By Ashley Hayes (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: September 17, 2014
3550 Mt. Lehman Road, Abbotsford
Open daily from 11 a.m.
Brodeur’s Bistro is one of those tucked-away restaurants that you have no idea about until someone raves about how amazing it is. That’s how I found out about this little gem of a restaurant at the corner of Mt. Lehman Road and Blueridge Drive in Abbotsford — extremely positive word of mouth.
As soon as you enter, you are hit with the smell of Montréal smoked meat and another smell that you can’t quite put your finger on — I think it might be garlic, but no matter what, it makes your mouth water!
There are three main areas where you can sit; they have cozy booths for date nights or lunch meetings, a solarium with big-screen TVs, and a patio, which is weather-dependent, of course. The solarium area is nice in the summer (as long as you remember to bring your sunglasses), but there were quite a few flies when I visited last week, so indoors might be the better option if swatting bugs away isn’t your idea of a fun time. Also, bring your cell phone chargers because every booth has plug-ins and USB ports for your emergency power needs (or if you would rather stare at your phone than your lunch date).
As far as the menu goes, there really is something for everyone. Not only does their menu have two pages dedicated to appetizers, they also have a list of 21 sides that you can have with your meal! As a vegetarian, I am always limited to what I can have when dining out, but at Brodeur’s, I have never run into that problem. The servers have always been extremely helpful in recommending dishes for me — the classic mac ‘n’ cheese is a favorite of mine (plus you can get it with a side of cornbread). I highly recommend the garlic parmesan fries — although you may need to break out the breath mints for a day or two — and the warm cornbread that comes with maple butter.
For the omnivores out there, the Montréal smoked meat comes highly recommended and is Brodeur’s claim to fame. My boyfriend orders the shrimp po’ boy every time. No other po’ boy has even come close in his eyes — not even the one he ordered at Bubba Gump Shrimp in Vegas!
Many of the dishes come with specialty sauces that are made in-house. If you ask your server nicely, they are more than happy to ask the chef about packing up the sauce of your choice for you to purchase and take home. Then you can slather that stuff on everything!
Brodeur’s Bistro certainly isn’t the least expensive restaurant in Abbotsford, but you can walk out having stuffed your face for under $20.
