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Amelio's
Smack in the middle of the McGill student ghetto, this institution has fed generations of students with generous portions of pizza and pasta. A medium pizza (always crisp and heaped with toppings) is enough to stuff two people. And the pasta dishes come with sumptuous bread and crisp salads. Lineups outside the plain flat-top structure are common around .
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Area
The most creative recent addition to the Village's culinary arsenal, Area has earned heaps of accolades since opening in 2000. This dining room is black and white with a menu divided into categories titled 'Fins,' 'Legs,' and the intriguing 'Why not?' section that includes numbers like green asparagus risotto with mushrooms, parmesan, chives, shallots and 'milky juice' and Grilled Onion Milk with parsley oil and jelly.
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Au Petit Extra
The party never ends at this excellent little restaurant that resounds with the laughter of boisterous regulars and visiting film crews. Dishes written on the blackboards are simple - leg of lamb, filet of mahi-mahi or stuffed hare - but flavors are full and distinct. Reservations are advised, but you can sip wine at the beautiful wooden bar if you have to wait.
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Au Pied de Cochon
Chef Martin Picard takes normally heavy dishes and turns them into a symphony, like Alsacian choucroute (sauerkraut with meat and potatoes) or the trademark ragoût de pattes de cochon (tiny meatballs and vegetables topped with a crisp lid of breaded, deep-fried pig's feet). The logo is of a chef, frying pan in hand, riding a grinning pig. The poutine foie gras (around C$9 ) still has critics buzzing.
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Bagel Place
You can watch them haul the crunchy, chewy bagels right out of the oven through the giant window on rue Ste-Catherine. There's a variety of toppings including smoked salmon, chicken salad, ham 'n' cheese and more, and the cheese bagels are outstanding.
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Beauty's
This sleek, retro '50s diner serves up, what many consider, Montréal's best breakfast - all day long. Owner Hymie Sckolnick greets everyone with 'How are you, dahling.' Ask for 'The Special' - a toasted bagel with lox, cream cheese, tomato and onion. It'll be hard to go anyplace else once you've tried it. Lineups on Saturdays and Sunday mornings can run up to 40 minutes long, even in winter.
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Beaver Club
The original Beaver Club was formed in 1785 by a group of Montréal fur barons; to join you had to have wintered in the Northwest Territories. Membership is still elite - ask to see the pic of Bill Gates in trapper's furs - but anyone can eat in the impeccably serviced, old-fashioned dining room and enjoy a cross-section of Canadian luxury edibles: Îles de Madeleine lobster, Charlevoix veal, or caribou.
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Bières & Compagnie
Throbbing fusion pop and a grand ex-bank setting make this Belgian-style eatery a prime night spot. When you're not sipping on one of 100 varieties of beer, or slicing into savory wild boar or St-Ambroise beer sausage, check out the 30-odd types of mussels.
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Bistro Le Porto
This is a charming and cozy bistro, with terrific Portuguese and Mediterranean food and a fantastic selection of ports of all types, colors and vintages. The wait staff are friendly and knowledgeable and gives great advice about what to pair with what. The menu changes regularly, but if you happen to be there when the fish marmite (a kind of enormous stew/soup of seafood) is offered, it is well worth the price (usually topping C$30 ).
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Bombay Palace
One of the oldest Indian restaurants in town, now in new snazzy premises close to the Pepsi Forum. The midday buffet (around C$9 Monday to Thursday, around C$10 Friday to Sunday) is a good chance to try its excellent curries and tandoori specialties. Legions of fans include Bill and Hillary Clinton - check out the photos in the foyer.
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Boris Bistro
You'll be elbowing your way past Armani-clad executives, dishevelled artists and maple syrup-toting tourists in order to get a table at this popular bistro. Once settled, however, dishes range from artfully presented salads to the fantastic duck risotto with mushrooms. It's a good idea to reserve ahead during the lunch rush.
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Brûlerie St-Denis
This is coffee heaven: iced coffees, frappés, special blends like Café Dante (mocca espresso with whipped cream, cinnamon, chocolate and grated orange peel), made from beans fresh out of the big roaster. The front terrace is a great place to nurse a cup with a hot veggie sandwich or a slice of gooey gâteau.
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Buona Notte
So slick it hurts. The waitresses sway in such towering stilettos you just hope they'll make it to the table without keeling over, and the staff are alarmingly beautiful. Despite all this, there's something almost democratic about the place. There are a range of dishes including pastas and steaks that get respectable reviews. Reservations a must on weekends.
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Byblos
This Iranian café does such good food and is so comfortable and charming, people who come here tend to make a day of it. The big windows and tables invite lingering. Iranian-style tapas include the feta omelette (by far the most popular) and eggplant or chick pea purées. It's all served with pita bread perfect for dipping. The expertly prepared mint tea (around C$3 cup), is the perfect way to finish it all off.
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Café Cherrier
Locals flock to the shady, wraparound terrace of this comfy café with the long zinc serving counter that wouldn't be out of place in Paris. This is an especially fun place after a performance at the nearby L'Agora de la Danse. A huge percentage of the audience usually swings by here for dinner or a drink setting the whole place abuzz. The breakfasts are popular here as is classic French bistro fare like steak frites .
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Café Croissant De Lune Z
This is people-watching central anytime, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. A café au lait and one or two of the fresh sweet buns or croissants, served in the sun on the street-front terrace, will hold you over for hours. The burgers and sandwiches are great too.
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Café Fruits Folie
This agreeable café has a long list of crêpes, bagels, burgers and sandwiches, plus good vegetarian choices. The front terrace (one of many in this neighborhood) has a great view of the happenings on rue St-Denis, and people love to linger here over breakfast while watching the world go by.
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Café l'Esperanza (Café la Pharmacie)
No matter how much the owner tries to change the name nobody seems able to stop calling this place Café L'Esperanza. This place is vegetarian (and vegan wherever possible) with fantastic burritos, soups and sandwiches and baked goods like brownies with red peppers. Beer and cocktails are also served. This place is also a real artists' hub, anything from book launches to poken word, bluegrass or electronic music performances are held here.
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Café Méliès
This chic, modern restaurant located in the Ex-Centris cinema and multimedia complex is tailor-made for Montréal's showbiz types. It's an excellent place to be seen over breakfast, lunch or afternoon coffee in front of the windows on the Main. The brunch is particularly upscale and popular. In the evenings moviegoers and politicians rub shoulders over plates of marinated salmon or roasted scallops.
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Café Santropol
This is an iconic Montréal eatery known for it's towering and creative sandwiches, its colorful digs, and lush outdoor garden patio. Their creations range from the Sweet Root (carrots, raisins, coriander, nuts, mayo and fresh apple, around C$8 ) to Pepper Island with Ham (that comes with jalapeño pepper jelly, pesto and cream cheese spread, around C$8 ).
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Café St-Paul
With so much hullabaloo in Old Montréal, this is the place visitors stop for a low-key rest from exploring the area or start their days with breakfast while going over their brochures and guidebooks before heading out. It's got grey, exposed stone walls and understated bare, black and chrome colored tables and chairs. Burgers, salads and bacon and egg breakfasts.
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Caffè Italia
Once Little Italy was filled with gritty, dark old-world cafés where regulars would spend the day quaffing espresso and yelling at the Italian soccer team as they flit across a rickety old TV. In recent years however cafés in this area have been getting Starbucked with slicker, more sexed up interior design and staff. Not this place. Caffé Italia is still rickety, rough around the edges and churning out the best espresso on the Main.
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Cali
A terrific hole-in-the-wall place, with friendly, good-humored wait staff no matter how busy things get. The deal with this place is to get you in and out as quick as possible, so don't be surprised if your order lands in front of you, piping hot, literally seconds after you order it. Even faster than McDonald's.
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Chez Clo
Homey atmosphere and good-value Québécois breakfasts have made this corner diner an institution for the best part of two decades. Slide onto a breakfast stool and order eggs, bacon, baked beans and cretons (pork drippings) or return for Québec specialties such as tourtière (meat pie), poutine or ragoût de boulettes , all in view of the monumental Nativité de la Ste-Vierge church.
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Chez Cora
The beloved breakfast standard. You'll recognize this chain right away with its bright cheerful décor and menus. The menus are so creative and so varied you'll literally find anything you've ever wanted for breakfast and more. Try Récolte 90 - egg, bacon, French toast with raisins and an avalanche of fruit (around C$9 ). There are several other branches around town including one in the The Village (1017 rue Ste-Catherine Est).
