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Mazurka
This Polish place has filled generations of students with cheap, hearty fare. The menu features pirogi , meat or cheese blintzes, Polish sausage, potato latkes, and the restaurant's namesake, mazurkas (latkes filled with beef goulash). Wash it down with Poland's famous export, Zubrowka, a vodka flavored with bison grass. The restaurant is a sprawling place, with nearly 200 seats over four levels and paintings from the Old Country on the walls.
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McLean's Pub
If you're after great pub fare you can't go wrong at McLean's. It does an excellent line in chicken wings, Reuben sandwiches and burgers with a mountain of crispy fries. Dark wood, dim lights and high ceilings make it easy to lose track of time at this Irish pub. The beer list features beers like Keith's and Euro-brews like Stella and Leffe. There's live music some evenings.
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Mi Burrito
Run by a Mexican family with a passion for cuisine from the north of Mexico, this restaurant's décor is colorful but plain. The food here is simple (burritos, enchiladas, soups), tasty, and unlike what you'll find elsewhere in the city. The outstanding margaritas come in flavors like hibiscus or tamarind. And the spicy tortilla soup, with threads of melted cheese is so memorable it's addictive. Brunch dishes like huevos rancheros are spectacular.
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Milano Supermarket
This local institution has a mind-boggling selection of fresh pasta, antipasto and olive oil. The fun here is seeing the old timers do the rounds. Stop, watch, listen, buy what they buy. You'll be on your way to an authentic Italian meal before you know it.
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Milos
Rock stars, socialites and business leaders flock to this fashionable restaurant with Mediterranean stucco, big urns filled with dried flowers and refrigerated counters of mouthwatering fish and fruits. Dinner for two (eg range of Greek appetizers, grilled seawolf, fried veggies with tzatziki and honey-laced milk yogurt) will run to around C$110 with wine. Reservations are essential.
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Misto
Misto was one of the first 'see-and-be-seen' restaurants to open on ave du Mont-Royal with a big rolling garage door facade. Readers give it consistent raves for everything from the food to the ambience. The bare brick walls, polished wood and opulent curved bar draw scads of urban professionals dressed to kill. The organic pastas, pizzas and dinner salads are as much about California cool as la bella Italia .
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Moishe's
Feels a bit like a kind of social club, although guests from all backgrounds come to consume their legendary grilled meats and seafood. Its closely set tables amid hardwood paneling are perfect for eavesdropping. Skip the appetizers and launch straight into a gargantuan rib steak served with tasty fries or a Monte Carlo potato. Reservations are essential.
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Mozza
One of the Village's best kept secrets, this little resto is tucked away in a pea-sized room near the métro and is easy to miss. (Look for the 'Mozza' sign they shine on to the pavement.) The menu includes salad, a starter like escargots in pastis and then a pasta of your choice. The quality of food is consistently outstanding and the service expert. There are two dinner services a night and reservations are recommended.
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Newtown
A showy design palace for the Grand Prix circuit, owned by star driver Jacques Villeneuve ('Newtown' refers to his surname). The grilled seafood and Grand Marnier crêpes are good but the main draw of this place is the clientèle - beautiful people souped up for a night out. There's a terrace on top with spectacular views of the city and the commotion on rue Crescent at night. Reservations are essential.
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Nuances
Just past the roulette tables and slot machines inside the Casino de Montréal, lies one of the town's classiest restaurants. One highlight is the roasted pigeon, succulent with crispy skin, served with gratinéed potatoes and a stew of giblets and chanterelles, all bathed in a delectable sauce of veal and chicken stock. Reservations and business attire are essential for both men and women.
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Olive + Gourmando
Legendary in town for it's sandwiches and baked goods and as busy as a train station at rush hour when office workers from all over the Old Town flock here for lunch creating waits of up to 30 minutes for a table. Some of its most popular offerings include the fig bread, olive and rosemary loaves, and its sandwiches (try the trout variety which is slathered with herbed cream cheese, capers and spinach and sun-dried tomatoes).
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Ouzeri
Recommended for its contemporary twist on traditional Greek food. Considering its oh-so-cool decor and patrons dressed in black, dinner for two is a tremendous bargain for charcoal-grilled mint-flavored meat patties or moussaka, calamari or veal cutlet. There's an extensive wine list; batten down the hatches for Greek dancing on Fridays.
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Patati Patata
This hole in the wall (literally, if more than 15 people are inside you'll probably have to wait) is known for its poutine , borscht and burgers. A Montréal classic.
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Phó Bang New York
Just a couple of doors down from Cali, the décor and service is geared more towards Westerners who want to have their tonkinese soups in swisher digs. The food here is still very good and regularly makes people's 'top' lists, but it lacks the kind of manic energy that makes the other Vietnamese places on this drag so atmospheric. Still a good place if you want to relax a bit over your meal.
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Pizzeria Napoletana
Homemade pasta sauces and thick-sauced pizzas (there's 31 sorts of each!) draw regulars here like flies. The dining room is simple with neat wood tables and chairs, and the friendly black-clad wait staff running between it and the kitchen. If you're visiting in the summer be prepared for big, loud crowds and lineups that stretch out the door.
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Provigo
They're huge, well stocked and often have elaborate deli counters serving fried chicken and smoked-meat sandwiches. There's another outlet in the Plateau (50 ave du Mont-Royal Ouest).
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Queue De Cheval
This mecca of expense-account carnivores serves up delectable prime beef dry-aged on the premises. Order he-man-sized steaks from filet mignon, T-bone to thick slabs of marbled tenderloin, and then watch as it's char-broiled in the pyrotechnics of the open kitchen. Service is impeccable, with attention paid to little details - chunky-handled steak knives for male clientèle, thin and sleek models for women. Reservations are a must.
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Restaurant Berlin
There really is nothing quite like hunkering down here on a frigid Montréal winter with heaping portions of wholesome, piping hot Central and Eastern European fare. A shot of schnapps after the entrée prepares you for the main course. All the classics are here, but the absolute best is the delicious, stomach punishing chef's platter, which includes a sausage, roulade of beef, pork schnitzel, pork cordon bleu, potatoes and red cabbage.
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Restaurant Globe
In such a pretentious part of town the Globe is a breath of fresh air. The menu is ingredient-driven: Lowbrow items like mashed potatoes alongside 'finer' dishes such as slow-cooked rabbit with crispy fried pancetta. The fine waiters excel in unobtrusive service, allowing patrons to focus on their meal (and the visiting movie stars). Reservations are essential.
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Restaurant Hélène De Champlain
Right by the Biosphère,with a relaxed, old-fashioned ambience, this place is a wonderful place to take a relaxing break from exploring the park. Service is warm and friendly and there's a range of 'just-right' French dishes like scallop and shrimp brochette or duck confit.
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Restaurant Holder
High ceilings, a terrific wine list and the best and most beautiful diners from the nearby multimedia offices. This French bistro buzzes with importance and fun during both lunch and dinner. Try the wonderful salad foie gras (around C$20 ), a meal in itself.
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Restaurant Rapido du Plateau
If you're partying late on the Plateau you will probably end up here at least once. Is the food good? Impossible to say. By the time people end up here, that's kind of a moot point and they aren't really in the condition to recall what they ate anyway. Whatever. Good or bad, most Montrealers have fond memories of watching the sun come up while tucking into a hamburger steak here at some point in their youth.
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Reuben's
With rows of pickled peppers in the window, Reuben's is another of Montréal's smoked-meat savants and a local institution. Any of their smoked-meat variations make the perfect post-pub food but their eponymous sandwich (smoked meat, sauerkraut and melted cheese) is both a highly popular choice and good value. Perenially crowded.
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Saffron
A vibrant mural of Persian ruins and bright blue sky dominates the dining room of this charming eatery, one of the newer Persian restaurants on the scene. The ash reshteh , a soup with pinto beans, veggies, garlic and mint is delicious. The most popular dinner choice is the hunters' platter for two with three types of brochettes, salad and rice. There's a lunch special for around C$7 and a take-out menu.
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Schwartz's
Known far and wide, first port of call for ex-pats and new arrivals alike, this old-time Hebrew deli is widely considered to serve the best smoked meat in Montréal whether it's brisket, duck, chicken and turkey, all piled high on sourdough rye bread. The Romanian-style meat is cured on the premises and aged without chemicals. Waiters can be impatient with novices but it all just adds to the legend.
