Hôtel Herman Checks Out of Mile End Today — And Other Closures

MILE END — It’s been coming for almost a month, and today’s the day of Hôtel Herman’s final service. For reasons undisclosed, their landlord would not grant a new lease (even when offered the opportunity to double the rent), meaning an untimely closure. They’ve even been selling much of the dining room furniture on Facebook, including chairs, stools, and banquettes. The trio of owners — Ariane Lacombe, Dominic Goyet, and Marc-Alexandre Mercier — have earned shining reviews, and long held a place on Eater’s map of 38 essential restaurants. Former Eater editor Ian Harrison wrote the following when he first placed the St-Laurent Boulevard spot on the 38.

If Mile End is Montreal’s restaurant mecca, Hôtel Herman is partly to blame. The horseshoe bar, curated playlists and monochrome décor all play well with the neighbourhood’s moneyed class but it really is all about the food (and that unusual wine list). Dishes like foie gras terrine with rhubarb, yogurt and brioche, and horse tartare with ox-eye daisy capers and burnt onion powder resonate.

Eater is speaking to the Hôtel Herman crew as they pack up, and will bring a more in-depth farewell very soon. They open at 5 p.m. — the hot tip is that there might be a little space if you go very early. Don’t forget that they took over Réservoir, so there’ll be echoes of Herman around town in future.

MILE END — Bernard Street Moroccan restaurant La Cuisine d’Izza appears to have gone under — the restaurant’s Facebook said it would be closed until January 18 for the holiday season, but it has remained dark ever since, with a for lease sign up in the window. It opened up back in spring 2015.

MILE END — It’s looking like a disaster zone out there in the Mile End: also closed is slightly old school crepe house La Crêpière. Their shutdown is confirmed by a scrawled sign in the window.

PLATEAU — Via Chowhound, wee Rachel Street Colombian cafe Las Palmas has closed down. The spot, on the corner of Saint-Dominique, was known for its empanadas. The owners posted a note in Spanish on Facebook, saying it was time to retreat from the business to get a little more personal time.

DOWNTOWN — Those industrious Chowhounders also report that Concordia adjacent cafe with Turkish dishes Clementine has closed, just short of a year after opening. There’s no sign of their closure on social media, but at the same time, there’s little sign of them being open — calls during opening hours went unanswered.

• Breaking: Mile End’s Hôtel Herman is Closing [EMTL]
• Why and What Next: Inside The Hôtel Herman Closure [EMTL]
• Hôtel Herman Hits it Out of the Park in Blockbuster Review [EMTL]
• The 38 Essential Montreal Restaurants, Winter 2017 [EMTL]
• Hôtel Herman to Take Over Brewpub Réservoir [EMTL]
• Mile End Gets Moroccan Doughnuts and Shakshuka [EMTL]
• Cafeteria Colombiana Las Palmas [Facebook]
• Clementine Gives Downtown Montreal Pastries, Sandwiches, and Turkish Brunch [EMTL]