Québec City Restaurants

  1. Conti Caffe

    Recently opened on the busy rue St-Louis drag, this is a wonderful addition to the many area tourist traps (ie locals come here too). With exposed brick walls and simple white table clothes it still manages to look urban and modern but with a terrific warm and welcoming wait-staff. The menu has a great range of prices and dishes such as good pasta (from around C$14 ), veal dishes (from around C$20 ), seafood or game like duck with herbed crust ($21).

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  2. Downtown

    Fun, relaxed and reasonable, this place is especially popular for lunch during the week. All the usual suspects are featured on the menu including salmon and beef tartare with fries and salads, along with pasta dishes and all-you-can-eat mussels (around C$16 ). Inside it's cozy with exposed brick walls, and there's none of the nervous energy of a lot of other bistro-type eateries in town. A children's menu is also available.

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  3. L'Utopie

    The loyalty of Québec City locals to Le Saint Amour may seem inviolable, but l'Utopie is winning their affection slowly but surely. It's got a focused menu highlighting tuna, stag and deer dishes. The wonderful lunch table d'hôte includes classics like confit de canard and pavé de saumon . Everything is served in a bright, open space with an exposed wine cellar. Bunches of slender birch trees separate the tables and reach towards the ceiling.

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  4. Le Lapin Sauté

    Look for the rabbit-crossing sign as you make your way down the street. This tidy, appealing restaurant specializes in country cooking. Though its equally adept at salmon, duck and chicken the stars here are the rabbit dishes like rabbit pie and rabbit in maple syrup. There's also a lovely little patio open during warm weather.

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  5. Le Postino

    Prime people-watching real-estate at the heart of St-Roch coupled with friendly, unpretentious wait staff makes this place a winner and you haven't even eaten yet. There's plenty of pasta dishes on the menu for around C$10 - C$12 and a fantastic choice of risottos with genius combinations like rabbit, roasted parsnips, caramelized shallots and wild mushrooms.

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  7. Le Saint Amour

    Yes it's expensive, but it's the darling of the provincial capital. The house specialty is foie gras and it can come seared, as a crème brûlée, as terrine maison ...you get the idea. There's over 10,000 bottles of wine in the cellar. Service is warm and intelligent and the dining room is flooded with natural light streaming through the pointed glass ceiling. PS - the lunch table d'hôte is often less than around C$20 .

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  8. Times Café

    Another terrific 'non-stuffy' addition to the upper town. This eatery serves Mediterranean food in a beautifully designed space with fire-engine red tables, black and white zebra-stripped chairs and moody blue lighting. Staff are remarkably friendly given the trendy atmosphere. Pizzas and sandwiches run from around C$10 - C$14 while the veal or seafood dishes can go anywhere from C$18 - C$30 .

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