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
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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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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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K
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).
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Lémeac
A well-respected name among the well-heeled Laurier crowd, Lémeac has a light and airy setting with huge windows overlooking the street, a lively ambience and beautifully turned-out plates. Culinary standouts include salad of smoked salmon (made on-site), lobster ravioli, Angus beef filet mignon, duck leg confit and the veal liver with caramelized onions. It’s a popular brunch spot on weekends, and at night –the after-10pm three-course prix-fixe menu is an excellent value at $22.
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Queue de Cheval
This mecca of expense-account carnivores serves up delectable prime beef that’s dry-aged on the premises. Order from a dozen varieties of mammoth-sized steaks that span filet mignon, T-bone and 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 clientele, thin and sleek models for women. Reservations are a must.
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Byblos
This Iranian café does such good food and is so charming, people who come here tend to make a day of it. The big windows and tables invite lingering and though there are wonderful main courses, most people end up grazing on the Iranian tapaslike dishes all day and into the evening. The feta omelet is by far the most popular followed by the eggplant or chickpea purees. It’s all served with pita bread perfect for dipping. The mint tea is the perfect way to finish it all off.
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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.
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L'Express
This place is so fantastically French, you'd half expect to see the Eiffel Tower out the window, especially after guzzling too much of the excellent wines. The food's classic Parisian bistro – think steak frites, bouillabaisse, tarragon chicken – and so is the attitude. Reservations essential.
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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.
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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.
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Marché Jean Talon
The gem of Little Italy, this kaleidoscopic market is perfect for assembling a gourmet picnic or partaking in a little afternoon grazing. A great stop is Marché des Saveurs, devoted entirely to Québec specialties such as wine and cider, fresh cheeses, smoked meats and preserves. The market sprawls south of Rue Jean-Talon between Blvd St-Laurent and Rue St-Denis.
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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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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.
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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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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).
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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!).
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La Panthère Verte
Green in every sense of the word, La Panthère Verte is a small casual vegetarian spot, where you can stop in for delicious falafel sandwiches, energy-charging juices and fresh salads that change daily (salad of quinoa, rocket and sweet potato was one recent option). Hanging plants, a zippy green paint job and curious colander lamps set the scene.
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