Montreal Travel Guide
Eating Montreal
What and where to eat in North America's most food-obsessed city — the bagel rivalry, smoked meat and poutine, Jean-Talon and Atwater markets, Quebec cheese and maple, sugar-shack season, brunch culture, and how tipping and BYOW work.
Montreal takes food more seriously than almost any city on the continent, and it does so without pretension. The city's cooking draws on French technique, Quebec farm produce, and the traditions of generations of immigrants, Jewish, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Haitian, Lebanese, Vietnamese and many more, and the result is a dining scene where a hand-rolled bagel, a smoked-meat sandwich and a tasting menu in a converted warehouse are all part of the same conversation. Here is how to eat well.
The bagel rivalry. Montreal bagels are smaller, denser and sweeter than New York bagels: the dough is boiled in honey-sweetened water, then baked in wood-fired ovens, giving a crisp, slightly charred crust and a chewy centre. Two Mile End institutions a few blocks apart define the style and have been rivals for decades: St-Viateur and Fairmount. Both hand-roll their bagels, bake them in wood-fired ovens and stay open around the clock. Sesame and poppy seed are the classics; eat them warm, straight from the bag. Locals argue endlessly about which is better, so try both and choose your side.
Smoked meat. Montreal smoked meat is beef brisket cured with spices, smoked and steamed, then sliced by hand and piled on rye bread with yellow mustard. The most famous address is Schwartz's on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, serving it since 1928, where you sit at shared tables and order your meat lean, medium or fatty; medium is the classic choice. Expect a queue at peak times; the takeout counter next door moves faster. Pair it with a pickle, fries and a black cherry soda for the full experience.
Poutine and Quebec comfort food. Poutine, fries topped with squeaky fresh cheese curds and hot gravy, was born in rural Quebec and is now available everywhere, from late-night snack bars to upscale versions with foie gras or braised meats. The cheese curds must squeak; that is how you know they are fresh. Other Quebec comfort classics include tourtiere, a spiced meat pie, pea soup, baked beans and pouding chomeur, a sweet cake baked in maple or brown-sugar syrup. Steamed hot dogs, called steamies, are a casual Montreal staple.
Markets and Quebec produce. Jean-Talon Market in Little Italy is the city's great public market, open every day, with farmers' stalls in the open air from late spring to autumn and an enclosed market in winter; taste Quebec cheeses, many made with raw milk, maple butter and taffy, seasonal berries, apples and ice cider. Atwater Market, by the Lachine Canal, is smaller and has an art deco hall with butchers, bakers and cheese shops. Both are perfect for assembling a picnic for Mount Royal or the canal path.
Maple and the sugar shacks. Quebec produces most of the world's maple syrup, and the late-winter and early-spring sugaring-off season, roughly March and April, is a beloved tradition. Sugar shacks, the cabanes a sucre, in the countryside around the city serve huge farm meals of ham, beans, eggs, pancakes and maple everything, followed by maple taffy rolled on snow. Some modern versions near the city have become destination restaurants that book up early. In the city, look for maple products at the markets all year.
Bistros, brunch and bring your own wine. Montreal has a dense scene of French-inspired bistros and modern Quebec restaurants, many small and chef-owned, in the Plateau, Mile End, Little Italy, Griffintown, Saint-Henri and Old Montreal. A cherished local custom is the bring-your-own-wine restaurant, especially on the Plateau around Rue Prince-Arthur and Avenue Duluth: you buy a bottle at a nearby SAQ store or depanneur and the restaurant opens it for you, usually without a corkage fee. Brunch is a weekend religion, with queues outside the popular spots on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Book dinner ahead at well-known restaurants, as tables are limited.
A multicultural table. Beyond the classics, some of the city's best meals come from its communities: Portuguese grilled chicken in the Plateau, Italian cafes and grocers in Little Italy, Lebanese and Middle Eastern food in many neighbourhoods, Haitian cooking in the north and east, Vietnamese pho and banh mi, and dumplings and noodles in Chinatown, a few minutes from Old Montreal. Exploring by neighbourhood is the best way to taste the city.
Coffee and sweets. Montreal has a strong cafe culture, from old-school Italian espresso bars in Mile End and Little Italy to third-wave roasters across the city. For sweets, look for pastries in French-style bakeries, maple treats at the markets, and the beaver-tail style fried dough sold at winter festivals.
How it works: tipping, taxes and timing. Menu prices do not include taxes, which add about 15 per cent, and a tip of 15 to 20 per cent of the pre-tax bill is customary at table service, usually added on the card terminal. Locals eat dinner from around 6pm to 9pm, later on weekends. Many smaller restaurants close one or two days a week, often Sunday or Monday, so check before you go.
A one-day food walk. Start with bagels in Mile End, walk south through the Plateau for coffee, lunch on smoked meat on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, take the metro to Jean-Talon Market for tastings in the afternoon, and finish with a bring-your-own-wine dinner on the Plateau. It is the best edible introduction to the city. If you have a second food day, go west instead: the Lachine Canal path to Atwater Market for cheese and bread, lunch in Saint-Henri or Griffintown, and dinner in Little Burgundy, where some of the city's most talked-about restaurants have opened in recent years.