The Quartier des Spectacles is a buzzing neighbourhood in downtown Montreal, and that’s for a specific reason. It’s here where a sizeable number of the city’s leading cultural venues are situated, including the head office of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, one of Canada‘s most prominent ballet companies. Housed at the modern, multi-storey Wilder Building, it’s home to a recreation centre, a centre for dance therapy, a production studio, a reception hall, and as of late, an elegant design-led café. Dubbed after Constance Pathy, a longtime board member and patron of the aforementioned ballet company, Café Constance occupies a lofty 1,400 sq.ft. (approx. 130 sqm.) space, and features an interior design by local architecture and design practice Atelier Zébulon Perron. Taking ample cues from Bar Luce, the Wes Anderson-designed hospitality venue at Fondazione Prada in Milan, the setting is contemporary yet oozes Old World chic at the same time.
After all, it’s very much a cultured meeting place and gathering point for lovers of dance, and it comes with a tongue-in-cheek sense of opulence related to ballet, theatre, and the arts in general. In order to create a more intimate atmosphere, the bar boasts a canopy that’s paired with a backdrop of bevelled glass, mirrors, and backlighting reminiscent of a theatrical wardrobe setting. Furnishings and fixtures include leather-clad banquettes and stools, fringed lampshades, an antique communal table, floral fabrics and wallpaper patterns, and arguably Café Constance‘s most striking design element, pink-hued pendant lamp shades reminiscent of a can-can dancer’s blowing skirt. The menu at Café Constance lists sandwiches, salads, pizzas and pastries, in addition to several veggie options, all paired with an elaborate range of hot and cold drinks.
Café Constance
1435 rue De Bleury (Quartier des Spectacles)
Montreal, QC H3A 2H7
Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
Publishers Note
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