After exploring the world of pop-ups, catering, and meal-prep service, chef Epepe Tukala Vuvu and Baka Serkoukou have given Mokili its own standalone location poised to become Villeray’s hub for African street food. Primarily a takeout/grocery situation, the project is committed to showcasing — via a continuously rotating menu — all the nuances and variety of the continent’s anything-but-uniform culinary traditions.

From the folks that brought us standout Little Italy curry shop Pumpui, there’s a newcomer on St-Hubert Street that’s also spotlighting Thai flavours, though in a more formal, wine bar-esque setting. Pichai’s menu focuses on Isaan grilled meats and veggies, including options like laab dok kalaam (a spicy cauliflower salad), gai yang (a grilled half chicken with tamarind sauce) and sai krok isan (a rice-fermented Berkshire sausage). A Thai tea-infused tiramisu and hefty offering of natural wines do wonders to round out the offering.

Avenue du Parc’s new arrival is a fuss-free sandwich shop, private import wine purveyor, and the brainchild of a group of seven friends and Montreal hospitality workers banding together. Its bread is made in-house, and sandwich fillings range from veal schnitzel and salmon gravlax, to a vegan-friendly végé pâté.

Mont Royal Avenue’s casual new nook specializes in a quintessential Romanian barbecue food: mici, cylindrical patties of minced meats — spiced, grilled, and preferably enjoyed with mustard. Also up for grabs: truffle-salted fries, a spirally sausage “lollipop,” and chiftele, a deep-fried, panko-encrusted mound of pork, potatoes, onions, and dill.

The on-site restaurant at the Hilton Garden Inn on Décarie might not be the most obvious pick for a dinner out on the town, but Blandino impresses on multiple fronts. Its marble- and brass-laden space is a stunner, and its menu, replete with Italian dishes like wild mushroom cavatelli, shellfish and salmon en brodo, and Milanese cutlets, is indisputably compelling. And for dessert, how about an espresso martini with some thick, but fluffy lemon ricotta pancakes?

Hang Time is that rare pizza place in town specializing in not one style of the cheesy, carby dish, but two. On the one end, it’s slinging Detroit squares, drawing on its founder’s (Jordan Biberkraut) pandemic pop-up Fungool, and on the pizza in the New York style, by the slice or the 20-inch pie.

Behold, Westmount’s newest restaurant takes its cue from from the Spanish custom of “sobremesa,” where diners linger at the table long after the meal is complete. Courtesy of chef Dany Bolduc (also behind H4C and La Pantry), La Sobremesa offers up a tapas menu including standbys like grilled calamari and patatas bravas, as well as mackerel confit in chorizo oil, shiitake mushrooms with a pea and basil butter, and charcoal-grilled clams served with sorrel butter. Spanish charcuterie, cheese, and an ample selection of wines complete the meal.

This trim Sherbrooke Street West newcomer is a coffee-and-sandwich shop by day and wine bar with a polished food and drink menu by night. Its fall menu includes fried spelt with a garlic confit emulsion, beef tartare with cranberry gel and mushroom powder, and red wine-braise rabbit with tarragon sauce. Expect a stylish interior achieved by layering chevron wood flooring, deep green marble counters, crisp white walls, and a mirrored bar nook.

The team behind highly regarded Quartier des Spectacles restaurants Bouillon Bilk and Cadet have made their way west, to Cité Multimédia, with a new French brasserie serving up luxe seafood platters, foie gras terrines, and zucchini vichyssoise. Make sure to save room for dessert: they’ve got a bevy of tried-and-true confections, including Paris Brest, crème brûlée, and strawberry shortcake.

Pointe-St-Charles’ Machiavelli has been remade into Sep Lai, a new Laotian restaurant that maintains the same BYOB formula — and head chef, Natassia Marier. Expect fragrant curry-based soups, herby salads, and an array of spring rolls fried crisp and golden, and in one case, filled with mozzarella.

This South Shore newcomer from two long-time friends has you covered with a compact breakfast and lunch menu drawing on Filipino food traditions. They’re dishing lechón sandwiches (filled with pork belly and a grilled pineapple chimichurri), siopao (steamed buns packed with pulled pork and a calamansi sauce), and buka (a coconut- and custard-filled pie). Coffee comes from local roasters Binocle and 94 Celsius, as well Vancouver-based Kapé, which works with small female-led farms in the Philippines.