If it’s Tuesday, they must be in New York. Or is it Philadelphia? Possibly New Jersey? In the week coming, they’ll be in Quebec City, then Toronto. And in November, it’s off to Paris, London and Manchester.
Marc-Olivier (Marco) Frappier, Vanya Filipovic and Jessica Noël aren’t a touring rock act — not yet, anyway — but they are making music of sorts with their culinary creations. They are showcasing their debut tome, The Mon Lapin Cookbook: De Toute Beauté, released in English and French versions. And along the way on this whirlwind adventure, they’re not only signing books but also donning smocks to prepare mini-feasts for fans and fellow cuisiniers.
The three are in a rented van, pulled off to the side of the road as they head to their next destination when we speak via Zoom. Though released just a few weeks ago, the book is in its third printing in English and second in French.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the reaction,” says Frappier, who is behind the wheel. “We spend our lives in the kitchen almost all the time. We’re not used to being the centre of attention at book launches, getting all this love and appreciation for the restaurant and the book. But have to say it’s been really nice.”
“It’s been a big wave of love,” Filipovic marvels.
Mon Lapin co-owner and chef Jessica Noël signs books during a recent event to promote The Mon Lapin Cookbook at Le Veau d’Or in New York City. Lizzie Rollins
Adds Noël: “It’s been a great ride to get these super positive reactions and totally justifies the three years we spent working on the book.”
Although they’ve become almost household names in Montreal and other parts of the country, they weren’t sure what kind of reaction they would receive in the U.S.
“We didn’t know how many people would show up to these events in the States, but they’ve all been sold out. People leaving with stacks of books. I’ve just been blown away,” Frappier says. “In this small town in New Jersey, we hooked up at a restaurant in a small inn with a chef who I started out working with well over 25 years ago, and everyone in the room knew about Mon Lapin.”
“It’s been so crazy,” Filipovic says. “Everywhere we’ve been, it’s people who’ve eaten there, who plan to eat there or who’ve heard about it. We had no idea.”
But this is far more than a cookbook.
It features more than 100 recipes concocted at the Little Italy resto by chefs Frappier and Noël, plus whimsical wine insights and essays from sommelier Filipovic. The book, covered in handsome emerald-green leather embossed with gilded lettering, should leave readers smacking their lips, thanks to complementary eye-catching photos by Dominique Lafond. Co-written by Montreal author Mireille Silcoff, it brings out the warmth of the restaurant and its owners, and truly serves as a reflection of the team.
Its subtitle, From Montreal, With Love, couldn’t be more apt. As much as it’s a collection of mouth-watering recipes — Croque-Pétoncle, Sourdough Chicken, Tagliatelle with Newfoundland Squid Ragù, Buckwheat Celebration Cake — it is also most certainly an homage to the city. Its seven chapter titles are city focused, even seductive. Of note: Steamy Windows in February; What Is a Wine Bar Anyway; Primi — A Love Affair.
“I really feel that the book is almost like a nice little business card for Montreal,” Filipovic says. “We really tried to get what makes Montreal feel so special, what makes our neighbourhood and our neighbours so special. We really wanted to paint that portrait for those who have not yet been to our city or our spot.”
The Mon Lapin story is nothing short of remarkable. Even magical. Launched just eight years ago, Mon Lapin has been on quite the wild ride the last few years. It finished first on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list in 2023 and again in 2024. It also claimed the No. 1 spot on Chris Nuttall-Smith’s The Best Places to Eat in Canada list for Maclean’s magazine in 2023. Plus, it landed at No. 2 in the debut North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025; the same poll also selected Filipovic as the best sommelier in North America.
The Mon Lapin Cookbook: De Toute Beauté features embossed gold-coloured lettering, gilt edges in gold colour and a flip-book animation of a running rabbit in the bottom right corner. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
Nearly two years ago, husband and wife Frappier and Filipovic — along with fellow owners Noël, Alex Landry and Marc-Antoine Gélinas — opened Rôtisserie La Lune a few blocks to the east of Mon Lapin, also on St-Zotique St. E. This tribute to old-school Québécois barbecue restos has quickly been garnering awards and accolades.
Prior to opening Mon Lapin, Frappier, Filipovic and Noël worked together for 15 years at the Little Burgundy hot spot Vin Papillon, part of the Joe Beef group.
Although Frappier is fond of saying he doesn’t consider himself a “fine-dining chef,” that’s precisely what he and Noël do: They make fine-dining experiences in every sense of the expression. Be it intricate squid ragùs or something as seemingly simple as radishes, which they deftly transform into … mmm … radish-top biscuits or marry delectably with chicken livers.
“We do try to hide all the work that goes behind it,” Noël says. “Although the menu is kind of obscure, we want our food to look so simple on the plate and that it doesn’t appear to look threatening. We want it to feel comforting to experience the plate. That has always been the key we’ve been after.”
Unlike some high-end restaurants, the atmosphere inside Mon Lapin is not threatening either. Décor is down-home cosy. Nothing frilly here. The food and staff are the draw. And while it certainly attracts tourists from around the world, particularly during Montreal’s festival-laden summers, it is also favoured by locals of all ages and backgrounds.
In short, it ain’t snooty.
“That’s my favourite part,” Filipovic says. “To gather families. To gather people who are dressed up or dressed down. People who can afford to come on a weekly basis or people who have been saving up for special occasions. The whole gamut of clientele.”
“I feel it represents us well and I feel it represents Montreal well,” Frappier adds. “I wouldn’t want to own a restaurant that I wouldn’t feel comfortable in.”
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One might expect that while touring New York, the team would be hit with offers to open a Mon Lapin there or elsewhere.
Ever the prankster, Frappier quips: “That’s the dream. We’re opening in Dubai by the end of the year and then Las Vegas, where we have this 900-seat penthouse wine and steak bar. And our plan for La Lune is top of the Eiffel Tower in 2028. Our HR is just figuring out the little details now. It’s going to be amazing.”
Yeah, that’s never happening. That’s not the world this gang inhabits.
“We never had a plan to conquer the world,” Frappier says. “That’s not what we wanted to do — ever. We just wanted to open a restaurant where we would make the food we love eating. Simple as that.”
“It’s been so cool travelling from city to city,” Filipovic says. “But we also can’t wait to go home and be in our restaurants. That’s where we want to be the most.”
Incidentally, Mon Lapin didn’t derive its name from that famed bunny Bugs, nor from Frappier’s famed Oven-Baked Rabbit alla Marco, but rather from Jean-François Ganevat, a winemaker with whom Filipovic once worked and who called friends his “bunnies.”
“He taught me that wine goes far beyond just harvest and grapes. It’s about opening your eyes up to everything else that’s around you. It was a really revelatory experience and has served us so well at work. Words to live by.”
The Mon Lapin Cookbook: De Toute Beauté — From Montreal, With Love (Phaidon); $64.95; hardback; 272 pp; available at bookstores and online.