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Montréal has one of Canada's most cosmopolitan restaurant scenes with trendy new eateries popping up regularly, their menus heavily influenced by flavors from around the globe, and often with an added touch of French flair.
Montréal's top dining destinations are plentiful, especially as young chefs move to hip destinations in Mile End and the Plateau areas to open new restaurants. Downtown, convenient to many hotels, finds most of its restaurants clustered between rues Guy and Peel and on the side streets that run between boulevard René-Lévesque and rue Sherbrooke. Rue St-Denis and boulevard St-Laurent, between rues Sherbrooke and Jean Talon, have long been, and continue to be, convenient and fashionable areas, with everything from sandwich shops to high-price gourmet shrines. Old Montréal, too, has a collection of well-regarded restaurants, most of them clustered on rue St-Paul, avenue McGill, and place Jacques-Cartier.
You can usually order à la carte, but make sure to look for the table d'hôte, a two- to four-course package deal. It's often more economical, offers interesting specials, and may also take less time to prepare. For a splurge, consider a menu dégustation, a five- to seven-course tasting menu that generally includes soup, salad, fish, sherbet (to cleanse the palate), a meat dish, dessert, and coffee or tea. A menu dégustation for two, along with a good bottle of wine, will cost around C$250.
Most restaurants will have an English menu or, at the very least, a bilingual menu—but some might only be in French. If you don't understand what a dish is, don't be too shy to ask; a good server will be happy to explain. If you feel brave enough to order in French, remember that in Montréal an entrée is an appetizer, and what Americans call an entrée is a plat principal, or main dish.
"The crazier, the merrier"—that's the motto that greets patrons on the neon sign behind the canary yellow counter of this cheerful Vietnamese pub. Serving up authentic yet creative reinventions of Vietnamese street food, the three third-generation Vietnamese Canadian owners of Le Red Tiger have been wooing Montrealers in this quirky, convivial setting since opening in 2015.
This unassuming but contemporary hot spot serves some of the best Vietnamese fare in the city. "Simple yet edgy" are the operative words to describe the menu here. Steamed buns blackened with squid ink; edamames in lime, coriander and sesame; Asian ceviche with sweet potato puree; and chai creme brûlée, to name a few. There is a pleasant terrace on the street and, downstairs, the hidden Nhâu Bar, with its dozens of hanging white and red lanterns, has a sophisticated cocktail menu.
