How a Montreal sommelier runs her widely acclaimed restaurant, Mon Lapin | Canada Voices

Acclaimed Montreal wine bar Mon Lapin continually ranks as one of Canada’s top restaurants, which its owners say motivates them to work with more focus and intention.

“I don’t know if it’s the chicken or the egg, but the recognition for Mon Lapin and our wine program has enabled us to build the best team of wine professionals we have ever had,” says co-owner Vanya Filipovic, who was named the winner of North America’s Best Sommelier Award by the 50 Best organization. (The same list honoured Mon Lapin as The Best Restaurant in East Canada 2025.)

Filipovic and her chef-husband Marc-Olivier Frappier launched Mon Lapin in their Little Italy neighbourhood in 2018 as part of the Joe Beef group of restaurants. They took sole ownership of the 36-seat wine bar a year later, expanding into a neighbouring space and adding business partners from their team: Jessica Noël, who shares the kitchen with Frappier; Alex Landry, the co-sommelier who runs the wine program alongside Filipovic; and Marc-Antoine Gélinas, the front-of-house manager.

She told The Globe about the balancing act of being a neighbourhood restaurant that attracts the attention of culinary tourists, how she defines her role as a sommelier and the excitement surrounding Mon Lapin’s upcoming cookbook from Phaidon Press.

How do you cope with the pressure of media attention and recognition while running your restaurant?

I am so grateful for the experience we had at Joe Beef, where we had to manage working in the spotlight. We learned a lot about what can happen when this Top 10 list or that best-of list comes out, or when this TV show comes calling. … That has been a blessing because we have been able to keep a cool head and focus on making sure our restaurant remains super accessible to its core clientele and locals, as it’s still a neighbourhood restaurant. Every day, we have the opportunity to improve. As a result, we have been able to keep our love of hospitality at the centre of what we do because we never want to wake up in the morning and, suddenly, despise our restaurant. Our idea is to have a place that we can fill with people we love, wines we love, food we love and music we love.

How does your restaurant maintain its status as a local favourite while also accommodating tourists seeking the award-winning Mon Lapin experience?

We have customers from the neighbourhood who we know will never make a reservation but walk in every Wednesday at the same time and want to sit at a specific table. We really love having that neighbourhood feel, but we also have all the concierges with hotel guests and visitors coming through our city who are interested in discovering Mon Lapin. This juxtaposition makes the room really lively and eclectic, which is exactly what we had in mind – a real mix of cultures, backgrounds and walks of life.

Why is there an emoji for red wine, but not white wine?

How would you define the role of a sommelier?

The sommelier’s role truly comes to life on the dining room floor. To me, a sommelier is actively engaged in wine service on the dining room floor. They listen to the guests, listen to the wine and strive to find a common ground for those two voices. Of course, there are many responsibilities off the floor, too. Extensive education, continuous tasting, events and travel are all essential components of the role. Wine is something that keeps you extremely down to earth and humble, because it is forever changing and the amount of knowledge you can acquire is so small in comparison to what there is out there.

What is keeping you excited as we move toward summer?

It feels like we have endured the longest winter in history, so I am craving anything that screams sunshine right now: A perfect glass of rosé or a crisp champagne sounds incredibly appealing. There’s also anticipation of the coming bounty of fresh local produce we are eagerly awaiting. Our first cookbook [The Mon Lapin Cookbook: De Toute Beauté: From Montreal, With Love] will be published on Sept. 30. We have been working on it for two years and are excited to share it with the world.