Bistrot Fortune: Where Southeast Asia Meets Latin America

Tucked away on Jean-Talon, Bistrot Fortune blends Southeast Asian and Latin American cuisines in a laid-back setting.

Some addresses come full circle. At 2115 Jean-Talon East, in Villeray, Phong Thach has taken back the keys to the very first space he opened in 2007. Nearly twenty years later, he’s back, this time with his friend and partner-in-crime Carlos Ortiz, to bring Bistrot Fortune to life. The restaurant has been open since April 4th. A small spot with about thirty seats, a kitchen that travels between Saigon and San Salvador, and a simple ambition: to cook exactly what they feel like eating.

The story between these two goes way back. Carlos worked for Phong at Red Tiger for years before becoming co-owner and manager of the Angus location. When Phong stepped away from Red Tiger to explore new avenues, the two kept cooking together — first just for fun, then through small catering gigs, and eventually pop-ups. That’s how Fortune was born: a freely blended street food inspired by both Asian and Latin American flavours. When the previous owner of his 2007 space announced her retirement and offered Phong the chance to come back, the project finally had a home. Carlos immediately said yes to joining Phong on the Bistrot Fortune adventure. The rest wrote itself.

A Fusion That Makes Sense

Southeast Asian cuisine takes the lead at Bistrot Fortune, with Latin American detours and the Japanese technical precision that Phong has long practiced. The word “bistrot” in the name isn’t just a wink: it nods to the French influence that has long shaped Indochinese cooking. “We’re going back in time a little bit,” he explains. A third partner, chef Tony, brings a more distinctly bistronomic signature to certain dishes. The bold mix of flavours and interweaving of techniques is perfectly balanced. The result is an experience unique to Montreal, a wave of freshness and originality the city needed. The team isn’t trying to overdo it with fusion: they cook what they know, and they do it well. That’s it.

The menu at Bistrot Fortune is intentionally short and shifts with what’s coming in and what’s in season. You’ll find a hamachi crudo bathed in a Thai-leaning aji verde, which has quickly become the house signature, along with a crispy pork salad that perfectly captures the restaurant’s fusion approach. On the sharing side, the sous-vide chicken — tender and beautifully seasoned — has become a quiet favourite, as has the creamy eggplant tofu, which converts the skeptics on the very first bite. More recently, the team added a Vietnamese-style braised osso buco, perfumed with star anise and pho spices… Just talking about it makes our mouths water. “We cook the way we like to cook. We’re here for our food,” says Phong, who doesn’t dial down the spice to please everyone. The result: an explosion of bold, vibrant flavours.

The Bistrot Fortune format works for everything: à la carte, or in “trust us” mode if you mention it to the team. The wine list, curated by Carlos, comes down to a few well-chosen bottles, paired with a short cocktail selection.

Small, intimate, made for tables of two or four (a date or a dinner with friends), Bistrot Fortune settles into Jean-Talon with the quiet confidence of people who know exactly what they want to serve. And that’s precisely what makes it worth the trip. Happy discovering!

Written by Jean-Philippe Tastet
Photography by Alison Slattery

Updated on May 07, 2026

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