination that is conveniently located a short walk from the Peel metro station. The universel egg benny is absolutely delicious and you get a great variety and generous portion of fruit! Décor, presentation, and service were all superb as well.

The food here was really good and a decent value considering what you got. I enjoyed a delicious waffle and my partner said his salmon was really good. The place was packed when we arrived and the seating is a bit cramped, but we didn’t need to wait long for a table which was great.

You’re in the hottest club in Montréal and it’s a little past 3. Music and people fight for your attention and maybe you’ve lost track of time. Or maybe you’re hanging on, fogged by a drink too many, to the hopes you won’t have to go home alone. But the club’s gotten your money and has tired of you, and let’s you know by the sudden silence and the blinding brightness of the lights turning on for the first time. As your eyes struggle to adjust, you start wondering wether the underlit atmosphere was intended for seduction or rather as a cover up for the slough of sugared alcohol across the scuffed surface of the dance floor. Or to veil the stained and threadbare bar stools you sat on sipping on your twenty dollar cocktails? The seduction, if there was any, was to distract from how much you’d be willing to spend in a mostly empty warehouse space furnished with plastic furniture with «final sale» labels still stuck on them.
But now what if instead of showing you the door, the club offers you a seat at one of these plastic tables and graciously serves you hot coffee, salty scrambled eggs, and charred crisp bacon?
Welcome to Universel Déjeuner & Grillades
I’ll forever question the plexiglass and lime coloured, ‘here comes Y2K’ late 90’s lounge décor, but undeniably the place is dedicated to fast, affordable, and satisfying breakfast. I want to snark about Crescent street vampires deserving breakfast too but I’ll refrain. Because we are on Peel street right now.
The menu is standard breakfast diner fare made with effort: omelettes, eggs + meat combos, and various Benedicts. I mention the effort because while despite appearing pedestrian originality-​wise, almost all big breakfast chains in the downtown area serving similar options seem to have been deflated by curated brunch spots and at this point deserve applause for managing to find a link between sliced bread and a toaster. L’Universel can not only manage toast, but they offer pumpernickel at no extra charge too.
Effort shows up in other ways. The beverage runners have a sixth sense about when your coffee’s meniscus drops below two-​thirds, always arriving no later to offer yet another refill. Waiters dance on a line somewhere between chatty friendly-​ness and robotic efficiency I never knew existed. Every step of the restaurant/​client process is timely without ever making you feel rushed. There’s free WiFi. There’s a giant plexiglass windowed wine rack.
Don’t fooled by the dimly lit pictures uploaded here, but otherwise thumbs-​up emoji. Universel Déjeuner & Grillades is an ersatz club with real breakfast chops.

An average breakfast location but very convenient for tourist and hotel guests. I had the Spanish egg Benedict and it was on par with others I have had in the pass. Nothing special on the Egg Benedict.
One thing that was really good that came with most orders is the fruit bowl on the side. It comes with an array of fresh fruits and goes along quite well with the main course! Compared to other breakfast restaurants that only give you 1 – 3 pieces of fruit. The fruit bowl contains plenty of fruits to give you a healthy start for your day.
On weekends, come early or expect to wait in line. Call ahead to make a reservation for bigger parties.
I also enjoyed the clean atmosphere and decors of the location but the seats are built a bit close to each other. Servers were professional and friendly.
If you are looking for a breakfast location that has reasonable offerings and price, come by. Bön appétit!

This was a fantastic brunch on Sunday! We’re in town and staying around the corner at the Omni. We were seated right away even though it was very busy. The server was super attentive and the food came fast and hot.
I got the Eggs Benedict with Salmon and they were great! My husband got the Eggs Florentine he loved them. The eggs were a little on the hard side not runny but they were still tasty so If you like them more runny then just be sure to specify. The portions are big we couldn’t finish our whole plate. They all came with fruit and potatoes.
All in all great meal!

Great brunch! Had the scrambled eggs with French toast– delicious! Plate came with fruit and delicious potatoes. Pretty big portions! A must if in Montréal!

Terrible terrible place. The worst service I’ve ever experienced in Montréal. Avoid my friends !

J’aime bien le menu de cet endroit mais le service y est lent, l’endroit trop plein sur l’heure du dîner et la terrasse extérieur chauffé l’hiver vraiment pas terrible, on gèle carrément.

They serve your standard diner-​style food. We ate breakfast here and found the portions to be huge. I noticed that was a common theme in Montréal though. Everything was pretty standard. Nothing stood out either as being above the pack. My only complaint is that their breakfast sausage is very bland for breakfast sausage. It was greasy and fatty but still bland somehow. Other than that, the food wasn’t bad. The inside of the restaurant was nicer than I expected too.

Another great place for breakfast in downtown Montréal. Very good portions and free wifi. Service also great.

Summary: Good enough for decent food at an ok price when you don’t want to find a place
Universal Dejeuner Grillades was close to the hotel where my friend and I stayed at in October 2015. They have hearty portions and a large variety of items to choose from; the food was average for this type of restaurant. I would not go out of my way to go to this restaurant. There’s nothing inherently ‘Montréal’ about it, the crepes are average and can only be ordered until 5pm, I think, which is when they stop serving their breakfast menu. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s average and meets the need of the local traveller.

First brunch@Universel Déjeuners et Grillades. Two Benedict with mushroom and potato. Perfect choice at this monument. Delicious food with big portion. Fast and excellent service.

Stopped in here for Sunday brunch while in Montréal. All I can say is wow. Great food. Great smoothies. Big portions.
This place is well known, so expect a wait. But it’s worth it. And they have covered outdoor seating as well.
Check it out.

Merci pour ce dejeuner servit en 2mins après avoir commandé. Ca m’a pas prit plus de 20 secondes pour réaliser qu’il devait secher sur la plaque chauffante depuis un moment. Tout était froid et même les toast semblaient avoir été faîtes il y a un moment. Complètement froide et dures. Dejeuner de très moyenne qualité si on oublie le fait que c’est pas cuit sur commande.

Great little brunch place tucked away on this busy street with indoor-​outdoor seating. We walked in on a Monday morning and were seated right away.
Our waitress was darling, she was friendly, quick and helpful.
I ordered the assorted fruit waffle with English cream. What a visual and taste bud delight. Absolute spectacular in every way.
My husband ordered the crêpe with Apple, bacon and cheddar. It was served with home fries and a side of fruit. The home fries were spot on for me. The crêpe was not cult of tea but my husband loved it so it was a draw.
Prices were very reasonable and we spent a lovely morning sitting on the covered patio. Highly recommend you try it for breakfast.

The service was LOOOOOONG!
The restaurant was very busy i’ll agree, but seriously over 45 minutes of a wait for breakfast is a bit too much.
The breakfast was ok, service was just ok too…
The other thing i found worst than the wait for our meals is the fact that they have only 2 bathroom stalls in such a huge restaurant!
I wouldn’t recommend it but I would give them a second chance…

As a brunch person, this place was worth it.
It was the last morning we were in Montréal so we decided to use the time to explore the area near our B&B before we drove off. We explored McGill, Mount Royal a bit and decided we wanted a decent place to eat. We didn’t know the area so well and didn’t want to settle for some food place at the university. Thank to Unilocal,I found this place nearby with lots of great reviews! I can see why.
If I was a student at McGill, I feel I’d be coming here for brunch quite a bit! The restaurant was quite busy, and we did not have to wait in line so long. Probably because people were leaving at the time we arrived.
The portions were big (especially the salads so be prepare if you order one)! So much, we were not able to finish our meal. I really don’t suggest eating before coming here. Service was great, despite the business and would definitely recommend it if anybody was looking for a good brunch place :)

Amazing place, we loved it.
Huge and trendy, finely furnished.
The staff is perfect, friendly, smily and fast, really professional.
The food is very good, I’ve been there twice and with my wife we tried a lot of plates, everything is delicious and very big.
Pasta is good, I’m from Italy, I know pasta, and their way to prepare pasta is good, not great, but very good.
They have 2 kinds of menu, one for dinner and breakfast and another one for lunch.
Both are various and with a lot of choice.
Will go Back to try their breakfast.

This place is always an great breakfast joint. The location on St. Denis usually is always packed on weekend mornings. If you head over you would likely be standing in linen outside for 20 min to get into a place that seats you in cramped quarters because of all the people.
The place is great, service is on point and price is great (maybe a buck or two cheaper would be perfect but there’s tonnes demand so why make it cheaper?)
Only regret I had last time is not ordering the Mexican breakfast that everyone else at my table ordered!
BTW new location on peel or Stanley or something is modern, spacious and still great quality and price we know andnlove! Keep it up!

So good, we returned twice in one weekend!
I’d heard about Universel from a couple of Unilocalers so we planned to stop in for breakfast on our trip to Montréal. But we loved it so much the first time, we decided to stop in again 2 days later!
On our first visit, we had a very late lunch after driving down from Mont Tremblant. They’ve got a very large menu with so many diverse choices. I opted for the Tortellini Gigi with 3 cheeses as it sounded quite hearty. It ended up being a great choice! Stuffed with 3 cheeses and soaked in a creamy tomato sauce and topped with mushrooms, every bite was oh so good!
On the second visit, we stopped in for a late breakfast. I was torn between sweet and hearty as I wanted the energy of protein but sweet things like french toast and crepes were calling my name. I read up and down the crêpe options and saw a few with protein. I opted for the bacon, apple, and cheddar crepes which quite honestly seemed like an odd combination. The crepes came out a tad on the thick side but it didn’t matter because they were so good. The cheddar, apple, and bacon combination was delicious! I scarfed every bit down!
Service was friendly on both visits and the warm atmosphere was a nice break from the cold. The décor is hip and contemporary with lots of green, mirrored surfaces, and large booths. It’s a great place to host a large group with plentiful space.
The great reviews bestowed upon Universel are well deserved. It was a huge hit for us… twice! It’s must do, at least once, on your Montréal visit.

Classique mais très efficace pour lutter contre les grosses faims du matin ! Et de tout autre moment dans la journée. Service efficace et très aimable !

Nous sommes allés pour le souper. On annonçait des moules/​frites et ça m’a attirée!
Quand on m’a servi les moules, il y avait une forte odeur de fruit de mer, ce qui n’est jamais bon signe avec ce genre de plat. Elles avaient aussi une drôle de texture. En revanche, la sauce au cognac était excellente. Peut-​être seulement une mauvaise «batch» de moules?
La musique était un peu envahissante. Mais le service était excellent!

Rare sont les restos de Déjeuner avec un tel service, un tel prix, et un tel menu et ce SANS le fameux décor avec des foutu coq partout. Hey! Par défault ils vous servent du VRAI sirop d’érable! LÀ tu parles!

La terasse est superbe, le staff super gentil. Le menu est le même qu’à l’autre location (sur St-​Denis). Les patates a déjeuner goûtaient le carton mais le reste était bon ! Bön prix pour beaucoup de bouffe.
vous pouvez voir mon avis sur l’autre location Universel sur ma page.

Standard diner food. Big portions. Extremely slow service during Sunday brunch. I got the billy goat which is smoked salmon, spinach, goat cheeses, poached eggs with hollandaise sauce all over a bagel. It was fine.