Montreal Restaurant Openings

Big Gun Le Blumenthal is Open Right Next to Place des Arts

Le Balmoral’s do-over hopes to appeal more to locals

by Tim Forster@timothyjforster May 15, 2017, 9:30am EDT

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The replacement for former Quartier des Spectacles restaurant Le Balmoral has touched down, with Le Blumenthal opening in the hub of the city’s summer festival zone.

As reported back in April, the made-over brasserie is hoping to shed its predecessor’s rep for being primarily a tourist haunt. Ex-Leméac chef de cuisine Rémi Brunelle is on board to help make that happen, along with Auberge St-Gabriel alum Sarah Bergeron, and Nic Urli, owner of Plateau Vietnamese spot Hà.

Of course, Blumenthal will inevitably draw tourists just due to its sheer proximity to the hub of the Jazz Festival and Just For Laughs — it’s undeniably conveniently located. But the hope is to use Brunelle’s skills to develop a reputation for quality food, drawing locals in (particularly in colder months)

The menus (see below: the first page is lunch, other pages are dinner) are importing a somewhat classic style that Brunelle would have honed at Leméac — note the tartares. But it’s not all French, with plenty of Quebec-grounded earthy options.

Le Blumenthal by Eater.com on Scribd

The interior matches — with a bistro-esque, woody feel to it (check out the indoor tree), a Gauley Brothers design project.

Interestingly, the restaurant is billed as a not-for-profit affair, with profits being put towards free activities at the Jazz Festival. This is because the restaurant is part of Spectra, the non-profit events company that runs that festival (and others like French music event Francofolies) — it’s not a charity per se, but it’s nice to see the money directed to open-to-the-public cultural programming.