Despite its refined franchise feel, Aux Vivres hasn’t expanded much since it was founded in 1997. That’s what makes this Westmount location so significant. Whatever the reason it took aim at this neighbourhood, its full menu is on offer here in addition to a downstairs grocery store carrying Aux Vivres growing list of products.

Open for two decades, Toucheh was a stalwart Italian restaurant for Westmount. But an ownership switch has mixed things up, and its current Iranian owners have started incorporating dishes of their own. Together, it makes a menu unlike any other: Penne and scallopini appear alongside chelo-mahicheh (lamb shank), dolmeh (stuffed peppers), and mirza qasemi (smoked and baked eggplant).

Antonio Park’s eponymous restaurant is his first, and is known for some of the city’s finest sushi, hands down. That’s partly due to the restaurant’s private import license for its seafood while incorporating Park’s background in Korean and South American flavours. The restaurant also boasts having a line on A5 Wagyu, and that means luxurious burgers and steaks as well. A true crash course comes from Park’s “onigiri box” that gives an omakase-like cross-section of the restaurant’s entire menu.

This restaurant’s appearance marks the first official excursion for sommelier Renée Deschenes and chefs Louie Deligianis and Blake Hickerson following their work at Pastel and making waves with a pop-up dinner series named Baby Duck. Salads, pastries, snacks of arancini and sandwiches made with fresh, in-house sourdough and rye make up their lunch menu, while hangar steaks with gem lettuce salads, black cod filets with brown butter, and more make their dinner menus more than substantial with thoughtful wines and ciders to go.

This Greek restaurant comes with a lot of well-executed surf, turf, and traditional classics — not to mention a solid endorsement from critic Lesley Chesterman. Find a sizeable selection of meze to pick from to pair with fried zucchini chips and shrimp saganaki before feasting on sizeable platters weighed down with a whole roasted leg of lamb or grilled seafood. If you want the moussaka, it needs to be ordered a day in advance.

Tucked away upstairs on Greene Avenue is this Japanese gem: It’s commonly looked to for its sushi and sashimi, with curious eyes quickly being drawn to their Titanic platter. However, Kashima does just as much in terms of curry, bento boxes, tempura, and donburi bowls. A good bet, day or night.

This diner may well be Westmount’s best-kept secret. Open since 1920, it’s likely the most polished of greasy spoons found in town. Chez Nick does the trick for all-day breakfasts, excellent sandwiches across the board, and a selection of sweets to go with a cup of joe.

Moving onto the Westmount scene in 2018 after five years in the Plateau, Saint Sushi’s Laotian chef Saeng Outhipvongxay brings experience from Tri Express; that’s likely the reason the restaurant keeps things casual without skimping on quality. The menu is full of playful names for maki like ‘Beatles’ and ‘Tupac,’ and its selection of nigiri, sashimi, hosomaki, and sushi pizza remain popular here.

Located right next door to Café Gentile, this pizza parlour fashioned after the owners’ youth spent in basement rec rooms joins the city’s obsession with New York-style pies while offering up thick Sicilian squares as well. The restaurant’s head pizzaiolo Dan Krystal is well-studied and it shows, from a classic pepperoni to the sumptuous seven-cheese pie with truffle honey. Don’t skip on those cacio e pepe arancini and house mozza sticks either.

The efforts of this restaurant’s sommelier Jonathan Cercone, chef Stephen Leslie, and chef de cuisine Brad Van Dyke have culminated in high praise from the press and public alike, with top-notch Italian and French choices (and beyond) reigning supreme. A regularly shifting selection of specials keep things interesting, from handmade strozzapretti with a Wagyu beef ragù to whole chickens stuffed with focaccia.