Montreal’s Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings of Fall 2022

Montreal’s summer days may be waning, but its flow of restaurant openings shows no sign of abating — even as inflation and employee recruitment continue to pose challenges for the industry. This fall, several promising new dining destinations are gearing up for their big debuts. Among the newcomers are modern Korean bistro 9 Tail Fox, Sicilian street food counter Manuzza, and a BYOB with a fine dining pedigree called Les Mômes.

Read on for Montreal’s most anticipated fall 2022 restaurant openings — listed alphabetically.

---

9 Tail Fox

What: Chefs Jongwook Lee and WonGoo Joun are channelling the technical skills they honed while working at some of the city’s top restaurants (Maison Boulud, Pastel, Cadet, Otto, etc.) into a bistro-like project spotlighting the foods of their Korean upbringing. Adopting a “modern Korean” approach, 9 Tail Fox will simultaneously experiment with traditional dishes like galbi-gui (barbecue short ribs) and gyeranjjim (steamed eggs) and infuse European classics with Korean flavours — think beef tartare with seaweed crostini.

Where: 3401 Notre-Dame Street West

When: Mid-September 2022

An Choi Plaza

What: Michelle Vo, the brains behind successful online Vietnamese noodle shop Pasthyme, has joined forces with Otto Bar alum Vien Man Cao Tran and La Bêtise founder Douglas Tan to launch what is poised to be one of Plaza St-Hubert’s most exciting new dining destinations. An Choi Plaza will be a day-to-night spot, marrying greenery and concrete in design and serving bánh bèo (steamed rice cakes), bò kho short ribs, and bone marrow and whelks with nước mắm (ginger sauce), among other sharing plates.

Where: 6553 Rue St-Hubert

When: End of October 2022

An Choi Plaza

Anemone

What: Taking up residence in the former Manitoba, Anemone owners Minh Phat (chef and owner of Mui Mui), Mike Madokoro (chef of Bar Suzanne), and Elena Racevičiūtė Ouellette (sommelier and co-owner at Mui Mui) hope to maintain their predecessor’s hyper-local focus while taking cues from multicultural Montreal. The restaurant’s name, borrowed from Manitoba’s provincial flower, is both a nod to the Mile-Ex mainstay it’s replacing and an homage to Racevičiūtė Ouellette’s father, who grew up in the province and passed away last year.

Where: 271 St-Zotique West

When: End of October/early November 2022

Bar Bello

What: On the heels of the launch of their Old Montreal Italian restaurant Bella, cocktail expert Kevin Demers (El Pequeño, The Coldroom, Bière Froide) and the Bello family (of panini shop Bello Deli) are broadening their collaboration to include an introduction to Italian drink culture. Bar Bello is an aperitivo bar specializing in classic cocktails, such as the Negroni and Garibaldi, and all the necessary accompanying appetizers.

Where: 6740 St-Laurent Boulevard

When: Sometime this fall

​​Les Mômes

What: French fine dining techniques will converge with a homey BYOB atmosphere at upcoming Villeray spot Les Mômes. The project is a couple-run endeavour from chef Yoann Van Den Berg, who’s held stints at fine dining heavyweights like Europea, now-closed Le Fantôme, and Pastel, and Marie Van Den Berg, who brings years of experience from the hospitality world. Expect a concise three-course menu displaying a playful irreverence to tradition and deep admiration for local produce.

Where: 586 Villeray Street

When: October 2022

Mange Dans Mon Hood

Mange Dans Mon Hood

What: The two Michels (​​Lim and Nguyen) of Asian comfort food haunt La Belle Tonki are bringing crisp-edged smash burgers, thin-cut fries, and poutine to La Petite-Patrie this fall. Renovations are still ongoing at the new restaurant, which takes over the former La Belle Tonkinoise, where Nguyen’s mom was known to ladle some mighty fine pho. Once a back-alley pop-up, Mange Dans Mon Hood promises a mash-up of American West Coast flare and Montreal casse-croûte favourites.

Where: 1380 Jean-Talon East

When: End of October/early November 2022

Manuzza

What: Three generations of women are behind this upcoming Little Italy food counter and grocer dedicated to Sicilian street eats. Starting in a home kitchen in 2016, the Manuzza family eventually expanded into a commercial space to sustain a wholesale operation and are now ready to open to the public. Their focus is on arancini in an assortment of flavours, but there will also be options like panelle (chickpea fritters), bignolati (sausage bread), and fried lasagna. For sweets, expect cannoli, cookies, and cassatelle (a sweet ravioli filled with ricotta and chocolate). Visitors will be able to eat on-site, grab snacks to go, or shop for imported Italian goods.

Where: 7086 St-Laurent Boulevard

When: October 2022

Manunzza

Neo Tokyo

What: Montreal restaurateur Yann Levy (Japanese cocktail bar Gokudo, downtown izakaya Biiru, Mexican mini-chain Escondite, etc.) is hoping for an October opening for Neo Tokyo, a Japanese noodle bar he’s been working on since 2018. The restaurant’s menu, created in collaboration with New York City chef Shigetoshi Nakamura, is straightforward, featuring ramen, mazemen, imported sake, and wine. Meanwhile, its design draws from 1982 cult classic Blade Runner, with high-tech, cyberpunk details adorning the space inside the same Viger Street building as Google’s new office.

Where: 425 Viger Ouest

When: October 2022

Looking forward to an upcoming Montreal restaurant that isn’t listed here? Let us know on the tipline.