Caroline Dumas made her mark on Montreal with SoupeSoup, turning simple, homey cooking into an institution. After stepping away from that empire, she returned in 2017 with Bloomfield, a small but thoughtful neighbourhood bistro on Van Horne. It’s intimate—just a handful of tables and a terrace when the weather cooperates—but the heart of the place is the kitchen, where Dumas crafts the kind of meals she’d want on her own table.

The menu is compact, seasonal, and effortlessly satisfying. Brunch is a standout, with dishes like a Jerusalem platter loaded with dips, eggs, and halloumi, or a well-executed avocado toast. There’s always a nod to international flavours—grilled corn straight out of Café Habana’s playbook, a fragrant chicken adobo—but the throughline is fresh, unfussy cooking. And with a tight selection of natural wines curated by Steve Beauséjour, the drink list keeps pace.

Bloomfield isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, just perfect the ride. It’s the kind of place that feels like an extension of your own kitchen—if your kitchen had a chef who knows exactly what you want before you do.