Martin Juneau’s Lunchy Café Is Up and Running in Mile Ex

Chef Martin Juneau and business partner Louis-Philippe Breton have a new casual eatery, with café-comptoir Tricot Principal now fully operational in Mile Ex.

The daytime-only spot has been doing to-go lunch boxes since the summer, geared towards the growing office crowd based out of various loft buildings in the area. But now the space, on the ground floor of one of those buildings on St-Urbain, is open, and customers need not order in advance.

A frequently-rotating menu deals in comforting options like meaty baguette or ciabatta sandwiches, meal-sized salads (or poke bowls, on some days), as well as a daily soup and grilled cheese option, served up in an eclectic space with huge windows.

It’s also a coffee shop equipped for the laptop crowd, complete with sweets such as doughnuts from Crémy, the Plateau favourite for lavish takes on fried dough.

Juneau and Breton have been quite the versatile duo as their mini-empire has expanded around Little Italy area — beyond their fine-dining focal point at Pastaga, they’ve accumulated an array of casual establishments like ice creamery Monsieur Crémeux and wine spot Cul-Sec, as well as gourmet grocery store Le Petit Coin — but this is their first venture into café territory.

STATUS — Tricot Principal is open at 6666 St-Urbain from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, closed weekends.

• Tricot Principal [Facebook]
• Pastaga Owners Unveil Casual Lunch Service For Mile-Ex [EMTL]