:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70866738/ComingAttractions_Close_7.15.jpg)
This is a running list of Montreal restaurants that recently closed. Did we miss one? Send us a tip at montreal@eater.com.
La Sobremesa and La Pantry
Roughly one year since its debut, chef Dany Bolduc’s Westmount tapas and wine bar La Sobremesa has abruptly closed. A representative for the restaurant could not elaborate on the reason for the closure when reached on June 28, other than to say that “it was a very tough decision.”
La Sobremesa was part of Best Restaurant Group (BRG), which ran a number of spots in Toronto and Montreal — until now. The rep confirmed that all of the group’s locations have closed, including Bolduc’s La Pantry gourmet grocery shops, located in Westmount and Old Montreal. (Bolduc’s most celebrated endeavour, H4C, closed in 2021, Tastet reports.)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23617591/Screen_Shot_2022_06_09_at_2.43.42_PM.png)
Cantor Bakery
Queen Mary Road bakery and deli counter Cantor is calling it quits in the face of a steep rent hike, per a report in the Montreal Gazette. The 60-year-old Snowdon shop, loved for its schnitzel, cheese bagels, and baked goods, will close up at the end of June, but owner Joseph Cohen plans to open something similar, called Schnitzel’s, on Côte-St-Luc come August. Once home to 65 Cantor outposts, Montreal will now be left with just one — a wholesale and retail outlet in St-Michel.
Baba Thai
Two-year-old Monkland Village restaurant Baba Thai has closed due to the “pandemic, staff shortages, and unreasonable rent,” according to a Facebook post announcing the news on May 19. Chef Shawn Dascal (formerly of Moonshine BBQ, which closed in early 2015) owned the restaurant.
Le Cagibi
In April, Queer café and community space Le Cagibi announced that it would permanently close later in the spring, following some already-scheduled events. The last of these was held on May 28. The team cited eviction from its current Little Italy location as the primary reason for the closure.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23463209/14257606_1072605186156673_8939650516544765274_o.jpeg)
Pataterie Chez Philippe
This essential Centre-Sud casse-croûte — and authority on Michigan hot dogs, stacked sandwiches, and all things poutine — held its last day of service on May 11, cutting its final days even shorter than initially planned. On April 28, the owners posted to Facebook announcing the restaurant’s closure, saying that “all good things must come to an end.” That end was set for May 13, but some broken restaurant equipment hastened the closure. The family-run operation opened on Atateken Street (then Amherst) in 1962, serving $0.20 steamés — “$0.05 more than elsewhere because the sausage was bigger,” according to its website. Owner and granddaughter to Pataterie Chez Philippe’s founder, Mélanie Hachez, tells Urbania she’ll miss all the laughter behind the counter and seeing her regular customers but is looking forward to spending more time with her family in a different context.
Le Lab
Quartier des Spectacles cocktail bar Le Lab, an offshoot of the now-closed, though once-revered Plateau spot of the same name, has closed. Opened in 2016, eight years after the original, the spot’s closing was announced on social media on May 9. “[E]very beautiful story has an end and ours has finally come. Bar Le Lab, Comptoir à Cocktails, is closing its large red velvet curtains and bowing out, with great regret,” the post said (originally in French, but translated here). The bar did not provide a reason for the closure this time; its first location, on Rachel Street, shut down in 2018 after its landlord reportedly refused to renew its lease.
Manitoba
After months on hiatus, notable Mile-Ex restaurant and proponent of terroir-driven cuisine Manitoba has confirmed that it will not be reopening. Owners Frédéric Fortin, Elisabeth Cardin, and Simon Cantin shared the news in a statement posted on May 11. They thanked staff and patrons for a memorable eight years and said it was time they “go play in the forest, where we feel our best.”
Le Fricot
Little Burgundy’s cozy Acadian seafood spot Le Fricot called it quits on April 10 — a decision prompted by inflation. Read more here.