Where to Eat and Drink in Québec

While researching and writing Lonely Planet’s latest Montréal & Québec City guidebook, I interviewed local restaurateurs, joined city food tours and dined everywhere from casse-croûtes (snack shacks) to Michelin-rated restaurants, getting to the heart of what Québecers eat and where they love to eat it.

And it suited me down to the ground – I’m a self-professed Montréal bagel connoisseur who loves drinking Québec-made beer on a sunny terrasse (terrace) and grazing at the province’s farmers' markets. 

In Québec, joie de vivre – the joy of living – is often expressed around a table full of food. It might mean sharing a plate of poutine (topping-slathered fries) from a roadside shack, passing dishes around a candlelit wine bar or lingering over a locavore tasting menu served at a scenic farmstead. 

Part of the joy comes from the Québec dining scene’s variety. Restaurants mirror the province’s multicultural identity: you’ll find a soupçon of French flair, abundant immigrant influences, and a deep commitment to homegrown ingredients. My favorite menus lean into seasonality – be it a hearty winter feast soaked in maple syrup or a summertime dinner made with food foraged in boreal forests. 

Montréal and Québec City serve some of the province’s best meals, but rural chefs hold their own with creative takes on the region’s bounty. Start in the big cities, then venture into the countryside to sample rural delights. The following places to eat and drink in Québec will give everyone at your table a reason to celebrate. 

Breakfast

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St-Viateur Bagel & Café, Montréal

Why go: Montréal is known for its bagels, traditionally boiled in a honey-water solution and baked in a wood-fired oven. They’re thinner and sweeter than their New York equivalent, and as a New Yorker, it pains me to say this, but I prefer my bagels Montréal-style.

Two bakeries reign supreme – Fairmount (open since 1919) and St-Viateur (open since 1957) – and it’s worth trying both. For a hearty breakfast, choose St-Viateur’s outpost in Plateau Mont-Royal, serving hefty bagel sandwiches. Weekend lines can be long, but it’s worth the wait.

What to get: I like my St-Viateur bagel seasoned with tout garni (everything), unless I’m ordering the sweet Joe Bagel with ricotta and fig jam – then I go for sesame. 

La Bûche, Québec City

Why go: Québec produces roughly 70% of the world’s maple syrup, and during the sugaring-off season between winter and spring, people across the province celebrate the year’s harvest with communal feasts at rustic cabanes à sucre (sugar shacks).

At La Bûche, the maple syrup season never ends. This theatrical take on the tradition comes decked out in all the cabincore accouterments you can imagine, right down to the antler chandeliers. The menu follows suit – a syrup-soaked celebration of rib-sticking Québécois classics.

What to get: Go whole hog on the expérience cabane à sucre – a sampling of what you’d get at an actual sugar shack. Expect maple bacon, meat pie, maple taffy, crêpes and more. 

Chez Boulay, Québec City

Why go: Dress smart to dine at this sophisticated bistro, where French cooking traditions transform Québec’s boreal ingredients. The weekends-only brunch features a trim menu of savory and sweet options made with ingredients from local farms, like apples from the Verger de Tilly orchard, just outside the city. One of the chefs, Jean-Luc Boulay, comes with a serious pedigree – he’s a judge on the Canadian TV cooking competition show Les Chefs! 

What to get: The menu shifts seasonally, but at any time of year, you can expect elevated dishes ranging from smoked fish to pancakes. 

Au Petit Poucet, Val-David 

Why go: This popular place in the village of Val-David has been serving fortifying breakfasts since 1945 – perfect for fueling up before hitting the slopes around the Laurentian Mountains. Don’t be fooled by the diminutive name, borrowed from Charles Perrault’s fairy-tale hero Le Petit Poucet (called “Hop-o’-My-Thumb” in English) – everything here is fit for a lumberjack. That includes the chalet-style dining room, the roaring central fireplace and the heaped portions of homemade Québécois cuisine. 

What to get: To start the day right, order the Petit Poucet breakfast – a spread of eggs, bacon and potatoes. 

Lunch

Schwartz’s Deli, Montréal

Why go: Smoked meat is a cornerstone of Montréal’s Jewish food culture, and this delicatessen is the number-one place to eat it. Its credentials are impressive – founded by Romanian Jewish immigrant Reuben Schwartz in 1928, the deli is now co-owned by a group that includes Québec-born chanteuse Céline Dion.

Dining here is all about the meat – cured for 10 days before being smoked, steamed and sliced to order. Two neighboring storefronts accommodate what’s usually a long line snaking down Boulevard St-Laurent. Skip the wait for a table and opt for the takeout counter (my favorite move).

What to get: Keep it classic with the smoked meat sandwich – succulent brisket stacked on rye bread that’s slathered with mustard.  

Chez Gaston, Québec City

Why go: You cannot leave the province without trying poutine – a working-class Québec creation that piles fries with gravy and squeaky cheese curds. Many places serve it, but trying it at a no-frills casse-croûte known for affordable greasy grub is an ideal introduction. Chez Gaston brings the tradition to the Saint-Roch neighborhood – there's a teeny counter, a sizzling griddle and a handful of poutines to choose from. 

What to get: If you’ve never had poutine, start with the classic, topped with gravy and curds. If your inner carnivore is calling, go for the Gaston, topped up with ground beef, sausage chunks and fried onions. 

Olive + Gourmando, Montréal

Why go: This bakery-cafe is like a warm hug. Cheesy paninis, steamy soups, bowls with root veggies, palm-sized cookies and chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) – all things I crave on a chilly winter’s day. Arrive after a morning exploring Vieux Montréal’s cobblestone streets and you'll be squeezed into the convivial dining room with a mix of international tourists and local office workers on lunch breaks. 

What to get: Go for a panini (try the Egg on Your Face with cheese, confit tomatoes and speck), and grab something sweet to savor later.

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Marché Jean-Talon, Montréal

Why go: This famous food market in Montréal's Little Italy, established in 1933, may be the closest you can get to peeking inside a Quebecer’s kitchen pantry. It’s the city’s largest market, with hundreds of vendors hawking fresh produce and artisanal treats outdoors in the peak summer season. Winter is great, too – the market erects walls to keep things warm.

Come ready to graze. You might pair raw-milk goat cheese with fresh fruit, sample ham cured in the Eastern Townships, and end with a super sugary pets de sœur (literally "nuns’ farts") – a flaky pastry resembling a tiny cinnamon roll. 

Top tip: Join the guides from Spade and Palacio for a Beyond the Market tour, exploring Little Italy and Marché Jean-Talon, with stops at some of the market’s tastiest stands and neighborhood food counters.

Cassis Monna & Filles, Île d’Orléans

Why go: Île d’Orléans, located just outside Québec City, is nicknamed the “Garden of Québec.” Most of the island is devoted to agriculture, and at family-run Cassis Monna & Filles, it’s all about blackcurrants. The tart, purple fruit is grown here and used to make liqueurs, cocktails, sauces and sweets.

Sample its versatility over lunch at on-site bistro La Monnaguette, open seasonally from late May to mid-October. The food is enticing: fries, quiches and sandwiches, all jazzed up with a touch of blackcurrant, be it honey, hot sauce or syrup. It’s worth staying a while – views from the outdoor terrace stretch over a soothing pastoral landscape. 

What to get: For a main course, grab what you fancy; for dessert, head to the dairy bar for vanilla-blackcurrant soft serve. 

Coffee

Crew Collective & Café, Montréal

Why go: Crew Collective may well be the prettiest coffee shop in Québec, if not North America. It's housed inside the former Royal Bank of Canada, built in the 1920s like an ornate Italian Renaissance palazzo. The java is great, too, supplied by local roaster Traffic Coffee. The cafe doubles as a coworking space and often gets crowded, so keep your eye out for an empty seat. You’ll want to sit down while taking in the ceiling’s gilded details. 

What to get: Sip a cortado (Spanish-style coffee with warm milk) and order a Fairmount bagel topped with smoked salmon. 

Caffè Italia, Montréal

Why go: Travel back to 1956 at this throwback cafe in Little Italy, established as a gathering space for Italian immigrants. Descendants of the original customers still hang out on stools around the counter, where a barista pulls espresso shots from an Italian-made La Spaziale machine. It might not have the polish of a contemporary coffee shop or a menu with drinks made to go viral on TikTok, but it has plenty of authentic, old-school charm – the kind that takes 70 years to acquire. 

What to get: Get a cappuccino and a cannoli to sweeten the palate.  

Dispatch, Montréal

Why go: Dispatch started as a cold-brew delivery service and coffee truck before opening its flagship brick-and-mortar premises on Boulevard St-Laurent in 2016. The cold brew is still the draw – strong, smooth and sweet, brewed with a rotating selection of beans that impart a fruity flavor (my favorite recent cup had hints of blueberry). Join the work-from-coffee-shop crowd inside this industrial space, all wired on the same tasty brew. 

What to get: Pair your coffee with one of the soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies from the sweets case. 

Apotek, Québec City 

Why go: Apotek, the second venture from the team behind Café Olive (a petite espresso counter in Québec City’s Montcalm neighborhood), adds a dash of Danish culture to the heart of Old Québec. Before opening this minimalist pastry shop near the port, the owners traveled to Denmark to sharpen their baking skills, returning home ready to whip up exceptional Scandi-style treats. The commitment to all things Danish also applies to the coffee, supplied by Denmark-based roaster La Cabra. 

What to get: Pair a flat white with a cardamom bun for the full Danish experience. 

Le Petit Dep, Montréal & Québec City 

Why go: The dépanneur or "dep" is Québec’s version of a convenience store, stocked with groceries, vices such as beer, and sometimes made-to-order snack food. Le Petit Dep isn’t exactly a traditional dépanneur, but a high-end variation, acting as both a cafe and a specialty market for things like artisanal jams, craft lagers and a selection of Québec souvenirs. The grandma-chic decor makes all of its locations in Montréal and Québec City feel equally inviting. 

What to get: Order a London Fog (Earl Grey tea sweetened with milk, honey and cardamom) and find some city-branded swag to take home. 

Drinks

Mellön Brasserie, Montréal

Why go: Québec’s beer scene has come a long way since John Molson (of the Montréal-born Molson Brewery) started crafting suds here in 1786. The province now has over 300 microbreweries serving everything from Belgian ales to fruity sours – and this beer hall is one of the best. Mellön makes easy-drinking German and Czech-style lagers, served alongside a tidy menu of snacks you can devour at communal picnic tables. 

What to get: Get a heady introduction to Czech-style pours, where the foam is the star of the drink. If you order a šnyt, for instance, your drink will be two parts beer and three parts foam. 

Cidrerie Michel Jodoin, Rougemont

Why go: There's no need for dark bars and late nights. This family-run cidery, growing apples since 1901 in Québec’s “apple capital,” is all about daytime adventures. Join a guided tour to sample five ciders while learning about the bud-to-bottle process, then follow mountain trails accessible from the cidery for elevated views across the surrounding farmland – particularly lovely when trees blossom in spring. It’s an easy half-day excursion from Montréal, less than an hour away. 

What to get: Bring home a bottle of golden ice cider, made with juice that’s frozen in winter to concentrate its sugars.

Vinvinvin, Montréal

Why go: Everything at this wine bar is fun, funky and full of flavor. It starts with the natural wine list, divided into categories like mineral, punk and pas tranquille (anything with bubbles). It continues with the decor, designed by local architects Ménard Dworkind with a riot of bold tiles and textures that add a visual effervescence. Of Montréal’s many wine bars, Vinvinvin scores high on versatility – it’s the kind of place you could bring a date, a friend or a group, splitting a bottle of pét-nat while discussing the spectacular tile job. 

What to get: Take a chance on the menu’s Québec-made wines – some are great.

JJacques, Québec City 

Why go: Nobody accidentally stumbles into this sleek and sexy neo-speakeasy in Saint-Roch – there isn’t a sign or bright light announcing its location. Still, word has gotten out – JJacques regularly ranks on Canada’s 100 Best Bars list. The cocktail menu is organized by mode of transportation, including Première Classe for top-shelf concoctions. Drinks are accompanied by a standout seafood-forward dinner menu.

What to get: Sip French 75s and slurp oysters – nature’s own aphrodisiac.

Pub L'Oncle Antoine, Québec City 

Why go: If you want a classic Québec tavern experience, this jovial drinking den delivers. Pub L'Oncle Antoine occupies a vaulted stone cellar from the 18th century, located just off Place Royale (where French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded the city in 1608). It’s the perfect place to snuggle up in winter by a wood-burning fire while exploring Old Québec. In summer, seating spills onto the cobblestone street. 

What to get: Keep things simple with a shot of maple whiskey and a beer. Finish with a fortifying bowl of their famous French onion soup. 

Dinner

Vin Mon Lapin, Montréal

Why go: Vin Mon Lapin, my favorite Montréal restaurant, gives the classic French bistro a Québécois twist. It’s refined yet unfussy – the kind of place where I’ll splurge for special occasions but still feel comfortable rolling up in jeans and sneakers. Unpretentious as the vibe may be, the kitchen is persnickety. Inventive small plates feature a rotating selection of fresh veggies, fish and meats, many sourced daily from nearby Marché Jean-Talon. 

What to get: Dishes change with the seasons, but you should always look for the croque-pétoncle (scallop sandwich – a fancy grilled cheese). Pair that, plus a few other plates, with a glass of natural wine. Nabbing a table is notoriously tough; reservations drop 30 days in advance. 

Pichai, Montréal

Why go: Some of Montréal’s most popular restaurants draw inspiration from places far away from Québec. Just take this stylish spot at the southern end of Plaza Saint-Hubert – a celebration of northeastern Thailand’s Isaan cuisine, where fiery chilies, sweet-sour tamarind and lemongrass enliven dishes that make pad Thai seem passé. Food is made to share: come with a group of friends and take a bite of everything. Linger over a bottle of bubbly and splurge on dessert – the Thai tea tiramisu is a knockout. 

What to get: Menus change seasonally, but if you see hed nam tok (mushroom salad) or duck laab (ground meat salad), don’t think twice. Servers know the options inside and out – ask them for recommendations on plates and guidance on spice levels. 

Laurie Raphaël, Québec City

Why go: When the host opens the door to this polished fine-dining establishment, you’ll find yourself standing in the kitchen, not the dining room – a fitting welcome for a restaurant that’s all about family. Daniel Vézina and Suzanne Gagnon named the restaurant Laurie Raphaël after their two children when it opened in 1991, and today, those children run the show. Their love for Québec is palpable in the tasting menu, which features seasonal ingredients from all across the province. The kids have done their parents proud, and even Michelin agrees, awarding one star. 

What to get: Consider the nonalcoholic beverage pairing with dinner – each drink is crafted to complement the menu. 

Espace Old Mill, Stanbridge East 

Why go: Eating at this foodie farm is like touring the Cantons-de-l’Est (Eastern Townships) with your taste buds. Most of the produce on your plate is plucked straight from the farm; the rest of the food comes from suppliers within a 50km radius of the property. If you book the five-course evening experience, dinner begins with a guided tour of the gardens – the perfect amuse-bouche before sitting down to a romantic meal on the terrace, overlooking the property.

What to get: A set menu changes with the harvest. The full dinner is the most dynamic (and expensive) option, but you can also go à la carte or sip local wine at the bar. 

Buvette Gentille, Baie-Saint-Paul

Why go: Buvette Gentille roughly translates to “friendly tavern,” and the name doesn’t lie. This place is the epitome of cozy: warm wood walls, a chalkboard displaying the day’s menu and guests squeezed into banquettes backed by a mural of edible boreal flora. Grab bar seats, if they’re available, to watch chefs prepare small plates in the kitchen. Nearly all the ingredients come from the Charlevoix region, offering a taste of its terroir without the fuss of fine dining. 

What to get: Try whichever vegetable is in season, a baloney sandwich and whatever catches your eye as it flies out of the kitchen. Ask your server to help pair your picks with a glass of low-intervention wine.