Originally slated to open in April this year, the newest installment in Old Montreal from the Antonopoulos Group has arrived: NELLi Café + Vin Nature, a café situated inside of Hotel Nelligan that's serving pastries and breakfast by day flips to a wine bar at night.
Open since mid-July, it's a new concept from the restaurant collective which boasts a bevy of restaurants, bars and hotels—now 24 in total—in the historic neighbourhood, which has come to include steakhouses, hotels, sushi restaurants, spas and more, but none of which have fashioned themselves as strictly a café or a wine bar. The group is also known for spearheaded its own restaurant event, Happening Gourmand, which is running from August 3 to August 30 and sells set menus for lunch, dinner and brunch at reduced prices.
During the daytime, NELLi is fashioning itself as a place to grab coffee and pastries alongside breakfast sandwiches before a lunch hour hits that runs a full gamut: Just as many poke bowls, salads and soups are served as there are sandwiches like a classic BLT or a katsu chicken sando (something you don't see every day in the city). The menu also pulls from some of the Antonopoulos Group's other restaurants' wheelhouses, as whole roasted chickens and maison prix steaks are on offer.
Coffee snobs and fans of straightforward cups of joe should equally appreciate the coffee program as well coming from their baristas working alongside Café Union to develop a unique house blend, in addition to some third wave stylings for espresso and pour overs.
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As for evenings, NELLi breaks out a revolving menu of natural wines to go with a nightly menu of snacks like oysters, grilled shishito peppers, tartines, tartares, and other finger foods that compliment the food.
NELLi Café + Vin Nature is located inside Hôtel Nelligan (104 Rue Saint-Paul Ouest) and is open every day of the week from 7am to 10pm.
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