In a city like Montreal, where artistic and architectural tradition mingle with the gentleness of life in a northern city, cafés and the morning coffee-viennoiserie ritual are of paramount importance.
Add to the mix one of the beating hearts of Montreal culture – the Musée des Beaux-Arts – and the result is an ultra-bright space that presents itself as an oasis of daily sweetness; Aube Café, which opens on the museum’s second floor.
The café is set in an almost entirely glassed-in space overlooking the museum’s grand entrance hall, and the warm lights above the pink-and-green-toned counter invite you in – along with the smell of coffee and hot bread.
A trio of chefs (up at the crack of dawn)
The gang from Hochelaga-based boulangerie-atelier Aube are at the helm of this new café, and at its center is a trio of chefs and a truly excellent atmosphere. The dawn is divided into three phases (astronomical, nautical and civil) and this is what gave rise to the name of the bakery and – by extension – the café at the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Of course, the trio also rises at dawn…
Stéphanie Gagnon, David Ollu and Adrien Allard have been working together for several years, and since I arrived at the café opening at 10 a.m. sharp, I had the chance to chat with Stéphanie before the morning gun went off…
While Adrien Allard makes his sourdough bread, Stéphanie makes the viennoiserie and pastries at Aube. Her viennoiseries are meant to be eaten every day, and are made mostly with whole grains and seasonal produce, with no unnecessary additions or too much sugar. Every morning, they are freshly baked and brought in from the Hochelaga workshop.
She also tells me about the team, who have been the same since they built the bakery-workshop together, and who work in a calm good humor that makes you want to stay a while. It’s a far cry from the shouted yes chef and anxiety-inducing chaos of TV restaurants – here, it’s much gentler, like the fika pastries ( viennoiserie break in Scandinavian countries) studied by Stéphanie before her return to Montreal.
L’Aube Café offers large croissants, cookies, kouign-amman, muffins and brownies presented under glass on the pink-tiled counter, and after tasting the financier (which is naturally gluten-free) you know you’ll be coming back again and again! The café will be open during Museum opening hours, and you don’t have to be a visitor to drop in…
The café
In addition to the pastries, viennoiseries and sandwiches, foccaccias and pizzas al taglio that are prepared in an open kitchen, there is of course excellent coffee at Aube.
The coffees are from Jungle, a Montreal roaster offering hyper-sophisticated coffees with very pronounced tastes and names that make you smile – we tasted the (bad) Bunny , with accents of “pink lemonade, beach and reggaeton”.
Practical info
The café is open like the museum, Tuesday to Sunday , 10am to 5pm.
Access is via the main entrance to the Musée des Beaux-Arts, at 1380 Sherbrooke Street West.
Enjoy your coffee break!