Downtown Montreal’s upcoming Four Seasons hotel has an opening date set in stone, and with that, we now know when top American chef Marcus Samuelsson will start serving up food to the city.
As of June 1, guests will be able to bed down at the hotel on de la Montagne and de Maisonneuve (well, if they’re willing to throw down over $500 per night for a room in late spring and early summer). Both the hotel and restaurant (named Marcus) will be housed in a glassy new building featuring a new Holt Renfrew store on the lower levels. The restaurant and hotel lobby will be on the third level, with an entry and elevators off de la Montagne giving access.
Since the restaurant and hotel go hand-in-hand, Marcus will also open at the same time — representatives can’t confirm an exact date, but logistically, it would be either on the hotel’s opening day or possibly before.
As reported in the fall, it should be a grand new dining room for the city, with 100 seats in the dining room and a bar with space for 130, all designed by Zebulon Perron (Montréal Plaza, Furco, Un Po’ di Più).
Samuelsson, who is known for his work at New York fine dining destination Aquavit and for his own soul food restaurant Red Rooster in Harlem, will be taking a brasserie approach here. Details have been fairly sparse so far, but there will be somewhat of a focus on seafood and vegetables, with a raw bar on site. The bar will fall under the umbrella of the restaurant (although it’s possible the hotel will add another separate bar), with a separate, lounge-friendly menu.
A huge terrasse with space for 100 will also be there, facing towards de la Montagne and Crescent — a bright, leafy space, it will be partially covered (but open-air). With plenty of white and light woody tones, early renderings show a breezy space that could fit right in at a sleek rooftop restaurant or hotel in California.
Note: Marcus Samuelsson is hosting a show created by Eater, and PBS. This does not impact coverage on Eater Montreal.