Arthurs’ Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich and Latke Smorgasbord Are Headed Downtown

Arthurs, one of Montreal’s best Jewish food purveyors, is adding a second location — at least for the near future. The mega-popular Saint-Henri nosh bar is headed to Place Ville Marie food hall Le Cathcart in early October, taking over one of its three full-service restaurant locales for a pop-up slated to run until December 23.

Most of Arthurs’ breakfast and lunch staples, including its hype-worthy McArthur (a crisp chicken schnitzel sandwich), latke smorgasbord (a colour-popping spread of smoked salmon, soft-scrambled eggs, pressed challah, and, of course, latkes), and fluffy cottage cheese pancakes will all be available at the new downtown location. It will also debut a new babka and ice cream creation.

The pop-up will, however, run only on weekdays, meaning Arthurs’ queue-inducing weekend brunch won’t be available. But that could eventually change depending on staff availability, owners (and husband and wife) Alex Cohen and Raegan Steinberg tell Eater.

Karolina Jez/Arthurs

This isn’t a first at a food hall for the pair. Steinberg has run salad counter Dirty Greens at Le Cathcart since the food hall’s much-anticipated opening in January 2020. (Le Cathcart was one of three food halls to open in the span of six months in the city, just before the pandemic brought everything to a grinding halt.) Under the same roof, Cohen helped jumpstart Italian sandwich spot Patzzi.

But those are counter-service operations. The incoming Arthurs is settling in the space previously held by brasserie Mirabel, which has a designated seating area for 90 diners. “Even with our full terrasse in Saint-Henri, we don’t have 90 seats,” Steinberg notes. Another development: Arthurs will take reservations (for the first time ever) at the pop-up — it’s news sure to please many a Montreal diner who’s braced the lineups at the original Notre-Dame Street West address.

Karolina Jez/Arthurs

Beyond broadening their reach, the couple says placement in the food hall means direct metro access, on-site parking, and a channel to the downtown business set. “It’s great exposure for us,” Cohen says. “And it allows us to test the waters in the downtown area.”

“We were always toying with the idea of expanding Arthurs. It’s just a matter of finding the right place,” Steinberg adds.

For now, they’re approaching the stint at Le Cathcart as a litmus test for branching out with the restaurant they first opened in 2016 as a tribute to Steinberg’s late father, Arthur. If all goes well, they say they may end up sticking around past Christmas.

What about a possible permanent expansion for one of Saint-Henri’s busiest restaurants? On top of opening another location in Montreal, Cohen and Steinberg hope to someday establish a presence in half a dozen or so major cities — Ottawa, Toronto, Miami, New York, Mexico City.

“I mean, that’s the dream,” Steinberg says. “You got to dream big, right?”

Arthurs will open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, at Le Cathcart (1 Place Ville Marie). The pop-up will run from early October to December 23, if not longer.