Bar Kabinet

Mile End Bar Kabinet Reopens as a Swanky French Restaurant | Eater Montreal

"I visited the pocket-sized, Russian-themed cocktail bar Kabinet after its metamorphosis into a swanky French bistro channelling 1970s Paris; chef Jean-Michel Leblond (aka John Mike) says "things have gone very well" since reopening a few weeks ago. Having absorbed an adjacent locale that previously housed a fur shop, Kabinet is now three times the size it once was and feels more like a restaurant than a bar; the team imported a large crystal chandelier from Ukraine while retaining signature fringe light fixtures, and ADHOC Architectes reworked the interiors with tall archways reminiscent of Paris metro stations, jewel-toned velvets, marble-topped tables, and bistro-esque mosaic tiling. From the menu I heard about a slate of sharing plates — garlic and brown butter escargots with a persillade; pressed foie gras with fennel, pear, and sea buckthorn mostarda; a shrimp cocktail with "an insanely tasty sauce"; and a 90-day aged beef tartare brightened with sweet pickles, shallots, and a lacto-fermented habanero sauce — reflecting Leblond's aim to revisit the best old-school French classics of the '70s. The caviar service offers trout and salmon roe ($41 and $49) or Polish sturgeon caviar ($183), presented on a two-tier porcelain tower with two-week-aged crème fraîche, chives, shallots, chopped eggs, and blinis, and Leblond encourages placing a dollop on the back of the hand to taste each egg's texture. Kabinet is open Monday to Friday 4 p.m.–3 a.m. and Saturday–Sunday 3 p.m.–3 a.m." - Valerie Silva