51 Best Restaurants in Montreal, Quebec

A favorite among vegans, celiacs, and vegetarians (and even omnivores), Montréal's first vegan restaurant serves comfort food dishes and beverages that are creative and delicious—not to mention packed with vitamins. Try the gigantic sandwiches such as the Sirocco (grilled eggplant and hummus), which comes on chapati bread, or for something a little earthier, go with the Dragon bowl, a crowd favorite of steamed bok choy, organic rice, tempeh, marinated veggies, and tamari sauce. Don't forget to order the "uncheesecake" for dessert. 

The Schkolnick family has been serving brunch at this Montréal landmark since 1942, and very little here has changed, including the menu. On weekends, the line out front can be daunting. The Beautys Special—bagel, lox, and cream cheese—is the ultimate classic. Standard picks also include the Mish Mash omelet, with sliced frankfurters, salami, green peppers, and fried onions; and the Superbeautys 2 with two eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausage, and a toasted bagel. Until he passed away in 2017 at the age of 96, Hymie, the original owner, still sat at the counter and directed patrons to their seats.

The mastermind behind this photogenic bakery had been making bread for Montréal's best restaurants for years before he decided to open up his own place. His own shop is a favorite with locals, who line up every weekend for fresh baguettes. In addition to serving a delicious rye-and-caraway-seed loaf and chocolate babka, Hof Kelsten also makes sandwiches—like homemade gravlax with seasoned cream cheese or chopped liver with crispy onions—that make for an excellent lunch or early evening meal (the shop closes at 5). The bakery serves brunch on weekends.

One part pâtisserie, one part café, one part French bistro, this little restaurant has been a darling of food critics since it opened in 2017. Serving deftly executed French dishes like quiche, vol-au-vent, and tartines niçoises in a fresh, modern setting of white subway tiles, decorative brass struts, richly patinated wooden tables, and mint-green velvet seating, Café Bazin is a little corner of France in the heart of Anglo Westmount. You'll likely feel sated after your main course, but don't make the mistake of passing on dessert. Bazin is originally a pâtissier by profession, and the pâtisseries here are exquisite. Try the tartelette choco café, a chocolate flan with Chantilly coffee cream, or the Paris-Brest, a choux pastry with hazelnut praline mousseline.   

Ranked one of the world's best cafés by the United Kingdom's Telegraph, this unpretentious 1970s-style café is popular with locals for Italian pastries like cannoli and pistachio bomboloni and, of course, great espresso made from a secret blend of six different coffee beans. It's also a good place to get a feel for authentic Montréal. Families and suits alike head to Café Olimpico in the morning to kick-start their day, and the patio is overflowing with hipsters on sunny days. Baristas here know their craft, and the grinding of the espresso machine is a welcome melody to serious coffee drinkers.

A veritable institution in Little Italy, this modest cafe hasn't changed much since it first opened in 1956; think terrazzo flooring, half-wall plywood panelling, authentic retro barstools, and lots of photos and vintage posters on the walls. The one difference is that now there is a much wider range of coffees available to cater to the more demanding drinking habits of today's consumer. The friendly, welcoming cafe is a family affair, with daughter Luciana and granddaughters Nadia and Laura who manage the Tuscan patriarch's caffè.

Step inside Caffettiera and you just might be convinced you've entered a caffè in Italy circa 1994. Here in this faux-wood-paneled space with its stand-up espresso bar, beige and blue banquettes, and formica tabletops, you'll drink flavorful coffee made from arabica coffee beans roasted in Rome by Fantini and brewed from Vittorio Arduini Lever machines or classic aluminum Bialettis. At the bar, you'll choose from an assortment of panini and Italian dolci, such as brioches, crostate (jam tarts with a lattice pastry top), and bomboloni (ball-shaped doughnuts filled with jam or Nutella). And, since Caffettiera is an authentic Italian bar, not just a café, you'll see bottles of Aperol, Campari, Fernet Branca, and Amaro Nonino behind the bar. There's no detail Italian-Canadian owner Andreas Vecchio and his partner and cousin Diego Lovino haven't thought of. Imported Italian chocolates and bonboni? Check. Italian chips and snacks for aperitivi? Check. Cheap-quality Fantini paper napkins (they also have higher-quality napkins) in Fantini dispensers? Check. Just like in Italy.

This iconic Montréal bistro hasn’t changed much since its opening in 1980, and it’s just as well—regulars would throw a fit if it did. Quintessential French fare is fairly priced and appetizing, outstanding even, with dishes like steak tartare with fries, salmon with sorrel, and calf's liver with tarragon. Tiny tables sometimes struggle to accommodate the ever-present crowds (including local chefs, who congregate here for dinner after hours), but the lively atmosphere is part of the charm. Kids are warmly welcomed.

Québec is notorious for poutine—French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy—and La Banquise has been the place for an authentic experience since 1968, with an extensive menu featuring 34 varieties. Neophytes might want to stick with La Classique, but mouthwatering novelties like La Taquise (guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes), L'Obélix (smoked meat), La Veggie Reggie (pickles, tomatoes, creamy coleslaw, and Banquise sauce), and La Véganomane (vegan sauce and cheese) are quite alluring. On the odd sunny day, have your poutine to go and enjoy it alfresco in nearby Parc Lafontaine.

The self-proclaimed "un coin perdu de Paris" (a lost corner of Paris) is famous for its wraparound patio, Parisian vibe, century-old corner building featuring stained glass and woodwork, and Art Nouveau bar. Although this is a full bistro serving three meals every day of the week, it shines brightest in the morning. Order a croissant while nursing a large bowl of café au lait.

You'll want to keep coming back again and again to this charming little gourmet convenience store and café with its mint-green façade and single-origin coffee. Le Petit Dep proudly stocks local products, including prêt-à-manger (ready-to-eat) soups, salads, and comfort foods such as chili, pasta, and vegan shepherd's pie. There are also mouthwatering home-baked goods and candy in bulk.  There is a second Old Montréal location at 461 rue St-Sulpice.

Voted Canada's best restaurant in 2023 and 2024 by the prestigious "Canada's 100 Best," Mon Lapin has gone from being a compact wine bar to a full-fledged 70-seater restaurant with a daily-changing menu of small plates emphasizing local, seasonal ingredients and playful flavor combinations that make the mouth sing. Depending on the day and the season, the minimalist menu might feature chicken brined in sourdough; croque-pétoncle; white asparagus atop razor clams with elderflower; barbecued whelks; or Nanaimo bars with chestnuts and amaro. But it's not just about the great food. The sommeliers here really know their low-intervention wines and which to pair with each dish. As for design, it's sophisticated bistro: mosaic tile floors, burnished brass bar, and local art adorning the walls. “It’s not fine dining, it’s fun dining!” say the staff, who work more as a team rather than a regimented kitchen hierarchy. 

Influential types arrive at lunchtime en masse for a table at this bustling bakery and sandwich shop where vegetables are organically grown in a nearby garden. Crowd pleasers include the Cuban panini sandwich and the #24 salad with pickled daikon, peanuts, roasted marinated tofu, fresh herbs, and soba noodles.  There is now a second location in the new Royalmount mall.

Eaton's 9th floor restaurant, an Art Deco masterpiece meant to simulate a 1920s ocean liner, was a paragon of sophistication during Montréal's zenith as a jazz age capital. Here, husbands took their wives for an elegant dinner. It was also where anglophone society women lunched, and where many mothers and daughters, as recently as the 1980s, marked special occasions. When Eaton's stores across the country shuttered in 1999 due to bankruptcy, the beloved restaurant sat collecting cobwebs for 25 years. Now, after a full restoration, the legendary 9th-floor restaurant reopened in May 2024. The ship-like dining room is used only for performances and special events, with the former grand hall and art gallery now serving as the restaurant and cocktail bar spaces. Some of the original Eaton's classics remain on the menu, but most of the cuisine can best be described as "French, with a Montréal twist". The cocktail bar, Le French Line, adjacent to the restaurant, is small but magnificently restored, featuring mirrored walls, some of the original, fantastical art tableaux, curved banquette seating, lots of windows, and pale green velvet curtains. Here, patrons can snack on tasty bar plates while sipping fabulous cocktails when the kitchen is closed. Or, any time the bar is open. 

To access the 9th-floor, take one of the restored elevators in the original entrance hall at 1500 boul. Robert-Bourassa. Here you'll find a grand corridor filled with window displays of historical objects, which leads to the reception desk.

Many would say that you simply haven't eaten in Montréal if you haven't eaten at Schwartz's, Canada’s oldest deli. This Montréal classic has zero frills on the décor front, yet crowds have been lining up here since 1928 for a thick and legendary smoked-meat sandwich on rye with mustard. The cooks do such an excellent job at curing, smoking, and slicing beef brisket that even when it's 20 below zero, locals (and celebrity visitors) endure the consistently long queues.  Try to avoid lunch and dinner hours, as the wait is particularly long. If you're in a rush, use the take-out counter next door.

A darling of Montréal food critics since it opened in 2014, Canada's first vegan sushi restaurant is an innovative twist on the traditional sushi eatery. Inspired by Mexican Canadian chef Christian Ventura's values, the setting is replete with brick walls, natural woods, and soothing tones, including a few stunning walls of botanical murals. "You eat with your eyes," says Ventura, "so everything has to be beautiful." And beautiful it is. Exquisitely plated, inventive confections are a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. The bar serves organic wines, colorful cocktails, and privately imported sakes, making Sushi Momo an attractive destination for a quiet 5 à 7 (cocktail hour).  There's also a Sushi Momo takeout counter at 16 avenue des Pins in the Plateau.

Opened in 2020, this luminous, inviting bakery in St-Henri has made a name for itself with its old fashioned layer cakes, cookies, and loaves that transport you back to Grandma's kitchen.

Is it possible to eat sushi without harming our oceans and the fish that live in them? The owners of Bloom think so. At this pretty plant-based eatery in the Quartier des Spectacles, you can choose between artfully plated maki, futomaki, gyoza, crispy rice treats, and specialty rolls, each dish a captivating fusion of flavors. Complement your meal with a kombucha or a kaeru margarita flavored with matcha, pineapple juice, lime juice, and agave syrup.

There's no need to cross the pond to find perfectly battered fish and delicious chips, as they can be found right here in Old Montréal. The cod is a staple, but the salmon dipped in beer batter is also a menu favorite, and for a Canadian touch, try the haddock covered in golden maple syrup batter. Vegetarians will appreciate the tofu in chipotle batter and the veggie samosas. There's gluten-free available as well. Polish off your jolly ol' British experience at the chippy with sticky toffee pudding. Wine and a range of beers are also served. 

Aficionados are willing to wait for a seat at this small café, where the foam on your latte or café au lait is artfully arranged in waves, hearts, or curlicues. The gastro coffee is imported from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia, and elsewhere via the famed 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters in Vancouver. Patrons can choose alternatives to dairy milk, such as soy, almond, and oat. Don't drink coffee? Try the molten hot chocolate or the homemade iced tea. 

Sure, you go to Café Olimpico for the Italian coffee. But you also go for for the sense of history and community. Founded in 1970 by Rocco Furfaro, the original Mile-End location's concept was simple: a place where Italian gents could drink Italian blend coffee, watch Italian football together on TV, and engage in a game of pool or cards. Five and a half decades and three generations later, Olimpico is a veritable institution in Montréal--and even beyond Québec and Canada. The fourth--and likely last--outpost of this family-owned and operated business opened in Westmount to great fanfare in September 2024. The seats in the small space are usually all occupied and there are long queues at the bar as Olimpico devotees wait to order coffee from the affable baristas. The authentic Italian dolci like tiramisu and bomboloni (like a doughnut) are certainly worth the wait, too.

Students, freelancers, and local hipsters flock to this understated Turkish café for two reasons: the gourmet coffee and the food. Between the Nutella-and-sea-salt cookie, the feta-and-sausage omelet, and the borek (a traditional flaky pastry sprinkled with sesame seeds), it’s hard to pick just one thing off Replika’s menu. But what really keeps people coming back is the genuine friendliness of the owners, a Turkish couple that’s always eager to chat.

In the heart of Little Italy, this non-descript historic caffè filled with regulars chatting away in Italian is one of the city's best non-hipster, non-design places to get some excellent brew, be it an espresso, latte, or cappuccino. There also are a few pastries available. Visit a few times and you won't even have to order; the experienced baristas will prepare your drink when they see you walk in. It opens at 6 am every day of the week.  Try the signature smooth Malibu—a lukewarm drink shorter than a cappuccino but longer than a macchiato, made by combining a short shot of espresso with frothed milk.

Open since 1920, this iconic eatery bordering the western edge of Downtown is popular with locals for its old-school diner ambience, friendly staff, and consistent quality of its food.

Located on a quiet side street in Old Montréal, you can't miss the bright tangerine doors and windows of this small, new, retro-style panini joint. If simple Italian sandwiches are your jam, Ciccio's is your place. From the primo (mortadella, tomato, mozzarella) and the tacchino (smoked turkey, mozzarella, bacon, tomato, red onion) to the caprese (with or without prosciutto) with pesto, the parmigiana (breaded eggplant, mozzarella, tomato confit, pesto), and the capo (capocollo stagionato, spicy gabagool, burrata, marinated peppers, basil), Ciccio's makes it all. They also make salads and prepare antipasto and charcuterie platters, in addition to a few desserts.

Undoubtedly the most strikingly beautiful café in Montréal, perhaps even in North America, Crew Collective and Café is housed inside a former 1920s-era bank that's fitted with 50-foot-high vaulted ceilings, multiple arches, marble flooring, intricate tiling, and bronze chandeliers. It's no wonder Forbes named it one of the five most beautiful coworking spaces in the world. The café doubles as a coworking space for Web start-ups, so it’s only fitting that patrons be able to order their coffee and nibbles directly online, in real time, without ever having to queue. Expect barista-approved brews, gourmet sandwiches, and an appetizing range of baked goods, including vegan, soy-free, and nut-free options. 

Locals line up outside the window of this shoebox-sized take out joint, sandwiched between ice-cream shop Kem CoBa and Fairmount Bagel, to get their fix of Nonna Caterina Gattuso's gnocchi topped with her famous Calabrian tomato sauce. It's served in a little cardboard take-out container and costs only C$5. If you ask for parmesan it's C$6. With extra spice C$6.50. Diehards can purchase 750-milliliter jars of Salsa della Nonna for C$10 or a one-liter jar of Gnocchi della Nonna, also for C$10. Olive oil and a few other sauces are also available for sale.

A light croissant or rich pastry from the city's oldest pâtisserie makes for a nice break after visiting the Parc Mont-Royal or Oratoire St-Joseph. For lunch, try the avocado toast with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, and olive oil; the onion soup; or the mushroom or lobster risotto, followed by a tartelette aux abricots (apricot tart). If you're taking pastries home, try to snag an almond-paste (as opposed to almond-cream) croissant (or roulé) before the shop runs out.

A boisterous Japanese pub (known in Japan as an izakaya), Imadake serves small plates meant to be shared with a beer or cocktail in hand, and you won't find any sushi on the menu. The name Imadake means "only for now" and is a reference to the restaurant's ever-changing menu and "live in the moment" philosophy. You can pick from a variety of dishes, including ramen and noodle bowls as well as house specialties like korokke (mashed potato croquettes); konoko (oyster mushrooms served with yuzu sauce); or shiitake karaage (deep fried shiitake mushrooms) marinated with seafood dashi (stock) and spicy mayo.

The cocktail menu originally put this hip bistro on the map, drawing crowds for creative martinis (think cucumber and basil), and now the food holds its own. The house specialty is tartares—the menu lists four variations of marinated raw fish—and heaps of grilled meat, fish, or tempeh served on wooden chopping blocks. Young partiers are attracted to the cafeteria-style tables, where they mingle over ginger-beer cocktails, soups, salads, and tapas.