On Saint-Denis Street, between two storefronts, a small facade stands out thanks to a bearded, smiling face stuck to the door. That’s Billy. Behind the first name that gives the restaurant its title is Billy Galindo, chef-owner originally from Millau, in the south of France, a town best known for the moment activist José Bové tore down a McDonald’s in the late 1990s. Billy’s path veers toward the kitchen, where he gets the chance to cross paths with a Michelin-starred chef, Maxime Apert of restaurant Insens, who takes him under his wing.
A few years later, Billy moves to Montreal, where he spends a dozen years in the kitchens of the late F Bar, La Chronique, Albert Bistro, and Darna Bistroquet. Then the pandemic hits. Billy leaves Darna and strikes out on his own, initially with the idea of an online ready-to-eat meal service. He tests his recipes on friends and acquaintances, who place orders through a Google form, and it’s these very customers who, by repeatedly writing to him, “Billy, I’m hungry! What’s for dinner tonight?”, end up giving the project its name. The restaurant opens its doors in August 2022 on Saint-Denis Street, with his partner Camille Boissel by his side.
The space holds about twenty seats. Billy and Camille handled the renovation and decor themselves, hitting up thrift shops to track down tables and chairs piece by piece. The result is anything but flashy, but it carries a confident, unpretentious charm.
On the menu, about a dozen dishes change from day to day, alongside a few reliable regulars. The restaurant serves a bistro lunch menu Tuesday through Friday, and a brunch menu on Saturdays. Prices stay very reasonable given the portion sizes; expect to pay between $15 and $30 for a meal, with a small selection of wines by the glass under $10. For smaller appetites or anyone in a hurry, a few grab-and-go options at $10 or less are also on offer: croque-monsieur, focaccia of the day, club sandwich, pissaladière.
Billy works mainly with local, seasonal products, which he processes himself on-site, aiming to cut down on waste and shrink the restaurant’s environmental footprint. Nearly all take-out dishes come in returnable or compostable containers, with the long-term goal of eliminating plastic altogether.
My experience at Billy, j’ai faim!
Greenery cascades along the bar, climbs the walls, and weaves between paintings of vegetables and spring-colored plates. My first stop is the eggs Benedict. The dish itself arrives on a rustic plate. A pillowy-soft focaccia serves as the base for vegetables cut ratatouille-style, topped with poached eggs Benedict-style, finished with a scattering of pecans. The whole thing comes together beautifully, carried by a real depth of flavor that the vegetables’ natural sweetness helps build.
The croissant, glossy and well-glazed, leans into generosity with a thick béchamel and an egg cooked to just the right runniness. There’s no overflowing creativity here, just the confident execution of a classic.
On the dessert side, the chocolate mousse impresses with its simplicity; the texture isn’t the airiest, but the flavor hits its mark enough that you genuinely wish you’d been handed the whole pot. The strawberry chantilly éclair, meanwhile, shows off a house-made choux pastry lifted with a touch of orange blossom for acidity. A good idea, slightly undercut by a bake that runs a touch too long and doesn’t leave the pastry enough lift. Still, the effort deserves credit, as few places still dare to make their own choux pastry in-house. The chantilly cream, on the other hand, more than makes up for it with an impeccably light, airy texture.
