All throughout Quebec, you will find casse-croute restaurants which are basically snacks bars. I chose Saint-Jean based on the fact that we were getting into Quebec City late, it was open until 4am, had decent reviews, and I wanted poutine as my first meal in Quebec. In case you didn’t know, “Poutine is a dish of fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It originated in the Canadian province of Quebec”.
I would categorize the food here as “French Canadian Soul Food”.
Another plus of being in French Canada, is that wine is more readily available at eating establishments, even casual ones like this, and grocery stores.
We ordered a sausage poutine, hot dog, cheeseburger and 2 bottles of red wine which I believe were from Chile. The wine was not spectacular but there is some je ne sais quoi about drinking red wine in plastic cups in a French city while eating burgers.
The burger was good. I would guess from the shape and texture that it was made in house fresh, and although there is some regulation against medium rare burgers in Canada, it was still good. The hot dog was good too with cheese, and bacon, but the star was the poutine.
Overall, this is an excellent choice if you want a casual local experience and are looking for something still open late at night or early morning.