Jean-Michel Mercier’s identity for Berto reworks the osteria’s codes

Berto is the first restaurant from chef Riccardo Bertolino and sommelier Isabel Bordeleau, who settled on Montreal’s Villeray area for its neighbourhood life and closeness to Jean-Talon Market. It is an osteria, the warm, convivial and generous kind of Italian neighbourhood restaurant – the cooking is traditional with a contemporary approach. Montreal-based freelance designer and art director Jean-Michel Mercier was commissioned to create the identity and its applications, from the custom wordmark, typographic system and colour through the printed pieces and signage. “When we began working with Jean-Michel, Berto was still largely undefined. We had the name, restaurant plans and a few material directions, but no complete vision,” Bertolino and Bordeleau tell us. “We knew the identity would be central to both Berto’s character and longevity, so we gave him wide creative freedom – describing the feeling we wanted rather than a fixed aesthetic. The goal was an Italian-rooted restaurant that felt accessible, comfortable and welcoming, while still distinct, chef-driven, timeless and free from cliché.” “The idea of an osteria naturally reflected the restaurant we wanted to create. Rooted in the notion of the host, it places hospitality at the heart of Berto,” Bertolino and Bordeleau explain. “From the start, the food, space and identity were developed together, balancing tradition and modernity, simplicity and refinement.” The interior is the work of architecture firm Mise à jour, whose concept was about 70–80% developed by the time Mercier came to the project, with the materials, textures and patterns of the room already settled.