Modern Québécois (seasonal, market-driven sharing plates) / Little Italy
Mon Lapin
CANADA'S NO. 2, NO TABLECLOTHS
Little Italy's loud, bare-table natural-wine room, ranked No. 2 in Canada and No. 5 in North America in 2026.
- From home
- 16 min drive
- Spend
- $$$$
- Our dates
- Open Tue-Thu. closed Mon
The verdict
This is among the country's top-ranked restaurants, and it still feels like a neighbourhood party: bare tables, close neighbours and a grower-driven wine list. Let the servers steer, order the croque-pétoncle and the leeks if they are on, and treat the bill as the trip's splurge. The catch is getting in: tables open 30 days out and vanish, so for Oct 13-15 we are hunting cancellations on OpenTable right now. Some recent diners say the hype outruns the food, so come for the whole night, not one perfect plate.
- No. 2 on Canada's 100 Best 2026, after No. 1 in 2023 and 2024
- No. 5 on North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2026 and named Best Restaurant in Eastern Canada, per Tastet
- The croque-pétoncle: the dish diners talk about most, now in the team's new Phaidon cookbook
- Wine list from co-sommeliers Vanya Filipovic and Alex Landry, built around grower friends in Jura, Piemonte, Champagne, Sicily and Galicia
Order this
Tap the circle to want it. Tap again once it's eaten.
Mon Lapin, the short list
Must order
Croque-pétoncle
The scallop croque. Diners also call it the scallop toast or the scallop sandwich.
Named by Canada's 100 Best 2026, in the new Phaidon cookbook, and the dish recent diners praise most, even the ones who were otherwise unimpressed.
Must order
Leeks served in a tin, mussel-style
Leeks presented in a can, the way you would serve tinned mussels.
Mentioned by Canada's 100 Best three years running and praised by summer 2026 diners, so it looks like a regular.
Habanada peppers stuffed with baccalà
Habanada peppers filled with salt cod; earlier write-ups describe the baccalà as fried.
A recurring Canada's 100 Best mention from 2024 to 2026.
Pappardelle with ragù bianco and chestnuts
Pappardelle with a white ragù and chestnuts.
An autumn-leaning dish from the 2026 Canada's 100 Best write-up. One September 2026 diner found the pappardelle underwhelming, so treat it as a supporting act.
Strudel with confit shallots and Samuel le Bleu
A savoury strudel layered with confit shallots and topped with a slice of Samuel le Bleu from the Eastern Townships.
A Canada's 100 Best favourite three years running.
Chicken liver mousse
Featured in the new cookbook, per Tastet.
Tastet's September 2026 piece on the cookbook uses it as an example of the team's recipes; it does not recommend ordering it.
Buckwheat cake
A buckwheat cake; one diner calls it a buckwheat pancake, and another finished the meal with it.
Called a highlight by a couple of summer 2026 diners, including one who was otherwise disappointed.
What people actually say
Recurring themes, not cherry-picked quotes.
Love
- The scallop croque is the runaway favourite in recent diner reviews, named as the highlight even by people who were otherwise lukewarm
- Servers and sommeliers are repeatedly praised for decoding a cryptic menu, pairing wine well and adapting to kids and dietary restrictions
- Critics describe ingredient-first cooking that keeps surprising, with dishes that pair star producers in unexpected ways
- A wine list built with grower friends, and wine pairings that diners single out
- It feels relaxed and unstuffy for a restaurant with this many awards
Know before you go
- A recurring minority of summer 2026 diners felt the food did not match the hype, citing uneven seasoning, some dishes too salty or too bland, and novelty over flavour
- It is expensive: diners cite spending about $400 for two
- Service on busy nights can drag or feel rushed, with a few reports of late seating and a slow first course
- Tables are close together, the room is packed, and there is little space to wait at the door
- The tasting menu gets suggested early; you can also order à la carte
- Open Tue-Sat, 5-10:30pm. Closed Sun and Mon, including Thanksgiving Monday Oct 12
- OpenTable reservations open 30 days ahead and go fast; for Oct 13-15 that window opened in mid-September
Dishes that keep coming up
Croque-pétoncle (scallop croque), Leeks in a tin, mussel-style, Buckwheat cake, Habanada peppers with baccalà, Strudel with confit shallots and Samuel le Bleu, Pappardelle with ragù bianco, Black Roma tomatoes stuffed with Rimouski sea urchin, Duck (magret) mains
- Room
- Lively, loud-leaning and full, with bare tables and close neighbours in a room designed by Zébulon Perron. The co-owners describe it as bistro energy without being a bistro. There is a summer terrace on Avenue Casgrain.
- Service
- Warm, knowledgeable and wine-savvy by most accounts, critics included. The minority complaints are about pacing on busy nights and occasional brusqueness.
- Value
- Splurge pricing. Many diners say it is worth every dollar; a vocal minority say the bill outruns the food.
Vibe check
lively/buzzy/loud/wine heavy
Best forthe trip's splurge dinner, wine people, letting the kitchen choose
How much we'll spend
Canada's 100 Best 2026 rates Mon Lapin $$: an appetizer, main and dessert for one person costs $100-200 before tax and tip, drinks excluded. Any drink therefore pushes food plus one drink past $110. Recent diners cite a $120-per-person tasting menu (Aug 2026) and spending about $400 for two (Aug and Sept 2026). No official menu or price list is published.
On our dates
Tue-Sat 5-10:30pm. Closed Sun-Mon.
- Mon 12Closed
- Tue 13Open
- Wed 14Open
- Thu 15Open
Thanksgiving MondayMonday is a standing closing day. The official site lists Tuesday to Saturday only, and Michelin, Tastet and Restoenligne all show Monday closed. Mon Lapin is not on Tastet's list of restaurants open on Oct 12, 2026 (updated Oct 8, 2026). No special Thanksgiving opening found; Instagram could not be checked.
Full week
| Mon | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tue | 5pm to 10:30pm |
| Wed | 5pm to 10:30pm |
| Thu | 5pm to 10:30pm |
| Fri | 5pm to 10:30pm |
| Sat | 5pm to 10:30pm |
| Sun | Closed |
Make a night of it
Dinner, drinks, late night. Real walking times between.
Pair it with
- Rôtisserie La Lune, 391 Rue Saint-Zotique Est: the same team's rotisserie, and the plan B if Mon Lapin stays full
- Marché Jean-Talon in the afternoon before an early table: Joe la Croûte bakery, 7024 Avenue Casgrain, sits on the market's edge
- Ratafia, 6778 Boulevard Saint-Laurent: another Little Italy wine bar, known for its desserts, if you are not ready to call it a night
Where
150 Rue Saint-Zotique Est, Montréal, QC H2S 1K9
The official site's Réservations button goes to OpenTable. Michelin says reservations open 30 days in advance and are snapped up almost instantly, so the window for Oct 13-15 opened around Sept 13-15. Live availability could not be checked: OpenTable blocks automated access. No walk-in policy is published. A bar exists (Tastet's cookbook story opens with a solo diner eating at the bar), but it is unconfirmed whether any bar seats are held for walk-ins. Phone 514-379-4550, email contact@vinmonlapin.com.
While you're there
The receipt
Where every fact on this page comes from.
Fact-checkedResearched and independently re-checked Oct 8, 2026, 2 details corrected. Confidence: high.
Details to confirm
- Can we get a table Tue Oct 13, Wed Oct 14 or Thu Oct 15? Check OpenTable now and set alerts; live availability could not be checked automatically.
- Are any seats, bar or otherwise, held for walk-ins? Not published; call 514-379-4550 to ask.
- Any October closure, private event or holiday break? Instagram (@vinmonlapin) could not be checked.
- Current tasting-menu format and price: only diner reports (about $120 per person, Aug 2026); no official source.
- Postal code differs by source: official site H2S 1K9, Michelin H2S 1K8, Tastet and Restoenligne H2S 1L8. The street address is consistent.
- Is the Avenue Casgrain terrace still running in mid-October?
- OfficialOfficial website: Vin mon lapin: address, hours and reservations link
- EditorialTastet: Canada's 100 Best 2026: Québec still has plenty to impress you
- EditorialMICHELIN Guide: Mon Lapin, Montréal
- AwardCanada's 100 Best: Mon Lapin: Best Restaurants 2026, No. 2
- AwardCanada's 100 Best: Canada's Best Restaurants 2026 (ranking and price guide)
- AwardCanada's 100 Best: Mon Lapin: Best Restaurants 2025, No. 2
- AwardCanada's 100 Best: Mon Lapin: Best Restaurants 2024, No. 1
- AwardCanada's 100 Best: Mon Lapin: Best Restaurants 2023, No. 1
- EditorialTastet: Mon Lapin: Instigator of fun dining (review, updated Apr 22, 2026)
- EditorialTastet: Restaurants open on October 12 (Thanksgiving), updated Oct 8, 2026
- EditorialTastet: Canada shines: 14 spots in the top 50 at North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2026
- EditorialTastet: The Mon Lapin book at Phaidon: De toute beauté (Sept 27, 2026)
- EditorialTastet: The best of Little Italy: our suggestions
- CommunityRestoenligne (Google reviews mirror): Reviews for Mon Lapin, page 1 (Aug-Sept 2026)
- CommunityRestoenligne (Google reviews mirror): Reviews for Mon Lapin, page 2 (July-Aug 2026)
- CommunityRestoenligne (third-party directory): Mon Lapin online menus and hours (no menu published)
RecognitionCanada's 100 Best 2026, No. 2; North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2026, No. 5 and Best Restaurant in Eastern Canada (as reported by Tastet); Canada's 100 Best 2025, No. 2; Canada's 100 Best 2024, No. 1 (Best Restaurant); Canada's 100 Best 2023, No. 1