What’s on the menu at Le Pavillon, Luminato’s fancy French pop-up in a power plant

One of the highlights of this year’s Luminato festival is among the coolest restaurants this city has ever seen: Le Pavillon, a classic French bistro inspired by the 1939 New York World’s Fair—in a decommissioned power plant. Montreal’s Fred Morin (Joe Beef) and Toronto’s John Bil (Honest Weight) teamed up to create the restaurant in the Hearn Generating Station’s control centre.

“Fred and I are just doing this for fun,” Bil says. “It took some convincing, but Jörn Weisbrodt and Luminato gave us the freedom to do what we wanted with this unique space.” The two recruited many of their friends in the industry to help: Jesse Grasso (The Black Hoof) led the kitchen on opening night with guest chef Michael Olson (Niagara Culinary Institute), and Hoof owner, Jen Agg, hosted another night while Robert Spektor (Buca Yorkville) cooked. Later this week, winemaker Norm Hardie and celeb chef Daniel Boulud will be making appearances. “It’s a group effort and we want our friends to be a part of it,” Bil says. 

Tickets for the seven-course tasting menu are sold out, but an à la carte menu is being served at the 16-seat bar, reserved for walk ins. And what’s going to happen to Le Pavillon after Luminato? “Poof! That’s the magic,” Bil says. “It’ll be gone when the festival is over.”

Until Sunday, June 26. The Hearn Generating Station, 440 Unwin Ave., luminatofestival.com