One of Montreal's most popular buffets got over $11K in MAPAQ fines in the past year

A popular downtown Montreal restaurant is facing a significant bill after Quebec food safety inspectors flagged violations on the premises on two separate occasions over the past year.

According to records published by the province’s Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), Restaurant VIP, a Chinese buffet at 1077 rue Clark, was ordered to pay $11,300 in fines following two recent infractions.

Both judgments were handed down by the Montreal municipal court.

What were the violations?

Both fines stem from the same type of infraction: failure to keep the premises free of contaminants, including insects, rodents, or their droppings. Here is how they broke down:

• $5,300 fine for failure to keep the premises free of contaminants, including insects, rodents, or their droppings. Infraction dated March 7, 2024, judged September 5, 2025.
• $6,000 fine for the same type of violation. Infraction dated April 15, 2025, judged March 9, 2026.

Worth noting

As is the case with all MAPAQ records, there is often a significant gap between the date of the infraction and the date the judgment is published. The legal process can take months or even years to run its course, and the violations listed here do not necessarily reflect current conditions at the restaurant.

Is it still safe to eat there?

MAPAQ says that when a restaurant remains open after receiving fines, it means the issues have been corrected, and follow-up inspections have been carried out. Temporary closures are only ordered when there is an immediate risk to public health, and no such measure was taken in this case.

Restaurant VIP maintains a 4.2-star rating on Google with over 1,500 reviews and is open daily from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.