Griffintown Now Has an All-Tartare Restaurant — and Other Openings to Know

GRIFFINTOWN — Sud-Ouest residents wanting to eat a whole bunch of raw meat are in luck, as a dedicated tartare restaurant has opened its doors on Peel Street near Wellington. Küto is the name and its menu is nearly entirely made up of beef, salmon, and tuna tartares, with different mayos, marinades or sauces resulting in a bunch of rather broad options such as a “Mexican”, “Asiatique” or “Caribbean” tartare. Not feeling the uncooked meat or fish? Then you’re mostly out of luck, as otherwise, there’s a veggie “tartare”, a couple of shrimp options, and that’s it. The menu is mostly around $20, although those wanting to eat even more raw meat can head on a Wednesday for all-you-can-eat tartare night. Küto is a relatively small-scale Quebec chain that has mainly stuck to suburban areas like Blainville, Longueuil and St-Bruno. And while the bottomless raw meat promotion might seem like a red flag (not to mention the presence of Jackson Triggs bottles on its wine list), for what it’s worth, it has had a generally good reception with its earlier locations.

HOCHELAGA — Ontario East has a trendy new haunt in the form of locavore restaurant Le Flamant, open a few weeks now. Tastet reports that its team brings a mix of high-profile experience from restaurants including Au Pied de Cochon, Le Fantôme, and Chien Fumant. The kitchen here is getting into some meaty territory with items like a savoury Paris-Brest with foie, smoked beef heart with pickle gel, but far from a one-note place focused on flesh, cocktails and creative desserts (like a miso, maple, and tahini sfogliatelle) round out the whole operation.

Mollo/Facebook

POINTE-ST-CHARLES — Mollo, a tidy new spot for both coffee and gelato has opened up its doors in the Point, on Wellington Street. Read about it over here.

OLD MONTREAL — A new Mexican restaurant has moved in right across from the Old Port on de la Commune. La Catrina is the name, and it’s skipping the fusion-taco approach popular around town in favour of a mostly classic approach. There are tuna tostadas, chilaquiles, and then tacos are the main affair, with options such as al pastor, pulled pork-like cochinita pibil, chorizo, lengua, and nopales options. Oh, and cocktails.

PLATEAU — Cozy side-street bakery Mr. Pinchot has returned to business. The Brebeuf Street bakehouse closed twice since 2016 due to the death of one of its owners — it’s now been sold to a new team and churning out croissants and chocolatines on a more permanent basis again.

OLD MONTREAL — Healthy-leaning “build your own bowl” eatery Hanna & Jenna has opened on McGill Street. As previously reported, it’s serving a hefty menu of poke bowls, among other rice and noodle options, at fast casual, lunch-friendly prices.

SHAUGHNESSY VILLAGE — Also taking a build-it-yourself approach is French chain import Fête à Crêpe, now open on Ste-Catherine at St-Mathieu with an extraordinarily long list of potential sweet and savoury fillings for your thin-fried batter.

• Le Flamant : gastronomie haut de gamme démocratisée dans Hochelaga [Tastet]
• Pointe-St-Charles Gets a Homey Coffee and Gelato Spot This Spring [EMTL]
• This Fusiony Fast Casual Restaurant Is Preparing to Sling Bowls at Montreal [EMTL]
• Parisian Crepe Chain Plots a Move on Montreal [EMTL]