Restaurant Normandin - Sainte-Julie

Staying with friends in the adjacent hotel. Five mornings of breakfast and one evening meal. Service always prompt and pleasant Staff really friendly. Breakfast selections offer a wide variety and are good value for money. It does not pretend to be a high class restaurant....It is good basic breakfast food and with so many locals using it, it cannot be bad as some seem to imply.

When dining at a chain restaurant, one must keep in mind that the menus are extensive and most of the food is likely pre-prepared and frozen until it is ordered. With this in consideration, I must say that Normandin is not as bad as one would expect. I ordered the Caesar salad and Veggie Burger and found them to be enjoyable. The service was friendly and our waitress was attentive, consistently checking in to ensure that everything was satisfactory. While I wouldn't choose Normandin for a birthday celebration or special night out, it is a satisfying option after a day of skiing or a long road trip.

We went there for a brunch. What we ordered according to menu's description was not what we got. Most of the bacon was replaced by disgusting cheap boiled hot dog and the vegetables replaced by a mud like mix of fried potato. Accompanying bagel was...almost raw covered by dripping liquid fat. The desert was supposed to contain small fruits (in French petits fruits that includes blue berry, raspberry etc Those were replaced by rotten grains of discolored black grape as if they had been collected from bottom of a rack. The lemon cake was nothing but whipped white egg on a thin layer of macerated cake. Four fifth of what we ordered was taken back, hopefully thrown to the garbage. After coming home for the dinner, I tried not to think about my lunch. Anorexia is what is waiting for you if you eat there regularly.

For some unknown reason, the host did not seem to like us. It was a busy Friday evening, but waiting an hour for a pizza that arrived burnt and cold was unacceptable. The host never returned to check on us, and even forgot to bring us ketchup that we had requested. We had to remind her about our child's dessert, and she was quick to bring the bill without mentioning it. The bill was placed on the table without a cover, which was unusual. I have been a fan of the Normandin chain for years, visiting locations in Quebec and other cities where the hosts were always friendly and attentive. Unfortunately, my experience at Normandin Sainte Julie was disappointing and seemed to be the weakest link in the chain. The photo shows glasses of tap water at Normandin, but unfortunately, the taste of chlorine cannot be captured in the picture.

This restaurant is pretty average with average service. The Caesar salad was one of the worst I've ever had, but the burger and breakfast were decent. I might come back if I'm craving breakfast for dinner since that was pretty good, but everything else is just average for the price.