travel bite: Gibbys – Montreal, Canada

November 27, 2023

For the second year in a row we took advantage of the long Thanksgiving weekend and headed north to Montreal. We arrived Friday evening and had dinner at Gibbys, a steakhouse in Old Montreal that my godfather recommended. Gibbys opened in 1969, an old restaurant in an even older building. The building, a former stable, is more than 200 years old with charming stone walls and exposed wood beams running along the ceiling. The space is huge, with a large main dining room, another in a back room, and two more, one upstairs and one downstairs. Despite the size, it would be hard to describe as anything but cozy. This time of year there are Christmas decorations and roaring fires to add to the delightful atmosphere.

I don’t think anyone leaves Gibbys hungry. To begin, they bring you bread service, a sesame-covered loaf that is served with half a stick of butter, a gravy boat full of bacon bits, and a bucket of pickles. For appetizers, I was tempted by french onion soup, shrimp cocktail, and sausage with jalapeno, but in the end selected the oysters rockefeller. Six extra large oysters came sizzling hot, topped with spinach and a generous amount of cheesy Mornay sauce.

Each entree comes with a choice of Gibbys salad, Andalusian gazpacho, or Blue Cheese Wedge Salad. I did try to get french onion soup for an upcharge, but that isn’t an option. The Gibbys salad was straightforward but good, particularly with the generous addition of anchovies and the aforementioned bacon bits. After that, another complementary dish, this time a lemon sorbet to cleanse your palate.

Steaks are served with asparagus and your choice of side. There is really only one side to get though, the Monte Carlo potato which is a gigantic, loaded twice baked potato, guaranteeing you will not be hungry when you leave. I enjoyed the 12 oz filet cooked rare with steak seasoning on the side. I’m not one to season my steak beyond salt and pepper, but enjoyed a couple dips into the sauce. Even more I enjoyed dipping my steak in the gravy that came with my wife’s beef wellington. In a city famous for poutine, it should not be a surprise that they have excellent gravy, but this was some of the best. It would be worth a trip to Gibbys just for the gravy, and if you don’t have a friend who orders the wellington, get a side of it. The steak was cooked perfectly, and even without sauce it had excellent flavor, but I was getting full at this point and perhaps should have opted for the 8 oz cut.

Desserts are all made in house, which is becoming uncommon these days. It was hard choosing between chocolate mousse, blueberry cheesecake, and key lime pie, but we went with the pie. Like everything else at Gibbys, the pie didn’t want you to leave hungry. With it I had a glass of scotch, but during the meal we enjoyed a light red wine from Quebec. They had a number of Canadian wines on their list, but only one from Quebec, so it felt necessary to try.

There is a reason Gibbys makes so many best of Montreal lists, (including my godfather’s). It’s a wonderful space, particularly during the holidays, with generous portions and great steaks. Gibbys is the definition of old school and there is something particularly comforting in that, so go get some gravy and enjoy.

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