The new restaurant of the Sansone brothers, also owners of La Panzeria, transports us to Northern Italy in the 1970s. Focaccias, Milanese risotto and Campari cocktails promise to attract a local crowd who want to eat and celebrate well.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
The new address on Boulevard Saint-Laurent is an extension of the story of Pierpaolo and Davide Sansone. After growing up in Puglia, and showcasing this region at their first restaurant, the brothers cut their teeth in haute cuisine in restaurants in northern Italy: in Milan, Bologna and Venice.
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Bruschettas on grilled focaccia
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Scallop crudo, with blood orange, mint, chives and chili oil
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Milanese risottos
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Strip steak, with roasted potatoes, mushrooms and smoked salsa verde
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
A negroni, perfect to accompany Birbante dishes
1/5
“The north of Italy is mysterious, alive, at the same time, it is industrial, but chic,” explains Pierpaolo. They brought back the culinary essence of the region: the Venetian aperitivo, meat dishes, richer than those of the South, as well as a white focaccia from the North (which is distinguished from the focaccia Barese that they serve at La Panzeria), but always adding a “Mediterranean twist,” explains Pierpaolo.
On the menu, created with chef Luka Jadin-Guimond, grilled veal and strip steak sit alongside fish and a scallop crudo flavored with blood orange and chili oil. Don’t miss the saffron risotto, a specialty of Milan, served with thin melting slices of guanciale, the bruschettas with nduja, as well as with stracciatella, anchovies and raspberries – an astonishing mixture that works –, and the numerous other antipasti.
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
The dining room, with a retro chic look
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Pierpaolo Sansone (left), co-owner of Birbante, and chef Luka Jadin-Guimond
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Family photos brighten up the Sansone brothers’ new restaurant.
-
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Birbante is located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in Mile End.
1/4
As for drinks, Campari, Milan’s favorite alcohol, is omnipresent in cocktails. The wine list remains evolving, assures the owner, who wants to highlight Italian wines.
The new place, with a retro chic look and Italian music from seventiescomes alive in the evening. This is also the objective of the Sansone brothers: to let go of our madness – as the name of the restaurant suggests, Birbante, which means “enfant terrible”. “When we grow up, we suffocate this child,” says Pierpaolo. For me, Birbante is the extension of the child who is in our souls, and who comes out when we are with friends or family. »
5386, boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal
Visit the Birbante website
