ith twenty-five years in the business, the Holder family knows its way around the restaurant industry. Honing in on the right locale, precise cuisine and piecing it all together seamlessly is something Richard Holder does with ease.

With his latest endeavor, Delmo, Holder has carved a gem out of a century-old landmark on Notre-Dame Street, a block west of the towering Notre-Dame Basilica. “The original Delmo opened up in the 1940s,” says Holder as he mans the floor while the business-lunch crowd trickles in and out. "Yet it originally opened under another name back at the turn of the 20th century. We wanted to salvage as much of the original décor as possible, as well as keep it cool in doing so.”

And keep it cool he did. By restoring and renovating the interior, Holder has wrestled the historic gem’s unpunctuated rawness into a stylized space that captures a restaurant feel with just a hint of postcard romanticism. Delmo’s décor, design and menu all blend together quite well.

To open up the ground floor, Holder removed one of the original two bars and added a more lunch-friendly seating area in the front. He kept the original wood bar counter and the grooved wood on the walls intact. The walls are painted in a soft red tone with black detailing, while the tables are clothed in white with classic-style setting. Wooden chairs and spongy tungsten lighting dim the long diner nicely.

Upstairs, a second dining room doubles the seating capacity while it shares the floor with the kitchen. A good spot, since you’re bound to get your food that extra ten seconds sooner.