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The 15 Hottest Restaurants in Montreal, September 2014

by Ian Harrison
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by Ian Harrison

What is the most difficult reservation in town? Where is the buzz? Welcome to the ever in flux Eater Heatmap.

The September 2014 installment welcomes four newcomers to the fold, with a lot more on the way this autumn. Consider this hodgepodge of hot spots a snapshot of what is a very dynamic restaurant scene.

Enjoy, and remember, this list is in no particular order.

12/05/13: Added: La Bête à Pain, Maïs, Lili Co., Hof Kelsten, Orange Rouge, Racines, Le Richmond
01/02/14: Added: Brasserie Bernard, Moteur, État-Major, Cardinal Tea Room, La Récréation
02/06/14: Added: Sel Gras, Le Shinji, Bethlehem XXX, Anabel, Le Serpent, Café Parvis, Au Pied de Cochon, Barcola
03/06/14: Added: Bishop & Bagg, Mercuri, Patrice Pâtissier, Saka-Ba!
04/03/14: Added: Les Coudes sur la Table, Galt, Taverne F, Biirū
05/01/14: Added: Labarake, Mesón, La Réserve, L'Gros Luxe, Majestique, Cantinho de Lisboa, Bar Mercuri
06/05/14: Added: Gia Ba, Chez Sophie, Le Mal Nécessaire, Ikanos, Sparrow
07/03/14: Added: Cafeden, Callao, Henri Saint-Henri, La Queue de Cheval Burger, Salmigondis, Sa-Fran, Scarlet Exclusive, Le Sieur d'Iberville, Le Slang, T & T Tacos and Tortas
08/07/14: Added: Manitoba, Foyer, Grenade, Ma'tine, Rosewood, GEMA, Laurea, Brigade, Tapas24, Industria, Victoria Pier
09/04/14: Added: Café Zéphyr, Bagel St-Lo, Le Bon Vivant, Hà

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Café Zéphyr

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This coffeeshop, breakfast and lunch spot, in the old Mokum restaurant run by Esther Hagemans, is the baby of Anne Durand and husband Stephen Homer, of Ferme du Zéphyr in Senneville. Master baker Marc-André Cyr is in the kitchen.
5791 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 369-3001
(514) 369-3001

Bagel St-Lo

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Thanks to St-Lo, Verdun has a bona fide bagel shop now. The bagel-centric breakfast and lunch menu includes sweet and savoury items like your classic cream cheese, bananas and Nutella® and riffs on eggs Benedict.
5411 rue de Verdun, Verdun, Canada
(514) 507-8430
(514) 507-8430

Foyer

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Wood-fired pizza - and salads, fish, meats and desserts - in the former Saint-Henri General Store.
3532 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 508-3532
(514) 508-3532

Le Bon Vivant

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This self-described sandwich shop, late night restaurant , breakfast and brunch restaurant aims to do it all on a stretch of Notre-Dame Ouest that has become increasingly competitive over the last few years. The chef, Fedar Huminski, is late of Tavern on the Square and Geppetto.
2705 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, H3J 1N9, Canada
(514) 316-4585
(514) 316-4585

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Brigade

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Wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizza Downtown, from the founders of the Yeh! Yogurt.
1428 rue Stanley, Montreal, QC H3A 1P7, Canada

Tapas24

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The MTL Cuisine group recently enticed Catalan star chef Carles Abellan to open the only outlet of his popular restaurant outside of Barcelona. [Photo: Samuel Joubert]
420, rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC H2Y 1V3, Canada
(514) 849-4424
(514) 849-4424

Rosewood

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This gourmet burger and cocktail den is from rocker Jonas Tomalty and Joverse principals Julian Arbia and Michael J. Killam. The restaurant recently put out a video that serves as a kind of sad metaphor for the climate in Old Montreal.
60, rue Saint-Jacques, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 843-8585
(514) 843-8585

Victoria Pier

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Another serial entrepreneur, Dave Schmidt, has combined with SaintWoods and former L'Orignal chef Dan Geltner to give Montreal a bona fide beach bar under the gaze of the Jacques Cartier Bridge and Molson Brewery.
Montreal, QC, Canada

Grenade

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François Forest seems to have his hands in every other new project to open of late in Montreal. His latest, Grenade, combines Asian street food and cocktails in the Village.
1603 rue Ontario Est Montreal, Quebec, H2L 1S5, Canada
(514) 525-4251
(514) 525-4251

Also featured in:

Hà

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The Vietnamese pub reboot of Souvenirs d'Indochine comes courtesy of Nicolas Urli (Flyjin, Velvet Speakeasy), Francisco Randez (Canal Évasion, Rythme Fm, TVA), Flore-Anne Ducharme (late of PR firm Les Évadés) and chef Ross (Ninja San) Louangsignotha (Biiru, Chez Victoire, Jun i). And the namesake himself, of course, chef Hong Hà Nguyen.
243 Mont-Royal Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 848-0336
(514) 848-0336

Also featured in:

Laurea

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With Laurea (and first floor gastropub Lorbeer) the second conversion of the old Laurier BBQ is complete. This one is from the formidable team of Jeff Stinco, Eric Lefrancois, Cindy Simard and chef Hakim Chajar. [Photo: Ariel Tarr]
381 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 507-2160
(514) 507-2160

Ma'tine

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Three of the principals in the much-beloved 2013 critical darling Micro Resto La Famille pulled up stakes to open this breakfast/lunch/brunch/café in the Village.
1310 Maisonneuve Est, Montreal, QC H2L 2A5, Canada
(514) 439-9969
(514) 439-9969

Manitoba

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Lesley Chesterman recently gave this Mile-Ex newcomer a rare three stars. Chef Christopher Parasiuk and owners Elisabeth Cardin and Simon Cantin "have pulled together one unique space", wrote The Gazette critic. Arguably the restaurant of the year so far.
271 Saint-Zotique O., Montreal, QC H2V 1A4, Canada
(514) 270-8000
(514) 270-8000

Also featured in:

Salmigondis

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The newcomer with major underground buzz includes kitchen talent like Brian Peters (Café Sardine), Robert Kaniak, Élyssa-Ann Tanguay (Arts Café) and Charles-Antoine Malenfant Beaulieu (Chez L'Épicier). The arrival of a restaurant that serves three squares from Wednesday to Sunday in the Little Italy/Marché Jean-Talon quarter is cause for celebration.
6896 Saint Dominique Street, Montreal, QC H2S, Canada
(514) 564-3842
(514) 564-3842

Pizzeria GEMA

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With Impasto and now Pizzeria GEMA, Stefano Faita and Michele Forgione have a strong base in Little Italy. The draw here is pizza, natch, but that frozen custard too.
6827 St-Dominique, Montreal, QC, Canada

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Café Zéphyr

5791 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
This coffeeshop, breakfast and lunch spot, in the old Mokum restaurant run by Esther Hagemans, is the baby of Anne Durand and husband Stephen Homer, of Ferme du Zéphyr in Senneville. Master baker Marc-André Cyr is in the kitchen.
5791 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 369-3001
(514) 369-3001

Bagel St-Lo

5411 rue de Verdun, Verdun, Canada
Thanks to St-Lo, Verdun has a bona fide bagel shop now. The bagel-centric breakfast and lunch menu includes sweet and savoury items like your classic cream cheese, bananas and Nutella® and riffs on eggs Benedict.
5411 rue de Verdun, Verdun, Canada
(514) 507-8430
(514) 507-8430

Foyer

3532 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
Wood-fired pizza - and salads, fish, meats and desserts - in the former Saint-Henri General Store.
3532 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 508-3532
(514) 508-3532

Le Bon Vivant

2705 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, H3J 1N9, Canada
This self-described sandwich shop, late night restaurant , breakfast and brunch restaurant aims to do it all on a stretch of Notre-Dame Ouest that has become increasingly competitive over the last few years. The chef, Fedar Huminski, is late of Tavern on the Square and Geppetto.
2705 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, H3J 1N9, Canada
(514) 316-4585
(514) 316-4585

Brigade

1428 rue Stanley, Montreal, QC H3A 1P7, Canada
Wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizza Downtown, from the founders of the Yeh! Yogurt.
1428 rue Stanley, Montreal, QC H3A 1P7, Canada

Tapas24

420, rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC H2Y 1V3, Canada
The MTL Cuisine group recently enticed Catalan star chef Carles Abellan to open the only outlet of his popular restaurant outside of Barcelona. [Photo: Samuel Joubert]
420, rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC H2Y 1V3, Canada
(514) 849-4424
(514) 849-4424

Rosewood

60, rue Saint-Jacques, Montreal, QC, Canada
This gourmet burger and cocktail den is from rocker Jonas Tomalty and Joverse principals Julian Arbia and Michael J. Killam. The restaurant recently put out a video that serves as a kind of sad metaphor for the climate in Old Montreal.
60, rue Saint-Jacques, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 843-8585
(514) 843-8585

Victoria Pier

Montreal, QC, Canada
Another serial entrepreneur, Dave Schmidt, has combined with SaintWoods and former L'Orignal chef Dan Geltner to give Montreal a bona fide beach bar under the gaze of the Jacques Cartier Bridge and Molson Brewery.
Montreal, QC, Canada

Grenade

1603 rue Ontario Est Montreal, Quebec, H2L 1S5, Canada
François Forest seems to have his hands in every other new project to open of late in Montreal. His latest, Grenade, combines Asian street food and cocktails in the Village.
1603 rue Ontario Est Montreal, Quebec, H2L 1S5, Canada
(514) 525-4251
(514) 525-4251

Hà

243 Mont-Royal Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
The Vietnamese pub reboot of Souvenirs d'Indochine comes courtesy of Nicolas Urli (Flyjin, Velvet Speakeasy), Francisco Randez (Canal Évasion, Rythme Fm, TVA), Flore-Anne Ducharme (late of PR firm Les Évadés) and chef Ross (Ninja San) Louangsignotha (Biiru, Chez Victoire, Jun i). And the namesake himself, of course, chef Hong Hà Nguyen.
243 Mont-Royal Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 848-0336
(514) 848-0336

Laurea

381 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
With Laurea (and first floor gastropub Lorbeer) the second conversion of the old Laurier BBQ is complete. This one is from the formidable team of Jeff Stinco, Eric Lefrancois, Cindy Simard and chef Hakim Chajar. [Photo: Ariel Tarr]
381 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada
(514) 507-2160
(514) 507-2160

Ma'tine

1310 Maisonneuve Est, Montreal, QC H2L 2A5, Canada
Three of the principals in the much-beloved 2013 critical darling Micro Resto La Famille pulled up stakes to open this breakfast/lunch/brunch/café in the Village.
1310 Maisonneuve Est, Montreal, QC H2L 2A5, Canada
(514) 439-9969
(514) 439-9969

Manitoba

271 Saint-Zotique O., Montreal, QC H2V 1A4, Canada
Lesley Chesterman recently gave this Mile-Ex newcomer a rare three stars. Chef Christopher Parasiuk and owners Elisabeth Cardin and Simon Cantin "have pulled together one unique space", wrote The Gazette critic. Arguably the restaurant of the year so far.
271 Saint-Zotique O., Montreal, QC H2V 1A4, Canada
(514) 270-8000
(514) 270-8000

Salmigondis

6896 Saint Dominique Street, Montreal, QC H2S, Canada
The newcomer with major underground buzz includes kitchen talent like Brian Peters (Café Sardine), Robert Kaniak, Élyssa-Ann Tanguay (Arts Café) and Charles-Antoine Malenfant Beaulieu (Chez L'Épicier). The arrival of a restaurant that serves three squares from Wednesday to Sunday in the Little Italy/Marché Jean-Talon quarter is cause for celebration.
6896 Saint Dominique Street, Montreal, QC H2S, Canada
(514) 564-3842
(514) 564-3842

Pizzeria GEMA

6827 St-Dominique, Montreal, QC, Canada
With Impasto and now Pizzeria GEMA, Stefano Faita and Michele Forgione have a strong base in Little Italy. The draw here is pizza, natch, but that frozen custard too.
6827 St-Dominique, Montreal, QC, Canada