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It might be tougher to open a restaurant on Notre-Dame Street now, but restaurants are still headed to Griffintown.
Mauvais Garçons is set to arrive there any day now: a small plates spot from former Queue de Cheval executive chef Robert Goldberg, in conjunction with two other former staff at Peter Morentzos’ restaurant: Adam Bruno and Jason Monk. It’ll be in a canal-adjacent William Street space where Café Lucci lived up until a few months ago.
The crew might be coming from a higher-end restaurant, but Stéphanie Poitras, who is working closely with the three partners, says not to expect a copious amount of dollar signs.
“People expect them to open this super pretentious, gouging type place, but they’re opening something super casual, comfort food style.”
On the menu: “tapas style smaller plates that are super affordable, everything is pretty much under $20.”
Specifically, Poitras says plates include an 1855 sirloin steak with chimichurri, cured duck magret with foie gras terrine, house-made pasta, and a surf and turf mac and cheese with lobster and pork belly. On the non-meaty side there’s beet sliders with halloumi, and a winter panzanella salad, among others.
“Instead of going into amazing ingredients you’ve never heard before, they’re going back to the basics and elevating them.”
It’ll be accompanied by a wine program put together by a sommelier who worked on the wine list Joēl Robuchon’s Montreal Atelier.
The space — an industrial building which had a bright, cafe feel with Lucci, has been overhauled to fit a sleeker, night-hours venture — Poitras says that design Gail Rodgers, who usually works primarily with home design (specifically, celebrity homes), took to the space.
“The theme is copper coloured, a lot of black, a lot of gray, the bar is in a nice black and copper tile — it’s a little industrial but still eclectic.”
The restaurant’s final pieces are coming together this week, and given the impending holidays, that puts the exact (soft) opening date a little up in the air — so keep an eye on Mauvais Garçons’ social media.
- Just Look at Lucci, a Lovely New Griffintown Café [EMTL]
- Mauvais Garçons [Facebook]