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Jatoba in Downtown Montreal
Jatoba in Downtown Montreal
Jatoba

The 15 Hottest Restaurants in Montreal, February 2015

Where will you dine in Montreal this month?

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Jatoba in Downtown Montreal
| Jatoba

The February 2015 Eater Montreal Heatmap welcomes four new restaurants in Old Montreal, the Plateau, St-Michel and Centre-Sud to the fold.

Enjoy.

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Saint-Henri has viable Middle Eastern food now, thanks to David Bloom and chef Raquel Zagury's fresh-to-order falafel, shawarma, salads and spreads. Sarah Musgrave recently gave the restaurant a rave review in the Gazette.

Pizzeria Magpie

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Brothers Boris and Peter Popovic have taken their successful Mile End pizzeria concept to the Village with chef Federico Ghergo and general manager Will Cody of Maïs.
Photo credit: Diego Martin

Thazard

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Edward Zaki (Chez Victoire, BarBounya) and Dave Schmidt (Maïs, Maison Sociale) gave the old Cielo Tapas a face-lift with help from chef Hachiro Fujise. The result is a Japanese bistro with French-style guéridon service, cocktails and a kitchen that closes at 2:00 a.m. A weekday lunch service (Wednesday to Friday) was recently added as well.
Time Supper Club impresarios recently went to considerable lengths and costs to remake a 19th century building in Old Montreal. The result? A new kind of swank for Place Jacques Cartier. Principal Steve (Stevie B.) Benhamron: "We have four elements in mind: a dining room, the bar, the salon and the terrasse. It's a layered effect." The menu from chef Jason Bivall is described as "French American gastronomy."
This sleek reboot of Phillips Lounge in Downtown Montreal features a signature East Asia-meets-South America menu from Antonio Park. Partners include Marco Benattar (Flyjin), Nic Urli (Flyjin, Hà), Alex Besnard (Le Confessional, Apt. 200, Rachel Rachel) and Patrick Hétu (A5 Management). Olivier Vigneault (Yuzu in Quebec City, Park, Kaizen) is in as chef.

Lavanderia

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The backstory to chef Antonio Park's Park-adjacent carne-heavy parrilla in Westmount is well-circulated by now: "My parents used to have a laundry business in South America. Remember stonewashed jeans in the 1980s? They made those. This was in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. They had many employees and made like 80,000 washes a day for Lee and Wrangler. So Lavanderia will be an ode to my childhood."

Mimi la Nuit

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Mimi la Nuit, a "petite boîte de nuit" from architect Michel Lemieux, Edward Zaki and Simple Plan member Jeff Stinco (Mangiafoco, Le Shinji, Laurea, Lorbeer, Drinkerie), features talented chef Eloi Dion, who won raves at Van Horne. Most notably, open Wednesday to Saturday until 3 a.m.

Satay Brothers

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When this elite Saint-Henri pusher of Singaporean street food unveiled its new digs on January 4, industry folk flocked and could barely contain their glee on social media. Alex and Matt Winnicki look like they have a restaurant with staying power on their hands.
Photo credit: mtlbeanstalk

Tejano BBQ Burrito

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When Blackstrap BBQ, that skilled practitioner of smoked meats, opens a burrito restaurant, you make a beeline for Saint-Henri.

Brasserie Harricana

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Brasserie Harricana is an homage to a bygone tavern in Amos, Quebec, that fell victim to a massive inferno in 2013. Marie-Pier Veilleux, a partner in the reborn microbrewery, grew up in the original Brasserie Harricana in Abitibi, which her family founded in 1975 and operated for twelve years. Master brewer Mathieu Garceau-Tremblay explains that the partners chose to open on Jean-Talon Ouest partly because they live in the area. The space has considerable production on-site, courtesy Garceau-Tremblay, who partners with a microbiologist in what he calls "a very scientific approach." Of Brasserie Harricana's 40 plus beer taps, ten are house labels. The pub grub menu (and lunch buffet) offers crowd pleasers like beer can chicken, Caesar salad and lasagna.

Nolana Pizzeria

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The reboot of Racines by the MTL Cuisine group features sfizi, pasta, salumi plates and, natch, a full lineup of homemade pizza and foccacia.
Instagram photo: nolanapizzeria

Trilogie

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Propelled by the likes of Chinoiseries & Dumplings and Sammi et Soupe, dumplings are enjoying a moment in Montreal. Trilogie is a new player in Parc-Ex with enthusiastic media and blogosphere buzz. The upper Saint-Laurent restaurant is a family affair. Sisters Anita and Amy Feng manage the place; aunts execute the dumpling-laden menu and mom and dad, who own a grocery store in Chinatown, help stock the kitchen.

Landry & Filles

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The food truck that gave Montreal ploye—a.k.a. New Brunswick or Brayon-style buckwheat pancakes—now has a brick-and-mortar snack bar in the Plateau. Owners Marc Landry, Josée-Ann Landry and Lisa-Marie Veillette call the 32-seater a "simple yet granny-infused comfortable space."
This tapas, wine and cocktail bar inside avant-garde performance space Usine C is a joint effort from wine agency Les Contrebandiers, Made With Love cocktail champion Romain Cavelier (Henri Saint-Henri) and Spanish and Catalan chef Luis León Tigretón.

Kabocha

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The bygone and beloved La Porte has made way for, what else, an izakaya. It will be fun to see how Kabocha stacks up to the likes of Kinoya, Ichi Go Ichie E, Saka-Ba and Ramen Ya.

Sumac

Saint-Henri has viable Middle Eastern food now, thanks to David Bloom and chef Raquel Zagury's fresh-to-order falafel, shawarma, salads and spreads. Sarah Musgrave recently gave the restaurant a rave review in the Gazette.

Pizzeria Magpie

Brothers Boris and Peter Popovic have taken their successful Mile End pizzeria concept to the Village with chef Federico Ghergo and general manager Will Cody of Maïs.
Photo credit: Diego Martin

Thazard

Edward Zaki (Chez Victoire, BarBounya) and Dave Schmidt (Maïs, Maison Sociale) gave the old Cielo Tapas a face-lift with help from chef Hachiro Fujise. The result is a Japanese bistro with French-style guéridon service, cocktails and a kitchen that closes at 2:00 a.m. A weekday lunch service (Wednesday to Friday) was recently added as well.

Harlow

Time Supper Club impresarios recently went to considerable lengths and costs to remake a 19th century building in Old Montreal. The result? A new kind of swank for Place Jacques Cartier. Principal Steve (Stevie B.) Benhamron: "We have four elements in mind: a dining room, the bar, the salon and the terrasse. It's a layered effect." The menu from chef Jason Bivall is described as "French American gastronomy."

Jatoba

This sleek reboot of Phillips Lounge in Downtown Montreal features a signature East Asia-meets-South America menu from Antonio Park. Partners include Marco Benattar (Flyjin), Nic Urli (Flyjin, Hà), Alex Besnard (Le Confessional, Apt. 200, Rachel Rachel) and Patrick Hétu (A5 Management). Olivier Vigneault (Yuzu in Quebec City, Park, Kaizen) is in as chef.

Lavanderia

The backstory to chef Antonio Park's Park-adjacent carne-heavy parrilla in Westmount is well-circulated by now: "My parents used to have a laundry business in South America. Remember stonewashed jeans in the 1980s? They made those. This was in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. They had many employees and made like 80,000 washes a day for Lee and Wrangler. So Lavanderia will be an ode to my childhood."

Mimi la Nuit

Mimi la Nuit, a "petite boîte de nuit" from architect Michel Lemieux, Edward Zaki and Simple Plan member Jeff Stinco (Mangiafoco, Le Shinji, Laurea, Lorbeer, Drinkerie), features talented chef Eloi Dion, who won raves at Van Horne. Most notably, open Wednesday to Saturday until 3 a.m.

Satay Brothers

When this elite Saint-Henri pusher of Singaporean street food unveiled its new digs on January 4, industry folk flocked and could barely contain their glee on social media. Alex and Matt Winnicki look like they have a restaurant with staying power on their hands.
Photo credit: mtlbeanstalk

Tejano BBQ Burrito

When Blackstrap BBQ, that skilled practitioner of smoked meats, opens a burrito restaurant, you make a beeline for Saint-Henri.

Brasserie Harricana

Brasserie Harricana is an homage to a bygone tavern in Amos, Quebec, that fell victim to a massive inferno in 2013. Marie-Pier Veilleux, a partner in the reborn microbrewery, grew up in the original Brasserie Harricana in Abitibi, which her family founded in 1975 and operated for twelve years. Master brewer Mathieu Garceau-Tremblay explains that the partners chose to open on Jean-Talon Ouest partly because they live in the area. The space has considerable production on-site, courtesy Garceau-Tremblay, who partners with a microbiologist in what he calls "a very scientific approach." Of Brasserie Harricana's 40 plus beer taps, ten are house labels. The pub grub menu (and lunch buffet) offers crowd pleasers like beer can chicken, Caesar salad and lasagna.

Nolana Pizzeria

The reboot of Racines by the MTL Cuisine group features sfizi, pasta, salumi plates and, natch, a full lineup of homemade pizza and foccacia.
Instagram photo: nolanapizzeria

Trilogie

Propelled by the likes of Chinoiseries & Dumplings and Sammi et Soupe, dumplings are enjoying a moment in Montreal. Trilogie is a new player in Parc-Ex with enthusiastic media and blogosphere buzz. The upper Saint-Laurent restaurant is a family affair. Sisters Anita and Amy Feng manage the place; aunts execute the dumpling-laden menu and mom and dad, who own a grocery store in Chinatown, help stock the kitchen.

Landry & Filles

The food truck that gave Montreal ploye—a.k.a. New Brunswick or Brayon-style buckwheat pancakes—now has a brick-and-mortar snack bar in the Plateau. Owners Marc Landry, Josée-Ann Landry and Lisa-Marie Veillette call the 32-seater a "simple yet granny-infused comfortable space."

Le C

This tapas, wine and cocktail bar inside avant-garde performance space Usine C is a joint effort from wine agency Les Contrebandiers, Made With Love cocktail champion Romain Cavelier (Henri Saint-Henri) and Spanish and Catalan chef Luis León Tigretón.

Kabocha

The bygone and beloved La Porte has made way for, what else, an izakaya. It will be fun to see how Kabocha stacks up to the likes of Kinoya, Ichi Go Ichie E, Saka-Ba and Ramen Ya.