Grinder Owners Unveil New Seafood Restaurant For Griffintown

The owners of meaty Griffintown restaurant Grinder and Hachoir on the Plateau have a new seafood destination, Makro Pêcheries (or just Makro), open as of March 1 (Thursday).

Makro takes over the Notre-Dame West location that used to house chef Shinji Nagai’s eponymous sushi restaurant Le Shinji until it closed in 2016. While there’s not much sushi on the premises now, there’s still seafood — and principals Jean‑François Corriveau and Léa D’Amboise have tapped some solid culinary talent to wrangle it. Chef S’Arto Chartier Otis, formerly of locavore Griffintown restaurant Hvor — a previous Eater Restaurant of the Year, to boot — is heading up the kitchen.

Chartier Otis’ opening menu gives a sharp, international feel: there’s plenty of fruity flavours drawn from both Japan and east Asia, and central America, from hirame (Japanese halibut) with yuzu and persimmon to lobster with XO sauce, mango, bok choy, and puffed rice. Generally speaking, the menu eschews heavier, saucier dishes in favour of bright flavours, from a The menu is neatly delineated into sections for shellfish, cold and hot appetizers, mains (including shared dishes), salads, sides, and a handful of meat options for those who aren’t feeling nautical (including jerk Guinea hen and za’atar lamb) — take a look at it in full.

It’s rounded out with a fresh set of creative cocktails — no details about the beer and wine programs are available yet, but Eater has reached out to ask.

Makro isn’t the only thing opening up at this address: the Grinder team appear to be opening a basement bar named King Crab beneath the restaurant. Montreal Info also reported that there are longer-term plans to open a boutique hotel on the upper floors of the same building.

It’s the first new project for the Grinder group in about three years — Boucherie Grinder was the last new arrival, retailing an array of high-quality meats. Makro and the other plans for the building work as a big anchor for the group’s Griffintown hub — they now have a trio of properties clustered around Notre-Dame West and Richmond streets.

STATUS — Makro is open at 1726 Notre-Dame West from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. (Monday to Wednesday) and midnight (Thursday to Saturday), closed Sunday.

• Makro [Official]
• Holy Mackerel! [Montreal Info]