Hochelaga’s Monsieur Smith Closes and Reopens With a ‘Feminine Touch’

East end neighbourhood bar Monsieur Smith may have tricked some social media users with a faux-closing announcement in late October, but the bar hasn’t gone anywhere: instead, it underwent a rebrand, as Madame Smith.

The Ontario East locale pulled quite the fake-out with a Facebook post announcing “la fin” for Monsieur Smith, which many seemed to take seriously. Soonafter, it was clearly hinted that the bar definitely wasn’t closing. After all, a fake closure is only a good publicity move if would-be customers don’t end up thinking a venue is permanently dead and buried.

It was technically the end for Monsieur Smith in its old iteration: within about ten days, the bar pulled off renovations and had a new menu ready to roll out, under the new name. The switch from Monsieur to Madame prompted some ignorant gender-transition jokes but the bar did actually seek to add a “feminine touch”, in its own words: that means floral tapestries, more plants, and a fresco of a woman. Whether or not a bar needs to be gendered in such a way is another question, but the interior does look fresh.

Madame Smith

Madame Smith

Madame Smith

The spruced-up menu keeps the original Monsieur Smith burger and poutine. Those are joined by more raw options, particularly in the form of tartares (beef, salmon, and mushroom), and other tidy bar snacks like a Moroccan twist on tacos and a grilled haloumi dish. It’s eminently affordable too, with a mussel dish for under $10 (peep it in full over here).

STATUS — Madame Smith is (back) open at 4016 Ontario East from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily.

• Madame Smith [Facebook]