Olive et Gourmando

I had been meaning to go to this restaurant for a looong lohooong time! All I had heard were good reviews so I just HAD to go! I met my bro's gf, Chris, who had gone many times and loved it, and we headed to Olive et Gourmando.

Obviously, the place is full when we get in. We gave our name and surprisingly only waited about 15 minutes before being seated. Just enough time to look around, love the decor and all the little knicks and knacks that make this place unique. Also, to notice that one of the employees is a girl I went to high school with in Toronto! Whhheeeird! Anyhoot, the whole place was oozing comfort and good times, with a mix of business people working in Old Montreal and, well, people like us, looking for good food and nice ambiance!

We weren't even sitting down and our waitress was explaining the specials. We kind of felt like, dude, let us sit before you tell us this stuff. Oh well. I knew I wanted to get a panini and Chris wanted one as well.

The Cajun, 10.95$

The cajun chicken cold sandwich. Soooo, that was damn good. The chicken was nice and moist, the mango gave it that needed sweetness and the guacamole was darn tootin good. Oh and the tomatoes were so plump and juicy. Plus, there wasn't just a bit of guacamole, there was a whole bunch! I hate it when it says avocado on the menu and there's one slice. Pfff.

The Cuban, 10.95$

I had a hot panini; the cuban. Pancetta, roasted pork (yay meat!), raw milk gruyère, and lime, chipotle, cilantro and pickle mayonnaise. The mayonnaise was super duper tasty (you had me at cilantro!), the pancetta was alright but kind of lacked in the taste department. The pork was not dry at all which was nice and the cheese was very present which is always a win in my book! I didn't like mine as much as Chris' though. Even if it was good, I kinda wished I had ordered the other one.

As for the service, it was good. Our waitress came to ask us if all was fine and we had a bottle of water on our table for easy refilling. We did kind of feel like we had to leave right after we were done our meal because of the line-up at the door. That was a tad unpleasant... we were told twice to just go pay at the counter when we were 'ready'.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8

Service: 7

I'll go back for sure to taste something different and you should go too if you like good ambiance and good 'easy-going' food!

ps: I've read comments on blogs saying that their sandwiches were overpriced but I really think it's worth the money!