Café SAT: a superb café in the Quartier des Spectacles

Founded in 1996, the Société des arts technologiques [SAT] is both a venue for performance, creation, training, and a research lab dedicated to digital culture. A flagship institution in the Quartier des Spectacles, it has been home since 2018 to a culinary space that extends its creative mission: Café SAT.

“The idea for the café came from our desire to create a new space open all day, right on the street, where we could welcome the public both day and night. We wanted to offer a gathering place for everyone,” explains Alexandre Auché, designer of the space. Café SAT is indeed highly accessible, welcoming students, artists, and nearby office workers alike — earning it a spot on our list of perfect cafés for working.

Located in a modern space adjoining the SAT’s main building and overlooking Place de la Paix, Café SAT charms with its design that is both sleek and inviting. Conceived by Alexandre with the help of designers Amélie Daudelin-Pilotte, Hakima Djermouli, and Emily Robinson, the venue is spacious and bathed in natural light. Many décor elements come from local creators such as Lavoie Luminaire, while the café counter is clad in moucharabieh panels telling the story of the SAT in binary language.

Chef Catherine Lépine Lafrance brings her sensitive touch to Café SAT’s kitchen, creating seasonal dishes that are simple yet refined.
Her approach is marked by disarming sincerity and a deep commitment to local ingredients. Inspired by public markets and artisanal traditions, Catherine crafts desserts and snacks without artifice, where fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and flowers intertwine in delicate, unexpected harmonies.

The menu highlights a mostly vegetarian, nourishing, and light cuisine. There are nods to Eastern European traditions — such as a bagel topped with a root vegetable croquette or a cardamom bun. With this menu, Café SAT reinvents itself while remaining true to its essence: accessible, original, and vibrant cooking that feeds both body and mind.

Under new culinary leadership and supported by a refreshed team, the SAT is launching a reimagined food offering and program, expressed notably through Café SAT. This evolution marks a new chapter where gastronomy, imagination, and hospitality intertwine at the very heart of the Société des arts technologiques’ mission.

Café SAT also offers the possibility to rent and privatize the space, with a brand-new catering menu designed for convivial events. The venue also serves as a playground for local roasters, fostering collaborations around specialty coffee and encouraging experimentation with new roasting and service approaches.

Anchored in the Quartier des Spectacles, Café SAT has become a hub for curious minds — a place to stop for an excellent coffee, inspired dishes, and a unique atmosphere where gastronomy meets creativity.