Opening Alert: Goût4U Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar Lands in Little Italy

Goût4U, a new restaurant from partners with backgrounds in food and wine imports, has made over a bygone Poutine Centrale and is now open in Little Italy. The restaurant's alcohol permit has not yet come in but principals Renato Cantoni and Dimitri Pintar (Eurogusto Wine & Spirits, Les produits Eurogusto Canada, Les Sélections Soly Leblanc—Vita e Vino) expect wine to be a critical part of the equation. Management describes the restaurant as "a unique project in Quebec" and "a showcase for Italian wines and regional food products." Goût4U also "aims to become a platform of Italian taste where professionals have the time and the pleasure of sharing their passion and knowledge with customers on the lookout for new trends." Cantoni and Pintar refer to the space—which accommodates 60, with an open kitchen and multimedia event room—as a "taste laboratory." See menus and a photo of the space below.

Now about the name. The French word goût (pronunciation: /gu/) translates as 'taste' of course. When pronounced correctly, Goût4U sounds a bit like 'good for you' in Chico Marx English. But goût is also dangerously close to the English word 'gout'—the hilarious disease that pretty much did in King Henry VIII, Benjamin Franklin, and Luciano Pavarotti. Cantoni is unconcerned: "Yes, we discussed this very animatedly (we are all Allophones/Anglophones, me and Dimitri). We came to the conclusion that the little chapeau on the 'u' could save us from ridicule and give instead the idea of a bridge between different linguistic cultures and maybe intrigue people. The public will decide but I can guarantee you that we would change the name should we decide to open in English Canada."

Status: Goût4U, 6707 boul Saint-Laurent, (514) 507-4688, now open Tuesday to Sunday.

Inside Goût4U [Photo credit: Goût4U]