“We didn’t expect it to work as well as it did. It’s full every evening,” Thomas Vernis is both surprised and enthusiastic after eight weeks of opening.
This shows how much Pointe-Saint-Charles needed a neighborhood restaurant like June Buvette. “I have opened restaurants, and I have never experienced an opening like this,” adds the man whose Tomahawk group has several restaurants in Old Montreal (Santos, Buvette Pastek, Unibar) and steakhouses. Cute.
The decor by Guillaume Ménard is warm, with numerous counter areas and tables lined up on either side of two candlelit benches. At the entrance, bathed in light through a garage door, an island invites us to see the bottles of wine to taste by the glass.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The beef tartare, garnished with cheese, is already shaping up to be a must.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
A scallop pogo with a buttermilk sauce and boreal spices? Yes !
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Both gourmet and refined, the (double!) fried halibut burger with potato bun.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The mackerel toast is impeccable with its little details: rye bread, fermented radish and dehydrated zucchini.
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Thomas Vernis has as partners Thomas Engasser and Kevyn Houpert (both from La Traversée, the restaurant at Bota Bota)without forgetting Patrick Marion, executive chef of the Tomahawk group, who lives in the neighborhood.
A native of Ottawa, Patrick Marion says he compensated in hard work for not having studied cooking. He worked at Millerand in the Magdalen Islands, at Pilgrimme in British Columbia and in a certain old renowned restaurant in Copenhagen called Noma. June Buvette is for him the culmination of all his experiences: fine execution “without pretension”.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Come to 1900 rue Centre, in Pointe-Saint-Charles, to discover June Buvette.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The lighting and the cream-colored brick wall add a lot to the cozy atmosphere.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The decor is by Guillaume Ménard
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Kevyn Houper, Patrick Marion and Thomas Vernis.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Pointe-Saint-Charles is booming. Not far from June Buvette is Sabayon, the new microrestaurant from Marie-Josée Beaudoin and Patrice Demers.
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“I think we have found a nice balance between tasty and seasonal cuisine,” rejoices Thomas Vernis.
Bienvenue is the formula of dishes between $14 and $28 which can be shared or eaten alone. Although the menu changes regularly, there are two signature dishes that you order for the first time knowing that it will not be the last. : scallop pogos and beef tartare topped with cheddar cheese on a rosti. As for privately imported wines, they are carefully chosen – between established values and small producers – by sommelier Olivier Deschamps.
In its renaissance, Center Street has everything it needs to become a destination with Sabayon, the Milky Way cocktail bar, Knox Taverne, and several cafés (Cosé, Bloom, Clarke, Florence). At June Buvette, the clientele is so great that we will add a “cocktail and lounge” section to the neighboring premises. We hope to be able to accommodate or make people wait there who do not have a reservation.
Thomas Vernis also hopes to sign a lease in a neighboring vacant space for another project… No doubt, things are happening in Pointe-Saint-Charles!
1900 Center Street, Montreal