LITTLE ITALY
J’ai Feng
The feel-good story of the COVID era in Montreal has been the J’ai Feng project from the jubilant personality and phenomenal cook Anita Feng. Feng’s goal was to introduce an increasingly open-minded clientele to a seldom-seen style of Chinese home cooking. What started as a casual pop-up out of Cul Sec has blossomed into a proper épicerie where quality Chinese ingredients and Feng’s food are at the fore. Don’t miss the rotating take-out specials. (Clay Sandhu) (43 Beaubien E.)
Mon Lapin
Marc Olivier Frappier and Vanya Filipovic’s Little Italy eatery has been one of the most celebrated restaurants in town since opening back in 2018. After taking time during the first wave to expand the restaurant into the neighbouring vacant storefront, Mon Lapin became more accessible than ever before. The food here is a poetic mixture of French and Italian cooking penned in Frappier’s unmistakable and ingenious style. As the undisputed Queen of natural wine, Filipovic’s list is expertly curated and chock-full of classics and quaffable curiosities. (CS)
(150 St-Zotique E.)
Pizza Bouquet
Montreal’s finest slice. While that might be a hotly debated topic ever since New York-style pizza joints flooded the fast-casual scene in the past few years, Pizza Bouquet is regarded as the perennial gold standard. 16” pizzas are sold by the pie or by the slice and feature flavours like the basic margarita and more unusual offerings like the upside-down (cheese first, sauce last) or the NDQ, which counts sweet potato and kalamata olives among its toppings. Previously take-out only, the Bouquet team has recently launched a delivery service via Checkplz. (CS)
(45 Beaubien E.)
Alati Caserta
While this isn’t a restaurant at all, it is an iconic food destination in Little Italy. This cake and pastry shop has been making traditional Italian sweets and treats in its Dante location for over 50 years. A perennial contender for the best cannoli in Montreal, Alati Caserta’s cakes and pastries are unpretentious, delicious and redolent of celebratory nostalgia. One of the greats. (CS)
(277 Dante)