One day/night in Montreal and four nights in Quebec: looking for restaurant recommendations

[T Raveret]

Taking the Train across Canada in in early November.  We love french food and culture but open to other cuisines as well and have 1 night in Montreal and 4 nights in Quebec.  Looking for some recommendations of restaurants for lunch and dinner and perhaps some amazing patisserie or anything else you think we should look to try.  Thanks

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

34 minutes ago, T Raveret said:

Taking the Train across Canada in in early November.  We love french food and culture but open to other cuisines as well and have 1 night in Montreal and 4 nights in Quebec.  Looking for some recommendations of restaurants for lunch and dinner and perhaps some amazing patisserie or anything else you think we should look to try.  Thanks

 

 

 

Once upon a time I took the train across Canada.  We ate on the train.  I thought the food was excellent and the wine most enjoyable.

 

[rob1234]

We went to Montreal last year, ate at Joe Beef, Au Pied De Cochon, Nora Grey, Garde Manger, Bouillon Bilk, Ferreira Cafe, Le Passe Compose, and Janine Cafe. All of them were great but Garde Manger was our favourite as well as Bouillon Bilk. Le Passe Compose for lunch. Patrice Patisserie would be a must stop but I think it closed.

[TdeV]

We ate at Au Pied De Cochon.  Le dîner était merveilleux (pig's head).

[weinoo]

22 hours ago, rob1234 said:

Patrice Patisserie would be a must stop but I think it closed.

 

It closed.  We were in Montreal a few months ago, and had some wonderful meals.

 

Dinners at Mon Lapin, Beba, Le Vin Papillon...all places we'd return to in a heartbeat. We did want to have smoked meat for lunch one day, and since I won't wait on line at Schwartz's, we chose another place and it turned out to be very good - Snowdon Deli.

Edited October 29, 2022 by weinoo (log)

[Steve R.]

In QC, we really liked Le Pied Bleu & Bistro St. Malo.   In Montreal, in addition to those already listed above, we liked Maison Premiere and the great chefs' tasting menus at Candide and Tandem.

[weinoo]

On 10/28/2022 at 2:38 PM, rob1234 said:

 Patrice Patisserie would be a must stop but I think it closed.

Patrice has a new spot…Sabayon…https://sabayon.ca/en

 

Unfortunately for us, as we are currently in Montreal, it’s tiny and books up immediately upon release of the seating, and I was unaware until it was too late.

[rotuts]

@weinoo

 

well ,  there is always Schwartz's

 

Hot smoked meat

 

https://schwartzsdeli.com

 

wonder if its just as good as it used to me.

[weinoo]

One of the things I admire about Montreal:

 

 

Is the literally never ending, everywhere one looks, road work/construction of…something?

 

Hareng fumé des Iles-de-la-Madeleine, salade tiède de rattes et betteraves. The fantastic smoked herring at Lemeac.

 

You know I can’t come here without getting some of this, @rotuts!

 

 

Smoked meat (medium fatty, old fashioned style (extra spices)) at Snowdon Deli.  Required Dr. Brown’s soda in background.

Edited May 28 by weinoo (log)

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

@weinoo thanks for posting this.

I remember Snowdon's well and the last time I was there would have been the late '90's. 

I moved from Montreal in 1980 for grad school however during my undergrad years our Saturday night ritual was to head to Schwatz's to eat. It was the most convenient since many of us lived east of the university district. Back then it was hardly the tourist trap it is today and our go to order would be a platter of smoked meat (priced by weight), a platter of pickles, cherry cokes and rye bread. Then off to one of my classmates homes to catch SNL.

I hope you had some good bagels when you were there.

That was what we referred to as the 'pothole fillers at work sign'.

Edited May 28 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

@weinoo thanks for posting this.

I remember Snowdon's well and the last time I was there would have been the late '90's. 

I moved from Montreal in 1980 for grad school however during my undergrad years our Saturday night ritual was to head to Schwatz's to eat. It was the most convenient since many of us lived east of the university district. Back then it was hardly the tourist trap it is today and our go to order would be a platter of smoked meat (priced by weight), a platter of pickles, cherry cokes and rye bread. Then off to one of my classmates homes to catch SNL.

I hope you had some good bagels when you were there.

That was what we referred to as the 'pothole fillers at work sign'.

We’ve been having St. Viateur bagels for breakfast daily; there’s an outpost directly across the street from our Airbnb, on Rue Mont-Royal est.

 

I did have a black cherry soda with my smoked meat at Snowdon; the cream was Sig Eater’s!

 

Nice to not have to deal with waiting on line at Snowdon, though they were quite crowded at lunch yesterday. Not pictured, each of us had a bowl of matzoh ball soup! My bubbe could’ve learned a thing or two about matzoh balls from Snowdon!

Edited May 28 by weinoo (log)

[weinoo]

Our recent four-night trip to Montreal, while it included the great smoked meat sandwich pictured above, also had some other edible highlights. There won't be any of the gorgeous pictures and scenery like @Duvel and @BonVivant post, but suffice to say the city of Montreal is lovely, and its roads suck.

 

The drive up, from where we are located in NYC (i.e.: way the hell downtown), took between 7 and 8 hours, including the border crossing (which going into Canada is quite quick). So we arrived at our AirBnB, on Rue Mont-Royal Est, at around 5 PM, settled in, and were ready for a drink. Headed over to Le Vin Papillon, and stopped into a bar across the street, for an aperitif. Back across the street, and seated promptly for our 8 PM res. Sorry, no picture of the menu at this place; it was a long day.

 

However, here's the BTG list; we like to order glasses of wine at places like this, as we're trying so many different foods, and often the BTG list is well curated.

 

 

And some food:

 

 

Bread, a simple salad of bitter lettuces, and "croquettes à la tête fromage."

 

Another small plate, since it's perfectly in season:

 

 

 

 Asperges & petites patates.

 

Our shared main courses...

 

 

Grilled chicken thigh, small order.

 

 

And some delicious short ribs, flanken style.  Finished up with an ice cream "sandwich" and a glass of Madeira for me.  A good start to 4 days of fine restaurant meals.

 

Thankfully, the US dollar is strong in Canada; taxes on restaurant checks are high, at a total of about 15%...makes NYC seem, well - still expensive! 

[weinoo]

Our first full day in Montreal we spent walking and walking; many places we walked were automobile free, so that was nice.  There was some giant comic arts festival on Rue St. Denis, and we strolled through that, not understanding a thing we were looking at!

 

Coffee at one of our favorite Montreal coffee spots was good...

 

 

And dinner, at a place we hadn't been to in a few trips, was very nice as well.

 

I posted above this herring starter, which is fabulous. At Leméac, a very staid, old-school Montreal place.  Once in a while, we enjoy this type of restaurant; less noisy, dressed-up, etc.

 

 

But enough of that...the following night, a well-known place we had never been to, entered the scene: L'Express.

 

 

Starter of rillettes.  Extremely rich, try not to eat the whole thing.

 

 

More asparagus - when in season, why not?! Significant Eater's cold pea soup with crab was lovely, and unpictured. As was her main, a simple onglet frites.

 

 

My favorite dish of the night, grilled quail, with fresh peas, on wild rice. A very excellent prep.  Dessert was nothing exceptional, just some ice cream and digestifs. I'd return here - it's a fun, classic bistro.

 

Edited June 5 by weinoo (log)

[rotuts]

@weinoo

 

Montreal is indeed a fine city .

 

Wine is always marked up in restaurants .

 

I have not been to Canada in quite some time , but I recall the wine prices

 

in restaurants , relative to the meal was far higher than USA .

 

some of that was probably a much higher tax rate

 

now , BTG :

 

the choices you posted average $ 15 a glass ( 12 USD )

 

what's the pour ?  6 oz ?  4 oz ?

 

and a bonus in Montreal :  you can pretend to speak French !

 

just like they do in Montreal !  ( bit of a joke )

 

if you ask someone on the street for directions , etc in English 

 

best of luck to you !

 

you ask is very bad Jr. high french :   they will take you there !

 

and the aroma , on a Sunday morning , at the Patisserie :

 

just like France .

[weinoo]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

the choices you posted average $ 15 a glass ( 12 USD )

what's the pour ?  6 oz ?  4 oz ?

 

They are healthy pours, I'd say between 5 and 6 oz. Or you get a nice pour more like 7. Never underpoured.

[weinoo]

On our last day in Montreal, I ventured out to Jean Talon, one of my favorite markets anywhere.

 

 

For our final dinner, we wanted to dine early, as we were out to get an early start the following morning.

 

 

Mon Lapin it was, for our 2nd time.  I'd seriously dine here biweekly if I were local. Reservations were barely secured, by playing the online game 30 days prior.

 

The wine list is extensive, though once again we chose to sample various glasses, as recommended by our delightful server (s):

 

 

 

It's a lovely room. I particularly like this cart's usage:

 

 

 

 

The astounding petoncles (scallops) with rhubarb.

 

 

Along with our other starter (oh yeah they totally know how to course stuff here, and there's no rush job), the radish with liver pate below and the ramp biscuit.

Just two great dishes, showing off the product. The rhubarb with scallops is amazing, both texturally and in the different flavors of the two components; one sweet and saline, the other tart, juicy...wow.

 

 

Significant Eater had this lobster agnolotti,; how could she not!  It's beautiful nettle agnolotti and lobster chunks, perfectly cooked, morel butter.

 

 

I had a light main - the fried soft shell, with lettuce. Hah, that's like an appetizer, so i also had the ribs, served with a counter point of nicely dressed bitter herbs.

 

 

There were 3, so I shared...don't worry. We also shared:

 

 

The rhubarb sorbet and an ice cream sandwich. Both fabulous.

 

This is a restaurant, simply put, not to be missed.

 

Edited June 6 by weinoo (log)

[weinoo]

By comparison, @rotuts, here's the BTG last from a local (my neighborhood) restaurant, with food prices that are somewhat similar to the restaurants' prices you reference above.  Wine prices in NYC have gotten exorbitant.

 

Jean-Pierre Robinot, Chenin Blanc Pet Nat 'Fetembulles' 2022   18

Adrien Renoir, 'Le Terroir' Extra Brut (from magnum)   26

 

Herbert Zillinger, Grüner Veltliner 'Horizont' 2022     20

I Vigneri, Etna Bianco 'Aurora' 2022   21

 

Meinklang, Skin Contact, Weiber Mulatschak Osterreich 2021    15

 

Bodega Chacra, 'Nacha' Pinot Noir Rosé 2022      15

Bruno Duchêne, VdF Rouge 'Titet' 2023  17

Domaine de la Grande Colline, Côtes-du-Rhône 'Bibendum' 2021 17 18

 

Then there is the line suggesting asking them about their special pours of the day, which are always in the $25+ range.

 

Let's just say that the pours here encourage one to order more glasses!

[Duvel]

50 minutes ago, weinoo said:

On our last day in Montreal, I ventured out to Jean Talon, one of my favorite markets anywhere.

 

 

For our final dinner, we wanted to dine early, as we were out to get an early start the following morning.

 

 

Mon Lapin it was, for our 2nd time.  I'd seriously dine here biweekly if I were local. Reserved were barely secured, playing the online game 30 days prior.

 

The wine list is extensive, though once again we chose to sample various glasses, as recommended by our delightful server (s):

 

 

 

It's a lovely room. I particularly like this cart's usage"

 

 

 

 

The astounding petoncles (scallops) with rhubarb.

 

Along with our other starter (oh yeah they totally know how to course stuff here, and there's no rush job), the radish with liver pate below and the ramp biscuit.

Just two great dishes, showing off the product. The rhubarb with scallops is amazing, both texturally and in the different flavors of the two components; one sweet and saline, the other tart, juicy...wow.

 

 

Significant Eater had this lobster agnolotti,; how could she not!  It's beautiful nettle agnolotti and lobster chunks, perfectly cooked, morel butter.

 

 

I had a light main - the fried soft shell, with lettuce. Hah, that's like an app (which it is listed on the menu as), so i also had the ribs, with a counter point of nicely dressed bitter herbs.

 

 

There were 3, so I shared...don't worry. We also shared:

 

 

The rhubarb sorbet and an ice cream sandwich.

 

This is a restaurant, simply put, not to be missed.

 

Damn … not to be missed indeed 🤗

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Jean Talon market, if you're visiting Montreal, is not to be missed.

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Jean Talon market, if you're visiting Montreal, is not to be missed.

As duly noted above!