Old Montreal gets an intimate speakeasy for Peruvian dining with the arrival of Mezcla

Seven years ago, Marcel Olivier Larrea walked away from the restaurant that bore his vision.

It was a Peruvian-Québécois in the Village that earned a rave review from Lesley Chesterman that deemed it "a wish come true" and an “orgy of tastes”. It had, however, become a battleground of industry chaos in the form of creative differences and partnership disputes. Larrea left, having learned a hard lesson about who owns what, and the name stayed there for a handful of years until it shuttered.

The restaurant known then as Mezcla has since resurfaced with the same name, same chef, and completely different rules. Discreetly located at the back of Larrea’s Peruvian-Italian restaurant Capisco in Old Montreal, the tasting menu project reclaims something that was his, and now, he’s finally doing it on his own terms.