My heart always soars a little when a new spot opens up on Monkland that isn’t a bank. Rents are high, and I know that this causes an unfortunate amount of turnover on this little street.
That’s why I was so excited to see Le Cheese food truck open up a permanent location on Monkland where there was a string of forgettable restaurants.
The team behind Le Cheese has really worked hard to transform the space into something light and bright and have done an excellent job.
The spot is bright and welcoming, with wood, yellow and white throughout.
I can honestly say I’ve had nearly everything on the menu (reserve the judging, I’m pregnant!) The tomato soup was to die for, thick and rich with chunks of cheese. The tater tots were lovely fluffy balls of potato and cheddar. The macaroni and cheese with green peas was filling and good.
The gazpacho was fresh and lovely with chunks of not overpowering cheese floating in it.
The classic grilled cheese was gooey and good with well buttered bread.
And the Philly Cheese Steak was deliciously messy.
It was all very good and I started writing a sentence filled with my favourites and realized I was listing everything. Good job guys and I’ll be back!
Decor: Fresh and clean. It is a snack bar though, so don’t go expecting something overly fancy where you are going to linger for hours on a romantic date.
Service: Our service was quick, but I think we were amongst the first in there. I imagine it can’t be slow considering these guys ran a busy food truck.
Prices: Soups are $4, Tater Tots $5, Classic Grilled Cheese $4, Philly Cheese Steak $9… you get the point. Affordable.
Food: Very good! This is food you crave that’s perfect for winter, summer or at 3am after the bar (they are open LATE!)
Good For: Pick me up to go, casual lunch with friends.
Baby Friendly: OK, so there are quite a few stairs to actually get inside although we managed with a stroller. Once inside it’s a bit tight, but we found room for our stroller and another woman stuck her car seat on a chair and parked her stroller off to the side. I would say it’s not overly baby friendly but in reality there were three babies in there at the time and everyone was just fine. Plus it’s casual so no worries breastfeeding or whatever. Plus kiddos love grilled cheese and tater tots!
Le Cheese, 5976 Monkland Avenue, 514-577-3824
Hours as at June 2014: Monday – Closed, Tuesday & Wednesday 12 – 11am, Thursday 12 – 1am, Friday & Saturday 12 – 4am (!), Sunday 12 – 10pm
Michelle Little
Writer & Photographer
