Marc-André Patoine spent years dreaming about this: his own place, five minutes from home, doing exactly what he loves. The bánh mì obsession started during a stint running a student café at Université de Montréal, where the Vietnamese sandwiches sold themselves.

At Monsieur Mi, he's refined the format: crusty baguettes from a local bakery, grilled lemongrass chicken, slow-cooked BBQ pork, lacquered tofu, shiitake and cremini mushrooms with soy and orange. Everything assembled to order, warm and loud with herbs and pickled daikon. By day it's a lunch counter with serious sandwich credentials.

Come Thursday and Friday evenings, the fifteen-seat room transforms: natural wines, cocktails, small plates to share, and a vintage sound system that Marc-André plays in a band treats with the same care as the food. Vinyl nights, guest DJs, open booth for customers who bring their own records.