Café SAT: Superb café in the Quartier des Spectacles

The Society for Arts and Technology launched its newest dining venture in the fall of 2018, SAT Café. The address is a superb addition to the neighbourhood with its offering of excellent coffees and simple, delicious food.

In 1996, the SAT was founded as a place for broadcasting, creation, and training, and incorporates a research lab dedicated to digital culture.

Today, with over 20 years of operation, the organization is a cultural staple in Montreal. After the Labo Culinaire – Foodlab restaurant, it was Café SAT’s turn to see the light of day in September 2018, filling a decidedly lacking offer in the area.

An accessible gathering place, open to all

“The idea for the café came from our desire to create a space that would be open all day, with a door to the street. We wanted to offer a meeting place for everyone,” says Alexandre Auché, manager of the establishment. Thus, the SAT Café is very accessible, welcoming students, artists, and numerous employees working in the surrounding area. For this reason, the address is also on our list of ideal cafés for working.

Located in a modern space at the junction of the SAT and in front of the Place de la Paix, the café is beautiful. Developed by Alexandre with the help of designers Amélie Daudelin-Pilotte, Hakima Djermouli and Emily Robinson, the space is large, sleek, and inviting. Carefully designed, the configuration of the space gives the location wonderful natural light during the day. Many of the decor pieces are from local designers, such as Lavoie Luminaire. A unique feature of the café is its counter, adorned with mashrabiya telling the story of SAT in binary code. Thanks to its quality design, the address is now part of our list of the most beautiful cafés in Montreal!

Merging the culinary work of the Labo-Culinaire – Foodlab

The concept of SAT Café is to merge the culinary work of the Labo Culinaire – Foodlab with a café formula. In close collaboration with local producers, Maxime Cardin-Pilon has developed a short and accessible menu, focusing on the freshness and quality of the products available. For breakfast and lunch, the house offers affordable plates, such as the mouna plate (mouna brioche, baguette, jam, butter), homemade granola and yogourt, smoked char toast, or the chimichurri beef gravlax salad. Everything is fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented. As the address is a non-profit organization, the prices remain very accessible; the profits are used to finance the cultural projects of the SAT—a concept that we really like.

As for drinks, the café offers a different coffee every month to keep things interesting. Currently, they are serving coffee from Toronto’s Pilot roasters, but will soon give way to Racer coffee. Not into coffee? The house also offers another specialty: the matcha latte with lavender.

Note that the address also offers a happy hour formula thanks to its restaurant industry permit. The house offers an Italian-style aperitif, with platters of charcuterie, cheese, and olives. A few cocktails are also available, as well as a nice selection of natural wines that are constantly changing.

The arrival of this brand-new café in the Quartier des Spectacles is a remarkable addition to this corner of the city. We come to this bright urban space for excellent coffee and tasty food in a beautiful space—all while supporting the cultural projects of the SAT!

Written by Sophie Monkman
Photography by Alison Slattery

Last update: April 09, 2022

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