By Sean Miller

One can only fall in love with a fenced patio decorated with lush flora and quaintly strung Christmas lights, hidden from the public within the depths of the famous Montreal Plateau. Thankfully, this is exactly what Café Santropol offers to its lush clientele.

Tucked away on the corner of St-Urbain and Duluth, Café Santropol offers a delectable variety of sandwiches, garnished with fresh ingredients, as well as herbal teas, coffees, and a personal favourite, home-style milkshakes. The staff is exceptionally friendly, even on the rainiest of days, and the menu offers a wide variety of health-conscious options (it is a vegetarian establishment, though offers meat and poultry additions to their standard menu, for those that need or want).

Each dish comes served with an array of fresh fruit, quite possibly the easiest and tastiest appetizer, or addition if you will, to the monstrous sandwich that follows. The sandwiches are very well prepared, with the only criticism being the overdose of any spread. Whether it be cream cheese, jalapeño paste or hazelnut spread, an even inch of anything on a sandwich is too much for the palette. However, one negative does not overshadow the many positive.

The milkshakes can be made to one’s specific taste, with the option of mixing and matching ingredients. Banana-hazelnut, cherry-chocolate, strawberry-raspberry are all feasible options, but one can always be creative and go for the whole package (for a measly 75 cents per extra ingredient).

Overall, Café Santropol is the perfect, quiet and artistic alternative to the hustle and bustle of St-Laurent, providing customers with a comfy, dimly-lit, relaxing environment with a warm and friendly staff, and an eccentric yet tantalizing menu. A must-go for anyone visiting Montreal, with a health conscious, delicious alternative in mind, for a very good price.

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Photo from Google Maps