Review of 'Bâton Rouge Complexe Desjardins'

When in Montreal we met up with a work colleague who suggested dinner at Bâton Rouge which is a chain with a number of restaurants throughout Canada. This was a first visit for me and I was only mildly impressed.

This location was on the outside of “Complexe Desjardins” in downtown Montreal, a small shopping complex with (more importantly to us) 24 hour underground parking. It is a typical Canadian/American steakhouse with dark interior and booths throughout with the buzz you might expect from many business and tourist diners. The menu is also as you might expect with a range of steaks, burgers, ribs, salads, chicken, seafood and pasta. The prices range from the reasonable to the absurd. There are also daily specials and it is from this that I chose my main course of “Surf and Turf” (8 oz top certified angus beef sirloin steak with a lobster tail for roughly $40) which included two sides of my choosing (fries and coleslaw) and a potato soup starter (normally $7 when ordered separately, this is potato soup topped with cheddar cheese, smoked bacon bits, and scallions).

The service was helpful and very professional delivering our dishes soon after ordering. The potato soup was deliciously creamy and rich with a lot more flavour that you might expect.

The steak and lobster tail was not quite as impressive as the starter. Both main elements were disappointing: The lobster tail was small and the steak slightly chewy. The sides were adequate and much as the want here in Canada, delivered in copious amounts meaning I was stuffed with food rather than satisfied with quality.

At about $60 each (including drinks, tip and a shared desert) it is not all that cheap and the meal did not overly impress. May give it a try again to see if I can find something amazing on the menu but otherwise might just give it a miss. This is a place best visited by business travellers with an expense budget or tourists who don't know any better.

Rating: “A bit better than average”

Review Date: 2019-04-20

Cuisine: American/British

Address: 180 Rue Ste-Catherine Ouest (Box 452), Montreal, Quebec CANADA H5B 1B5

Location: Montreal (Canada) - Downtown

Map:

Telephone: +1 514-282-7444

URL: https://www.batonrouge.ca/en/baton-rouge-complexe-desjardins