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Montreal Restaurant Recommendations

VenusSavvy

By VenusSavvy
in Eastern Canada: Dining

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VenusSavvy

VenusSavvy

Posted
Posted

Aussie Foodie going to be in town for 9 days and was wondering if you could help with some local suggestions and must eat spots!

WOuld love to try tourtiere, poutine, bagels, good bakeries, good french bistros, and with a little fine dining thrown in. Basically where would YOU eat as a local.

Here's a rough itinery

Saturday - will be near Sherbrooke Est. (st Hubert) Need a lunch and dinner recommendations

Sunday - Lunch near Square Dorchester (Bld de Maisonneuve & Rue Peel). I'll be taking a tour from there. Any reccs for dinner on a Sunday in Old Montreal?

Monday - Marche des Saveurs/Jean Talon Market - Perhaps Tourtiere here?

What's opened for dinner on Monday?

Tues - Latin Quartier - Lunch??

i'd like to go to the Comedy Festival @ Rue Maisonneuve (Sanguinet) in the evening. Anything near there for dinner?

Wed - walking around the Plateau du Mont Royal

Thurs - Underground city/Downtown

Fri - not sure what i'm doing

Sat - not sure what i'm doing

Sun - not sure what i'm doing...

What have i missed? Am I doing too much in the earlier days? Any help you can give me will be MOST appreciated.

Thanks!!

Cheryl - looking forward to hitting the streets of Montreal.

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carswell

carswell

Posted
Posted (edited)

OK, I'll bite, though you don't provide much in the way of information as to your age, interests, budget or travel status (solo, couple, group). Despite its length, this is hardly an exhaustive list. But maybe it'll give you a starting point and prompt others to chime in.

Saturday - will be near Sherbrooke Est. (st Hubert) Need a lunch and dinner recommendations

Lunch: If you're a beer fan, L'amère à boire; the food's no great shakes but the Cerna Hora is an outstanding Czech-style pilsner. If beer's not your thing, La Paryse (OK burgers but an institution).

Dinner: Brunoise (reservations essential on a Saturday) or, failing that, Area.

Sunday - Lunch near Square Dorchester (Bld de Maisonneuve & Rue Peel). I'll be taking a tour from there. Any reccs for dinner on a Sunday in Old Montreal?

Lunch: MBCo, Café Vasco da Gama (only after 1 p.m. on weekends), the Au Pain Doré outlet on Peel just north of Sherbrooke, the Premier Moisson outlet in the underground passage between Central Station and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, the food court in Central Station. Personally, I'd go the extra distance (about a ten-minute walk) to Cuisine Bangkok in the Faubourg Ste-Catherine for delicious and affordable street-stall Thai.

Dinner (more or less in order of increasing affordability): Club Chasse et Pêche, Chez l'Épicier, Version Laurent Godbout, Holder (I think it's open on Sundays) or, if a pleasant terrasse is more important than the food, Boris Bistro.

Monday - Marche des Saveurs/Jean Talon Market - Perhaps Tourtiere here?

If Marché des Saveurs has tourtière, it'll be the heat-at-home variety. Ditto those available at Au Pain Doré and Première Moisson. You might see if Prince Noir (aka Le Tartarin) in the new extension has it on their menu. Personally, I'd give a pass to what is, after all, a pretty standard meat pie (and cold-weather fare to boot) and make a beeline for Le Petit Alep for wonderful Syrian/Armenian food, Café Italia for decent sandwiches and great espresso, Café International for fine pizzas and panini and good espresso or just nibble my way around the market (lamb or merguez sandwhiches, fried squid, sausages, Polish donuts, crêpes, ice cream from Havre aux glaces, pastries from Alati-Caserta, etc.). Come dinnertime, I'd think Alep (the more formal restaurant next to its little brother), Italian Café Via Dante or, if I was feeling flush, Ristorante Lucca.

What's opened for dinner on Monday?

Two classic Montreal bistros: L'Express and Au Petit Extra.

Tues - Latin Quartier - Lunch??

i'd like to go to the Comedy Festival @ Rue Maisonneuve (Sanguinet) in the evening. Anything near there for dinner?

This is the same area (within a few blocks) where you were on Saturday. On St-Denis, you could try Mikado if you're in the mood for sushi. Or wander up St-Denis to Agapes, ChuChai (or its nextdoor BYOB arm, Chuch) or Le Continental. Or head over to the St-Laurent glitz strip north of Sherbrooke (Globe, Café Mélies, Il Sole, etc.) or Chinatown (east and west of St-Laurent between René-Lévesque and Viger). If you're in the mood for simple French bistro, consider Café du Nouveau Monde.

Wed - walking around the Plateau du Mont Royal

How's about a BYOB? Le P'tit Plateau (closed for vacation until mid-August), La Colombe, Yoyo, Les Héritiers and Le Poisson Rouge are five of the most popular French establishments (the latter specializing in fish), though there are countless others. The more rustic Le Piton de la Fournaise features Reunion Island cooking. (Word to the wise: I don't think I've ever seen a solo diner at a Montreal BYOB.) Despite their getting mixed reviews on this and other boards, you might want to take a chance with the only-in-Quebec Au Pied de Cochon or the little bit of Paris on Pine Ave. that is Laloux. On the northern edge of the Plateau is Laurier East with lots of interesting shops (including bakery Le Fromentier, which shares its premises with a very good charcuterie and cheese shop) and two enjoyable and affordable restos, the Persian-Québécois Byblos, Le petit café and modern French-Québécois La Gaudriole. The Plateau is also home to a number of decent and affordable Portuguese restos, various sandwicheries, couscouseries, ethnic restos of varying worth and Reservoir, a cool microbrewery with pretty good beers and really good food.

Thurs - Underground city/Downtown

<rant>For reasons that remain a mystery to me, visitors seem enamoured with the so-called underground city. I can't see it as anything more than a poorly planned, windowless shopping mall. Fine for when you want to avoid the weather but a tourist destination?! </rant>

High-end: Tony nouvelle Portuguese bistro Café Ferreira Trattoria. Tony nouvelle Italian Ristorante Brontë.

Low-end: Cuisine Bangkok.

Fri - not sure what i'm doing

Sat - not sure what i'm doing

Sun - not sure what i'm doing...

What have i missed? Am I doing too much in the earlier days? Any help you can give me will be MOST appreciated.

You might enjoy a day in Outremont/Mile End. I proposed one itinerary here. Updates: I believe Christophe is closed for July; Olympico is now smoke-free; Les Petits Plaisirs d'Andréa has moved to St-Laurent; Le Club des Pins is no more; on that stretch of Laurier three new restos worth mentioning are Jun-i, Raza and Pesce (see recent threads on this board); Aux Lilas is a few doors north of Saint-Viateur, not Laurier; Au Cyclo, which, based on a couple of recent meals, has me wondering whether it's not the city's best Asian eatery period, is on the corner of Park and Labadie; and when they're spot on, Frite Alors!'s tallow-fried french fries really are the best in the city bar none. In the same general neck of the woods, winebar/resto Bû and microbrasserie Dieu du Ciel should be on any imbiber's short list.

What else should you do?

- Montreal's not really a museum city on the order of London, New York or Paris. The Museum of Fine Arts is only as appealing as whatever big exhibit they've put together. The Musée de l'art contemporain is mainly of interest to locals. The small museum at the Canadian Centre for Architecture can be fun if the topic interests you. Ditto the Pointe à Callières museum in Old Montreal, which is devoted to local history.

- One of the city's unsung jewels is the Lachine Canal, a 15-km strip park that streches from the Old Port to Lachine. The landscape is mostly industrial but the bike/skate path is now uninterruped by cross traffic for its entire length and illuminated at night. Bikes and inline skates can be rented at the Old Port and boat tours of the canal are also available.

- Exploring Mount Royal, parts of which are as close as you can come to the country in the city. Why not take a picnic?

- Gawking at the houses in upper Westmount and upper Outremont.

- If the weather's good, the city's vibrant Village gai can be entertaining if people-watching's your thing. Lots of cafés, coffee houses and bars from which to do it, too.

- Montreal is an island, so fresh-water swimming is a possiblilty. The most convenient to downtown is the lake, er, pond on Île Ste-Hélène, a real scene on a hot day but far more interesting for the sociologist in you than the athlete.

- For concerts and other entertainment, see the listings in Hour or the Friday Gazette. The Jazz Festival and Baroque Music festivals have just finished. Les nuits d'afrique is about to start. Les FrancoFolies and the two summer film fests are yet to come.

Edited by carswell (log)
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VenusSavvy

VenusSavvy

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Carswell - THANKS SO MUCH!!

I'm traveling with my hubby. I'm also pregnant so I cannot partake in wine, soft cheeses or foie gras or sushi. ALL MY FAVOURITE THINGS!

Budget - all over the place. We don't mind splurging on a few fine dining spots. As well as moderate/budget places. I've been known to squat in a makeshift stall in asia to eat durians so I'm just all about the FOOOOD.

Anyone else wanna add anything, that would be great.

But Carswell, your input has been invaluable.

Cheers

Cheryl

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Verjuice

Verjuice

Posted
Posted (edited)

Have you checked other threads on this board? I got some great tips that way.

I have been known to drive several hundred miles out of the way for the hot bagels at St. Viateur. Seriously- you must go. Make sure that they are very hot, though. A couple of minutes makes all the difference.

I love Au Pied de Cochon. Not sure if their poutine can be had without foie gras, though (:shock:). Go.

MBCo is fine for lunch if you're in the area. I think that the torsades there are worth going slightly out of the way for. These are soft pastry twists studded with dark chocolate and glazed in apricot shellac.

I've not been to Jean Talon, but I love the Atwater market and when I'm in town I always end up spending a few hours there.

Get some Liberte Dessert Yogurt while you're in Montreal, too. Coconut, Fig/Date/Raisin, Orange/Marzipan, Apple Pie... It is sold everywhere and it is remarkable.

edited for spelling.

Edited by Verjuice (log)

On the Rocks With Salt:The Food Blog

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VenusSavvy

VenusSavvy

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ST Viateur is on my list as well. I've heard about those bagels.

Tourtiere - I know it's summer and it's only a meat pie. But I'm an Aussie. I wanna see if the canadians do it as well as us. ;)

If you know of any place that serves it - i wouldn't mind checking it out one afternoon.

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carswell

carswell

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How is the Chinatown in Montreal?  Is it big like Toronto's? 

Also, where would you go for the best sushi in Montreal?

Chinatown is nothing like Toronto's. It doesn't even fill six city blocks anymore. The various levels of government have had it in their sights ever since the Drapeau era. The federal goverment's Guy Favreau Complex is probably the worst offender with the convention centre running it a close second.

There's been lots of discussion about sushi; search the forum using it as your keyword. These days I usually end up at Mikado on Laurier or Monkland. While it's been a couple of years since I last ordered from them, takeout-only Sushi Volant used to be quite good (you're best ordering 24 hours in advance though). And Jun-i (see here) and Oishii (see here) have recently got good reviews on this board. (Jun-i is on my short list of places to try.)

I've not been to Jean Talon, but I love the Atwater market and when I'm in town I always end up spending a few hours there.

The consensus on this board is that, with the opening of the new extension, Jean-Talon Market puts all others in the shade. And, anyway, that's always been the case this time of year, as it attracts many more farmers who sell a wider range of produce. Plus the neighbourhood is much more interesting for foodies.

Get some Liberte Dessert Yogurt while you're in Montreal, too. Coconut, Fig/Date/Raisin, Orange/Marzipan, Apple Pie... It is sold everywhere and it is remarkable.

Good suggestion, though the new Blueberry Muffin flavour sucks bigtime. Their other yogurts are good, too, and an ever-increasing number are "bio" (i.e. organic).

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carswell

carswell

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Good suggestion, though the new Blueberry Muffin flavour sucks bigtime.

When did they come up with that one? I love blueberry muffins, and I love Liberte yogurt... but I'll take your word for it.

The Banana Royale flavor is quite nasty as well.

Blueberry Muffin showed up a couple of months ago. Obviously trying to cash in on the success of cookie-dough ice cream. Mild blueberry flavour, lots of raw-tasting muffin dough "crumbs" and way too much sugar. Feh.

We definitely see eye-to-eye on the Banana Royale. So bad I'd pushed it from my mind.

Edited by carswell (log)
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MaeveH

MaeveH

Posted
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Great suggestions, Carswell!

La Gaudriole, according to their website, is open Monday nights, as is L'Entrepont and Brunoise. Looks like Mtl restos are beginning to feel sorry for hungry folks all week long...

Oh, I think you meant Au Pain Dore on Peel above Ste Catherine, not Sherbrooke? Just checking.

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Markian

Markian

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Check out Schwart'z for some crazy smoked brisket and black cherry cola.

Toque! and les Chevres if you have no limit to your budget.

L'express and Au Petit Extra for a cool bistro experience.

Mr. Steer Burger for the Suzy Q's

I'd rather live in a world without truffles than in a world without onions.

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gus_tatory

gus_tatory

Posted
Posted (edited)
Great suggestions, Carswell!

i agree. i've been reading eGullet since March '03, and i think carswell basically provided an encyclopaedic tour of gastronomic Montreal! :biggrin:

can someone pin this thread please? it would be soo useful to incoming tourists and visitors...

edit to deal with topic of tourtiere: VenusSavvy: you won't find tourtiere unless it's Xmas time, and even then, you won't find the *best* tourtiere unless you're in eastern/rural Quebec (Saguenay/Lac St-Jean). how do the Aussies make it? (perhaps this merits another thread...) here it's just ground pork, veal, potatoes, and cloves/savoury/allspice in a crust. :raz:

Edited by gus_tatory (log)

"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the ocean."

--Isak Dinesen

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carswell

carswell

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Posted
La Gaudriole, according to their website, is open Monday nights, as is L'Entrepont and Brunoise. Looks like Mtl restos are beginning to feel sorry for hungry folks all week long...

Yep. And so's Les Chèvres, Les Caprices de Nicolas, Laloux, Le Pégasse, Milos (I think; they stupidly don't list their hours on their website), Ferreira (ditto), Cube, Cocaigne, Continental and Guy et Dodo, etc., not to mention L'Académie <weak attempt at sick humour>. I just limited myself to two classic bistros that I often visit on Sundays and Mondays.

Oh, I think you meant Au Pain Dore on Peel above Ste Catherine, not Sherbrooke? Just checking.

Yep. Excuse my brain fart. Thanks for the correction.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Gastro888

Gastro888

Posted
Posted

Montreal is lovely! Atwater Market is a definite must see for foodies. Cheese curds are a new addiction. I didn't have the poutine but I don't know if my body could've handled it!

Had a great cappucino cake at a chain bakery - starts with Au (I know, that's no help at all and making me sound like an idiot) on St. Catherine near Simons. Kum Phung has excellent Cantonese food - definitely try the dim sum. The Jade Garden has great baked goods - egg tarts are a must have. Will definitely go to Montreal again - love it!

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  • 5 weeks later...
Della

Della

Posted
Posted

I am glad to see this thread. Me and 3 other fellow e'gulleter's (my guy, and another couple along with myself) are heading to Montreal on September 22nd. We had booked and planned a trip to New Orleans but we aren't going there now due to Katrina.

We just decided on Montreal a day or so ago and are all working together to get the trip planned. We will be in late on the 22nd and heading out on the 27th. That gives us about 4 1/2 days.

I am working my way through the this thread and some others in this forum but wanted to ask outright - is there anything happening in the restaurant scene that is a flat out don't miss?

(We are from Seattle and get this question all the time - there are a few restaurants that do a stand out job so we tend to list them often - I am guessing that you have some of those as well)

We love almost any of food as long as it is done well. (Schwart'z is on the list already :biggrin: ). I am asking mostly about dinner/evening restauarants. Price is not technically an object as we are willing to pay for great food, service etc etc.

As I continue to go through the thread I am sure I will have some specific questions - but wanted to do a heads up and I am going to be asking.

Thanks in advance - Della

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CharityCase

CharityCase

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Posted
Appetizers are $10-$22

Mains are $20-$40+

Wines start at $60

Desserts are $10+

Cheese course is $10+ per person depending on the # of cheeses

It ain't cheap to eat there. For the full experience, I'd count on $100+ per head.

Must throw in the Beaver Club (see my post about it) as the meal was exceptional, although the prices made sense for the exceptional meal...$100 a person probably if you do the set menu with a bottle or two of wine.

It's in the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth on Rene-Levesque. Jacket and tie.

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