Vinvinvin opens in Montreal

Vinvinvin bar, Montreal, Canada — (Image credit: TBC)

If the newly opened Vinvinvin seems to break every cliché of a mood-lit wine bar, it’s because the Montreal-based studio Ménard Dworkind fully intended to inject into the space what it describes as ‘an intentionally excessive homage to the joy and vitality of natural wine’.

Specifically, the unpredictability and bright flavours of natural wine is anchored in a long, light-filled volume on the ground floor of a three-storey block in the La Petite-Patrie residential neighbourhood. Here, a service island repurposed from a travertine-topped vintage wood dresser strikes an unorthodox chord which is carried through in curved steel tubes, bold black and white graphic wall murals and floor tiles, purple and cream tiles, oak detailing, and a row of light sconces brightly hued as jelly beans.

The effect is a welcome pulse of colour, a visual counterpoint to the bar’s equally adventurous drinks menu which ranges from local vintages and ciders to hibiscus-scented kombucha and Austrian and Spanish natural pours.

In the kitchen, Marina De Figueiredo, the former sous-chef at local favourite Candide, works on a small selection of seasonal sharing plates – current hits including roasted turbot and shrimps, pork tongue with mussels and pickles, and grilled asparagus nuzzling garlic chips.

INFORMATION

Website

ADDRESS

1290 Rue Beaubien E
Montreal

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Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.