Time Out Market Montreal, the 40,000-square-foot food and culinary experience and a centrepiece of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s revitalization of the downtown Montreal Eaton Centre, unveiled eight future tenants on Tuesday.
As befits the Time Out concept, they include a cross-section of Montreal’s top chefs and restaurateurs, including Normand Laprise, Charles-Antoine Crête, Jeffrey Finkelstein and Claude Pelletier.
“We are very proud to unveil a first lineup of chefs and restaurateurs that reads like the who’s who of Montreal’s top culinary talent,” said Didier Souillat, the CEO of Time Out Market, in an announcement of the lineup. “We are dedicated to democratising fine dining and making Time Out Market Montréal – the first to come to Canada – a place where people get a true taste of the city.”
Canada’s first Time Out Market
Time Out Market Montreal will be the unique in Canada and only the sixth in the world. It is set to open in late 2019 at the Montreal Eaton Centre, which is undergoing a $200-million refurbishment commissioned by owner Ivanhoé Cambridge.
In turn, the Eaton Centre work is part of a larger $1-billion commitment by Ivanhoé Cambridge to a series of major developments and redevelopments in the downtown core.
The Montreal market will include 16 eateries, a demonstration kitchen, a cooking academy, three bars, art and cultural spaces, and a retail area. The open concept will allow visitors to explore all the food options, make their choices and then dine on china with flatware at communal tables in the centre of the market.
In addition, there will also be cooking classes, cultural experiences and live performances with local talent.
“Time Out Market is unlike anything else – it is the world’s first food and cultural market based on editorial curation,” Souillat said in the statement.
The Time Out concept, which includes markets in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as in Miami and New York, grew out of the Time Out food and beverage magazine franchise.
Montreal market tenants
The Montreal lineup will include:
* Burger T, by world-renowned Montreal-based Chef Normand Laprise. Having championed the farm-to-table movement in Quebec with the 1993 opening of Toqué!, Laprise’s contribution to Montreal’s dining scene is legendary. Burger T! will offer his gourmet sustainable burgers and homemade fries;
* Montreal Plaza, by chefs Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson. Known for their unique tastes and culinary eccentricity, their “accessible avant-garde cuisine” has resulted in consistent inclusion among Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. Montreal Plaza placed eighth in the 2019 rankings;
* Le Club Chasse et Pêche, by Chef Claude Pelletier. The joint venture between designer and fellow Time Out Market Montréal restaurateur Bruno Braën (of Moleskine, Pullman, Big in Japan), co-owner Hubert Marsolais (of Le Serpent, Il Miglio, Le Filet), Pelletier and Mélanie Blouin highlights game and fish from the province. Menu items include braised piglet risotto, foie gras shavings or new school surf & turf: lobster & sweetbread;
* Romados. The father-son duo Fernando and Manny Machado, the owners and chefs of Romados, will bring Portuguese rotisserie dishes and baked goods both savoury and sweet, including pasteis de nata, to the market. Also on the menu will be one of Romados’ most popular recipes: chicken slathered in their signature bright orange piri piri sauce;
* Restaurant Moleskine. Co-owners Catherine Bélanger and Bruno Braën will offer authentic Italian dining via popular choices such as Marguerite, Américaine, and Salsiccia pizzas – all made with fresh ingredients including specialty house sausage, stracciatella di bufala and fior di latte cheese;
* Le Red Tiger. Vietnamese-Montrealer chef Phong Thach’s fourth venture alongside business partners Dan Pham and the Lucky Belly Group will bring the richly aromatic flavours of Southeast Asia: delectable banh mi sandwiches, flavourful Bo tai chanh beef carpaccio, refreshing papaya salad and traditional Vietnamese soups and bowls;
* Il Miglio, also by Chef Pelletier, focuses on artisanal fresh pasta and simple Italian dishes. In collaboration with co-owners Giovanni Rasile, Michele Mercuri, and Hubert Marsolais – Il Miglio offers Italian cuisine, fresh antipasti and some of the city’s best pasta;
* Hof Sucrée is a dessert franchise by Jeffrey Finkelstein, owner and chef of bakery Hof Kelsten. Among the delicacies will be a mix of classic viennoiseries, signature desserts, and baked goods.
Closer to the opening, Time Out Market plans to announce additional tenants, the beverage program and a local cultural component.
Time Out Markets are also set to open in Boston and Chicago this year, followed later by Dubai (2020), London-Waterloo (2021) and Prague (2022).
Ivanhoé Cambridge’s Projet Nouveau Centre
Ivanhoé Cambridge is in the final stages of a multi-year plan to invest in its flagship downtown holdings:
* Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth (reopened in July 2017);
* Maison Manuvie (inaugurated on Nov. 27, 2017, see Ivanhoé, Manulife unveil $220M Maison Manuvie);
* Place Ville Marie (scheduled to wrap up this year);
* Montreal Eaton Centre and the neighbouring Complex Les Ailes (ongoing through 2020).
The Eaton Centre / Les Ailes projects includes uniting the two facilities which together see upwards of 30 million visitors annually (including more than 24 million at the Eaton Centre).
The 11-storey Complexe Les Ailes has been a mixed-use building, with retail on its lower floors and office space above, since being purchased by Ivanhoé Cambridge in 1999 and renovated. It was built in the early 1900s.
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