The owner of Le Poulet Portugais is moving to the bottom of Rue Saint-Jean, with a redesigned presentation, expanded menu and expanded dining room.
Written by Estelle Levick
Saint Jean the Baptist – Of Bulgarian origin, Stoyan Napoleonov lived four years in Portugal before settling in Quebec in 2005. There he discovered local cuisine, especially Portuguese chicken, which is the specialty of the restaurant where his wife, Zuri, works. After ten years of preparing this dish at his restaurant Le Poulet Portugais, Stoyan chose to take on new challenges.
Pico Loco Grills
It is located at 854 Rue Saint-Jean, where the restaurateur continues his projects accompanied by his new partner, Guillermo Acevedo. Guillermo, a catering professional, is the former owner of the Sol Latino restaurant, in Saint-Vallier Ouest, which closed in 2018.
Together the owners chose the name of their new venture: Grillades Pico Loco. “We have found things in common. We have been looking forward to doing something together for a long time,” says Stoyan Napoleonov. Thus, this new restaurant serves special dishes from Portugal as well as Mexico, Guillermo’s native country. Among other things, customers will be able to taste Ranchero chicken.
“We decided to change the building, the concept and the menu,” sums up the former owner of Poulet Portugais. “We will keep our recipe, but we will also improve our offer. I want every customer to find things they love on their plate. Vegetarian, seafood, fish,…”
End of “bring your own wine”
The restaurant opened its doors with some discretion last week. For good reason, the owners are still refining the space layout and want to gradually get their bearings in this new format, especially with a stable team.
The establishment is also still waiting for an alcohol license. In fact, Grillades Pico Loco leaves aside the “bring your own wine” formula of classic bar service. This decision is aimed in particular at satisfying tourist customers, who regularly request the sale of alcohol at the table.
The new restaurant has 80 seats and will eventually open for lunch and dinner services. It also offers a take-out offer.
Stoyan Napoleonov is excited to see this new venture finally flourish, and is pleased with the company’s geographical location. “It’s a great location. We’re close to Old Quebec, in the commercial part of Rue Saint-Jean. Before that, we were a little far away, and tourists would turn around when they arrived at Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church.”
Grillades Pico Loco is located at 854 Saint-Jean Street. For restaurant news, consult His page on Facebook.
