Ristorante Piatti: One of the Rive-Nord’s Finest Tables

In Rosemère, on chemin de la Grande-Côte, a stone house almost slips past you from the street. Push open the door and the contrast catches you off guard: the dining room is one of the most beautiful on Montreal’s North Shore (Rive-Nord). The Morgia family has run Ristorante Piatti here since 2008, and it has become a fixture of the Laurentians dining scene.

From Borden’s Chalet to the Morgia Table

Piatti is a family story first. Giancarlo and Stella Morgia ran Il Fornetto in Lachine for some twenty years, and their son Gianpiero grew up in the trade. It was at his uncle’s restaurant on the South Shore, Primi Piatti, that Gianpiero realized a fine table could thrive off the island, far from Montreal’s competition.

When a server passed along a good tip (a beautiful restaurant for sale in Rosemère), his parents went to see it and fell head over heels. The house carries plenty of history: back in the day, it was the summer chalet of Robert Laird Borden, Prime Minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920, when Rosemère hosted the summer retreats of Montreal’s well-to-do. The vision was clear from the start. “I wanted to keep people on the North Shore, so they wouldn’t have to go to Montreal for this anymore,” Gianpiero tells us, now at the helm of the address. Mission accomplished, we’d say!

Italian Cooking, by Way of Lyon

Piatti isn’t only gorgeous; you eat very well here too. Chef Pierre Jonathan Dutremble (also a partner in the restaurant) spent two years at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Lyon. Here he blends his French technique with the Morgia family’s Italian roots. The result is honest, generous Mediterranean cooking, from tartares to octopus, by way of house-made fresh pasta, osso buco alla milanese and braised lamb over pappardelle. The menu changes about twice a year, and a weekly table d’hôte rewards the regulars, some of whom sit down more than once in the same week. At the heart of it all: the pizza oven! It’s a must whenever you eat at Piatti. Our own favourites? The margherita pizza (extra burrata!!) and the butter-and-sage gnocchi, tender just the way they should be. The wine list, long and sharp, is built by Gianpiero, private imports included (and there’s something for every budget).

A Dining Room That Takes Your Breath Away

After nearly twenty years, the family gave Piatti a new identity a few years ago, handing the room to Montreal’s Ivy Studio. “Sometimes you have to reinvent your identity, go find a new clientele with a new look,” Gianpiero explains. Another bet that paid off: the original stone stayed to keep plenty of character, but the whole space breathes contemporary elegance, from the covered terrace out back to the private room downstairs, good for about thirty guests.

The mood follows the hour: calm at midday, easygoing on weeknights, downright festive at the second seating on weekends, when the music climbs. Piatti is a top pick for business lunches, but also for special evenings out. “I want everyone to have a good experience, whether they come for a pizza and a glass of wine or they feel like treating themselves.”

So that’s Piatti, a stunning, warm address that has managed to reinvent itself without losing its soul, as comfortable for a weekday lunch as a family dinner. It’s easy to see why the regulars keep coming back, and no longer really feel like crossing the bridge.

Written by Jean-Philippe Tastet
Photography by Alison Slattery

Updated on July 24, 2026

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