(photo courtesy of Marie-Annick Boisvert)
Girls night out is fun – isn’t it? They are a little different than what they used to be though. My friends and I decided to get together for a fun supper out. Half the group was pregnant, one friend had a 6 month old, and another an 8 week old. Let’s just say this Thursday night didn’t last into the wee hours.
(photo courtesy of Marie-Annick Boisvert)
But it was fun, there was good food, and it’s nice to get out and comb the hair every once in a while.
We decided to try out Hà located on Mont-Royal close to Le Filet.
(photo courtesy of Marie-Annick Boisvert)
HÀ aims to recreate the fun little simple street-corner restaurants located in Vietnam and Laos.
(photo courtesy of Marie-Annick Boisvert)
The menu is fairly short – in fact I thought it was the wine menu. We decided to order a bunch of items from the snack menu for appetizers and then share several of the mains.
Everyone enjoyed the Imperial Rolls ($6) which were served piping hot. Each portion had two rolls.
The pork buns ($9) were also a hit with the crowd.
And that’s where my food photos ended…
There was a big discussion after we’d tasted quite a bit of the menu as to what our favourites were. In addition to the imperial rolls and the buns we really liked the PFHÀ (Vietnamese Fried Chicken – $11), and the salmon satay ($3 a stick). There were mixed feelings about the spring roll as it contained Montreal smoked meat which some liked and some didn’t.
We tried four different entrees and our faves were the vegetable and tofu bowl ($14), and the classic coconut salmon ($19). I also liked the shrimp ($19) but some were not as keen on it.
The service was really good and we never had to wait for our food or drink refills. Everything was served hot and on time. This location is also open for lunch and in the future they plan on offering take away picnic baskets to eat at the park across the street. I would definitely bring a kiddo for lunch or perhaps a very early dinner. There are quite a few high tables, and then there are some tables that are a step up which would be annoying with a stroller, but there are some tables available on the main level that would have room for a stroller. It’s trendy and nicely decorated but you don’t get the feeling your kid would ruin the place. I could see some of the food being hits with young kids too like the imperial rolls, fried chicken, or salmon.
Pricing overall was good as well. I didn’t have any alcohol and my bill came to $30… which is kind of amazing.
I would recommend it – especially if you want to head somewhere for lunch or are sick of bistros.
Decor: Trendy and nice without feeling like you’ve entered some overly-trying hipster world. Those lights!
Service: Quick, friendly, informative and professional. Honestly – no complaints. They did keep dropping dishes in the back (!) but that’s an aside really…
Prices: I thought it was reasonable. Our waiter warned us that we were not to expect those enormous portions that people sometimes associate with Asian/Chinese food – and frankly I don’t think any of us was expecting that. It was more of a refined take on the asian experience.
Food: There were some hits and no real misses. There was nothing that we thought, oh we really don’t like that. Overall, everyone seemed pretty happy.
Good For: Night out with friends, lunch, kids. It is a little loud, as most restaurants are, so I wouldn’t take my hearing impaired aunt if you know what I mean.
Baby Friendly: So, I would say yes. At 7:30 at night? No – I think it’s probably a bit loud, a bit crowded and probably not the crowd that would totally love having a screaming baby/food throwing toddler around. For lunch? For an early dinner? I think it would be OK. Listen, I doubt they have change facilities (I didn’t check) but we’re used to that – no?
ps For more Kid-Friendly Restaurants check out this page!
Restaurant Hà – 243 av. du Mont-Royal West
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ps Please note that some of the photos were given to me by the restaurant’s PR agency but this was after the fact. I went on my own, on my own dime, and these are all my opinions.
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Michelle Little
Writer & Photographer
We went with our toddler and baby for an early dinner and loved it. There were quite a few kids around. Not sure about changing facilities but they do have a high chair that clips onto the table (however, it doesn’t work on the outdoor tables and they were reluctant to use it with the regular-height indoor tables for some reason). The staff was very sweet with the kids.
I am so happy to hear that you loved your experience! It’s always nice to hear feedback from readers and to hear that it was such a great time with the kids. Thanks for letting me know!