Restaurant in Montreal, Canada
Thu–Sat only. Book ahead or miss out.
Le Mousso is one of Montreal's most consistently recognised creative French restaurants, holding a 2025 Michelin Plate and an OAD Top 212 North America ranking. It operates Thursday to Saturday only, 6–10 pm, at 1025 Ontario St E. Book it for an intimate, food-focused dinner — the three-night schedule means slots go fast, but booking difficulty is rated Easy with advance planning.
Le Mousso operates Thursday through Saturday, 6–10 pm only — three nights a week, full stop. If you are looking for a late-night table or a spontaneous Thursday dinner in the Plateau-Mont-Royal area, this is one of Montreal's more demanding bookings by format alone. That scarcity is part of the proposition: chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard runs a tight, focused operation at 1025 Ontario St E, and the compressed schedule keeps quality consistent. For food-focused travelers and Montreal residents who track where French-influenced creative cooking is heading in Canada, Le Mousso belongs on the shortlist — but you need to plan around its schedule, not the other way around.
Le Mousso has been accumulating recognition with unusual consistency for a Montreal restaurant operating outside the downtown core. The 2025 credentials are meaningful: a Michelin Plate, a La Liste ranking of 75 points, and an Opinionated About Dining placement at #212 in North America (up from #178 in 2024 and a Recommended listing in 2023). That three-year upward trajectory on OAD is a more useful signal than a single snapshot , it suggests the kitchen is tightening, not coasting. For context, OAD rankings are driven by votes from frequent high-level diners, so movement in that list reflects sustained performance rather than a single strong season.
The atmosphere at Le Mousso reads as focused rather than festive. This is not a room built for loud celebrations or background dining. The energy is attentive and relatively quiet , the kind of room where the food is the event. If you are arriving after 9 pm on a Friday or Saturday (within the 6–10 pm window), expect the room to be mid-service rather than winding down, which means full kitchen focus and a kitchen still sending out timed courses. For explorers who want to eat late and well in Montreal without sacrificing kitchen ambition, Le Mousso's 10 pm closing means last seating is likely around 8–8:30 pm , plan accordingly.
The French designation covers the cuisine type, but Mousseau-Rivard's cooking is grounded in Quebec ingredients and a creative idiom that positions Le Mousso closer to destination-dining territory than classic brasserie or bistro. This is the kind of restaurant that rewards diners who read menus carefully and ask questions , the format and pacing are part of the value. Compared to Toqué, which has longer-standing name recognition and a higher public profile in Montreal, Le Mousso is the choice if you want something with sharper creative momentum right now. Compared to Mastard at $$$, Le Mousso sits in similar territory but with a more formal tasting-oriented presentation.
Peer context outside Montreal is useful for calibrating expectations. Tanière³ in Quebec City operates in roughly the same tier of ambitious Quebec cooking. Alo in Toronto is the cleaner comparison for format and ambition if you are benchmarking across Canadian cities. AnnaLena in Vancouver plays in a similar register on the West Coast. Le Mousso holds its own in that company , the OAD ranking places it ahead of many better-publicised restaurants in the country.
The Google rating of 4.7 across 688 reviews is a strong signal for a restaurant at this level of ambition. Technically demanding kitchens often attract more polarised reviews; a 4.7 with that volume suggests consistent execution and front-of-house handling that matches the food's register.
For the food-focused traveler building a Montreal itinerary, Le Mousso pairs well with Bouillon Bilk and Le Club Chasse et Pêche across different nights. La Chronique and Maison Boulud cover different parts of the French spectrum in the city. See our full Montreal restaurants guide for the broader picture, and our Montreal hotels guide if you are visiting from out of town. Montreal bars, wineries, and experiences round out a full trip.
If you are comparing Le Mousso to other Michelin-recognised French restaurants internationally, Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier and L'Effervescence in Tokyo represent the upper tier of the same culinary tradition. Le Mousso is operating several rungs below those in formal terms, but its OAD trajectory and Michelin recognition suggest it is a serious restaurant by any reasonable standard.
Reservations: Booking difficulty is rated Easy , this is manageable with reasonable advance planning, though the three-night-a-week schedule means fewer available slots than a typical restaurant. Book as soon as your dates are confirmed. Hours: Thursday–Saturday, 6–10 pm only; closed Sunday through Wednesday. Address: 1025 Ontario St E, Montreal, Quebec H2L 3L8. Late seating: Given the 10 pm close, last entry is likely 8–8:30 pm , confirm when booking if you want a later table. Price range: Not confirmed in our data; expect fine-dining pricing consistent with Michelin Plate and OAD-ranked restaurants in Montreal. Dress: Not specified; smart-casual is a safe assumption for a room at this recognition level.
Seat count is not confirmed in our data, but a restaurant operating three nights a week with a tasting-format kitchen typically has limited capacity for large groups. If you are planning for four or more, contact the restaurant directly when booking to ask about private room or large-table availability. Groups of two have the most flexibility at a counter or standard table.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in our data. For a French creative kitchen operating in tasting format, bar seating , where available , can be a good option for solo diners or pairs who want to watch kitchen activity. Confirm availability when reserving.
Specific menu items are not confirmed in our data, and the menu likely changes with availability and season. The restaurant holds a Michelin Plate and an OAD #212 North America ranking , both suggest the kitchen's output is consistently strong across the menu. The practical answer: trust the tasting format if offered, and ask your server what is leading on the current menu when you arrive.
Toqué is the most direct alternative for high-end French cooking in Montreal, with a higher public profile and longer track record at the $$$$level. Mastard at $$$ offers modern cuisine with a slightly lower price commitment. Jérôme Ferrer - Europea covers the upscale modern end at $$$$ with more event-dining energy. For a lower-stakes French dinner, L'Express at $$ is the reliable bistro option. Le Mousso is the pick if creative ambition and OAD-tracked quality matter most to you.
Yes, with one caveat: the room's energy is focused and relatively quiet rather than celebratory, which makes it a strong choice for an intimate anniversary or a dinner where the food is the occasion , less so for a loud group milestone. The Michelin Plate recognition and consistent OAD placement give it the credentials to support a significant dinner. If you need a livelier atmosphere, Europea leans more theatrical.
Le Mousso does not serve lunch , hours are Thursday through Saturday, dinner only, 6–10 pm. There is no lunch option to compare. If you are in Montreal for one night and want to fit in a serious dinner, the Thursday through Saturday window is your only opportunity here.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Le Mousso | — | |
| L’Express | $$ | — |
| Schwartz’s | $ | — |
| Toqué | $$$$ | — |
| Jérôme Ferrer - Europea | $$$$ | — |
| Mastard | $$$ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Small groups are manageable, but the three-night-a-week schedule (Thursday–Saturday, 6–10 pm) limits flexibility. check the venue's official channels well in advance for parties larger than four — the compressed weekly calendar means available slots fill faster than a typical seven-day operation.
Bar seating availability is not confirmed in the venue record. Given Le Mousso's format as a chef-driven French restaurant with OAD Top 200 recognition, reservations are the safer approach — walk-in bar dining is more typically associated with bistro-style venues like L'Express nearby.
Le Mousso operates under chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard in a format that has earned a 2025 Michelin Plate and consecutive OAD Top Restaurants in North America rankings (#178 in 2024, #212 in 2025). The menu specifics are not published in available records, so check directly with the restaurant before visiting to confirm current format and any tasting menu structure.
Toqué is the obvious peer — longer-established, downtown, and carrying comparable prestige in Montreal's fine dining tier. Jérôme Ferrer - Europea suits guests who want a grander room and more conventional luxury format. Mastard is worth considering if you want something more casual but still chef-driven. Le Mousso's edge is its consistency of recognition over multiple OAD cycles, which Schwartz's or L'Express — excellent in their own categories — do not compete on.
Yes, with one caveat: plan around the Thursday–Saturday, 6–10 pm window and book as early as possible. The 2025 Michelin Plate recognition and back-to-back OAD Top 200 rankings (2024 and 2025) make this a credible choice for a significant dinner — the kind of track record that justifies choosing it over less consistently recognised options in the city.
Le Mousso does not serve lunch — the restaurant operates exclusively for dinner, Thursday through Saturday, 6–10 pm. Sunday through Wednesday it is closed entirely. If your schedule cannot accommodate those three evenings, Toqué or Jérôme Ferrer - Europea offer broader weekly availability.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
