Ratafia, named for the mistelle-fashion fortified dessert wine from the Champagne vicinity, will open in the former location of Italian eating place Epoca at 6778 St Laurent (close to Dante). Local structure company Lovasi is overhauling the space (see also: food puts Mélisse and Jiao in Old Montreal). It will characteristic a significant interactive island in which chef patissier Valentin Rouyé can be plating his creations; the distance seats sixty-nine interiors with twenty extra on a road-facet terrasse.
Rouyé turned into skilled as a pastry chef with the aid of his father — he becomes most these days at Hogan & Beaufort and a former colleague of outstanding pastry chef Patrice Demers at former downtown restaurant Newtown. He calls the eating place’s services desserts sentiment arrosés or gently imbibed cakes. The goal is to create a fashionable, festive, and convivial space, with a full wine list for pairings, which include dessert wines, sakes, sparkling wines, and neighborhood beer.
The menu will be split into three elements: Classics, for extra conventional cakes, artfully plated, and closing at the menu yr-round; Ephemera, for cakes inspired by means of the seasons (assume sophisticated pâte au chou with unique fillings); and Les Trous, or trou Normand-adjacent palate cleansers: granitas with liqueurs. Ratafia will complement the ones candy offerings with a plat des Amis, charcuterie plates put together in collaboration with the chef-proprietors of St-Hubert Street’s Épicerie Conserva (who also are Hogan & Beaufort alumni), as well as Mile End’s Falafel Yoni.
Ratafia is headed up through co-proprietors Sandra Forcier and Jared Tuck, each ITHQ graduates lively inside the Montreal restaurant scene for the past 15 years. They’re targeted on growing space on the way to be “stylish, festive, and convivial,” promising exquisite desserts for those celebrating events along with birthdays and anniversaries.
Ratafia may be open for overdue afternoon cakes and liquids until the early hours of the morning. “We need our customers to be comfy at Ratafia,” says Forcier, “and to sweeten their life with food and drinks.”
Ratafia was in short open as a pop-up over Grand Prix weekend — it’s currently scheduled to start serving on an everlasting basis sometimes all through the primary two weeks of July.