As reported last night in the UD Forum, Mon Bella in Kitsilano has abruptly closed it’s doors for good. Done. Finished.
Even after a short-lived rally and possible, albeit slow, uphill revival under the guidance of Chef Brian Fowke, the mountain proved too high to climb. The little Italian/French Bistoria, smacked up by the critics right out of the gate, had a hard time regaining a steady and sure footing to rebuild upon and relied on steap discounts to keep the clientelle coming, inevitably leading to a dire numbers game that eventually caught up with them and the bill paying owners who finally decided to pull the plug. ~ PK
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Jeez. That location is cursed!
that’s a rough streak for cheffy.
It’s too bad. They were nice people who deserved better. The only problem was there were too many chiefs and so the menu was going in too many directions. The food never lived up to the hype and was constantly changing. The opening chef was not very good. The next few chefs were better but the damage had been done.
Maybe a rustic Italian restaurant with just one owner and a great chef could make a go of it.
Good luck to the next owners.
ah that is too bad! The Tuesday night dinners that Brian Fowke were doing were delicious and great value (3 course tasting menu with small glass of paired wine with each course for $25).
I do think that location IS cursed!
I could see this coming as soon as ownership changed. New owners were trying to be too contrived and the friendly atmosphere went out the window quite quickly. Please … keep it simple and downhome style food. The customers are actually on the doorstep – so easy, but it needs down-home Kits food.