January 9, 2020

Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten: Official Opening Announced for January 23, 2020

Place Ville Marie is proud to announce the January 23, 2020 opening of Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten.

As part of Projet Nouveau Centre, a $ 1 billion investment from Ivanhoé Cambridge to revitalize the heart of downtown Montreal, Place Ville Marie is proud to announce the January 23, 2020 opening of Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten.

The new downtown epicurean space will soon provide Montrealers with a unique and varied culinary offering, including 3 full-service restaurants, 9 food kiosks, two cafés with a total of 1000 seats and a biergarten located under the PVM’s imposing 650 m2 (7,000 ft2) glass pavilion – an amazing architectural feat created by Sid Lee Architecture in collaboration with Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes. Designed as a public space bathed in light and vegetation, this indoor garden will offer a festive social experience where people can enjoy good food and drink, quickly becoming a lively meeting place adapted to the ebb and flow of daily life, and ideal for after-work get-togethers.

“When we were invited to completely rethink the Place Ville Marie food hall, grand architectural gestures had been evoked in order to give downtown residents and workers a new gathering space,” explains Alexandre Besnard, founding member of A5 Hospitality Group and creator of Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten. “That’s what inspired us to create a warm and welcoming space where people would want to go back again and again, to take advantage of an enhanced, varied and affordable food and drink offering. This led us to seek out collaborators who could satisfy a wide range of discerning tastes with popular – yet accessible – concepts.”

As part of this mission to provide a lively gathering space, Le Cathcart is pleased to announce collaborations with major players on Montreal’s social and cultural scene:

Îlot 84, the creative force behind the popular AIRE COMMUNE happy-hour format, will help define and create our after-work offering, which will include culinary experiences, as well as live musical and artistic performances. The first such event will take place on opening night, January 23, starting at 5 p.m.

Le Cathcart will also become the official annual partner of Creative Mornings/Montreal, whichwill organize a series of conferences bringing together the city’s business and creative communities. The first conference will be held on February 28, at 8 a.m. and the speaker will be announced later this month.

In addition, XP_MTL and Groupe Sensation Mode (the organization behind Festival Mode & Design) will put together a series of artistic events and experiences focusing on various disciplines such as art, design, fashion and dance.

And here are the different culinary concepts that visitors will get to enjoy at Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten, under direction of chef Lionel Piraux (formerly of Toqué! and Bistro Mansfield):

LE BIERGARTEN (BEER, WINE, COCKTAILS, SAKE)

Located underneath the glass pavilion, LE BIERGARTEN will provide a vast selection of microbrewery offerings carefully curated by beer expert Stéphane Pilon (founder of Vilains Brasseurs, Broken 7), a wine selection prepared by sommelier Marc-André Nadeau (Jatoba), and an array of sophisticated cocktails created by Daphnée Vary Deshaies (formerly of Foxy). Designed for groups of all sizes, the BIERGARTEN will be an ideal venue for happy hours and other types of gatherings, as the space can be reconfigured for any occasion (i.e. parties, weddings, conferences, etc.). With a monthly entertainment calendar to be announced shortly, LE BIERGARTEN is sure to become a must-see hot spot.

Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten will also include 3 full-service restaurants:

AKIO (JAPANESE CANTINA)

Japanese cantina AKIO will serve meals inspired by Osaka street food, including a selection of sushi and charcoal-grilled brochettes. The concept is a collaboration between chefs ANTONIO PARK (Park, Lavanderia, Flyjin, Kampai) and OLIVIER VIGNEAULT (Jatoba, Westwood Bar & Grill, ex-Yuzu).

PIZZA DEL FORNAIO (PIZZERIA)

PIZZA DEL FORNAIO (which translates as “baker’s pizza”) will serve delectable Neopolitan-inspired pizzas from Italian chef FEDERICO BIANCHI (formerly of Bottega Pizzeria).

MIRABEL (BRASSERIE)

The new brasserieMIRABEL will serve simple, elegant, accessible fare morning, noon and night, with chef NICHOLAS GIAMBATTISTO(formerly of Caffe Un Po’ Di Piu and Joe Beef) creating a menu inspired by French and Italian cuisines.

The offering will also include 9 food kiosks:

DIRTY GREENS (SALADS & HEALTHY DELIGHTS)

The DIRTY GREENSkiosk will offer delicious, hearty salads and other mouth-watering, healthy options. Chef RAEGAN STEINBERG (Arthur Nosh Bar, ex-Joe Beef) is behind this concept for Le Cathcart.

PATZZI (ITALIAN SANDWICHES)

Patzzi takes gourmet Italian sandwiches to new heights, with a generous array of garnishes and an unexpected blend of flavours concocted by chefs ALEXANDRE COHEN and LUKA LECAVALIER (Arthur Nosh Bar).

CHIKIN (KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN)

Chef MICHAEL LEWIS brings the Miami vibe to Montreal with his new Korean fried chicken kiosk CHIKIN. Chef Lewis’ Miami restaurant KYU is a James Beard Award-winner for Best New Restaurant, and it also made Bon Appétit magazine’s list of top 10 Miami health-food restaurants.

TULUM TAQUERIA (MEXICAN) & KARMA POKE (POKE BOWLS)

Owned by A5 Hospitality, these banners are currently available at Comptoir Général in Place Ville Marie. Patrons will now get to sample their menus at Le Cathcart.

And finally, Le Cathcart will also feature these established brands:

UNIBURGER (HAMBURGERS, FRIES & MILKSHAKES)

Named Canada’s Best Burger by the website Big 7 Travel, UNIBURGER is chef YOUNES BENGELOUNE’s take on the typical California burger, focusing on fresh, top-quality produce. This new counter comes on the heels of his two existing locations.

OMNIVORE (LEBANESE-MONTREAL CUISINE)

OMNIVORE is known for its revamped Lebanese classics, including grilled meats, fresh salads and original sandwiches. Chefs CHARBEL YAZBECK and AKRAM SLEIMAN first introduced Omnivore in 2010, and the Le Cathcart kiosk will be their third location in the franchise.

MON NAN (CHINESE CUISINE)

MON NAN is a Montreal institution helmed by JOE LEE. The menu will include classic Chinese dishes, including the chef’s famous dumplings and glazed duck.

HÀ (SOUTH-EAST ASIAN CUISINE)

Restaurant HÀ is now a Montreal must, and this latest location will include its signature blend of Mr. Hà’s fiery Vietnamese cuisine and chef ROSS LOUANGSIGNOTHA’s Lao touch. The Cathcart kiosk will be the chain’s third establishment, joining the Mont-Royal Ave. and McGill St. restaurants.

CAFFÉ VELOCE (COFFEE, PASTRIES & ICE CREAM)

Le Cathcart will also feature two CAFÉS, developed in partnership with chef and culinary stylist BLAKE MACKAY (Di Stasio, Bouffe Style Blake).

ABOUT LE CATHCART RESTAURANTS ET BIERGARTEN

As a stimulating space for business lunches, relaxing after-work happy hours and animated weekend dinners, Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten stands out with its wide-ranging offering and authentic Montreal atmosphere. More than a culinary experience, Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten is a lively entertainment venue with a rich variety of atmospheres, housed in a sprawling 3,252 m2 (35,000 ft2) space that includes a large, natural-light-infused garden within the PVM’s 650 m2 (7,000 ft2) glass pavilion, which opens onto the heart of downtown Montreal. Le Cathcart is a new concept created by A5 Hospitality (a Montreal-based restaurant & bar designer and operator) and designed by Sid Lee Architecture (responsible for the major Place Ville Marie public space revitalization project), in consortium with Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes. Le Cathcart Restaurants et Biergarten is part of the broader Esplanade PVM revitalization project, which stands as the central component of Projet Nouveau Centre, a $1 billion+ investment from Ivanhoé Cambridge aimed at creating a new beat at the heart of Montreal.

ABOUT ÎLOT 84 AND AIRE COMMUNE

As the organization behind the Aire Commune, Le Petit Montréal and Nouvelle Vague projects, Îlot 84 is a non-profit organization aimed at revitalizing urban spaces through cultural, business and artistic projects. Launched by five entrepreneurs with extensive event experience, Aire Commune is driven by the vision of a dynamic city teeming with unique common spaces. The organization’s mission is to provide young professionals with a gathering place offering innovative experiences via original epicurean, cultural and business events.

ABOUT CREATIVEMORNINGS/MONTRÉAL

CreativeMornings was initiated in New York City in 2008, based on a very simple idea: celebrating creativity with a light breakfast and stimulating encounters. Eleven years later, it has grown into a series of free conferences held in over 200 cities including Montreal, where over 14,000 creative professionals and like-minded individuals gather on the last Friday of every month to share innovative ideas. With a different speaker and theme featured every month since 2013, CreativeMornings/Montréal has so far exposed its audiences to over 100 inspiring speakers from all walks of life, on over 80 stages (sometimes improvised!) across the city.

About Groupe Sensation Mode (GSM)

For over 20 years, Groupe Sensation Mode (GSM) has produced and developed first-rate experiential events in Quebec, Canada and abroad. Recognized as the producer of Canada’s biggest fashion events – including Festival Mode & Design – GSM has also created unique concepts such as Fashion Theatre on Berlin, Tokyo, New York and London stages, the Fashion & Opera Runway Show in Los Angeles, and URBANI_T Festival in Toronto. More recently, GSM has spearheaded the XP_MTL project, aimed at producing festive annual events to spur economic, cultural, social and tourist development in downtown Montreal. These innovative events are also a showcase for local creative talent, contributing to enhance the city’s regional, national and international reputation.

OPENING HOURS

Monday to Wednesday: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Thursday to Saturday: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Sunday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

lecathcart.com/chefs

FB + IG @lecathcart

For more information, please contact:
Marie-Annick Boisvert
marianik@marianik.com
514 232-7640


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