The people behind successful Mile End restaurant Hà and casual St-Henri Vietnamese counter Tran are joining forces to bring a new brasserie to the city’s southwest.
Via La Presse, the new restaurant will be called Dinh Dinh, and it will take over the premises of now-closed fusion restaurant Cho, on Notre-Dame West in St-Henri.
The restaurant will be overseen by restaurant and bar group A5 Hospitality, who also operate the Old Montreal location of restaurant Hà and its neighbouring bar Nhau, as well as venues like Flyjin and Kampai Garden.
La Presse reports that it’ll be a casual brasserie serving plates based around Vietnamese street food, with . With the Gauley Brothers re-designing the space (see also: Fugazzi Pizza, Foiegwa, and Café St Henri’s Villeray headquarters), it’ll likely be a trendy type of haunt.
While A5’s venues have often skewed a little clubby in the past (with exceptions, like restaurant Jatoba), there are ample signs that Dinh Dinh will be good. Marylyn Tran, co-owner of Cantine Tran, will take much of the responsibility for the food — and even before Tran opened a couple of years ago, she grew up in the family that owns Petite-Patrie icon Pho Tay Ho.
Plus, Restaurant Hà has earned its share of praise for Vietnamese food served in a slightly more formal setting — the original Mile End Hà was born out of former restaurant Souvenirs d’Indochine. While its namesake, co-founder, and original chef Hong Hà Nguyen died in 2015, the restaurant has carried as a particularly reliable spot under chef Ross Louangsignotha alongside owners Nicolas Urli, Flore-Anne Ducharme, and Francisco Randez.
Expect Dinh Dinh to open in the spring.
- Hà + Cantine Tran = Dinh Dinh [La Presse]
- Acclaimed Chef Hong Hà Nguyen Dies at 62 [EMTL]