BarBara, An Italian Cafe and Grocery From the Lili Co Team, Comes in Saint-Henri

The pair responsible for the now-defunct, but however fondly remembered Mile End cafe Lili Co are at it once again. Other than this time, David Pellizzari (chef) and Catherine Draws (entrance of house and wine) have created it farther west, to Saint-Henri, with the future opening of their new Italian restaurant, BarBara, slated for January 25.

© BarBara/Equipped

“It’s likely to primarily be traditional Italian, but then once again it is David, and he places a very little twist on everything he does,” Attracts claims. To illustrate, she points to his acquire on tortiglioni ragu, a pasta resembling rigatoni in form (as for every tradition), but served with a lamb ragu spiced with North African flavours — maybe a nod to Pellizzari’s previous gig at Petite Patrie’s Darna Bistroquet. “In that way he is not totally by the reserve, but then when it will come to his pasta-generating he is,” she suggests.

Those acquainted with Pellizzari’s cooking at Lili Co will have previously experienced a style of his primo pastas skills, and they’ll also acknowledge the playful tactic brought to BarBarra’s menu of veggie dishes, which include braised carrots draped in marscapone, pesto and sunflowers seeds, and leeks dressed in a popcorn sauce, hazelnut butter, and almonds. Even so, the only point which is becoming brought, wholesale, to the Notre-Dame West locale is his zeppoli. (“They’re these modest donuts that are just so fantastic, and they are Italian, so we considered why not?” Draws suggests.)

Open up each day from 8 in the morning to 11 at evening (for takeout until finally 7:30 p.m., and shipping only thereafter, as for every Quebec government restrictions), BarBara’s providing is meant to be all-function and all-encompassing. There are the higher than-observed pasta and veggie dishes, but the lineup also incorporates focaccia sandwiches (feel Mortadella and caponata, or grilled vegetable), coffee, much more sweets, and groceries on what they are calling the “dispensa” (Italian for “pantry”) aspect of the institution.

In this article, locals will be able to select up ready-to-cook pastas, charcuterie, jarred sauces and antipasti, bottles of wine, espresso grains in bulk (from café Paquebot provider ZAB), and some sourdough loaves (ciabatta, and a semolina and fennel solution to commence), courtesy of nearby smaller-batch bakery Miette. “We decided to increase the bread to our give due to the fact a whole lot of our neighbours were being asking us no matter whether we’d have any. It is something the neighbourhood appeared to need,” Draws claims.

Exact same goes for the dispensa a lot more typically. Even though the Notre-Dame strip wherever BarBara has settled is well-supplied on the cafe front — Arthurs, Pizzeria Adamo, Tacos Frida, and Le Tequila Bar are all in shut proximity — there aren’t adequate tiny shops all-around wherever people today can invest in food items staples, Attracts claims. “Mainly, we didn’t want to just get there below with a principle that the neighbourhood did not want or have to have.”

On the ownership aspect, Flore-Anne Ducharme and Nicolas Urli, who co-personal HÀ and Nhậu bar, and Jean-François Gervais (Piazza Sociale) sign up for the few. In point, it was Urli who at first picked out area, which some may possibly remember, as of February, was supposed to house a Vietnamese brasserie, referred to as Dinh Dinh, a collaboration involving the HÀ entrepreneurs and the individuals at Tran Cantine. But then the pandemic struck, and the job fell by means of Urli was still left shouldering an vacant house and no venture to fill it.

It was on a casual cell phone contact with Draws, an previous mate of Urli’s, that the plan for the Lili Co few to choose more than the room was born. “Nic has a actually superior eye mainly because that space was just fantastic. And we preferred that we’d be able to get the job done on it genuinely little by little given the situations proper now. When else would we in a position to establish a restaurant like that?”

As for the style of the room, it is a collaboration among Gervais and the Gauley Brothers, recognized for their function on 212, Fugazzi, and Foiegwa. Preview photos posted to the restaurant’s Instagram account present a palette of dusty greys and beiges interspersed with artwork deco glass mild fixtures, a pair of imposing columns, and a big, practically statuesque desk at the centre, which collectively subtly impart a time-worn veneer. Of the layout technique, Attracts states, “We wished a put that feels like it has been there for many years.”

Quick-ahead to yet another time in the potential, when diners are the moment a lot more allowed to linger indoors, with no social distancing steps in location, and BarBara will be ready to accommodate 60 folks, as a wine bar. “We actually hope that men and women will be capable to a single working day assemble all around that significant table in the center, sitting down intently aspect by side, sharing foodstuff and a not-as well-high priced bottle of wine. That is the thought.”

BarBara will be open up daily at 4450 Notre-Dame West from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., for takeout and/or supply.