To recap, Marc André-Jetté and Patrice Demers left Laloux in May 2009 to relaunch Newtown, and Eric Gonzalez moved over to Laloux from XO. Both moves resulted in good reviews for Newtown and Laloux. We ate at Newtown and Laloux on December 19th and 20th 2009, respectively, and we loved both restaurants, giving a slight edge to Gonzalez’s stellar performance at Laloux.

Even as we dined there, Gonzalez had already announced he was leaving for a new project, which we now know is Auberge Saint-Gabriel in the Old City.

Well, that was long. So, here we are today, with Seth Gabrielse at the helm of Laloux. It’s his first time in charge of a kitchen but he’s had excellent training at the side of Racha Bassoul, who ran the long-closed, long-lamented Anise. (Bassoul joined Gabrielse at Laloux in February for a special dinner.)

Voir has published what looks to be the first major review of Laloux in its new, Middle Eastern-flavored version, and overall, it’s quite positive. The kitchen is “less spectacular” than it was under Gonzalez, writes the reviewer, but there’s praise for the subtle spicing of the new dishes, and there are still a few Laloux and bistro classics on the menu. Special notes for Michelle Marek, Laloux’s incomparable pastry chef, and well as the assistant sommelier Theo Diamantis. We met him in December and greatly enjoyed him. (Sommelier David Vincent is also brilliant.) The Voir assessment: This is the kitchen of a promising young chef, who will only get better.

photo credit: Christine Bourgier

This follows a somewhat lukewarm review from Lesley Chesterman in the Montreal Gazette – albeit just a few weeks after the restaurant had reopened.

Perhaps a few hiccups at the outset, but they now seem to be firing on all cylinders. Friends of mine confirm this from their recent visit to Newtown, and we’ll be there in a few months to see for ourself.

Laloux

In the Montreal Gazette, Lesley Chesterman visits and finds much to praise in the cooking of Eric Gonzalez and pastry chef Michelle Marek. First the setting, which hasn’t changed a bit and that makes her happy (and us, too). Next, the food and wine, both of which meet her high expectations.

We saw Gonzalez in action in 2006 at Cube, just before it closed, and we’re pleased that he continues to dazzle.

If you’re thinking about restaurant choices for your next trip to Montreal, or you’ve been to Laloux in the past and want to make sure its reputation is untarnished, this review should help you arrive at a decision.

Newtown

Next, Chesterman’s review of Newtown, under Marc André Jetté and Patrice Demers, both recently departed from Laloux. Chesterman’s visits occurred only about 6 weeks into their tenure there, and the results are mixed. With Jetté, her issue seems to be with execution rather than vision, and she has quibbles with Demers’ approach to portion sizes for desserts.

Her biggest problem seems to be with the venue, which despite a few touchups here and there is still basically the same space it was in 2001. Time for a change, and Chesterman suggests it’s worth considering a name change – something we thought might happen back when the Chef Musical Chairs got underway.

Our Plans

We ate at Laloux twice on our last trip. It was a brilliant dining experience both times. We plan to return, to discover firsthand what Gonzalez and Marek are up to. And despite the less stellar beginning for Newtown, we’ll be there in a few months, too, because Jetté and Demers are remarkably talented and we expect them to be into the swing of things, and producing great meals.

Mari-Claude Lortie of La Presse blogs that Éric Gonzalez will be the new chef at Laloux, replacing Marc André Jetté, who has departed for Newtown with Patrice Demers, as we’ve already noted.

We’re familiar with Gonzalez from his time at Cube until late 2006 (we ate there the final night); he went to XO at the Hotel St James after that.

In the meantime, over at Newtown, Lortie reports that there’s no decision yet on changing the name of the restaurant, but it will be closed for about a week for some redecorating. It re-opens on May 26th with Jetté and Demers at the helm.

Demers and Jetté will move to the kitchen at Newtown on May 17th. We don’t know a lot about Newtown, but its reputation (if you read the Chowhound boards) seems to stand on its current bar/club/dining atmosphere, more so than the food.

Whatever the case, it looks like we can wipe the slate clean because there are likely to be some cosmetic changes to the restaurant, perhaps a name change, and most important, Demers and Jetté will overhaul the menu.

This brings upheaval to Laloux, which has a long history in the neighborhood. The restaurant languished a few years before the arrival of the duo in 2007. Demers and Jetté are young, but have a list of accomplishments that belies their age, and we look forward to what they plan for Newtown.

Actually, it’s worth mentioning a few other shifts because they impact another restaurant we’ve blogged about here.

Le Local is losing Alexandre Gosselin and Éric Dupuis. Gosselin is moving to the new Bar et Bouef, soon to open in Old Montreal. Dupuis is going to Leméac. Charles-Antoine Pariseau of Leméac? He’s going to Le Local.

Got that? Bottom line, everything we’ve said about Le Local and Laloux is no longer applicable.

One final note about Laloux: a restaurant is an experience that includes more than just the chefs and the meals. It’s the ambience, the waitstaff, the sommelier David Vincent, too, and all were exceptional at Laloux. We’re also looking forward to what happens there.