Montreal Restaurant Openings

W Hotel’s Nom Nom Cantine Is Open for Business

A restaurant combining French and Asian cuisines via hot topic chefs

by JP Karwacki Mar 9, 2018, 2:37pm EST

Last week marked the grand opening of the W Hotel’s new restaurant, Nom Nom Cantine. This endeavour replaces the hotel’s previous restaurant Ê.A.T. (Être Avec Toi) with a new look, new menu, and new avenues for the space’s executive chef Gregory Faye (Maison Boulud). It was teased late last year that Faye would be helming the location’s previous incarnation, though details scantly ended there. Now, the area surrounding Square Victoria can boast a new option for dining out.

Joining Faye in the kitchen will be the part-owner and chef Eric Bruner-Yang, whose works could be found in Washington, D.C. establishments in the past. The combination of Bruner-Yang and Faye is one of the strong indicators for the shape of Nom Nom’s menu, which combines the former’s experience in Asian cuisines with the French tutelage of the latter. What results are options such as french onion dumplings, mini banh mi with foie gras, a curry poutine, brisket with both kaffir lime and bordelaise sauce, and roasted duck.

This is topped with choices from opposite ends of this French-Asian spectrum, with curries at one end and tartares at the other. These are served in small to shared plates, and are topped off with a short-but-sturdy wine list and cocktail offerings that play with the Asian sentiments of the menu; ingredients like yuzu, kimichi, soju, and shiso run throughout. What’s more, Nom Nom has informed Eater that a brunch menu will be added next month.

The 80-seater’s design of industrial décor meeting boho-chic comes from the work of Philipp Haemmerle. It’s a step away from the majority of the designer’s portfolio, which largely deals in fashion.