It was the most anticipated new restaurants in the city, and, now that Montréal Plaza is open, packed nightly, and impressing most critics, it's not a stretch to call Charles-Antoine Crête's restaurant the buzziest. Crête collaborated with star designer Zébulon Perron on the project, captured for the first time in Randall Brodeur's photo gallery above. Crête, with partners Sébastien Blanchette (front-of-house manager) and Cheryl Johnson (co-chef), wanted to create a restaurant where "people feel welcome and good, like at home."
That's noble, and undoubtedly true, but make no mistake: Montréal Plaza isn't some diminutive, intimate 25-seater. The Plaza Saint-Hubert space, by Montreal standards, is sprawling and visually arresting. "I don't want to impress anyone," Crête modestly said prior to opening. Misson not accomplished. Crête's post-Toqué! home is, by all accounts, a stunner. After a good look at the room, you can understand why he told Perron: "It's too nice, stop! It has to be less pretty."