Gitanes

Gitanes occupies a building more than a century old on Elgin Street, in a dining room co-owner Jesse Alberto built with his brother; Tastet found it lived-in yet calm. Alberto and Nader Salib opened in October 2019, and chef Mitch Lacombe has run the pass since the first night. Salib describes the cooking as part Montreal and French-Canadian, part Parisian bistro, all resting on classic French technique.

The kitchen buys whole pigs and lambs and butchers them in-house, and the menu turns with the seasons. A tasting menu has been offered since opening, and a table right at the pass gets nearly the whole menu plus specials. The burger is a fixture, made from dry-aged cuts ground on site. Wines lean Old World, natural and organic, and Canada's 100 Best ranked Gitanes 97th in 2023.