13 New Montreal Restaurants to Watch, Fall 2014

It was a feverish summer for new restaurants in Montreal and, by the looks of it, this fall will prove to be just as busy. And while the consensus of late is that the city has too many restaurants, every week seems to herald the arrival of a new snack bar, ramen or sandwich shop.

A handy segue to the almost universal assessment that white linen, haute cuisine is obsolete and over in Montreal. Most of these new restaurants, if not all, support that judgment.

Still, new chef-driven projects do loom from the likes of Jérémie Bastien, John Winter Russell, Stelio Perombelon and Charles-Antoine Crête.

For now, have a look at 13 spots set to open soon.

1. ) Tejano
Address: 511 rue de Courcelle
Major Players: Clara Barron, Dylan Kier
The Situation: The couple behind Blackstrap BBQ give the Sud-Ouest burritos. Kier: "The way it happened is I was a bit tired of eating brisket. I have to taste it for quality at the restaurant and at competitions all the time. I started bringing barbecue home from Blackstrap and making burritos and tacos with it. Then we found out about this space. So that's why we're doing it. Leftover barbecue is how it happened. I love a good burrito."
Projected Opening: End of September
· All Coverage of Tejano [-EMTL-]

2. ) Lavanderia
Address: 374 av. Victoria
Major Players: Antonio Park
The Situation: Park spoke about his second restaurant, a parrilla concept, months ago: "My parents used to have a laundry business in South America. Remember stonewashed jeans in the 1980s? They made those. This was in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. They had many employees and made like 80,000 washes a day for Lee and Wrangler. So Lavanderia will be an ode to my childhood."
Projected Opening: First week of October
· All Coverage of Antonio Park [-EMTL-]

3. ) No 900
Address: 1248 av. Bernard Ouest
Major Players: Alexandre Brunet, Dominic Bujold
The Situation: Pizza obsessive Brunet, who cut his teeth at Mangiafoco and Stromboli and operates the only mobile, wood-fired pizza truck in Canada, opens a brick and mortar pizza shop in Théâtre Outremont with Sushi Shop founder Bujold.
Projected Opening: Soon
· All Coverage of No 900 [-EMTL-]

4. ) Mimi la Nuit
Address: 22 rue Saint-Paul Est
Major Players: Jeff Stinco, Edward Zaki
The Situation: The revamp of the old Piano Rouge in Old Montreal will be a wine and cocktail bar with a tavern, street food menu.
Projected Opening: October
· All Coverage of Mimi la Nuit [-EMTL-]

5. ) Sumac
Address: 3618 Notre Dame Ouest
Major Players: David Bloom, Raquel Zagury
The Situation: Bloom and ex-Prohibition chef Zagury food give Saint-Henri "a fresh to order falafel and shawarma shop with spreads and salads."
Projected Opening: September
· All Coverage of Sumac [-EMTL-]

6. ) Le Bon Vivant
Address: 2705 Notre Dame Ouest
Major Players: Geneviève Guertin, Stéphanie Poulin, Catherine Martel, Fedar Huminski
The Situation: This "sandwich shop, late night restaurant, breakfast and brunch restaurant" will also offer food baskets to go, as well as beer and wine. Chef Fedar Huminski is late of Tavern on the Square and Geppetto.
Projected Opening: August 25 (yes, a summer open, technically)
· All Coverage of Le Bon Vivant [-EMTL-] [Photo: fedarhuminski]

7. ) Hà
Address: 243 av. Mont-Royal Ouest
Major Players: Nicolas Urli, Francisco Randez, Flore-Anne Ducharme, Ross Ninja San, Hong Hà Nguyen
The Situation: The former Souvenirs d'Indochine gets a mod Vietnamese pub makeover.
Projected Opening: End of August
· All Coverage of Ha [-EMTL-]

8. ) Notkins
Address: 1101 rue de Bleury
Major Players: Daniel Notkin, Emilie Rainville
The Situation: The founder of Montreal Oysterfest opens his very own seafood restaurant.
Projected Opening: September
· All Coverage of Notkins [-EMTL-]

9. ) Landry & Filles
Address: Gilford and Papineau
Major Players: Marc Landry, Josée-Ann Landry, Lisa-Marie Veillette
The Situation: The food truck that gave Montreal ploye opens a snack bar with take-out menu a block from Maison Publique.
Projected Opening: October
· All Coverage of Landry & Filles [-EMTL-]

10. ) Jatoba
Address: 1184 Place Phillips
Major Players: Alexandre Besnard, Patrick Hétu
The Situation: Phillips Lounge resets with Asian fusion, cocktails and a gargantuan terrasse. Besnard and Hétu are in talks with a prominent Montreal chef to consult on the menu.
Projected Opening: End of October
· All Coverage of Jatoba [-EMTL-]

11. ) La Queue de Cheval
Address: 1181 rue de la Montagne
Major Players: Peter Morentzos
The Situation: When will Peter Morentzos get his liquor permit? A spokesperson is optimistic that the new "Q" will open soon.
Projected Opening: September
· All Coverage of La Queue de Cheval [-EMTL-]

12. ) Kinka Izakaya
Address: 1624 rue Ste-Catherine Ouest
Major Players: James Hyunsoo and Kinka Family Inc.
The Situation: The company responsible for Guu Izakaya and Kinton Ramen in Toronto takes a stab at the Montreal market.
Projected Opening: October
· All Coverage of Kinka Izakaya [-EMTL-]

13. ) Lea
Address: 4922 Sherbrooke Ouest
Major Players: Grinder and Le Hachoir principals
The Situation: Westmount nabs a "modern Spanish and Portuguese" restaurant with executive chef Matt Doyle and sous chef Ian Milner.
Projected Opening: Fall
· All Coverage of Lea [-EMTL-]