Tucked between Montreal’s Mont Royal park and Little Italy in the neighborhood of Mile End is a small café with a big vision: to support local flower growers, makers, and designers. Le Butterblume is part boutique, part restaurant, and 100 percent young Montreal.
Le Butterblume’s artisanal ethos fits perfectly into Mile End, a neighborhood of Quebecois clothing designers (who sew onsite), vintage record shops, furniture stores, boutiques, bars, and cafes.
Photography by Christin Geall except where noted.
![Owners Nadine Boudreau, Jens Ruoff and Julie Romano. Photograph by Marie-Reine Mattera.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/owners-butterblume-733x492.jpg)
Friends and owners Nadine Boudreau and Julie Romano designed the interior of Le Butterblume themselves, commissioning tables and shelving from Montreal woodworker Jérôme Lavoie and lighting from local designer Hamster.
![Le Butterblume in Montreal\2\17;s Mile End neighborhood focuses on fresh simplicity in the restaurant\2\17;s design.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/spring-salvia-733x671.jpg)
![Jérôme Lavoie designed and built the retail shelving from local wood. Photograph by Marie-Reine Mattera.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/butterblume-shelving-733x489.jpg)
Le Butterblume serves the early set, opening for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Chef/owner Jens Ruoff makes the restaurant’s homemade bread, yogurt, and pastries. Herbs feature heavily in his cooking and no detail is too small: a drizzle of parsley oil, a smidgen of garlic flower pesto, a sprinkling of snipped chives.
![The brunch bar at Le Butterblume.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/bar-butterblume-733x489.jpg)
![A signature neon bloom adorns a restored wall at Le Butterblume. Photograph by Marie-Reine Mattera.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/neon-flower-butterblume-733x489.jpg)
![String lights from Hamster conjure a garden patio vibe indoors.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/hamster-light-hanging-plants-733x483.jpg)
Innovative open sandwiches, egg dishes, and soups featuring fresh regional ingredients give the café a farm-to-table focus. When I visited, the French love for (and refinement of) sauces was in evidence: my radish tartine had a piquant green sauce more reminiscent of watercress or vichyssoise than pesto. My son’s pork ravioli were served floating in chicken dashi and had a touch of allspice, a distinct flavoring popular in the province.
![A radish and egg tartine by chef Jens Ruoff.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/radish-sandwich-733x1100.jpg)
![Culinary herbs displayed in a fruit basket at Le Butterblume.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/herb-basket-e1499368874396-733x1100.jpg)
The farm-to-table theme and devotion to craftsmanship extends to the small boutique which features local produced aprons, plants, pottery, and cut flowers.
“I wanted to offer customers the option of a single stem or a big bouquet,” said owner Julie Romano. “I love flowers. And people enjoy choosing their own favorites.” Butterblume sources flowers solely from Quebec flower farm On Origine.
![Flowers and herbs from On Origine are featured in the boutique.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/spring-display-butterblume-733x941.jpg)
N.B.: Planning a trip to Montreal? See more of our favorite shops:
- Handmade Kids’ Furniture from Objets Mécaniques in Montreal on Remodelista.
- Les Touilleurs: A Kitchen Emporium in Montreal on Remodelista.
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