I had been here before in the past. I might have even reviewed it. Restaurant Mikael, further up…read morein the Laurentians, is a reliable place for "bouffe" - that would be French for grub. It reminds be of Bravo Pizzeria in Trois-Rivieres - halfway between Montreal and Quebec City - where it's nothing fancy but they make pizzas, pastas, (club) sandwiches, and Greek food in respectable portions and at fair prices, served up with their small town folksiness and friendliness.
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is sort of a strategic place to eat, though closer to Mont-Tremblant and the national park than to Montreal. My go-to place used to be Ristorante del Popolo. Sadly, it's no longer in operation. Nearby Il Vigneto is a little bit more upscale, and darker and more intimate inside. Mikael is the one the locals go to to get pizzas (or have them delivered), to eat in, or to hang out.
I had the Greek souvlaki dinner platter. It was plentiful and delicious. I could see ordering it again. The service was very amicable.
I learned something that differs from my high school French books. When someone brings something to your table or does something for you, you would say "merci." The textbook response you'd expect is "de rien," which means 'it's nothing.' What I've seen is that, in Quebec, the response is typically "bienvenue," which isn't exactly "you're welcome," but is more likely to be seen inscribed at a port of entry into a French speaking country or province, or at reception in a hotel, and would simply mean "welcome."
You already know I'll be giving Restaurant Mikael 4 stars. While it's Quebec, and there's a beautiful lake - Lac des Sables - nearby, it reminded me of a visit to Stayton, Oregon. There, I walked into a store, bought some things, got back into the car, and told a friend I thought I had just walked onto the set of Heart's "Dreamboat Annie." (An inside joke was born.) This place is sort of similar. The locals tend to congregate along this street, and near the seasonal outdoor seating in front of the restaurant, and smoke and talk smack. Thus, this place could be a jumping off spot for penning something along the lines of Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" or, again, Heart's "Dreamboat Annie" ... catapulted forward a few decades and set in a mountain hamlet in Quebec.
That said, I could assign the 4 stars in tandem with these 4 words:
"Dreamboat Annie du jour!"
If plentiful, casual, reliable, and properly priced grub is your thing, Restaurant Mikael in this scenic little town could be for you. It will not be right next the 15 - Autoroute des Laurentides - and its adjacent big box retail, but all the way into Sainte-Agathe's historic downtown and near the lake. If the locals keep going back, and I keep going back, that must mean that it works well.
