Mastard

Last updated
Mastard
Mastardrestaurant.png
Restaurant information
EstablishedJanuary 6, 2021 (2021-01-06)
OwnerSimon Mathys
Head chefSimon Mathys
Food type Modern
Rating Etoile Michelin-1.svg (Michelin Guide)
Location1879 rue Belanger, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Website restaurantmastard.com

Mastard is a Michelin-starred restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [1]

Contents

History

Chef Simon Mathys 2025-0604 Simon Mathys.jpg
Chef Simon Mathys

The restaurant was opened in January 2021 by chef-owner Simon Mathys, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when restaurants in Quebec faced strict public health restrictions on operations, including limits on dining capacity and interprovincial travel. [2]

Mathys had previously served as head chef at the well-regarded Montreal fine dining restaurant Manitoba, which closed in the early stages of the pandemic. He cited the closure of Manitoba as a catalyst for accelerating his long-standing goal of opening his own restaurant, providing him with an opportunity to establish a new culinary concept under his own direction. [3]

At its opening, the restaurant offered a three-course tasting menu priced at 35 CAD, aimed at attracting guests from the local neighbourhood. This approach was in part a response to the severe restrictions on travel into Quebec from other provinces, which limited the potential customer base and emphasized the importance of appealing to nearby diners. [3]

Mathys selected the restaurant's name from the French word meaning "big and brawny". [2]

Concept

The restaurant serves a regularly changing five-course tasting menu, with a significant focus on Quebecois ingredients and flavours. [4]

Mastard offers an optional wine pairing and a wine list made of privately-imported bottles, featuring items not often sold at Quebec's state-owned alcohol board. [2]

Recognition

In 2025, the restaurant received a Michelin star in Quebec's inaugural Michelin Guide. Michelin praised chef Simon Mathys's "unabashedly original carte blanche menu" and use of scientific precision in the dishes served. [5]

Mastard was ranked #2 in Air Canada's annual list of 10 best new restaurants in Canada in 2022. Air Canada highlighted the restaurant's emphasis on "local, farm-fresh ingredients" in its cooking. [6]

Writing for Maclean's Magazine in 2023, restaurant critic Chris Nuttall-Smith ranked Mastard among the 20 best places to eat in Canada. He cited chef-owner Mathys's food as "playful, original [and] exhilarating", praising the chef as "a soft-spoken star [in Quebec's] culinary scene". [4]

Canada's 100 Best Restaurants Ranking

The restaurant has appeared on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants ranking annually since debuting on the list in 2022. Mastard peaked at #40 in the latest ranking in the 2025 edition. [7]

Mastard [7]
YearRankChange
202281new
202355Increase2.svg 26
202473Decrease2.svg 18
202540Increase2.svg 33

See also

References

  1. ↑ "All the 2025 Québec MICHELIN Guide Stars". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
  2. 1 2 3 Monkman, Sophie (31 July 2025). "Mastard: Simon Mathys' convivial neighbourhood address". Tastet Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 Fox, Joanna (12 February 2021). "Opening a restaurant in a pandemic: new Montreal spots serve up comfort and hope". Montreal Gazette. Postmedia. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 Nuttall-Smith, Chris (18 May 2023). "The Best Places to Eat in Canada". Maclean's Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "Mastard - Montreal". Michelin Guide. Michelin North America. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  6. ↑ Misenheimer, Sofia (2 November 2022). "Air Canada Ranked The Best New Restaurants In The Country & A Montreal Spot Placed 2nd". MTL Blog. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Canada's 100 Best Restaurants Lists". Canada's 100 Best Restaurants. Canada's 100 Best. Retrieved 7 May 2025.

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