Primi Piatti

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

The South Shore's Italian Standard-Bearer

Established in 2008 on Saint-Lambert's Rue Green, Primi Piatti has spent well over a decade earning its reputation as the definitive Italian restaurant on Montréal's South Shore. The team describes it plainly: "service after service," they defend a standard of excellence built on loyal, discerning guests who keep coming back. That consistency has not gone unnoticed — Wine Spectator recognized the restaurant with its Best of Award of Excellence in 2022, a distinction that speaks directly to the seriousness of the wine program.

A Menu Built on Honest Ingredients

The kitchen's philosophy is straightforward: source the finest produce, meats, fish, and seafood from suppliers cultivated over years, then let experienced cooks do the work with precision and care. The menu moves confidently across the Italian repertoire while leaving room for the kitchen's own personality.

The Mozzarella Bar sets the tone early — burrata with black truffle, mushroom sauce, guanciale, and truffle pecorino sits alongside a more restrained Caprese built on heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala. Antipasti range from a veal meatball with pancetta-infused ricotta mousse to grilled octopus with fregola sarda and spicy marjoram vinaigrette. Wood-fired pizzas include a San Daniele topped with prosciutto, arugula, truffle oil, and parmesan shavings.

Pasta is where the Italian kitchen truly asserts itself. Fresh homemade doughs carry pulled lamb ragù, braised veal cheek with stracciatella, or a striking squid-ink linguine loaded with giant shrimp, scallops, mussels, calamari, and lobster bisque. For meat, a grilled milk-fed veal chop arrives with homemade ricotta cavatelli, while an aged Angus ribeye — 20 oz — is finished with black pepper, cognac sauce, and Hercule cheese potatoes.

A Wine List Worth the Recognition

The cellar is treated with the same deliberateness as the kitchen. Old World and New World bottles sit side by side, the list "constantly evolving" to reflect both celebrated producers and less obvious finds. It is precisely this curatorial approach that earned Primi Piatti its Wine Spectator honor — a meaningful credential for any Italian restaurant, and a reliable signal for guests who take wine seriously.

Outdoor seating, lunch and dinner service, and the option for delivery round out an offer that has made Primi Piatti a fixture of the South Shore dining scene for more than fifteen years.