Nyk’s is quite popular – the place was packed, even though it was already 12:30 PM.  The hostess welcomed us and charmingly informed us that we would be seated in two minutes, the time needed to clean a table.  Alas, it was two minutes Montreal-style, and the four of us finally sat down 10 minutes later.

The place is very warm – mostly wood, some red brick, it is meant to look like an old-time Inn, but branché.  Quite a nice spot, on a prime location, they do squeeze a lot of people in here, enhancing the coziness feeling one gets when walking in.

Nyk’s menu is not very elaborate – an appetizers section, which we all skipped, a salad section with only three choices, a bistro side – pasta dishes, fish, steak, duck, etc… and a pub side – burgers and sandwiches.  They also offer a menu du jour, but we simply ignored it and zeroed in on the pub side.

Nicolas-Dominic went for a classic burger with cheddar, Carl went for the same but with brie. You have to give Nyk’s thumbs up for the cheese options offered – I counted 6!!  – no processed slices here.  Nammi picked the vegeterian burger – what else – with a pattie made from chick peas, carrots, onions and celery.  It looked better than the ingredients make it sound.

For my part, I went with the Philly steak.  The  description made it very tempting:  Marinated and minced steak, deglazed in a mushroom sauce, havarti cheese, sauted onions, lettuce and tomatoes on a kaiser.

So I went for it. Nyk’s has the good idea to serve its sandwiches with half fries, half salad – permitting us to indulge and feel good at the same time.

I felt there was a tad bit too much dressing on the salad, so I moved my tomatoes and lettuce from the kaiser and added it to the salad.  It gave it more substance.

The fries were very good – typical Montreal french fries, of a nice dark golden colour, crispy on the outside yet tender and warm inside.  The portion was a bit small – mostly because they were soooo good.

The sandwich was a bit underwhelming.  The havarti’s presence was a sad cameo. A good Philly cheesesteak has plenty of gooey cheese – of course, Nyk’s was listing its version as Philly steak – perhaps an indication that they go (very) light on the cheese.  The meat was tender, and the mushroom flavor from the deglazing was present, but subtle.  The sauted onions were also reduced to a minimal, there should have been more.  The bun was slightly grilled, giving it a nice texture and an added flavor.  Not a bad sandwich overall but it read more promising then what it gave.

I chased it down with a McAuslan Cream Ale.  Nyk’s has a good selection on tap, focussed on micro-breweries (Cheval Blanc, Belle Gueule), some imports (Guiness) and a House Beer.

The Cream Ale is a rarity – it not available in bottles, and when you see it on the menu, you should go for it.  If you like Cream Ale, you will rank this one pretty much at the top of your list.  It gives another meaning to the word cream.  The secret?  Nitrogen.  Most draft beer are pressurized with carbon dioxide, but McAuslan decided to go with Nitrogen for this tap-exclusive brew.  The results are great – you end up with a very smooth beer with a full-bodied texture, with a thick and long-lasting head.  This is truly a fantastic beer.

Nyk’s is a neat place – the beer is cheap, and goes even lower for their Happy Hour “4 à 7″,  when the pints go down to 4.75$ on selected brands.  They also have live music, mostly jazz, and the atmosphere is usually quite pleasant.