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  • Helena

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Helena
Helena

Helena Details

  • Dining Style: Casual Dining
  • Website: http://www.restauranthelena.com/
  • Email: info@restauranthelena.com
  • Phone: (514) 878-1555
  • Hours of Operation: LUNCH
    Monday to Friday: 11:30am to 2:30pm
    For groups of 20 or more guests, please contact us.

    DINNER
    Monday to Saturday: 5:30pm to 11pm
    For groups of 10 or more guests, please contact us.
  • Payment Options: AMEX, MasterCard, Visa
  • Cuisine: Portuguese
  • Executive Chef: Helena Loureiro
  • Dress Code: Casual Dress
  • Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
  • Additional Details: Banquet/Private Rooms, Bar Dining, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Private Room, Wine

Getting there

  • Cross Street: Saint-Maurice
  • Parking: Street Parking
A word from Helena
The restaurant Helena team welcomes you in a warm, colourful and modern atmosphere, where you are invited to share and enjoy a delicious meal in good company. An unforgettable experience that allows you to discover all the refinement of Portuguese cuisine and wines for a lunch or an evening out,… whether with a group or family, for a couple’s night out, or to talk business.

Guests are invited to select and to share petiscos (tapas), providing an opportunity to taste all of Portugal’s flavours, from the more familiar to the unexpected, in a friendly atmosphere. More than a simple à la carte meal, restaurant Helena proposes a true feast to savour at the table !
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Awards voted by OpenTable diners
  • Diners' Choice WinnerMost Booked
Diner Reviews
  • "We had a variety of tapas for lunch. They were all amazingly tasty! The portions were perfect. Service was great. They let you taste the wine before serving you a glass. Not one negative comment would come out of my mouth!"
    Dined on 2/27/2014
  • "Underrated restaurant with original and superb portugese new cuisine."
    Dined on 12/13/2013
  • "We had a very pleasant experience. The invited chef from Portugal had prepared a multi-course dinner with wines from Alentejo region served. The food was very good, certainly different and very tasty. We will definitely go back in the near future."
    Dined on 2/24/2014
  • "Ambiance três chaleureuse, plats délicieux et très bien présenté. Faites l'expérience du menu gastronomique et des vins portugais"
    Dined on 2/24/2014
  • "Great evening at Helena's Delicious, authentic portuguese food. Fish soup was unbelievable... Tasted many tapas with great flavours and super fresh ingrédients. Service was wonderful: very attentive and friendly and helpful. Music was a little bit too loud for our taste but we nevertheless had a wonderful dinner."
    Dined on 2/22/2014
  • "Everything was just perfect and my invitee loved the experience. Fanrastic! 2 thumbs up."
    Dined on 2/20/2014
  • "We decided to choose the suggested "degustation" offer with 4 different tapas, a half plate of fish and a half plate of beef. Everything was great, tasty and well balanced. We highly recommand to try it. Service was friendly and efficient. They only concern, wine pricing os way too much boosted."
    Dined on 2/19/2014
  • "A bit dissapointed on the set menu, they did not let us know when making the reservation. Portions wehre small as if in a french modern bistro. Few options to choose from when usually their menu is great and food is not what is missing on the plate. Overprice for the amunt of food. Complete dissapointment on expectation, however the food was still tasty even in smail portions."
    Dined on 2/15/2014
  • "I've never been to a fancy restaurant so I don't know how valid my review is BUT, i thoroughly enjoyed my meal, the service was fantastic, food was of exceptional quality (and of exceptionally low quantity, i suppose it's like this for all fancy restaurants, just hit the local McDonalds after if you're still hungry or if you are rich then keep ordering). Great ambience, would recommend for special occasions."
    Dined on 2/14/2014
  • "this was one of the few perfect experience from starters to coffee. Sometimes you have a good overall experience in a restaurant but one service is more questionnable compared with others. At Helena, every service, every meal meets the highest criterias and it brings you near heaven."
    Dined on 2/14/2014
  • "we ordered the medium tasting menu. The service was impeccable, tons of staff, your water glass (or wine glass) never empty, great ambiance, nice music not too loud. The meal came with 5 appetizers which were all just a taste of things but with 5 of them the quantity of food was great. Main course was Mahi mahi which I don't think is a typical portugese fish so I was a bit surprised with that one and honestly it was the least exciting part of the meal but nonetheless cooked to perfection. Dessert was a plate of various items, all excellent but there was no chocolate! I am not familiar with portugese food but the wait staff was very helpful with everything"
    Dined on 2/11/2014
  • "I've been to Helena several times, and enjoy it every time! the food is amazing, fresh and excellently prepared. I love the tapa options and is great to share! Interesting Table D'hote for lunch too!"
    Dined on 2/7/2014
  • "Tapas and fish were outstanding. Good attentive service. Will be returning."
    Dined on 2/4/2014
  • "The food was great, but the service was SO BAD. I feel bad to say this about this restaurant, we are so nice people. But I draw the line. We mentioned to the waiter that we had 3 food allergies: coriander, goat milk and coconut. We ordered the 'tapas degustation' menu ($65) and the waiter specifically said that there would not be any problem. We received 2 tapas with freshly, added coriander and we received 4 peaces of coconut cake at desert time. Not to mention that when the waiter brought the olive platter, his fingers where dipping in the dish. I can go on and on with junior mistakes. I will never go back and will speak negatively about this restaurant."
    Dined on 2/1/2014
  • "Love the concept of tapas, great variety on the menu. Good service. Pleasant ambiance. Great place to have dinner with friends."
    Dined on 1/29/2014
  • "I haven't been impressed for a while trying new restaurant...but Helena did that !!!! Food and service was amazing!!"
    Dined on 1/25/2014
  • "The service was outstanding! They went out of their way to accomodate us (allergies). The food was great and so was the wine that they recommended. I will go back again... And again!!"
    Dined on 1/24/2014
  • "It's a beautiful restaurant and the food is very good."
    Dined on 1/16/2014
  • "We let the waiter pick our Tapas for lunch. Overall 8 on 10. The Asparagus Salad is a definite yes and the scallops with foie gras were my favorite."
    Dined on 1/15/2014
  • "Helena is a great place to eat. It is Tapas but at whole new level. It takes the best of Portuguese food and makes it fun to eat. The tuna was outstanding, the crab cakes are amazing and make sure you order the scallops. Enjoy!"
    Dined on 1/15/2014
  • "We were six people and we loved the restaurant The ambiance is so vibrant and the restaurant itself it stunning. It is a long narrow restaurant and the front is different from the back, it is more cosy in the back but wherever you sit you will not be disappointed. The service was wonderful our waitress Maud was very professional. We had the tasting menu which consisted of four appetizers each, a main of fish and desert. ( $55 ) Everything was to die for ! the scallops melted in your mouth and the pig checks ( sounds gross ) were the hit of the night. The music was a tad too loud making it hard to talk the person at the end of the table. It is great for large groups or two people. I would go back there for sure ."
    Dined on 1/11/2014
  • "Ce n'était pas notre 1ère fois chez Helena et les 2 dernières fois, le service était super rapide que c'était déplaisant. Cette fois-ci, dès le début, nous avons demandé de la ralentir la cadence, ce qu'ils ont fait. Nous avons pu déguster nos tapas et notre vin tout doucement. Merci! La pieuvre grillée, le pétoncle grillé avec le foie gras torchon miam, miam! Bravo et merci,"
    Dined on 1/11/2014
  • "it is disappointing when a waiter acts as though he was able to squeeze you into his busy schedule. It is also dishonest to recommend a wine that is not listed on the lengthy wine list that is 30% more costly than the ones you asked about. Value for the buck could hardly be lower."
    Dined on 1/10/2014
  • "It was our second visit. We ordered 3 tapas to share and one sea bass and everything was delicious! The seared scallops with foie gras were so flavorful and original as were the grilled calamaris. Fish is always perfectly cooked. The place is a bit expensive and the service a bit stuck up (never understand why) but food was perfect and the restaurant is beautiful."
    Dined on 1/9/2014
  • "This is the second time at Helena in less than a month. Running a restaurant must be the hardest business in the world. Running a great restaurant must be close to impossible. Helena is a great restaurant. I have the honour of entertaining people who have travelled everywhere and eaten everything. Helena is now 2 for 2 at impressing me and my guests and creating a truly memorable dining experience both times. Not an easy feat. Congratulations! We will be back."
    Dined on 1/9/2014
  • "Was with a client. Had the salmon and soup from table d'hôte. Food was excellent, every bite was just amazing. Service was quick and discrete. Thank you!"
    Dined on 1/8/2014
  • "I have gone there 5-6 times always with a reservation . Usually, it is for business dinners with clients or special occasions. It seems that 60% of the time I seem to have the bad luck of being in the narrow corridor that leads from the front to the back of the restaurant. Perhaps some diners would like this however it is narrow and so the traffic of waiters and bus boys passing behind you and sometimes brushing by your chair can be really annoying. I have specified every time I make a reservation that I do not want the tables in that corridor and I inevitably end up there . The food is very unique in flavors. Once in a while a heavy hand with salt but overall the tastes marry well together. Especially, the fish or seafood dishes."
    Dined on 12/31/2013
  • "As a solo diner, I appreciated the attention of the bartender/waitress. She was attentive and explained the menu well. Dinner and drinks were outstanding and the restaurant had a warm and lively atmosphere as well."
    Dined on 12/26/2013
  • "went to Helena for New Year's Eve. a most excellent 7-course meal! The staff is amazing, working very, very hard to make the patrons feel at ease. Highly recommended."
    Dined on 12/31/2013
  • "Our seating across from the kitchen gave us a view of the preparation of our delicious 7-course meal that mixed the gastronomic delight with choreographed theater. The chefs, souchefs, wait staff and support staff were involved in a mesmerizing ballet to produce simultaneously produce an 8:30 PM meal throughout the restaurant rather than a staggered service. The wine selection was perfect with our meal. They asked about allergies and made on the spot substitutions with grace. What a gem."
    Dined on 12/31/2013
  • "Helena is one of the best in Montreal . We went for a 7 services course on 31 december 2013 at 85$ per person excluding wine and tips. This restaurant located in old Montreal on McGill avenue near StPaul hotel was full with great ambiance.. If you like portuguse/spanish food this is the place. For 2 with this special night 300$.enjoy reservation is necessary it is not a big restaurant in terms of seatibg."
    Dined on 12/31/2013
  • "Helena had prepared a wonderful set menu for their News years service. There were five services that provided wonderful sensations from the presentation to the taste. At $65.00 / plate including a glass of champagne at the end , it offered great value. Helena offered a great dinning experience that has set the tone for a wonderful new year."
    Dined on 12/31/2013
  • "The food was outstanding. Grilled seafood was the best I had... The waiter proposed to share the food (he guessed what we would like to do) - that was the best way to try different dishes. The music was very nice. I will definitely recommend this place to my friends and will return myself."
    Dined on 12/28/2013
  • "Expensive but delivers. Food is interesting, delicious and nicely presented. Service is exceptional. Great for intimate romantic event."
    Dined on 12/28/2013
  • "Pig cheek confit of course. Foie gras, both seared & pâté, Ooh la la. Friendly & knowledgeable with Very good English."
    Dined on 12/26/2013
  • "I go out often for business dinners and lunches... But rarely do I have as complete and enjoyable a restaurant experience as at Helena's. The food, the ambiance, the service, the wine... All were as close to perfection as I have ever found. I just won't order the cod cakes again:-). Thank you! We will be back."
    Dined on 12/26/2013
  • "We had a very good experience. The grilled seafood platter was wonderful! Would definitely go back for the asparagus salad!"
    Dined on 12/13/2013
  • "Food was great, friendly and timely service. Tasting menu was reasonably priced. My wife and I had a memorable night."
    Dined on 12/7/2013
  • "Great ambiance, outstanding service (special thanks to Rubin for making the culinary experience even more memorable!). The food was refined yet still true to its hearty Portuguese roots.. Delectable starters of grilled sardines and cod croquettes (a must-try!) and a truly delicious grilled seafood platter for two! Churros dipped in chocolate sauce topped off the meal beautifully ! I highly recommend this resto and plan to go back soon for more! Drinks wee also great: gin tonic aperos and a bottle of good Portuguese rose.."
    Dined on 11/30/2013
  • "We had the tasting menu and it was spectacular. Each course was cooked to perfection and the flavours were exquisite."
    Dined on 11/30/2013
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