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5 Restaurants to Rediscover in the Village and Quartier des Spectacles

quartier des spectacles restaurants

Summer has settled in, slightly interrupted by the world events, which left us all craving for some good food – not cooked at home for a change. Confinement feels like it’s a distant memory, and we’re all ready to enjoy the delicious menus offered by our favourite local restaurants.

To get you back up to speed with the world-class food scene in the Village and Quartier des Spectacles, here are five classic restaurants that have recently reopened their dining rooms.

Le Mousso

Recognized by foodies as one of the most innovative restaurants in Canada, Le Mousso is one of our favourite joints in the Village and beyond. Its Seoul Train popup event celebrates the rich Korean gastronomy. This one-time event is from 4 to 9 PM from Thursday to Sunday, until July 12th. You can reserve your spot here.

Le mousso

Source: Instagram – @Foodie_Laurence

Bistro Le Passé Composé

Le Passé Composé announced it is reopening this week, from Thursday through Sunday. The French-inspired inescapable brunch bistro is back for all to enjoy. Previously installed in the Plateau, its owner and chef Arnaud Glay set up shop in the Village in 2017. As its namesake suggests, Le Passé Composé remixes classic dishes and adds a touch of cozy decadence, always with generous portions. Even though it has a large dining room and outdoor terrace during the summer, there may be a long lineup after 10 AM on weekends. To skip the wait, we suggest you get there early.

Bistro Le Passé Composé

Source: Instagram – @le_passe_compose

Saladiom

Saladiom opened in September 2019, with the premise of combining freshness and colorful ingredients, with a wide selection of salads, soups, sandwiches and smoothies. Their smoked meat salad brings out some of the best Montréal has to offer. The restaurant even has swings instead of bar chairs. Saladiom has an outdoor terrace with 4 tables, and it’s now open every day starting at 5 PM.

saladiom poke

Source: Saladiom

O’Thym

O’Thym proposes fresh, local cuisine with seasonal ingredients. You can also bring your own wine, and there happens to be an SAQ just around the corner.  O’Thym is now open from Wednesday to Saturday, starting at 5:30 PM.

O'thym

Source: Instagram – @othymmtl

Paella 1334

Spanish cuisine at its finest! With a variety of hearty paellas and tapas, this might just be your favourite summer spot to discover. The menu includes none less than 14 paellas, including salmon, shrimp, calamari, mussels, chorizo and other Iberian staples. These dishes can be complemented with a glass of white wine, blonde beer or a pitcher of sangria with good company.

Source: Instagram – @xoxo_mitch

We expect that once our project is delivered in September, more exquisite restaurants will open their doors and terraces, making up for our missed opportunities to get acquainted with some of the Canada’s best tables.

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Sainte-Catherine Street is now Pedestrian Friendly

Great news for Montrealers and especially our future residents. In hopes to bring life back to its main commercial artery, the Ville-Marie borough and Village Montréal have announced that a portion of Sainte-Catherine Street, between St-Hubert and Papineau streets, will be exclusively accessible to pedestrians starting today!

SDC Village Montréal, the organization in charge of the commercial development of the neighborhood east of downtown Montreal, shared the news on social media last Tuesday.

In its memo, it says that “Village Montréal will follow suit to make the artery vibrate as much as possible, through landscaping, reopening the Galerie Blanc and animating the artery to brighten the darkened rainbow due to the challenging past few weeks”.

The organization emphasizes that this measure is above all to facilitate social distancing. In a comment on Facebook, Village Montréal explained that it wishes to “give a viable space where it’s easier for the community to stroll by while keeping the required 2-metre distance.”

Instead of establishing pedestrian corridors while allowing automobile traffic, the Village will instead make its main street fully accessible to pedestrians, a popular tradition in the neighborhood and adjacent Quartier des Spectacles, since 2009.

While the return of non-essential businesses and terraces is yet to be seen, pedestrians will be able to take in some vitamine D and stretch their legs a bit.

If you’re in the area and you’d like to see how quickly Le Bourbon’s construction is progressing, stroll by our construction site on Sainte-Catherine East, between Alexandre de Sève and Champlain streets.

The project was delivered in Fall 2020. If you’re looking for new condos for sale in downtown Montreal, check out our latest project – La Tour Fides!

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COVID-19: A Message from Our Developer

In light of the Québec Government’s decision to shut down all non-essential services, we will be closing our sales office and construction site at least until April 13th. We will communicate directly with you about changes in the delivery schedule.  

Just like you, we have also been affected by the COVID-19 virus, and we have transferred our operations to our home offices. You can still contact us by phone, email or social media, and our sales team will be glad to inform you on our 9 available units.  

We hope you and your loved ones stay safe, in the comfort of your home. 

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A New Replacement for the Village’s Multicolored Balls

boules multicolores du village

Last fall, the Village’s multicolored balls were removed for good. Since 2011, this floating tapestry had given a new identity to the neighbourhood. We even included it in almost all of our exterior renderings of Le Bourbon, to show its significance in our urban scenery.

bourbon condominium

Saucy & Controversial Slogans

 

This winter, the Société de développement commercial (SDC) du Village stirred up controversy by placing billboards with daring slogans. Some of them had messages such as : “J’aime quand tu viens” (I like it when you come), and “Drag-moi où tu veux” (Drag me where you want), which seemed to convey stereotypes on the LGBTQ+ community. The SDC du Village reacted swiftly, removing the most controversial slogans. We can still find some plays on words such as “Beau de jour, belle de nuit” (Handsome by day, pretty by night) and “L’avenir sera rose” (The future is pink).

All in all, these slogans are temporary. They don’t replace the famous pink and multicolored balls designed by landscape architect Claude Cormier.

Instead, a more ambitious expo called “La Tête dans les nuages” (The Head in the Clouds) will take over Sainte Catherine Street.

A Clouded Sky

These cones, connected by metal cables, will represent “drops or clouds” to the eyes of pedestrians, on the Village’s main street between St-Hubert and Papineau. The cabling used for the multicolored balls will be kept, as it has been there without any issues since 2011.

This idea is rooted in the collaboration between two architecture firms: Collectif Escargo (Québec) and WXY Studio (New York). They won an international design contest organized by the SDC du Village.

Here’s a glimpse of the new expo, obtained in the City of Montréal’s archives:

la tête dans les nuages
City of Montréal’s archives

Next time you take a stroll on Sainte-Catherine E, will you have the head in the clouds? What are your thoughts? Comment below!

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Experience the Nuit Blanche at Montreal en Lumière Winter Fest

nuit blanche montreal en lumière

An original idea imported from Paris, the Nuit Blanche is now a Montreal tradition. The major cultural, artistic and gourmet happening will take over the city on the night of February 29th to March 1st 2020, as part of the Montréal en Lumière winter festival.

One of the city’s most popular events, the Nuit Blanche attracts over 300,000 festivalgoers, who tackle the winter head on by participating in over 200 cultural activities, while taking advantage of the metro, which is exceptionally open all night.

In case you’ve never been to Nuit Blanche, here’s a recap from last year’s event:

In 2019, twelve bars in the Quartier Latin served their clients until 6 AM during Nuit Blanche. For this 17th installment, sixteen bars were able to prolong their alcohol license until dawn. We are delighted to learn that some of these establishments are reputable staples in the Village.

Here’s a full list of the bars that will remain open until; 6 AM during Nuit blanche:

  • District Video Lounge, 1365 rue Sainte-Catherine Est
  • Bar Renard, 1272 rue Sainte-Catherine Est
  • Le Date Karaoke, 1218 rue Sainte-Catherine Est
  • Arcade MTL, 2031 rue Saint-Denis
  • Les 3 Brasseurs, 1658 rue Saint-Denis
  • Pub L’Abreuvoir, 403 rue Ontario Est
  • Bistro à Jojo, 1627 rue Saint-Denis
  • Edgar Hyper Lodge, 1738 rue Saint-Denis
  • Pub L’Île Noire, 1649 rue Saint-Denis
  • Café Hookah Lounge/Patrick’s Irish Pub, 1699 rue Saint-Denis
  • Le Saint-Bock Brasserie artisanale, 1749 rue Saint-Denis
  • Turbo Haüs, 2040 rue Saint-Denis
  • Meltdown, 2035 rue Saint-Denis
  • Le Saint-Houblon, 1567 rue Saint-Denis
  • Le Petit Moscou, 323 rue Ontario Est

The Nuit Blanche takes place in a few key areas in the heart of Montreal, including the Old Port, the Quays of the Old Port, Plateau Mont-Royal, Mile-End, Quartier des Spectacles, the Village and Maisonneuve. Most cultural activities are free, including performances, music and exhibitions. The Place des Festivals, in downtown Montréal’s Quartier des Spectacles, will become a winter wonderland, and the Art Souterrain temporary expo will bring life to our beloved downtown underground network.

For more information on the Nuit Blanche and Montréal en Lumière, be sure to check out the festival’s website.