Brooklyn’s urban, industrial, New York-inspired style welcomes us to Moleskine, a Montreal restaurant close to the famous Place des Arts on Avenue du Parc. The restaurant, which opened a year ago, is the brainchild of four passionate and charismatic restaurateurs: Fred and Véronique, whom we met, and Catherine Bélanger and Bruno Braen, who also own the Pullman.
For Fred and Véronique, it was a case of professional and friendly love at first sight. They met during Véronique’s first job as sous-chef at Tentation, a restaurant with a strong focus on food and wine pairing, as is also the case at Moleskine. They have never lost touch since.
Véronique, who trained as a musician and sommelier, has taught at the prestigious ITHQ hotel school and was in charge of the highly prestigious Pullman wine bar (winner of the 2016 luxury travel guide award). For her, it’s important to have an intuitive and friendly approach with customers. She is generous and attentive to the customer, always in a spirit of discovery.
And Fred, chef and co-owner, is a warm and sociable man. His cuisine is full of dishes to share, highlighting his personality and, more specifically, the importance of family to him. His pizzas are generous, well-topped and full of color.
It’s worth noting that Moleskine, already a favorite of Leslie Chesterman, is a rather unusual restaurant. First of all, it’s a two-tier restaurant, with a deluxe pizzeria/snack bar service and a few wood-fired starters, as well as wines served in casks. This first service is on the first floor, in a very urban and industrial decor, but nonetheless warm and inviting, with sublime open spaces.
Second gear” is upstairs, with a very Mad Men decor. I can already see myself wearing a retro red dress at a business dinner. The lights are subdued and the decor is very vintage, with a sublime view of the floor below. The dishes upstairs are more for a clientele who have time to sit down, while the first floor is more for people who need to eat quickly, but don’t want to eat fast food or anything else – in short, a clientele who likes quality.
Whether you’re upstairs or downstairs, Moleskine’s motto is to offer luxurious yet simple products. The team makes sure they know their products well, because they can tell you exactly where they come from and who the farmer is who produced it.
What’s more, they’re all first-rate. The menu is elaborate and the wine list short but to the point. Véronique makes a point of offering a wine of the day and changing her menu every week.
Fred and Veronique love to welcome people and offer a complete experience, and this is reflected right down to their choice of music, with complete albums and old vinyl. What’s more, they’re very active on social networks and do a lot of events: in September (when we plan to be there) they’re planning to offer us several events, to be followed on their Facebook!
Photo credits: L’ atelier du cerf
The Moleskine
3412 Av du Parc,
Montreal, Canada
QC H2X 2H5
Tel: +1 514-903-6939
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