Visitors to the Petite-Patrie neighborhood northwest of Montreal’s city center previously had little reason to venture beyond the Marché Jean-Talon, a popular food market stocked with local bounty: seasonal produce, Quebec cheeses, canned maple syrup. After all, the area’s main commercial artery, Plaza St.-Hubert, is a bizarre strip of formal-wear shops touting bargain-basement prices on ’80s-style prom and wedding gowns (and the requisite underpinnings). But lately, amid the sequins and satin, a growing roster of cool cafes, coffee shops, bakeries and bars, many on residential side streets, has unexpectedly bloomed in this transforming neighborhood, which now attracts Montrealers from across the city.

Montréal Plaza

Montreal’s food world was skeptical when the renowned local chef Charles-Antoine Crête announced that his first solo venture would be on Plaza St.-Hubert. But this bustling brasserie has been reliably packed with diners devouring platters of oysters and creative dishes like baloney cannelloni.

6230, rue St.-Hubert; 514-903-6230; montrealplaza.com.