Brrrrr-unch

Winter weekends look a lot brighter at Hôtel de la Montagne

by SARAH MUSGRAVE

Entering the lobby of Hôtel de la Montagne is like time-travelling back to the glorious age of Art Deco. Giant chandeliers hang from a mirrored ceiling, illuminating shimmering fountains, paintings of half-dressed nymphs and a wooden grand piano lined with bar stools. The ideal spot to take in the resplendent décor is on the mezzanine, from a gold-pedestaled table at Le Lutétia, the hotel's upscale restaurant. Although it's beyond most budgets at night, a weekend brunch is a worthwhile indulgence.

The meal begins with a visit to the self-serve buffet. You can opt to warm up with a soup, in this case a delicious cream of broccoli, ladled out from a big black cauldron. Or you can start with all the fixings for bagels and lox: plentiful smoked salmon, lemon wedges, capers, thinly sliced onion and a bowl of cloud-like cream cheese.

Moving along, you'll find a cornucopia of fresh salads (tuna, pasta, hearts of palm and mixed greens with vinaigrette, to name a few) and fine cold cuts including thinly sliced ham, smoked turkey and prosciutto. Along with yummy wedding food like devilled eggs and shrimp with cocktail sauce, there are a few more unusual dishes, such as sliced zucchini in a cumin and curry marinade. Another standout was the chicken and grape salad in a mayonnaise-based dressing, which didn't skimp on chunks of the best white meat.

As you carry your heaping plate to your seat, you'll find other hints that you are in luxury land. For instance, your table is already set with wineglasses of fresh orange juice. And the butter is served in cubes that are soft enough to spread easily. What's more, waiters in bowties rush to change the silverware with each serving, although we found them a little less on the ball with the coffee.

But there's no delay in getting the hot courses. First comes a poached egg presented on a puff pastry shell, sitting atop a pool of mild tomato sauce. Once that is whisked away, a piece of salmon, cooked just enough, arrives. Its melt-in-your-mouth pinkness is nicely set off by a mild drizzling of herbed sauce, accompanied by rice and diced bell peppers.

Then prepare yourself for a large, thick slice of roast beef, topped with a delicious gravy. The meat was a little too pink for my tastes and I would have liked to have been offered a choice of doneness. However, the side of scalloped potatoes was creamy and excellent and there was a generous portion of steamed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, beans, shredded carrots, peas) that made it feel like a holiday dinner.

And, like a true holiday meal, you'll find a way to make space for dessert even while claiming you couldn't possibly eat more. The sweet table is another buffet, starting with fruit at one end and winding up with petits fours and mousses at the other. The cake I tried was so sweet that my gums shrank away from my teeth on the first bite, so I was happy to dig into a fresh fruit and yoghurt salad, along with slices of cantaloupe, honeydew melon and pineapple.

Le Lutétia's top-of-line brunch experience will set you back $25, but it will keep you going all day until a late-night snack. A visit to this hotel restaurant is a perfect treat for a winter weekend, if only to pretend you are a guest who's just visiting our freezing metropolis. Speaking of our fair city, December wouldn't be complete without a reminder to please drop off a few non-perishables to your local food bank before treating yourself to life's finer things.

Le Lutétia

Address: 1430 de la Montagne

Phone: 288-5656

Hours: Sat & Sun, noon-3pm for brunch

Alcohol: yes

Best features: art deco trimmings, all-you-can-eat fixings

Credit cards: yes

Vegetarian friendly: yes, except roast beast

Wheelchair access: elevator

Price: $25/person without tax, drinks or tip

Rating: HHH out of HHHH