Pastries at Larry’s
So many new cafés have opened lately in Montreal that it’s hard not to stay well caffeinated in this city. I include all of the ones I’ve visited lately in this Current Crush. They’ve also been added to my map of Montreal’s best independent cafés. You can also follow my twitter list of Montreal independent cafés here. Enjoy this edition and don’t forget to check out the other Current Crushes here!
CAFÉ OSMO
51 Sherbrooke Street West / +1 514 657 2833
Monday to Friday: 8am – 6pm
Cafe Osmo’s beautiful design {photo © mrb404}
I love the design of this café! The concrete walls and floors, the big angular windows, the circular skylights and the colourful and beautifully designed furniture makes it one f the most unique cafés in Montreal. Osmo is located inside the Notman House, a foundation and campus catering to Montreal’s startup community.
CAFÉ DE’ MERCANTI
360 Notre-Dame East, Suite 1 / +1 514 569 7620
Monday to Friday: 7:30am – 5:30pm / Saturday & Sunday: 8:30am – 5pm
It’s very exciting to know that Old Montreal now has an Italian-style coffee shop! Owner and barista Frank Miozzi honed his skills for years at Caffè Italia in Montreal’s Little Italy and his espresso is flawless. Sandwiches and Italian-style pastries are also on offer in the sun-drenched space.
CAFÉ DEI CAMPI
1360 Rosemont / +1 514 563 0649
Monday: 9am – 7pm / Tuesday to Thursday: 9am – 6pm / Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 5pm
Vegan pastries at Café dei Campi
This newly-opened café in Rosemont serves Italian-style coffee and delicious pastries. Husband and wife co-owners bring their barista competence (him, at several of the city’s cafes) and pastry chef expertise (her, at restaurant H4C notably) to this labour-of-love spot. The fact that all the delicious, flaky, rich pastries and breads are vegan is an added bonus. Try the pistachio and rosewater brioche; you’ll never believe it has no butter in it!
DUDLEY & DUDLEY
1254 Gilford
Tuesday to Friday: 7am – 7pm / Saturday & Sunday: 9am – 6pm
Dudley & Dudley’s cute façade
I was first attracted by the colourful quilt-covered sofa sprinkled with snow in front of the bright red window of this diminutive space in the heart of a residential street in Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood. Dudley & Dudley is beautifully designed, serves a local roast (Faro from Sherbrooke), sandwiches and pastries as well as a few well curated local and imported, beautifully packaged products.
SEPTEMBER SURF CAFÉ
2471 Notre Dame West / +1 514 934 5000
Monday to Friday: 7am – 8pm / Saturday: 8am – 6pm / Sunday: 8am – 5pm
Latte at September Surf Cafe in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood
The minimally furnished space of September Surf Café is sun-drenched and has a decidedly surf-infused ambiance, with a surf board shop taking up a room in the back of the café. Third wave coffee and healthy, vegetarian and affordable food offerings are also on board (pun intended) at the west coast inspired space. A terrasse is in the works for this summer.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
ARTE E FARINA
1256 Ontario Street East / + 514 999 8922
Monday to Sunday: 9am – 6pm
A zeppole, an Italian specialty from Arte e Farina
Italian pastry makers Sandro Carpené and Mirko d’Agata’s Arte e Farina offers outstanding, traditional Italian specialties such as artisanal pannetore, cornetti (Italian-style croissants), grissini, taralle and pizza. Everything here is delicious so don’t hesitate to try new things.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
LARRY’S
9 Fairmount Avenue
Monday to Sunday: 8am – 1am
Lunch at Larry’s
The latest venture from the Lawrence team gives us a lovely café/lunch spot/wine bar combo in the old Café Sardine local (I’ve always loved that spot!). Larry will cater–and brilliantly, I might add!–to all your needs throughout the day, including your coffee and pastry ones, your early breakfasts, your late lunches and your I’m-hungry-now ones. I’ve been several times since they’ve been opened and I’ve yet to find a dish on their menu that I didn’t enjoy thoroughly.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
PORCHETTA
6887 Saint-Laurent Boulevard / +1 514 278 7672
Monday & Tuesday: 11am – 8pm / Wednesday to Sunday: 11am – 9pm
A porchetta sandwich with roasted potatoes and rapini at Porchetta
As the name suggests, porchetta–the Italian specialty of boneless pork roast rolled with herbs and garlic–is the star of the show at this new Little Italy spot. Order it in a panino with salsa verde and a side of potatoes roasted in pork fat and/or bitter sautéed rapini with garlic (my favourite). Surprisingly, the fried chicken at Porchetta is crispy, juicy and just plain delicious. If you like tripe, I hear the trippa alla romana (in tomato sauce) is great. I will be trying the house mortadella as well as the lasagna next time I’m in. You can call in your order and pick up.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
VENICE
440 Rue Saint-François Xavier / +1 514 985 0686
Monday to Friday: 11am – 11pm / Saturday: 5pm – 11pm
Venice’s cool California vibes in the heart of Old Montreal
Venice just opened in Old Montreal and offers healthy food in a cool ambiance. Both the look of the place and the menu are inspired by California so expect tons of smoothies, raw dishes and of course, tacos. Their poke bowls inspired by their Hawaiian origins are a delicious mélange of raw fish, rice, veggies and herbs. The fish tacos are outstanding and crave-inducing. Venice is friendly to vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets.
