Montreal’s Infamous All-Bacon Bar Is Dead — and Other Closures

PETITE-PATRIE — After some four years in business, Beaubien East “all-bacon bar” Brutus has shut down. An Eater tipster noticed the shutter, with the diplomatic comment that “it isn’t the sort of venue that would have attracted me or my friends, male or female, in any event.” The bar opened in 2014 and drew international media attention for its primary gimmick, inserting bacon into every imaginable food and drink item (including sushi). While it dovetailed with the bacon trend of that moment, reviews for the offerings, which included bacon-Jagermeister poutine and bacon chocolate cookies, were, uh, mixed. The bar changed owners at some point (it was initially under the same proprietary umbrella as nearby bar Nacho Libre), and perhaps surprisingly, outlived the bacon trend by a couple of years — but now, that bacon is no longer shakin’.

La Bistrote/Facebook

GRIFFINTOWN — Homey Notre Dame W spot La Bistrote has closed down. Its windows on the corner of Guy are papered over, but with no updates on social media, it’s unclear why the sandwich and pizza place went out of business.

Le Smoking BBQ/Facebook

DOWNTOWN — Montreal’s meagre American barbecue scene has shrunk, with Le Smoking BBQ having closed its brick and mortar restaurant on Sainte-Catherine and Atwater. The purveyor of ribs, brisket, and smoked chicken closed for “renovations” later in 2018 and never reopened — in a reply to a question on Facebook, its owners indicated that they have decided to focus their efforts on their longer-running food truck by the same name.

PLATEAU — Positively delicious Creole restaurant Aux Îles à Sucre has closed its doors on Mont-Royal E for “an indeterminate period” — but mercifully, a Facebook update indicates that it should reopen — fingers crossed for the return of that great griot.

• U.S. Media Frenzy Over All-Bacon Montreal Restaurant [EMTL]
• Don’t Eat at Montreal’s All-Bacon Bar, Says Pretty Much Everyone [EMTL]