Cafeden Cooks Up Pho in Little Italy

The span of Saint-Laurent between Saint-Zotique and Bellechasse - lower Little Italy, if you will - is in the throes of a palpable sea change as legacy merchants close shop and make way for plucky newcomers. To wit, Cafeden, a new restaurant open as of this week.

The debut of authentic pho and other staples from the Indochina peninsula is most welcome in a part of town once known almost exclusively for Italian cafés but now home to the disparate likes of Pastaga, Gus, Bethlehem XXX and Dinette Triple Crown. Indeed, co-owner Chinh Vu's spot has quickly become a popular topic of conversation among area cooks, most notably because of this dish.

While the Vietnamese brasserie's menu is modest, it contains telltale summer crowd-pleasers like soy chicken wings and citrus scallops. And beer, plenty of beer (wine too).

· Cafeden [Official Site]
· All Opening Alerts [-EMTL-]