by MARK SLUTSKY

Much of downtown is a real culinary dead zone when it comes to casual dining, from Guy pretty much up until you hit Chinatown. Maybe it’s the fault of the underground city, which sucks workers’ lunch dollars into a cavernous purgatory of interchangeable food courts, but whatever the reason, it’s depressing that a city with as many good places to eat as Montreal can’t hold it down in centre-ville.

The recent closing of Merveille Istanbul, one of the few palatable and affordable restaurants in the area around Bleury and Ste-Catherine, doesn’t help either. But perhaps to balance out that loss, the food gods have given us Sur Bleury, an excellent new lunch and 5 à 7 place lower on Bleury, towards the new Palais de Congrès.

Housed in an industrial space that apparently had been empty for decades, Sur Bleury has a high-ceilinged, lofty feel. Big windows look out onto the statuary of the Southam Building across the street and let light in through the front and back of the whitewashed room.

Sandwiches are the big attraction on the menu, and though they may run a tiny bit pricey, the quality of the ingredients and the preparation, as well as the inventiveness of their construction, really takes them to another level.

The braised pork with ancho chile ($8.50) was a standout competitor in an already strong field. The soft, shredded meat, coloured a deep orange-red, is flavoured with, in addition to the chile, fennel, cinnamon and oregano, and the sandwich is also piled with tomato, avocado, cilantro and spicy labneh (a Lebanese yogurt cheese spread). The effect is a flavour that’s deep and addictive. Wisely (and this applies to the other sammies as well), the additional toppings, like the tomatoes and avocados, are applied with subtlety, sliced thin enough as to not overwhelm the meat.

The fish and pineapple sandwich ($11.25) was another ingenious creation, made with fried tilapia, sliced roasted pineapple, cilantro, labneh and lime. The fish taste could have been allowed to come through a little stronger, but the gentle sweetness of the pineapple—which I’d assumed would have completely overwhelmed the other ingredients—was a nice surprise.

Sur Bleury also offers a nice steak sandwich ($8.50), made with cold, medium-rare bavette and arugula, as well as some really tasty capers and the restaurant’s own homemade mayo. A tasty, very filling sandwich with chunky pieces of tasty pink meat.

There’s also three variations on the grilled cheese sandwich, which are small enough to eat alongside one of the restaurant’s large salads (although I wish they made larger variations of these cheesy delights). Particularly toothsome is the grilled cheese made with Perron extra-strong cheddar and delicious caramelized pears ($4.75).

The salads are in the $10 range but they’re more or less big enough to constitute a full meal on their own. The gravlax and beet salad ($11.25) was a treat—the menu lists the marinated fish as salmon although trout was on offer the day I went by. Thin strips of the stuff adorn a mesclun salad on a bed of thinly sliced beets resembling dark purplish red coins. Other salads on offer include grilled chicken and mango ($10.25), caramelized pear and chèvre ($10.25) as well as a straight-up green salad ($3.75) to accompany the bigger sandwiches.

Mention should also be made of Sur Bleury’s poutine ($4.50), made with thin but rich veal gravy and chunks of that same extra-sharp cheddar. The fries and the sauce are good enough that you can forgive them for not using real cheese curds.

And sure, it’s a little decadent for lunch, but the homemade desserts should not be passed on either. The brownie ($2.75), made with 52 per cent cocoa, is satisfyingly gooey and chewy, the lemon-lime tarte ($4 for a big piece, $2 for a little one) has got a superb zing to it, and the pot au chocolat (also $4/$2), made with Baileys or amaretto, is smooth and creamy.

Sur Bleury is a terrific lunch spot. With a thoughtful menu and a relaxed ambience, it’s a very welcome addition to the downtown scene.

TIPS? QUESTIONS? COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHEF? E-mail eattothebeat@gmail.com

Sur Bleury
ADDRESS: 1067 Bleury
PHONE: 866-6161
HOURS: Mon–Tue 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; Wed–Fri 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
BEST FEATURES: Lovingly-made sandwiches with top-notch ingredients
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
PRICE: $10–$15 per person, before dessert, tax and tip
RATING: *** and a 1/2 out of ****