Chain restaurants
Tasty in a series
One of the greatest things about our travels is exploring the culinary offerings at our vacation destination.
On this page we would like to share our experiences with family dining restaurants in Canada. These serve the segment between fast food and fine dining. We have limited ourselves to restaurants that we visited in the fall of 2021 during our tour across Ontario and Québec.
Warning:!!! If you're hungry right now, you should only continue reading here after you've eaten.
Bâton Rouge
Description: The first restaurant was opened in 1992 in Laval, Québec. There are 29 restaurants in the chain. You can find them mainly in the big cities in eastern Canada.
The menu offers everything from salads to burgers to steaks. The atmosphere is that of a more upscale family diner. As a guest, you feel well taken care of.
Our rating: Bâton Rouge was the only restaurant chain we visited twice during our 2021 tour. From this you can already see that we liked it. The price-performance ratio was definitely good. We can recommend a visit.
La Cage
Description: The first restaurant opened in 1985 in Old Montreal, Québec. There are now more than 50 restaurants in the chain. You can find them everywhere in Québec.
The menu offers everything from salads to burgers to steaks. The atmosphere is that of a modern sports bar.
Our rating: We liked La Cage very much. As a welcome you get salted popcorn which is very nice and shortens the waiting time for the food. From the very friendly service to the delicious food, everything was great during our visit here. We would very much like to visit La Cage again.
Kelseys Roadhouse
Description: Once a chain of over 140 restaurants found throughout Canada, there are now only about 88 restaurants located primarily in Ontario.
The menu offers everything you would expect from a family diner. You can find everything from salads to burgers. The atmosphere is rustic but modern. It is perhaps best compared to the Applebees restaurants.
Our rating: We also liked Kelseys Roadhouse quite a lot. The food was as you would expect and did not disappoint. All in all, we would eat here again.
St. Hubert
Description: The chain's first restaurant, which still exists today, opened in 1951 on Saint Hubert Street in Montreal. The chain is best known for its rotisserie chicken.
The menu offers mainly dishes with chicken in all variations. It is primarily found in the French-speaking parts of Quebec, eastern Ontario and New Brunswick.
Our rating: We liked it very much at St. Hubert. Mainly the very nice service made the stay very pleasant. The food was also quite delicious.
Boston Pizza
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in 1964 in Edmonton, Alberta. Today, the restaurants can be found not only in Canada but also in the USA and Mexico. Although the name might make you think so, the chain has nothing to do with Boston. The founder gave the name to his restaurant because he thought that the sports teams of the American city of Boston are very popular in Canada.
Although the chain is known more for its pizzas, the menu also offers burgers and pasta, among other things.
Our rating: We liked it very much at Boston Pizza. The restaurants are modern family diners and in our opinion it''s a good place to eat. We can definitely recommend a visit.
Normandin
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in Québec City in 1969. Today, there are 40 restaurants throughout Québec.
The chain's restaurants are classic diners. Perhaps the closest comparison is with Denny's. They are rather simple and classic in appearance and offer everything from pizza to burgers.
Our rating: We found Normandin ok but no more. The food was rather simple but tasty.
East Side Marios
Description: East Side Marios was formed by the merger of several restaurant chains. The first opened in February 1980 in Sudbury, Ontario.
The specialty of the restaurants is Italian-American cuisine.
Our rating: Maybe it was the special restaurant of the chain we visited or the restrictions due to the Corona pandemic, but we were not exactly thrilled with the visit at Marios. The ambiance has nothing to do with Italy at all, you're more likely to find a simple sports bar. The interior was old and uninviting, and the food wasn't particularly tasty either. Just like Olive Garden, where salad and bread are served with every main course, Marios cannot compete with the American chain in any way.
