There’s a new favorite on the Plaza. On weekends, Marci is already busy. Its fauna is diverse, but with a predominantly young population, given the musical and festive past of some of its owners, such as Kris Guilty, from the record store La Rama, and the DJ Marc-André Patry (Walla P), also a connoisseur of wine. Prefer Tuesdays and Wednesdays for a quieter evening!
Marci’s other partners are Julien Patenaude (sommelier who is still on the menu at Fleurs et Cadeaux/Sans soleil et Système restaurants/clubs), Hideyuki Imaizumi (co-owner of Osmo and Fleurs et Cadeaux/Sans soleil), David Schmidt (designer of many of the coolest restaurants and bars in town, including those mentioned above) and chef Alex Geoffrion (Tron for short!).
The latter is a pizza enthusiast. He was in the kitchen at Toni when it opened and spent last summer serving “pies” on the Osmo terrace. He knows the origins of a host of styles that have developed over the decades and has probably tasted every pizza on America’s East Coast.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The famous New Jersey “tomato pie” is a revelation.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Bitter salad on the menu
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Some big pins chosen by Julien Patenaude
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For Marci, her choice fell on New Jersey. The great classic of this neighboring state of New York is the “tomato pie”. It is thin, simple, crispy and digestible. To make it a little more “sexy”, Alex adds, in addition to the pecorino, a touch of buffalo milk mozzarella from the Fuoco cheese factory in Saint-Lin. There are four other 14-inch pizzas on the menu, all $22 each. Make your choice !
Almost all other dishes are priced under $20. These are salads, pastas, vegetable dishes in season. On the wine side, restaurants have a hard time offering more than five or six bottles of designer wines for less than $70 these days. This is the reality of today’s market. But Julien Patenaude has made an exceptional selection that will put stars in the eyes of natural wine lovers who know their “classics”. If you want to drink less expensively, there are three cocktails for $10, a few beers and the wines of the day by the glass.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The first section of Marci will soon become a daytime cafe.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The second dining room has high ceilings, lots of wood and colorful stained glass windows.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
View of the Marci bar
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Marci or Chalet Bar-BQ?
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The mezzanine is bright. In the evening, its Tiffany lamps make the space very warm.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Four of Marci’s six co-owners: Alex Geoffrion, Kris Guilty, Julien Patenaude and Marc-André Patry
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Soon, you will be able to sip your rosé or negroni on the twenty-seat terrace in the heart of the Plaza. It will also be closed to automobile traffic from July 4 to August 25. There will also be a covered roof terrace which can add a good number of customers to the already attractive current capacity of 70 seats.
Marci has three distinct sections. You enter through the side called “Marco”, the name of the former jeweler who ran a shop in this space. In this cozy space, we will soon serve coffee and sandwiches during the day. At the end of the bar, an opening leads to the second section with high ceilings. The pretty mezzanine, with its very retro Tiffany lamps, completes the restaurant which evokes both the Italian-American institution frozen in time and the Chalet Bar-BQ, in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, with its wooden walls . This decor was designed by David Schmidt, master in creating unique spaces, and Daniel Finkelstein (Finkel design agency). You won’t want to leave!
6600, rue Saint-Hubert, Montreal
Check out Marci’s website