After 18 standout years in Old Montreal, Dyan Solomon and Éric Girard, the owners of café and bakery Olive et Gourmando, have themselves a second restaurant. The rustic, fire-focused Foxy is now open in earnest in Griffintown, and, as you can see, is every bit the looker evinced by Solomon's Instagram teases. Design and architecture firm M.O. Workshop (Le Club Chasse et Pêche, Pullman, Bota Bota) excels at urbane spaces—Foxy, with its long bar and fire pit, is sleek, intimate, and, well, foxy. Not a shabby place for chefs Leigh Roper (late of Le Vin Papillon), and Vincent Russel (Le Comptoir), pastry chef Vanessa Laberge (Olive et Gourmando), and baker Marc-André Cyr (Olive et Gourmando, Le pain dans les voiles) to get their hands dirty.
Solomon says that some items will change over time, and that "everything (just about) is made in-house at Foxy: feta, crème fraiche, yogurt, ham, bacon, and sausages. We smoke butter, cheese, nuts, crème fraiche, fish and meats. All the bread, desserts, and ice creams too." As for specifics, expect small pizzas made with flour by Anson Mills, the artisanal, South Carolina-based heirloom grain advocate; hot pitas; oven-roasted feta with black grapes and tomato; organic barbecue chicken with a chunky Romesco sauce; organic pork ribs with sticky honey mustard sauce and 'Day-Glo' onions; a November 'slaw' with charred Romanesco, shredded spit-roasted duck, Russet apples, celery leaves, and Parmesan, with a duck fat and cider vinaigrette; and cod à la plancha with crushed cucumber, spicy peanut salad, and a dollop of smoked crème fraiche.
Sides at Foxy include blackened Chinese greens with lemon; soft polenta with aged Gouda, finished with smoked butter; garlicky potatoes; grilled yams with pickled onions and spicy mayo. Save room, too, for desserts like a chocolate/bourbon/pecan torte with Valrhona Bahibe ice cream, and apple pie with buttermilk/apple butter/burnt caramel ice cream.