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El Rey Del Taco is Bringing its Al Pastor to Saint-Viateur Street With a Second Outpost

Meanwhile, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve gets a cheerful new café and Boba Boba heads to the Atwater Market

by Valerie Silva
plate of four tacos El Rey Del Taco/Facebook

MILE END — After churning out corn tortillas filled with al pastor and more in Villeray for over a decade, El Rey del Taco has confirmed to Eater that it is now opening a second location on Saint-Viateur Street. The space, formerly occupied by Pizza St-Viateur, which moved to Bernard Street in December 2020, is significantly smaller than what the taco king is accustomed to on the perimeter of the Jean-Talon Market, so like many other joints on the strip, its focus will likely be on takeout. (Public records list the new outpost as “Express,” confirming that suspicion.) A prospective opening date is still under wraps.

El Rey del Taco Express will open at 15 Saint-Viateur West.

HOCHELAGA-MAISONNEUVE — The relatively quiet eastern stretch of Ste-Catherine Street now lays claim to a new café serving up lattes, wine, and bites to go. On the savoury side, Café Élice is offering up breakfast burritos and sandwiches, a vegan tofu salad with lemongrass and peanuts, a crispy chicken burger draped in honey from Lac-St-Jean apiary Les Capteurs de Miel; olive ciabatta with ricotta and grilled veggies; and pão de queijo, a baked Brazilian cheese roll. Sweets of the croissant and cake variety are plentiful, and from the looks of its Instagram account, furry friends are free to saunter on in.

Café Élice is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m, and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 3637 Ste-Catherine East.

GRIFFINTOWN — DJs, restaurant owners, and brothers Jojo and Toddy Flores have taken over the space adjacent to their Filipino restaurant Junior on Notre-Dame Street West, opening a new venture called Café Got Soul. It’s a listening café, serving up espresso, cannolis filled with ube (boiled and mashed purple yam) and citrusy calamansi creams, and access to an extensive record collection. The auspicious pairing of vinyl and caffeine isn’t new to Montreal, where de Lorimier’s “café/disquaire” 180g has secured a loyal following. But, according to the Montreal Gazette, the brothers are going a step further with plans to transform the café’s basement space into a recording studio and “sneakeasy” for sneaker fans.

Café Got Soul is open weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on weekends, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 1970 Notre-Dame Street West.

ST-HENRI — Montreal restaurant impresario Yann Levy (owner of Old Montreal izakaya Biiru and Mexican mini-chain Escondite, and others) and partner mixologist Lawrence Picard are transporting their pandan horchata, guava matcha, and Earl Grey bubble teas to the Atwater Market in June. Boba Boba has been open on Ste-Catherine Street near Concordia University since last summer, and is slated to open up a second location on Ottawa Street, in Griffintown, sometime soon. This year, other new additions to the market include Falafel Yoni, also in the throes of opening a second brick-and-mortar (in Verdun), and Léché Desserts.

Boba Boba will be opening a stall at Atwater Market in June.

MONTREAL NORTH — Five friends pooled their resources earlier this year to open a new Haitian snack bar in Montreal North, reports Journal Métro. Les Casse-Croûtes Quick Stop specializes in fritay, such as deep-fried sliced plantains and accras (also called malanga fritters), served with pikliz, a spicy, vinegary cabbage slaw, alongside griot, chicken thighs, or turkey. Poutine with plantain fries and griot is also available, and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, small-serving combos are priced at an exceedingly reasonable $6.50.

Les Casse-Croûtes Quick Stop is open Tuesday to Saturday, from noon to 7 p.m., at 3376 Monselet.

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