The same Chowhound correspondent reported in May that the cafe was closing because of a dispute with the landlord.

Fans will be delighted to enjoy the brunches, the homemade caramel sauce and incredibly good chocolates (a serious holiday weakness of ours) once again. Those of us who visit Old Montreal will have to get out to Mile End – not a bad idea, since there’s much to do and eat there. We’ll keep an eye open for official word of the re-opening.

• Bouchees Gourmandes
• 1226 Bernard
• 514-845-3663

Today, we were even lazier than usual. Chuck wasn’t feeling well – a lingering cold – so we spent a good part of the day lounging, after breakfast. We walked around for a while, but we spent most of the day either in our room or at the cafe Van Houtte next door to the auberge. We walked to the Bouchees Gourmandes on St. Paul Ouest in the afternoon for a quick bite to eat. While we were there, we also bought a dozen chocolates. They’re hand-made and they’re really wonderful. We carried the bag back to our room, where we promptly ate them all.

In the evening, we walked up the street to Bonaparte for dinner. I’ve already described it here as a perfect Christmas Eve dinner – traditional and French and quite good – and it didn’t disappoint. There are 2 degustation menus available this year – C$48 and C$62. We chose the first, which was more than enough food for us. Lobster bisque, foie gras terrine, salad, lamb, dessert. Wonderful. Even Chuck, struggling through his cold, enjoyed the meal. We walked back to the auberge in the crisp night air and watched “Scrooge” starring Alistair Sim, until we fell asleep.

Reservations at Bonaparte are recommended. But even for Christmas Eve, we heard there were openings right up until that afternoon, so while you should reserve, you may get lucky.