Universel Restaurant Café

It’s not often I stumble upon a breakfast place that impresses me. Diners are usually only as good as your familiarity with them; the server that knows your name; the memories of hangover food after drinking too much too late into the night and needing a greasy breakfast - that sort of thing. The alternatives are usually overpriced and offering elaborate fruit displays or excessive quantities to make up for the fact you’re paying twenty dollars for eggs.

Walking by Universel for the first month or two since its opening, I assumed it fell into the latter category. They’d quickly transformed a rather shady looking restaurant that closed within months to a trendy looking bistro, and I could only imagine that the prices would reflect that. I have to say, they did a fantastic job with their renovations. Not only did the whole building get a major esthetic face lift, but they managed to fit a lot of tables and booths into the space quite comfortably.

The furniture is nice, the booths are firm but comfortable. The neutral brown decor is modern and welcoming. The kitchen is somewhat visible, though disguised by frosted glass. Flat panel TV’s behind the bar and throughout the restaurant show various programming, including music videos, completely unrelated to the relaxed lounge, jazz and other laid-back, eclectic music that plays on the stereo. All in all they turned a rather run down location into a hot spot in a quick flip. Bravo. My only complaint would be that the lighting casts unflattering shadows on the diners, sort of a reversal on the campfire-flashlight-ghost story effect.

I took comfort in my booth as we perused the menu. There are many pages hosting an extensive list of every condiment and accompaniment available, but it boils down to the traditional breakfast fare. You’ve got your eggs, omelettes, benedicts, your crepes, waffles and your smoothies and other beverages. If it weren’t for the “Add this, add that!” for each category, it would’ve easily fit on a single page.

We started with smoothies. I can confidently say that our smoothies were better than those you’d find at a place that specializes in them. They were - as the name should always suggest - smooth, with creamy yogurt and distinct, fresh flavors of each fruit involved. They were not too sweet as to leave you feeling somewhat ill afterward. They were not too cold as to give you a brain freeze mid-slurp. Those of you interested in blended alcoholic beverages take note, as Universel is also a bar and grill come afternoon and evening service. The quality of the smoothies should surely be an indication of the quality of their margaritas and so forth.

There was a bit of delay between ordering and eating, despite not being particularly busy. Our increasing appetites were easily met as the food arrived. Unable to decide on my order, I opted for the plate that offered a bit of everything - a choice of eggs (over-easy!), a choice of meat (sausages!), a choice of waffle, crepe or french toast (waffle!), toast (they have pumpernickel!), which comes with home-style potatoes, fresh fruit, beans with lardons and cretons. Lardy beans and pork spread at breakfast - surely a Quebecois flavor. To wash it all down, coffee is also included, for $10.95. Add a buck for strawberries and banana on your waffle.

The standard offerings are made exceptional by offering more than what is standard. Real maple syrup is offered, freely poured from a pitcher, for no extra charge. Not that their waffles would not be great with Aunt Jemima, as they are well-risen, crisp and chewy, but having authentic maple certainty doesn’t hurt. The whole wheat toast is whole wheat, not just “brown”. The potatoes are made with care and delicious, not just a deep-fried hash brown to fill up a section of the plate. The jams are double fruit, if you can manage to eat any of the toast with everything else on your plate. My only complaint was about the seasonal fruit, as hardly any fruit is currently in season, which isn’t their fault.

After leisurely relaxing with a refilled cup of coffee, I came to the conclusion that Universel is one of the only restaurants I’ve eaten breakfast at where I would happily pay $20 instead of cooking eggs in my own home. Since they’re located almost directly outside of the Sherbrooke metro, it is easily accessible to anyone in close proximity to an orange-line stop, not just neighborhood dwellers.