13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Condé Nast Traveler
Tiradito — Restaurant Review
Start us off with an overview of the space.
Located half a block from the Palais des Congrès, this snack bar rethinks regular restaurant design by offering mostly bar seating around a Tetris-piece-shaped open kitchen and bar. Starting with the neon logo on the wall, the colors throughout are tropical—aqua and salmon—giving the space instant warmth and ambience.
What is the crowd like?
At lunch this place hops with trendy professionals from Downtown, Old Montréal, and the Financial District. At night, there's an after-work-drinks crowd that transitions into dinner.
Okay, start us off—what should we be drinking?
The cocktail list here stars pisco (Peruvian brandy), sake, rum, and mezcal. Try the pisco sour, the sake punch for two (with cachaça, Thai basil, and chile), or a beer on tap.
What sets the food here apart?
Montreal's first proper Nikkei restaurant, Tiradito blends Peruvian and Japanese cuisine into small plates that are packed with color, texture, and flavor. Chef Marcel Olivier Larrea's tiradito—a saucy version of sashimi with fiery aji amarillo chili, miso, and tamarind, and topped with crunchy Peruvian grilled corn kernels—is a good place to start. Other must-orders are the deep-fried octopus anticucho, served with dark, salty-sweet sauce, and the barbecued duck sandwich in a steamed bun.
How's the service?
The wait staff and kitchen staff are one in this unusual restaurant, where an open-plan concept allows diners to see all the action. Multitasking is the name of the game, and it seems to work seamlessly.
What's the real-real on why we're coming here?
Small plates with big flavor await in this stylish downtown snack bar, where you can stop for one drink and a quick bite, or for a full outing of cocktails and feasting. Come with a friend so you can share as many dishes as possible; be warned, though, that the all-bar seating gets a bit awkward for groups larger than two.
