Le Manners: The Address Laval Was Waiting For

Le Manners: The Address Laval Needed

There are restaurants where you just go to eat, and others where you go to have an experience. Le Manners is clearly the second kind. Right in the heart of Centropolis, where you mostly expect chains, five friends opened a Mediterranean resto-buvette in the summer of 2025 that quickly became, in our opinion, THE spot in Laval to eat well in an electric atmosphere. “We really opened a restaurant for our people,” the team sums up. And the restaurant’s vibe reflects that philosophy well. You feel like you’re at a friend’s place: a lively room, an incredible playlist, plates to share… in short, everything you need for a good time.

Five Friends, Five Strengths

It all starts with a phone call. When the Centropolis space frees up, Simon — Gabriel’s childhood friend — calls his crew with an idea. A group of five complementary minds forms around them. Gabriel, a former server trained at Leméac, brings the rigour of service. Simon, a longtime bartender and a fixture of the legendary Général Sherman on the Rive-Nord, knows everyone (literally!). Sean, the finance pro, is the team’s business brain. Kevin, the cartesian “dad” and Excel champion, has opened a dozen successful establishments, including Les Vieilles Portes, an essential address in Saint-Sauveur. And Marilyne, the creative head of the group and founder of Petite Boîte Noire, signs the entire visual identity (right down to the mural hand-painted on the ceiling of the women’s bathroom!!). Together, the five friends complement each other beautifully, and that closeness comes through in every aspect of Le Manners.

The Mediterranean, Their Way

The choice of cuisine starts with Laval itself. “We wanted to make the majority of the communities proud,” explain the owners, who dig into the Spanish, Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern repertoires without ever claiming to embody any one of them. “We honour those cultures with respect, but without pretension.” The finest compliment they get? “Customers ask us who’s the Greek and who’s the Lebanese in the group, because the hummus and the kopanisti taste like their grandmother’s.”

The menu revolves around several plates to share, and that’s where the fun begins: you reach left, you reach right, everyone tastes everything. Our favourites? The kopanisti and the hummus (the perfect sharing plates to start the evening), the two crudos (scallop and tuna), the lamb chops cooked to perfection and the shrimp in garlic butter and piment d’Espelette (order them with the pitas so you can dip them in the sauce!!).

On the drinks side, the cocktail list is worth the trip on its own, starting with the iconic No Manners martini, served with a ton of olives. There are also great mocktail options for those who don’t drink, and a superb private-import wine list, running from classics to funky little bottles.

At Le Manners, there’s something for every budget. You can come with the girls for a glass of wine and share a crudo, or you can come ready to go all out and order without limits. “Abundance at a good price,” as they put it.

A Room Overflowing with Energy

Let’s talk decor, because Le Manners’ is gorgeous: high ceilings, lots of wood, rounded shapes, travertine. A place beautiful enough to impress a date (our trick is to book the first seating if you want to keep it intimate, because the further into the evening you get, the more the tempo climbs).

At lunch and early in the week, the sun pours in through the big windows and it’s incredibly bright — ideal for a corporate lunch. Then, in the evening, the curtains come down, the music goes up, and it becomes the ideal spot for a party or a dinner with friends. Hushed, dimmed and groovy. “It’s like a play,” the team pictures it, curating a unique playlist that animates the place. Plenty of house, to give the night a lot of life. Whatever the evening or the hour, the consistency holds: chef Alex Collier (ex-Le Roseline, ex-Taverne Sur le Square) makes sure every plate is served exactly as it should be.

Le Manners has its own identity and doesn’t try to be someone else. “There are already so many good addresses in Laval, like Oregon, Le Boating Club, La Florida… I didn’t want to be another one of those restaurants, I love them. I just wanted us to bring something different, without stepping on anyone’s toes,” Marilyne sums up. Their goal was to add one more address so people stay in Laval instead of heading downtown: you have dinner here, you grab a last drink next door, everybody wins. In short, exactly what was missing.

Le Manners doesn’t claim to have reinvented the wheel. It just bet everything on hospitality, generosity and good food. What they do, they do well. Or, as the crew puts it: “Welcome home, this is a little family.”

Written by Jean-Philippe Tastet
Photography by Alison Slattery

Updated on August 03, 2026

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