La Buvette Shiso opens in Magog with pasta-focused soft launch

La Buvette Shiso has begun a soft opening at 50 Place du Commerce in downtown Magog, giving the former Méli Smoked Meat site a new identity before the full launch arrives. The restaurant is easing in while it waits for its liquor permit, and the team expects to be fully operational by July 1, 2026.

For now, the early rollout lets the project show its kitchen-first approach without rushing the rest of the program. The menu is built around pasta, fish and vegetables, with wine, cocktails and Quebec beers set to round out the experience once the alcohol side is fully in place. That phased start gives Magog diners an early look at the food before the complete buvette format comes online.

Behind the project are Benjamin Pen, Charles Massicolli and Dana Blumer, a trio that shaped La Buvette Shiso around personal culinary interests and a smaller, more hands-on dining room. Blumer is also a market gardener at Parcelle Austin, a detail that fits the restaurant’s close-in, ingredient-driven tone. The concept was designed so chefs can speak directly with customers about dishes and ingredients, putting conversation as much at the center of service as the plate itself.

That matters in a downtown core where every new opening changes the mix. La Tribune reported that the new restaurant-buvette would move into the old Méli Smoked Meat space, and the address now ties the project firmly to one of Magog’s most visible blocks. Ville de Magog materials identify Place du Commerce as a downtown parking and station area, and the site has also been linked to the 2024 microforest project near Rue Laurier, giving the corner a broader civic life beyond one dining room.

The timing also reflects the rules behind the scenes. Quebec’s Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux says a restaurant permit allows the sale or service of alcohol in an establishment where preparing and selling food is the principal activity, while provincial food-service guidance requires the proper permit for businesses preparing meals, snacks and drinks for on-site or takeout service. That is why the soft opening can start before the bar program is complete.

For pasta readers, La Buvette Shiso is already worth watching because it is not opening as a one-note trattoria. It is arriving as a compact, chef-led downtown room where pasta sits beside fish, vegetables and a wine-bar identity, and the full version of that mix is still just ahead.