"Several people including our cabby told us La Banquise ia a hotspot for poutine in Montreal. We went on a Friday night around 8 PM and had to wait about 90 minutes to get in- it's not fun to stand on the chilly sidewalk waiting and watching everyone sitting in the window eat their warm poutine!! Once inside, it seems like the perfect pre or post-bar place to come, and the restaurant was full of 20 somethings were catching a filling meal prior to consuming alcoholic beverages that evening. We had done the Fitz & Follwell walking tour that afternoon so a big meal was not in our cards.The regular poutine was perfectly sized for most of us ladies, if not too big to eat individually. I had the spiciest one on the menu- La Kamikaze- hot sausage, hot peppers, and tabasco. The sauce was unnecessary- a really nice West Indian hot sauce would have been way better than tabasco for sure. Two of our group had the classic and not a drop remained at the end. The fries were chunky and not too overlogged with gravy, and just the right amount of cheese curds. If I had to do it again, I think I would try L'Abreuvoir which has sliced corn dogs on the poutine. I mean if you are going to eat it, go for the gusto as it is essentially a heart attack on a plate.In the end, the amount of hype does seem excessive for what amounts to fries with gravy but the place is packed, service is good and the wait times because this is not fine dining means they can turn over tables quickly so you are never waiting too long, really. They say it is open 24 hours a day and it is packed like this all the time. I believe it. At the end of the day $10 for a pretty filling, tasty poutine is not bad at all."
