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It is time now—drumroll, trumpets, gongs—to announce the winners of the 2015 Eater Awards. In over a dozen categories, the winners comprise a diverse group of the finest and most interesting chefs, operators, and characters who have defined the year in dining and drinking in 24 Eater cities. We applaud them. You are hereby instructed to applaud them.
To recap, Eater's local editors nominated candidates for five major local categories: Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Bartender of the Year, Hottest Restaurant Now, and Stone Cold Stunner. Eater readers then voted to narrow the field to three in each category. From that final three, the Eater editorial team chose one to move forward, and the Eater braintrust got together to decide the national winners.
Without further ado, here's who came out on top in Montreal.
Eater Awards 2015
Restaurant of the Year
Nominees: Damas, Landry & Filles, Lavanderia, Lili Co., Montréal Plaza
Finalists: Landry & Filles, Lili Co., Montréal Plaza
Winner: Lili Co.
Lili Co. | Photo by Randall Brodeur
Chef of the Year:
Nominees: Fuad Alnirabie (Damas), David Pellizzari (Lili Co.), Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson (Montréal Plaza), Takeshi Horinoue and Paul Posada (Lavanderia), Thierry Rouyé (La Table des Gourmets)
Finalists: Fuad Alnirabie (Damas), David Pellizzari (Lili Co.), Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson (Montréal Plaza)
Winner: Fuad Alnirabie (Damas)
Damas chef-owner Fuad Alnirabie | Photo by Randall Brodeur
So Hot Right Now
Nominees: Le Mousso, Provisions, Pintxo, Le Fantôme, Soubois
Finalists: Le Mousso, Provisions, Pintxo
Winner: Le Mousso
Le Mousso | Photo by Randall Brodeur
Bartender of the Year
Nominees: Kevin Demers (Flyjin), Daniel Boulianne (La Distillerie), Drahos Chytry (Bishop & Bagg), Val Chagnon (Le Mal Nécessaire), Andrew Whibley (Soubois)
Finalists: Kevin Demers (Flyjin), Daniel Boulianne (La Distillerie), Drahos Chytry (Bishop & Bagg)
Winner: Drahos Chytry (Bishop & Bagg)
Drahos Chytry (right) | Photo courtesy: Bacardi Canada Inc.
Stone Cold Stunner
Nominees: Jatoba (designer, Amlyne Phillips), Soubois (designer, Alexandre Brosseau), Brasserie Harricana (architect/designer, Alain Carle), Balsam Inn (designer, Alexandre Baldwin), Montréal Plaza (designer, Zébulon Perron)
Finalists: Jatoba (designer, Amlyne Phillips), Soubois (designer, Alexandre Brosseau), Brasserie Harricana (architect/designer, Alain Carle)
Winner: Jatoba (designer, Amlyne Phillips)
Jatoba | Photo courtesy: Jatoba
Best New Restaurant Outside of Montreal
Winner: La Table des Gourmets
Chef Thierry Rouyé | Photo courtesy: La Table des Gourmets