Le Mousso Has Closed After 11 Years of Reshaping Montreal Dining

In September of 2015, Le Mousso opened its doors in the Village with a new Nordic, Noma-style approach to gastronomy that was entirely new to Montreal. Now, just over a decade later, they have decided to shutter the restaurant’s doors.

“It’s time for us to move on,” Le Mousso announced on their website, without expanding much more beyond their desire to “mak[e] way for the younger generations who evolved alongside us and will continue to nourish the culinary scene of Quebec.”

Founded by mother-son duo Katerina Mousseau and chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard, Le Mousso was a place where diners consumed art. From his grandfather’s paintings on the walls to Mousseau-Rivard’s own sophisticated tastings that paired bold, unusual flavours (think things like pig’s blood, wild plum, fir-smoked seafood, or edible flowers), interesting textures, and intricate, high-art plating designs.

Mousseau-Rivard’s next step of pursuing a music career—in the steps of his father—might seem like a drastic pivot to some, but the choice becomes clearer when you accept Le Mousso as equally a business and an 11-year-long creative endeavour.

A nightly seating at Le Mousso welcomed 30 guests at 6:30 p.m. for a fixed tasting menu, priced at $275 per person, with a wine pairing at an additional $125. It was an intimate dining experience. Every guest ate the same plate at the same time. Each dish was a component of Mousseau-Rivard’s years-long creative experiment.