Restaurants in Montréal
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A
Stash Café
Hearty Polish cuisine is served up with good humor in a dining room with seats made of church pews and daringly low red lights illuminating the tables. Staff range from warm and gregarious to completely stand-offish, but the food is consistent, with quality fare like pierogy (dumplings stuffed with meat or cheese, with sour cream) and potato pancakes with apple sauce. An enthusiastic pianist hammers away from time to time.
reviewed
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B
La Louisiane
Montréal meets the Deep South in this casual Cajun eatery, with amazing results. The menu bears the hearty, delicious flavors of jambalaya, shrimp Creole or chicken étoufée, all armed with mysterious peppers and spices. The rich ‘voodoo pasta’ has spicy Cajun sausage and tomatoes in white wine and cream. While you’re here, be sure to check out paintings of street scenes by New Orleans native James Michelopoulos.
reviewed
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C
La Paryse
Often credited with the thickest, juiciest burgers and best fries in town, this smart little retro diner offers an excellent variety of toppings and thick, rich milkshakes. This place is an integral part of the neighborhood and when owner Madame Paryse recently celebrated 25 years in business, employees and customers alike sent her a flood of congratulatory emails.
reviewed
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D
La Maison Kam Fung
This is generally considered the best place in town for dim sum, and is especially popular for Saturday and Sunday brunch. Waiters circle the tables with carts of dim sum ($4 to $6 each) – you pick and choose from tender dumplings, spare ribs, mushrooms, spicy shrimp and much more. The entrance is hidden in the rear of a shopping passage up an escalator.
reviewed
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E
Schwartz’s
Known far and wide, this old-time Hebrew deli is widely considered to serve the best smoked meat in Montréal whether it’s brisket, duck, chicken or turkey, all piled high on sourdough rye bread. The Romanian-style meat is cured on the premises and aged without chemicals. You can order it fat, medium (recommended) or lean. Expect long lines.
reviewed
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F
Café Santropol
This is an iconic Montréal eatery known for its towering and creative sandwiches, its colorful digs, and lush outdoor garden patio. Its creations range from the sweet root (carrots, raisins, coriander, nuts, mayo and fresh apple) to pepper island with ham (which comes with jalapeño pepper jelly, pesto and cream cheese spread).
reviewed
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G
St-Viateur Bagel & Café
A splendid café that serves its signature bagels, grilled or nature, with soup or salad. There are about a dozen sandwiches but most popular are the traditional smoked lox with cream cheese, and roast beef with Swiss cheese and tomato. You can also find breakfast bagels with eggs and ham.
reviewed
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H
Café Fruits Folie
This agreeable café has a long list of crepes, 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.
reviewed
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I
Beaver Club
The original Beaver Club was formed in 1785 by a group of Montréal fur barons, and 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 with the right currency can reserve in the impeccably serviced, old-fashioned dining room to enjoy a cross-section of Canadian luxury edibles. The menu découverte is a multicourse meal highlighting Québec produce like Îles de la Madeleine scallops, Marieville foie gras and Île d’Orléans raspberries. Reservations and proper attire are essential (no jeans; a jacket for men).
reviewed
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J
L’Avenue
This self-consciously hip restaurant is a magnet for the young, post-party brunch crowd. Over a dozen different types of omelets, plus all the classics – French toast, waffles, eggs Benedict – all arrive nicely prepared. Lunch and dinner, with middling veggie burgers and salads, are less of a draw. Electronic music plays overhead at all hours, and artwork and urban murals adorn the walls. The surreal multimedia-infused washroom is an experience in itself.
reviewed
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K
L’Express
L’Express has all the hallmarks of Parisian bistro – black-and-white checkered floor, art-deco globe lights, papered tables and mirrored walls. High-end bistro fare completes the picture with excellent seafood dishes (like grilled salmon dressed with sea salt or almond-crusted sole), and even standards such as confit de canard (roast duck) are consistently delicious. The waiters can advise on the extensive wine list. Reservations are essential.
reviewed
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La Banquise
A Montréal legend since 1968, La Banquise is probably the best place in town to sample poutine (if you’ve never heard of this dish, see the boxed text, opposite). More than two dozen varieties are available, including a veggie poutine (peppers, mushrooms, sautéed onions) and straight-up classic poutine. There’s an outdoor terrace, a full breakfast menu and a selection of microbrews, plus the kitchen never closes.
reviewed
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M
Café Cherrier
Locals flock to the shady, wraparound terrace of this comfy café with the long marble serving counter that wouldn’t be out of place in Paris. This is an especially lively 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. Breakfast is popular as is classic French bistro fare like steak frites.
reviewed
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N
Le Taj
Proving that Montréal is more than just a bistro and brasserie kind of town, Le Taj throws down the gauntlet for some excellent Indian dishes. The time to go is at lunch, when downtowners line up for a succulent buffet featuring a bounty of rich flavors from the East – tandoori chicken, vegetable korma, palaak paneer and tender lamb, along with steaming piles of naan bread, custardlike desserts and many other temptations.
reviewed
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O
Le Petit Alep
The complex flavors of Syrian-Armenian cuisine draw diners from all over Montréal. A big menu includes hummus, salads and muhammara (spread made of walnuts, garlic, breadcrumbs, pomegranate syrup and cumin), plus beef kabobs smothered in tahini, spices and nuts. Dine in the bright bistro (the front wall opens up onto the street during nice weather) or, in the evening, the slightly swish dining room next door.
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Phó Bang New York
Near the gateway to Chinatown, Phó Bang New York has decor and service geared more toward Westerners who want to have their pho (noodle soups) in swisher digs. The food here is still 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. The pho here tends to be leaner than at other Chinatown spots.
reviewed
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Q
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 loup de mer (seabass), fried veggies with tzatziki and honey-laced milk yogurt) could set you back $150 with wine. Reservations are essential.
reviewed
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R
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.
reviewed
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S
L'Amère à Boire
This bilevel brewpub with 25-ft ceilings, two outdoor terraces and a rustic brick interior is often filled with toe-tapping students enjoying the Spanish and jazz beats and unusually good pub food. Patrons slurp freshly brewed pints of the house German- or Czech-style lagers over tapas and burgers (downstairs), or borscht, pirogies and goat's cheese salad (upstairs).
reviewed
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Le Spirite Lounge
This eccentric restaurant with over-the-top decor (Christmas lights and tinfoil) is good fun, but requires a bit of preparation. There’s no menu, but the meal consists of soup, a hot crepe and cake. Eat every bite; if you don’t, the chef will angrily tell you ‘no cake for you!’, then deliver the bill and ask you to leave (no kidding!).
reviewed
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U
Chu Chai
A stylish but unpretentious restaurant of the mock-meat variety, Chu Chai cooks up an impressive variety of Thai dishes. In summer, grab a table on the terrace and choose from plump vegetable-and-mushroom dumplings, crispy seaweed and spiced red curries with vegetarian ‘duck, ’ ‘chicken’ or ‘beef.’
reviewed
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V
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.
reviewed
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Boustan
This friendly little Lebanese joint scores high in popularity on the city’s shwarma circuit. Its late hours make it a favorite with pub crawlers in need of sustenance between bars. Can’t-go-wrong picks include baba ghanoush, hummus, falafel, stuffed grape leaves with yogurt and tabbouleh salad with warm pita.
reviewed
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Pintxo
Tiny plates of tapas rule the day at this petite, artfully decorated Basque restaurant. Start off with poached octopus carpaccio or scallops with olive tapenade before moving onto heartier plates of duck breast risotto and lamb shank with couscous. It’s on a peaceful street in the Plateau and gets packed on weekend nights.
reviewed
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Y
Tampopo
Plateau residents love this cozy place for its aromatic Vietnamese soups and filling noodle dishes with flank steak, grilled pork and rice vermicelli. Take a seat at one of three low tables with bamboo matting, or at the long wavy counter with a view of the open kitchen.
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