Little Italy Has an Adorable New Sandwich and Smoothie Spot in Le Watson

Little Italy has a charming new all-vegan spot, with Le Watson now open on Bélanger, just off St-Laurent.

The café and lunch spot comes from the young trio of Alex Essaid, Lorena Vaillard, and Rafa Vaillard — the latter of which may seem familiar from his work at Chinatown taco spot La Capital.

Lorena Vaillaird tells Eater that it’s the kind of cool and calm vegan spot that anyone could go to.

“We don’t want it to be vegan in your face - it’s not advertised, it just naturally doesn’t have any animal products.”

Le Watson has three main offerings: sandwiches, smoothies, and bowls, and Vaillard describes it as The smoothies get a little playful but are laden with classic blender-friendly fruit: one features berries, bananas, and cocoa nibs, while another merges kale with the (non-alcoholic) flavours of a piña colada. Then there are a couple of bowl options — a spicy salad, and a vegan take on a Caesar, both served on brown rice.

Then for sandwiches, Watson gets playful with meat substitutes, using house tempeh bacon or smoked tofu for creations like the “grilled faux-mage”, with Gusta cheese and balsamic caramelized onions.

The opening menu is short, but will likely grow as time moves on — also on offer are a couple of baked goods and a full range of espresso drinks. The space itself is rather cute — it takes over a former fromagerie, with designer Anjela Freyja using tiles and wood flooring to make a cool and calm space. Bonus: a small garden will likely be added beside the café in the near future.

STATUS — Le Watson is open at 26 Bélanger Street from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday.

• Le Watson [Facebook]