Food Options when visiting Montréal

[Fenway]

This is the second in a series on where visiting hockey fans can get comfort food when traveling to another city to cheer on their team. Last month we took a look at Buffalo, NY.

Montréal has an excellent public transportation network of subway (Metro) and buses and Uber is a popular option. The 24 hour unlimited transit pass is a fine value.

Montréal is famous for its smoked meat sandwiches and locals fiercely debate where you can get the best sandwich. Here are my personal favorites.

Schwartz's (Charcuterie Hebraique de Montréal) 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard - (514) 842-4813 CASH ONLY - is the best known and it can get very crowded on weekends Celine Dion is one of the owners.
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They also serve poutine there but I would go with the smoked meat. We will discuss poutine options later.

Directly across the street is their biggest rival, the Main Deli Steak House, 3864 Saint Laurent Boulevard ( 514-843-8126) Accepts credit and debit cards - is the preferred choice of many locals.

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Lester's Deli, 1057 Avenue Bernard, Outremont (514 213-1313 Accepts credit and debit cards) is a personal favorite but is a little further away from downtown and closes at 9 PM and all day Sunday

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Dunn's Famous, 1249 Rue Metcalfe (514-395-1927 - Accepts credit, debit cards) is the closest to Centre Bell and never closes but I have found it to be inconsistent compared to the other 3 places mentioned.

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POUTINE

It seems every fast food place in the city offers poutine in one form or another. Here are two places that locals have told me about.

La Banquise, 994 rue Rachel Est (514 525 2415 - Accepts credit and debit cards - Open 24 hours ) can offer you poutine in its most basic form or exotic creations you would never dream of.

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Poutineville, 1365 Ontario Est ( 514-419-5444 - Accepts credit and debit cards ) To name your restaurant with the word poutine in Montreal you have to be very confident in your product.

BREAKFAST

I am only writing about one location as it is the only place I will go for breakfast in Montréal.

Beauty's Luncheonette, 93 Avenue du Mont-Royal Ouest (514-849-8883 - Accepts credit and debit cards- Open until 3 during the week, 4 PM weekends ) If you want to get a feel for what it is like to live in Montréal go here,

These are my recommendations after many years of going to Montréal for Bruins games. I'm sure the locals from the Canadiens board will offer more suggestions.

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[Lshap]

FYI, the original owner of Beauty's died about a month ago at 96. He was there the last time I ate there a couple of years ago, an old man whose face was immortalized in the cartoons on the wall.

My dad is old enough to remember the location as (I think) a stationary store before Beauty's opened in the early 1940s. It's a local legend.

 

[Runner77]

Fenway, we had a thread reviewing a lot of our favorite spots, just recently: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/your-best-under-the-radar-restaurants-in-montreal.2412413/

And unlike the time I went to the Bruins board to get advice on restaurants in Boston and got nowhere (I ended up having to erase my post, it was left to dry), you're going to find that no one is going to ignore you here.

Thanks for the thread.

 

[Fenway]

Fenway, we had a thread reviewing a lot of our favorite spots, just recently: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/your-best-under-the-radar-restaurants-in-montreal.2412413/

And unlike the time I went to the Bruins board to get advice on restaurants in Boston and got nowhere (I ended up having to erase my post, it was left to dry), you're going to find that no one is going to ignore you here.

Thanks for the thread.

@Runner77 I don't know when you made that request on the Bruins board and I apologize as we are usually very helpful to all visiting fans.

 

[Mrb1p]

Probably the best city in the world for restaurants and most of the best ones are missing. Kinda sad.

 

[ECWHSWI]

'It seems every fast food place in the city offers poutine"

it's a cliche, great places offer poutine. It's more that fries with sauce for Montrealers/Quebecois.

(and the two places you named are average at best IMO)

 

[93LEAFS]

Been to Schwartz's, Main and Dunn's. Would go back to all three. Would go back to any of them when in Montreal. Schwartz's is legendary, so its worth going atleast once, but if you have the time and don't want to deal with the crowds, Main is also great.

 

[Fenway]

'It seems every fast food place in the city offers poutine"

it's a cliche, great places offer poutine. It's more that fries with sauce for Montrealers/Quebecois.

(and the two places you named are average at best IMO)

I wouldn't wish A&W or McDonald's poutine on anyone and La Belle Province was pretty bland as well.

 

[Fenway]

Probably the best city in the world for restaurants and most of the best ones are missing. Kinda sad.

One of the best meals in my life was at a small Hungarian place on Maisonneuve . Another dining memory was in Old Montreal where we had 'marinated mountain goat'. Montreal dining options are as good as any city in North America if not better.

 

[GoodKiwi]

For those craving a great vegan/vegetarian meal I suggest "Mouton Vert". It's off the beaten path, located in NDG and is a hole in the wall instead of a full-fledged restaurant, but their food is always home-cooked, fresh and delicious. It is the best vegan spot on the island as far as I'm concerned and it's not particularly close IMO.

Mouton Vert

 

[Kairi Zaide]

For those craving a great vegan/vegetarian meal I suggest "Mouton Vert". It's off the beaten path, located in NDG and is a hole in the wall instead of a full-fledged restaurant, but their food is always home-cooked, fresh and delicious. It is the best vegan spot on the island as far as I'm concerned and it's not particularly close IMO.

Mouton Vert

Didn't know about that one, I am (well, was ) a Crudessence type of guy. Doesn't seem like they (Mouton Vert) have lots of variety from their menu but their sandwiches look good.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

If I could add one little nugget for smoked meat: if one does not mind paying more, Le Smoking Meat on Rue de la Commune has Kobe beef smoked meat. Expensive, but undoubtedly the best smoked meat I've ever had by a long shot.

Address: 143 Rue de La Commune, Est, Montreal, QC, H2Y 1J1

 

[Runner77]

@Runner77 I don't know when you made that request on the Bruins board and I apologize as we are usually very helpful to all visiting fans.

It's all good, Fenway. I guess I was unlucky. Glad to have you posting amongst us.

I'm a huge baseball fan and hope to attend a Sox game one day. I'll give your forum another shot whenever I'm planning to go.

 

[Fenway]

It's all good, Fenway. I guess I was unlucky. Glad to have you posting amongst us.

I'm a huge baseball fan and hope to attend a Sox game one day. I'll give your forum another shot whenever I'm planning to go.

I want to see the Red Sox play a real game in Montreal again.

Back in 1999 when Pedro had a season for the ages he faltered badly in only one game that year and it was at Stade Olympique. In his heart he just didn't want to beat the Expos. I was there.

Retrosheet Boxscore: Montreal Expos 13, Boston Red Sox 1

 

[Runner77]

I want to see the Red Sox play a real game in Montreal again.

Back in 1999 when Pedro had a season for the ages he faltered badly in only one game that year and it was at Stade Olympique. In his heart he just didn't want to beat the Expos. I was there.

Retrosheet Boxscore: Montreal Expos 13, Boston Red Sox 1

I so remember how Red Sox fans would attend in droves at the Big O, always loved how they support their team. If the rumored expansion and realignment happens, Sox and Spos would be in the same division this time. Would to be grand.

 

[ECWHSWI]

I wouldn't wish A&W or McDonald's poutine on anyone and La Belle Province was pretty bland as well.

true, and they're "fast food poutine"

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

That poutineville poutine looks disgusting.

Shredded cheese? C’mon.

 

[DAChampion]

Probably the best city in the world for restaurants and most of the best ones are missing. Kinda sad.

There's no way for you to make statement.

Hot tip: I've been to Sweden, Denmark, Australia, the USA, Argentina, Italy, and France. I just spent a few days in New Orleans. Lots of places have outstanding food.

True foodies necessarily love to travel

 

[Treb]

That poutineville poutine looks disgusting.

Shredded cheese? C’mon.

That's the fault of the person who ordered it. You can build your own poutine.

4 kinds of potatoes, 11 kinds of cheese (including cheese curds), 14 veggies, 15 meats and 5 sauces.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

That's the fault of the person who ordered it. You can build your own poutine.

4 kinds of potatoes, 11 kinds of cheese (including cheese curds), 14 veggies, 15 meats and 5 sauces.

Ahh ok, I just see shredded cheese and I think immediately of crappy places I’ve been in Ontario that try to pass that off as poutine.

 

[lo striver]

hm, what's the obsession with junk food? c'mon people, 60s are over.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I've lived in Montreal 12 years, and those are definitely the same places i recommend to out of towners .

A few other gems:
Dominion Square Tavern
Fairmont/St.Viateur Bagel
A beer at Dieu du Ciel
Shish Taouk at boustans (preferred drunk food of montreallers).

Fine dining:
Joe Beef
Au Pied du Cochon
H4C
(Toque i find is way overrated to recommend).

Anthony Bourdain has a great episode of The Layover and Part Unknown you can find on dailymotion.



While the asian food isn't nearly as popular as toronto or Vancouver.

Japanese Izakayas are comparable:
Imadake
Kazu

Korean fusion:
Ganadara

Korean chicken wings + beer:
Dawa
(Every bit as good as Korea)

Omma and Kiwa offer korean food as good as LA.

 

[Mrb1p]

There's no way for you to make statement.

Hot tip: I've been to Sweden, Denmark, Australia, the USA, Argentina, Italy, and France. I just spent a few days in New Orleans. Lots of places have outstanding food.

True foodies necessarily love to travel

Montreal is the food capital of the world. Is say Copenhagen, NO, Vancouver, Tokyo and a few others are close runner ups. Montreal is great, not because you can find poutine joints on every street corner, its great because theres probably the most variety in thr whole world and the quality is top class.

 

[Deebs]

Montreal is the food capital of the world.

No, but it is great. I love going to Montreal and hopefully can get there again this summer/fall.

 

[JMCx4]

Thanks for the article, Fenway, it made my mouth water. My first encounter with Montréal smoked meats was at a premium seating buffet during an Ottawa Sens home game back in 2011 (pretty tasty), but I fell in love with the guilty pleasure when my wife & I visited Schwartz's on Boul St-Laurent back in 2015. Very tight space, and we grabbed the last two seats at the counter. The service was very friendly & efficient, and the wait for our plates was filled with watching the staff scurry about & listening to the conversations in multiple languages among the other diners. When our meals were delivered, we were NOT disappointed and the price was quite reasonable for the massive amount of food we received.

We also enjoyed a little place near our hotel in Centre-Ville called Pullman Wine Bar on Avenue du Parc. They had a wide variety of tasty small plates & a huge wine selection. Not much English spoken there, but we managed to use the point-and-smile method to communicate with the staff.

A simple but flavorful meal we had in Montreal was the pizza at Il Focolaio on rue du Square-Phillip. Another bustling place with tight seating spaces, but attentive service and dishes with fresh ingredients. ETA: Il Focolaio has menus in both French and English to suit your preference.

Considering we stayed in Downtown Montreal for three full days without a car, and further considering I have a long-standing record of bad choices when it comes to travel dining spots, I thought we did well to have three memorable meals. I'll definitely keep an eye on this thread to build a larger dining option list for our next visit. Thanks, all.