Frédric and Julie Lafontaine, two influential designers from Clairoux, brought this little Griffintown gem to life. After working together for 19 years and counting, they know just what it takes to hit the right note design-wise and always conceive high-end, carefully crafted projects. After researching the lifestyle habits of those who call the neighbourhood home – dynamic young professionals who are curious and love the best things in life – they jumped all over the opportunity to get started on this stimulating project.
Where interior design and great food go hand in hand
An incredible restaurant where design and great eats go hand in hand! The brightness of the restaurant makes the dishes really pop. Opting for similar commercial projects in the future would be great, as our experience was a great one.
The owner of the restaurant, Maxime Perrault, named the former body shop Perles et Paddock. Perles (pearls) for their femininity and Paddock in reference to a horse enclosure. In fact, horse references can be seen throughout the restaurant. Today, the space is a wonderfully bright restaurant where people gather to enjoy delicious, market-fresh cuisine (and where even the condiments are made in-house!).
This second collaboration with Maurice Martel allowed the pair to create a style inspired by the origins of the neighbourhood. The dining room brings the outdoors in, making it easy to forget that you’re in an industrial building.
The pair opted to work with raw materials such as wood, metal, concrete and green plants, and kept the high ceilings to air out the space and really make the food the centrepiece of it all. The relationship between inside and outside works to highlight the decor and facade. The white offers a sense of purity while the brightness of the space makes the dishes pop.
The casual chic nature of the restaurant can be seen in the logo with the golden letters, in the tall green plants on the counter and in the market cuisine. The concept has been the same since day one—bright and comfortable, the result being what we see today. This was an enriching collaboration for all, and the talented hands on deck can be proud of their hard work especially in architecture.
A restaurant rooted in the nightlife of the neighbourhood
The restaurant’s location, close to both the city stables in Griffintown and Little Burgundy, is ideal for folks craving a good time. The idea was to come up with a design that was both original and neighbourhood-inspired, all while respecting the essence of the restaurant trade.
Above all else, Perles et Paddock is a high-end restaurant where guests always come first. Every detail in the menu was carefully thought through: fresh food, local beers, a fabulous wine list with mouth-watering imports and seasonal cocktails. The menu is priced for everyone and offers a healthy variety of products for every palate. Appetizers for sharing, homemade desserts – no details were spared to please the diners. And you can feel it in the air!
The neighbourhood gave birth to an ambitious design. What’s more, a horse-inspired work by artist Marc Gosselin adorns the space. Maxime, the proud owner of the restaurant, is lucky: he had the support not only of his team but also of a group of suppliers who went above and beyond in the name of this lovely project.
