There has been much anticipation for Jamie Oliver's 1st foray into the Montreal food scene with Maison Publique, the English pub style joint run by Derek Dammann, his local partner, former sous-chef and formerly of DNA restaurant in Old Montreal. While I had hoped to first experience their dinner service earlier during their opening week, the timing didn't work out. However, I was able to visit for Brunch on their first open Sunday. I was very exciting to see what exactly Derek and co. had in store.\n\nThe restaurant is located in the heart of plateau Mont Royal in a relatively residential area. The bar dominates the decor and with good reason as it is absolutely beautiful. You also get a nice open view of the kitchen from both inside the restaurant (just outside of the frame to the left) and from the window outside the restaurant. The steady stream of alternative music added to a relaxed friendly and slightly hip vibe.\n\nNo menus are handed to you here - everything is posted on a board for all to see. Our waitress kindly informed us of this fact and mentioned the few items she had gotten to try... They'd only had one service previous to our visit, so quite understandable. The menu is a nice mix of classic brunch items with some twists, some typical English breakfast items and more eclectic fare. To start off, I ordered the apple strudel. Nice and flaky with a delicious apple filling, it was a good start to the meal.\n\nNext up, I ordered the breakfast sandwich. A sausage patty covered with melted cheese, topped with a egg and maple syrup, all between the housemade English muffin. You are left with a very tasty and satisfying sandwich. The English muffin in particular was quite nice.\n\nMy sister, on the other hand. ordered the pancakes with pear butter and smoked bacon. Very nice and fluffy pancakes, all perfectly cooked. The pear butter was a nice and subtle touch to the dish and the bacon had a great smokiness as you would expect.\n\nAll in all, a very successful brunch and this was their first weekend. I only except things to get better and better. In general, good brunch places are hard to find so to see a new option enter the scene - especially in my neck of woods - is a wonderful thing. Everyone looking for a great brunch will be in for a great treat if they visit Maison Publique. I hope to have a review of their dinner options shortly - this experience has only made me more eager to come back for more.\n\nCheers!