Hannah B.
Yelp
I really hesitated between a three and four star for this place. The first thing I must declare is that Le Trou is no contender for conventional Montreal bagels. For me, the real test is when you go to toast the bagel: the crispy/chewy ratio, the sweetness and certainly the spreadability (for other items on top, of course). Le Trou doesn't quite deliver on the first two criteria but it does support toppings very well. Thus far we've tried all of the flavours offered, with the exception of the cinnamon-raisin. The only flavour that really stands out to me is their signature bagel: the Griffintown (beer and cheese flavour). The problem with my affinity for this bagel is that it's the only one that isn't regularly priced: half a dozen for any of the other flavours hovers around the $5-6 range while the Griffintown will set you back $15 (!) for six. I think this is more than a bit much, frankly.
What I really value about le Trou is that the majority of its products are affordable and it's in a location with few other comparable options. I find I'm generally hard-pressed to find bread-like items in the Sud-Ouest, as such I'm happy to have access to a bagel shop (with reasonable hours!). Oh, and the space itself is very cute and modern, although definitely not your grandma's bagel shop.