Montreal’s Most Anticipated Restaurants and More, Winter 2018

Fall is always a hot season for restaurant openings, and this year was no different, from the revamped Les Deux Singes, to a grand food hall from the Fairmont and a hot Thai counter in Épicerie Pumpui. With winter coming, the months of sub-zero temperatures and snow typically slow down the Montreal dining and drinking scene. Yet this year, there’s still a good number of businesses planning to throw open their doors in the coming months — here’s a rundown.

Elena

Who: Nora Gray co-owners Emma Cardarelli and Ryan Gray with Marley Sniatowsky (ex-Loïc)

What: Something more casual than Nora Gray: wood-fired pizza, natural wine, and coffee. Details are scarce — the owners are keeping the cards close to their chests.

When: Likely January

Where: 5090 Notre-Dame West in St-Henri

Mon Lapin

Who: Joe Beef co-owners David McMillan, Fred Morin, Alison Cunningham, chef Marc-Olivier Frappier, and sommelier Vanya Filipovic

What: A wine bar, but it’s not going to be a reiteration of Le Vin Papillon. “We’re just trying to build a cute room that’s warm and that doesn’t kill us,” says McMillan.

When: Nothing specified beyond “winter opening”

Where: Not in Little Burgundy: the team are branching out to Little Italy, opening at 150 St-Zotique East

Bar Social Verdun

Who: The co-owners of Sud-Ouest bars Drinkerie Ste-Cunégonde and Bar de Courcelle, Eric Lefrancois, Alex Lejeune and Jesse Lee Fafard

What: A neighbourhood bar for Verdun with a focus on cocktails and craft beer, but also more attention to food than previous projects (particularly in the form of roast chicken)

When: Early winter

Where: 3819 Wellington, in Verdun

Café St-Henri HQ

The location for St-Henri’s new roastery

Who: Jean-François Leduc and the team behind Café St-Henri

What: This St-Henri café and roaster have expanded several times before, but this one is special: it’s a new headquarters for the business incorporating a café and roastery into a 8,000 space. On site will be a coffee lab and vertical greenhouses, so food options will get plenty of attention

When: Hopefully late January

Where: 7335 Mile End, which is actually in Villeray (near Jarry Park)

Córdova

Who: Café Myriade’s Anthony Benda, former Masterchef contestant Aaron Polsky, Elayne Teixeira-Millar

What: It’s not a new Myriade: this will be a day-and-night spot doing coffee, a lot of small bites centred around Spanish charcuterie, cheese, and preserved items, and it’ll be an all-purpose bar to boot.

When: Coffee service will be up and running imminently, but it won’t be fully operational (particularly on the bar side) until early January

Where: 4606 Notre-Dame West in St-Henri

Monarque

Who: Jérémie Bastien and his dad Richard Bastien, of Outremont French restaurant Leméac

What: An all-day dining destination for Old Montreal, with a more casual brasserie and bar at the front and a more formal dining room further back (although it won’t get into degustation territory) — it’ll be a little more seasonally oriented than the very classic Leméac

When: OK, Monarque has been in the works for a few years and we swear it’s on the way this time, seriously

Where: 406 St-Jacques in Old Montreal

Jiao

Who: Party promoter and co-owner of club École Privée Tongue Bui, and Oli Berkan

What: A dim sum bar — small bites and dumplings with good liquors, aimed at filling the gap between high end or more formal sit-down restaurants in the area, and the more dance oriented clubs and bars

When: Probably a little later in the winter

Where: 399 Notre-Dame West, in the former Kitchen Galerie Poisson in Old Montreal

Colette Grand Café

Who: Toronto-based Chase Hospitality Group, known for restaurants in that city including The Chase and Kasa Moto

What: A restaurant for department store Holt Renfrew based on Toronto’s Colette — think chichi French décor that leans elegant, but with a dash of the casual (that is, no tablecloths). The cuisine will also lean French — the Grand Café idea is being rolled out to Holt Renfrews in Vancouver and Edmonton, too.

When: Later in the winter

Where: Inside Montreal’s downtown Holt Renfrew store, at 1300 Sherbrooke West

Taboo

Who: A family business from the owners of L’Assomption restaurant by the same name (father, son, and daughter)

What: A Montreal location for the L’Assomption’s Taboo, which focuses on mini-burgers and tartares: choose your meat, then choose from a handful of different marinades or seasonings — the build-your-own tartare approach may seem odd but it has worked for them well at the original location (there’s also ample choices for burgers and poutines)

When: January 2018

Where: 2025 Drummond Street downtown, in the former M:brgr

Pâtisserie Dugout

Who: Marie-Charlotte Dugout, a Meilleurs Ouvriers de France trained pastry chef

What: An all-vegan patisserie with an ‘80s neon vibe to it (and ample gluten-free options) — Montreal already has vegan bakeries, but it’s exciting to get one from someone with hefty French training and experience

When: Early in 2018

Where: On Duluth and St-Dominique on the Plateau, beneath Bar Suzanne

Makro

A post shared by Restaurant Makro (@makromtl) on Nov 9, 2017 at 6:39am PST

Who: The people behind Griffintown restaurant Grinder and Hachoir on the Plateau

What: Details are scarce, but it’s a seafood restaurant (it was initially named Makro Pêcheries) — something a little less meaty than the restaurant group’s current establishments

When: Renovations have been going on for a while, so it’s anybody’s guess

Where: 1726 Notre-Dame West, in Griffintown

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