By Mike Cohen
For 47 years the Brasserie Manoir (www.brasseriemanoir.com) location in Pointe Claire has been serving up ever so popular home cooked holiday meals in December. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, owner Peter Sergkakis and executive chef Chantal Sauvé are keeping that tradition in place, adding their NDG St. Jacques Street location (the former Serre Piccasso Restaurant) to the mix with a special take-out format.
Through January 2, you can make a pickup order between 4 pm and 10 pm seven nights a week by calling 514-695-2071 (Pointe-Claire) or 514-489-6356 (NDG). You can also order anything else off the elaborate Brasserie Manoir menu.
“For these holiday meals, we are insisting upon pickup only for a number of reasons,” explains Sergakis. “The delivery companies charge restaurants 30 percent. We have already under-priced these items and we want to keep it that way for our customers. When you come and make a pickup we take 10 percent off.”
Sauvé adds that all of the dishes are prepared fresh. “When someone comes for take-out they will get the package home quicker, fresher and still hot,” she said.
Sergakis said that when the pandemic first hit last spring, the Manoir restaurants remained closed. They successfully reopened for dine-in service with all safety protocols in place and then successfully moved to take-out and delivery when the government ordered dining rooms shut. In recent weeks Sergakis began fielding endless requests from regular clients for the holiday menu.
After speaking to Sergakis and Sauvé for an interview in The Suburban Newspaper, I was invited to try some of the offerings myself. Sauvé even went the extra mile and showed up at the NDG location early one afternoon to prepare two single meals for me. I enjoyed one that evening as I was working late at the office and placed the other in the fridge for a much anticipated lunch the following day.
Brasserie Manoir is known for its outstanding roast beef, aged 45 days and roasted for 12 hours.
The Prime Rib Roast au Jus Plate ($29) contains prime rib cooked medium rare, served with buttery mashed potatoes, nantais carrots and home-made sauce. That was my number one choice and I was not disappointed. The roast beef cut like butter and was outstanding!
For my lunch the next day I enjoyed The Holiday Plate ($22), which contains roast turkey, meat pie, and meat balls in gravy, home-made stuffing buttery mashed potatoes, nantais carrots, home-made gravy and cranberry sauce. Again, I can only describe this as outstanding,
Nowhere in Montreal can you find a meal of this quality at this price. Why go to the trouble and expense of preparing something like this at home. Whether you are part of a large family or eating alone, this is a great option. When I did my pickup I chatted with one of the managers, Colleen, who told me that the holiday meals are so popular some people are ordering them a few times a week.
There is more of course. The Family-Buffet Style Roasted Turkey Dinner ($16 per person) is for four people or more and includes roast turkey (white and dark meat), served with home-made stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, nantais carrots, home-made gravy and cranberry sauce. Then there is the Whole Young Turkey with all the Trimmings ($150) which will feed 10 to 12 people: a four kilogram young turkey seasoned and roasted to perfection (white and dark meat), served with home-made stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, nantais carrots, home-made gravy and cranberry sauce. You must place this order 48 hours in advance.
The one kg Whole Prime Rib Roast au Jus ($99) consists of prime rib cooked medium rare, served with buttery mashed potatoes, nantais carrots and home-made sauce and good for four people. Finally there is the Pig’s Knuckle ($17) and Braised Lamb Shank ($36). The slow braised pig’s knuckle is served with buttery mashed potatoes, nantais carrots, sauerkraut and home-made gravy and good for four people or more; while the lamb comes with grilled vegetables, mashed potatoes, red wine and Porto sauce.
“It is time consuming and costly for people to prepare these meals on your own,” says Sergakis. “So let us do it for you. Chantal is using her grandmother’s recipes. I own a farm and we grow our own organic products which are used for all of these meals.
For dessert, I ordered two pieces of Christmas chocolate logs. They are $6 each or $45 for the cake. Please note that any orders of $50 or more must be paid for in advance.
Folks, with everyone staying at home this holiday season give the family this treat.
The NDG location is at 6810 Rue Saint-Jacques, Montréal, QC H4B 1V8. On the West Island it is at 600 Boul Saint-Jean, Pointe-Claire, QC H9R 3J9.