Hi all,
my beau and i are headed to montreal for a weekend in july and i'm looking for tips on where to go. i'd like to find a romantic restaurant with ambiance and maybe outdoor eating, that is reasonably priced (doesn't have to be cheap but we're on a loose budget) heres the catch, we're vegetarians, but we eat everything that doesnt have meat, chicken, fish in it. so the place doesn't have to be soy/granola/hippie joint but we'd like to eat more than salad. i'm thinking maybe someplace that has a lot of cheese based dishes. since we're in montreal, i'd like to eat as french as possible. i realize that i may be asking for the world seeing as how foie gras is on most french menus, but maybe crepes? we also love italian if no french venues can be found. also looking for live bands on a weekend night in summer. we love carribean, latin, french, reggae, arabic music anything that makes you move that wouldn't normally be heard on mainstream radio (world music i guess) and i love beer. so, i've got time. and i'd really appreciate any help i can get. and i'm from NYC area so if anyone has questions for me, fire away. merci beaucoup
how about one of those places,where you have a big 'M' logo and sometimes a stupid clown shows up out of nowhere;-)
since we're in montreal, i'd like to eat as french as possible.
Just don't confuse the French language in Montreal for French (from France) culture :) Montreal's no more like France than New York is like England. It's just the language that makes it feel that way at times. The default cuisine in Montreal isn't French cuisine, although it's true that you can find aspects of it there more easily than elsewhere. European style bakeries, chocolate croisssants, foie gras, etc. And I find that there is certainly a trend towards European-style cooking in Montreal as opposed to say, Asian cooking. So you do get restaurants that focus on heavy sauces, meats, and cheese. But there's also a huge Haitian/Carribean community, and a big Middle Eastern community. And Montreal is famous for its huge Italian, Jewish, and Greek communities, so those kinds of restaurants/styles certainly dominate on the menus.
One restaurant I really enjoyed was Cafe Melies on rue St-Laurent. I remember having ahi tuna there, so whether they make a decent attempt at a vegetarian menu, it's hard to say.
For music, you'll want to take a look at The Mirror - an English arts/entertainment newspaper advertizing all sorts of events going on. The only venue I'm familiar with at a personal level is the Casa del Popolo, which is a vegetarian cafe/bar/intimate concert venue.
Santropol is a favourite local hangout, especially if you're seeking casual vegetarian food. It has the ambiance of a used bookstore, but is famous for its crazy sandwiches. They have a very nice garden patio (terrace is the term used there)... so check it out online. While it does have a bit of that veggie hippy vibe, it's somewhat of a local institution, and I'd recommend it regardless if you're a vegetarian or not.
Oh - if you go on a Sunday, you have to go to Tam Tam. It's a weekly gathering at the park at the foot of "the Mountain" (Parc Mont Royal), where thousands of people come out to dance while a group of people play djembes. Kind of fun and unique to Montreal.
As number 2 said, Montreal as not much to do with French culture - and food... And french food usually mean....meat! sorry!
If you go in the italian "district" (not a proper quartier like the one in NY though) which mean around Jean-Talon Street and let say, PArc you will find a lot of italian restaurant, pizza, etc.
There's a couple of vegeterian restaurant - L'Eau vive, on St-Laurnet, Commensal on St-Denis or in Côte des Neiges (you pay buy the weight - more cafeteria style), Spirit Loundge on Ontario (very hippy style), L'utopik on St-Catherine (same style than café Santropol)... finding veggy option won't be that hard either in "regular" restaurant...
There's some crepe restaurant - on St-Denis, and Mont-royal (Une crêpe avec ça?), and on St-Denis and Rachel other obvious crêperies (it's in the name but don't know it - Crêtperie somthg)
enjoy!
I would also second the Italian Quarter (little italy). Some fantastic restaurants, and youre sure to find something to suit. You cant go past spaghetti or pizza if youre vegetarian.
Go to Le Petit Alep, in Villeray/La Petite Italie - lovely Middle Eastern (Syrian) food in a real Québécois café vibe, and their vegetarian plate is to die for - they have lots of other vegetarian choices.
There is no L'Eau vive on St-Laurent, think Catherine is thinking of Aux Vivres. I refuse to go there as, when asked why they don't serve wine/beer or let one bring them as is common here, they replied "we don't want that kind of noisy people". Aux Vivres certainly wouldn't attract the laddish sport bar types in any event. Sounds like puritanical meddling.
I disagree (strongly) with Carmanah about our culture. Of course we are French-influenced; it is not just a matter of the majority language. Living here is very different from living in English-Speaking Canada (which I have done).
Paris also boasts a large Caribbean community (mostly from the French overseas territories, but also from Haiti), and huge North African and large Middle Eastern communites (Carmanah, a lot of the Arab people here are from the Maghreb, as are many of the Sephardic Jewish people. North Africa is not part of the Middle East).There are certainly many people from Italy and Greece in France and Belgium, and like Montréal, France has Jewish communities from Central and Eastern Europe as well as North Africa and the Middle East (Askenazi and Sephardi). There is nothing "non-French" about big cities being cosmopolitan. Trust me - I lived there.
lagatta, I was merelty pointing out that a visit to Montreal isn't the same thing as going to France. Of course things are French-influenced, but from my experience, Montrealers look at themselves as Quebecois, not French - distinct from English-speaking Canada certainly, but also distinct from French people in France.
Please don't be patronizing. I wasn't.
It's a bit touristy but I think that Jardin Nelson fits the bill. A friend of mine who lives in Montreal reccomended it when I was there and we were enchanted. People there seemed to be a mix of locals and visitors. It's also non-descript from the outside (compared to waht it is in the courtyard) so I think that some visitors pass it up.
http://www.jardinnelson.com/</a>
Hi Carmanah,
Yes, of course we view ourselves as Québécois et Québécoises, not "Français de France". I'm sorry; I thought you were denying that we had a specific culture with a French "humus" and a lot of contemporary links to other French-speaking countries. One does get that more than once in a while on English-language boards. (French-language boards have posters saying things just as lame about English-speakers, English Canada, etc, and I think such posters are a universal malady, if one looks at the Australian/New Zealand and other slagging on this board)... I had read your comment as patronising, but if that is not what you meant I most certainly apologise.
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