New restaurant Pubjelly to bring oysters, Wagyu bacon and caviar pizzas, and more to Old Montreal

Call it a hunch, but we're thinking that the odds that the arrival of the little brother of the Old Montreal. restaurant Jellyfish  won't go unnoticed. It must be something that runs in the family, because with Pubjelly—the latest project from chef Mathieu Masson-Duceppe and his partners Francis Rodrigue, Charles Mary and Roberto Pesut—something serious is cooking.

This new playground for the quartet is far from unfamiliar, however, as Pubjelly is moving next door to its progenitor into the former Pizzaiolle. Intended to express another facet of Jellyfish's repertoire that's  been in the air for a few years, the concept is not quite the same as Mathieu and his partners envisioned it a few months before the pandemic.

"When COVID hit, we had a space and were ready to start renovations," says Mathieu. "It was a big disappointment; we were so excited to unveil a new facet and identity of Jellyfish." Despite this, Mathieu says he's very happy with the outcome, because in addition to having matured his first project, he got his hands on the key to the next door.

With Pubjelly, these entrepreneurs want to complete Jellyfish's offerings by making the place more accessible, affordable, relaxed, friendly, and—above all—without complexities.

"The experience will be based on emotions, smiles, small pleasures, the present moment. An impromptu aperitif with oysters and a bottle of wine with colleagues will be as welcome as a long evening ordering the entire menu," says Mathieu.

The menu will be divided into four sections—oysters, vegetables, avocado and flour—and will include about 15 dishes, with the addition of a few specials. As we discussed the menu with the chef, we quickly realized that the chef's signature will be present throughout the menu: An oyster cooked with marrow, miso and yuzu; an avocado section that will be "fancy" and "artsy"; vegetables from the biointensive farm Jardin St-Laurent prepared in a gourmet and eccentric way; pizzas done Roman al taglio style, but not quite traditional either.

These creations can be served with a bottle of wine or a beer from a Quebec microbrewery.

So when can Montreal take its first bite of Wagyu bacon carbonara pizza? Everything seems to point to the first week of November with a soft opening in the week of October 25. Following a focus on evening services, lunches will soon follow, as well as weekend brunches.

Heads-up to to caviar lovers: There's a $200 pizza with your name on it.

The opening of Pubjelly is scheduled for the first week of November at 600 Marguerite-D'Youville street in Old Montreal.