The Room
Mon Lapin (Vin Mon Lapin) opened in 2018 on Saint-Zotique in Little Italy as a Joe Beef group sister project run by Vanya Filipovic, formerly of Toqué! and Joe Beef. The room is small (28 seats), the menu is chalkboard, and the natural-wine programme is one of the deepest in Canada. The booking window is two to three weeks; the bar (8 seats) is walk-in.
Service is small-team and floor-warm. Filipovic is frequently in the dining room and the wine recommendations come directly from her hand.
The Food
The kitchen runs a small, French-Quebec chalkboard menu that rotates daily — terrines, pâtés, a rabbit dish (the namesake), seasonal pastas, market salads. The point of Mon Lapin is the wine: Filipovic's natural-wine selection runs to small Loire, Languedoc, Northern Italian and Quebec-natural producers, with a by-the-glass programme that rotates often.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date: Mon Lapin's small dining room is the Montreal first-date for the diner who wants the night to register as natural-wine-knowledgeable. Bar seating is the upgrade for a third date.
Solo Dining: The bar at Mon Lapin (eight seats) is one of Montreal's better solo dining seats. Order the chalkboard, pair with the by-the-glass.