Place-des-Arts’ Upcoming Food Hall Will Feature Laotian Fare, Fancy Doughnuts, and More

Upcoming food hall Le Central has started announcing who will be selling food and drinks when it opens in Place-des-Arts later this year.

As previously reported, Le Central will take up a 22,000 square foot space at Ste-Catherine and Clark — it will be at the base of an eight-level building that will also house the Centre d’Histoire de Montréal and various Quebec government offices. It’ll feature around 40 vendors, about 25 of which will be serving restaurant fare, with the remainder focused on more épicerie-style artisanal products to take home.

It’s drawing inspiration from New York’s Chelsea Market — so that means there’s an emphasis on quality, and it won’t feature chains serving standard food court food.

The Société de Développement Angus, known for the Angus commercial development in Rosemont are behind Le Central — and the vendors for the new hall have started to be announced via social media. Here’s a run-down:

• Dan Pham, who owns Vietnamese pub Le Red Tiger, will have a substantial presence for his restaurant group, Lucky Belly. A second location of poke bar Kamehameha will be at Le Central, as well as two new restaurants from Pham. One, Ho Lee Chix will stick fairly strictly to fried chicken (and one vegan option), served with various Chinese-style sauces. Perhaps most exciting will be a Laotian restaurant, Thip Thip, which will be one of very few places to serve that cuisine in the city — chef Athiraj Phrasavath will tap into his Lao roots to serve dishes like larb, kai yang (spicy grilled chicken), sticky rice balls, and more.
• Villeray Portuguese restaurant Emilia will bring its playful creations like a Portuguese chicken and chorizo grilled cheese; it’s one of two expansions for the new-ish restaurant (another location is about to open in Mile End).

• Little Italy doughnut shop Trou de Beigne will have a location in Le Central, its first expansion after opening three and a half years ago.
• Seafood focused food truck Camion Gaspésie will get its first brick and mortar location, with all sorts of maritime foods from the Gaspé and surrounding areas.
• The owners of Plateau fine dining haunt Le Chasse-Galerie will have a stand at Le Central; details are still to be determined.
• Westmount coffee shop The Standard will serve third-wave beans and brews from a stand in the hall.
• Now-closed Petite-Patrie Breton-style crepe spot Chez Milo & Fine will be revived, bringing a host of sweet and savoury options on buckwheat crepes.

• Sherbrooke charcuterie-maker La République Démocratique du Jambon will serve cheeses, cured meats, and sandwiches from a counter at Le Central.
• Quebec City-based poke bowl and sushi chain Buddha-Station will have a location in the food hall, in addition to its Sud-Ouest outlet, the only other in Montreal.
• Brand new restaurant Bab Kesh will serve Moroccan specialties such as pastilla and couscous dishes.
• Another new concept, Morso Pizzeria will serve Roman-style pizza al taglio.

There are still other vendors to be announced — Le Central is progressively dropping details on social media. While there’s no fixed opening date for the hall yet, it’s likely to be this fall.

Le Central is one of three major food hall projects in the works for downtown Montreal, all of which are expected to open in the next year. Le Central should open around the same time as the Time Out Market, which will take up residence a little further west, in the Eaton Centre. Based off of magazine Time Out’s food hall concept in Lisbon, Portugal, it announced some of its vendors earlier in the summer. A third food hall, Le Cathcart, is also in the works for Place-Ville-Marie.

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