Fine Bistro Hopkins Opens in NDG Today — And Other Openings

NDG — Chef Liam Hopkins (ex-Park) and creative director Nicolina Servello open their new restaurant Hopkins on Monkland today. It’s one of two places they’re opening in close proximity, along with porky Italian spot Porco. Hopkins is the more formal of the two but with a bit of a bistro vibe — house-made charcuterie, beef wellington tartare, and bone marrow crème brûlée will be just a few of the options. Weekend brunch is on the menu, too.

POINTE-ST-CHARLES — As of just days ago, former Les Chefs finalist and Laurea chef Hakim Chajar now has his own restaurant on Centre Street. It’s billed as “seasonal fare according to the chef’s inspiration”, so it’s not clear if Chajar will go along with elements of Moroccan and French fare as he did at his most recent post at the Plateau’s Chambre à Part. Chajar’s restaurant will do lunch, dinner, and brunch, and it has a nice-looking woody interior to boot.

PLATEAU — Montreal now has its very own café dedicated to chai (“chai bar”, if you will). Bristol Chai is on Prince Arthur Street, and comes from Gabriel Svaldi and others who have been involved with tea company Camellia Sinensis. Various forms of chai (hot, iced, and more) are on offer, along with pastries, in a bright nook.

Bristol Chai

GRIFFINTOWN — Boucherville artisanal bakery L’Amour du Pain has made its first expansion and it’s on de la Montagne. It’s somewhat of an all-purpose boulangerie-pâtisserie, with a range of breads, viennoiseries, and pastries, alongside sandwich-oriented breakfast and lunch menus.

VERDUN — New grocery store Chez Robin on Wellington has a small bistro section with plenty of healthy options — mostly salads, but also a duck confit burger if you’re looking to gorge.

DOWNTOWN — Tangia, the upscale new Moroccan spot from veteran restaurateur Dan Medalsy (ex-Ariel) is now open downtown — find the details over here.

CÔTE-DES-NEIGES — A new handmade dumpling spot has landed on Queen Mary, named Étoile du Dumpling and open seven days on seven.

DOWNTOWN — Malaysian style roti coffee buns (a roti-based crispy coffee-caramel sweet) now exist in Montreal — get them at the only Quebec outpost of Vancouver-based mini-chain Papparoti.

DOWNTOWN — Bright Mile End Korean restaurant Omma now has a second location, on Ontario Street, a stone’s throw from Place des Arts. Unlike the original on Bernard, lunch is a major part of the offerings here, with a partly-overlapping menu.

SHAUGHNESSY VILLAGE — Just a block away from its restaurant HQ, Korean comfort food spot Ganadara has opened a bar by the same name, at 1900 Sainte-Catherine West, billed as a Korean fusion bar and serving food, including Korean fried chicken.

MILE END — Speaking of Korean restaurants, there’s a new one on Parc right near Laurier Avenue in the Mile End — Hansang is the name, and it’s pretty casual and affordable.

PETITE-PATRIE — OK, one more nugget of Korean food news — there’s another new affordable spot called SSAM, on Belanger, right near St-Denis, with bulgogi, bibimbap, and more.

ST-HENRI — Pho and banh mi aren’t terribly common in Saint-Henri but there’s one new option — “Vietnamese canteen” Tran opened recently, offering the aforementioned Vietnamese standards.

MILE END — European crepes and Halifax donair might seem like an odd combination, but it seems to have been working for Village restaurant En Couleur. Now they have a second location near the corner of Parc and Fairmount doing sweet and savoury crepes, and that weird Maritime take on shawarma.

DOWNTOWN — Toronto-based burger chain Hero Certified Burgers is now open right next to Concordia’s downtown campus.

• NDG is Getting a Double Whammy of New Restos With Porco and Hopkins [EMTL]
• Les Chefs’ Hero Hakim Chajar is Getting Back to the Kitchen [EMTL]
• Toronto’s Hero Certified Burgers Is Making a Move on Montreal [EMTL]