Montreal Restaurants

• Aix Cuisine du Terroir
  711 Côte de la Place d'Armes (Old Montreal), (514) 904-1201
  Aix offers French-inspired "country" cuisine.


• Au Pied de Cochon
  536 rue Duluth Est (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 281-1114
  Chef-owner Martin Picard has basically built his restaurant around the concept of over-indulgence. Foie gras is all over the menu, not only in the section devoted to it.


• Aux Vivres
  4631 boulevard St-Laurent (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 842-3479
  Aux Vivres serves such a convincing version of vegan cuisine that you will not feel like you're giving up anything (except stereotypes, possibly).


• Bagel Etc
  4320 Boulevard St-Laurent (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 845-9462
  A lively breakfast, lunch and snack venue. Much of the menu is centered on or can be served with.. you've guessed it, a bagel! Bagal Etc serves a brunch that is particularly popular with Le Pleateau denizens.


• Bistro L'Entrepont
  4622 Hotel de Ville (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 845-1369
  Small restaurant serving delicious French bistro cuisine dishes.


• Bonaparte
  443 rue St-François-Xavier (Old Montreal), (514) 884-4368
  A romantic Classic French restaurant. Three meticulously appointed dining rooms. The service is good, although somewhat formal. Although many patrons are tourists (the restaurant is located downstairs from a small hotel), Le Bonaparte is definitely not a tourist trap - it is well-known and respected in the city.


• Bu
  5245 Boulevard St-Laurent (Mile End), (514) 276-0249
  Bu was "inspired by the great wine bars of Europe". The wine options include the weekly selection of some 25 wines offered by the glass, as well as a 500-entry complete wine list. The kitchen serves Italian cuisine.


• Café Cherrier
  3635 rue St-Denis (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 843-4308
  Café Cherrier has been serving bistro-style French cuisine since 1931.


• Café du nouveau monde
  84 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest (Quartier des Spectacles), (514) 866-8669
  Located inside the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, this restaurant/café (easily identifiable from the street thanks to its glass walls) is open to everybody, whether or not they've come to see a play at the theater. That said, the best hours to dine are actually when there's something on stage (that is to say between 8pm and 10:30pm) because the café is not that busy. The menu consists mainly of French bistro dishes.


• Café Italia
  6840 Boulevard St-Laurent, (514) 495-0059
  Simple, unpretentious café with excellent coffee and traditional Italian pastries.


• Café Myriad
  1432 Rue Mackay (Downtown Montreal), (514) 939-1717
  Opened in late 2008, this tiny café was immediately colonized by students of nearby Concordia Univerisity. Expertly brewed "third wave" coffee, friendly ambience.


• Café Méliès
  3536 boulevard St-Laurent (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 847-9218
  Bistro fare served in an ultra-modern décor (matching the interior of the Ex:centris movie theater, with which the restaurant is sharing the building as well as the owner).


• Café Trattoria Ferreira
  1446 rue Peel (Downtown Montreal), (514) 848-0988
  An upscale Portuguese restaurant with a focus on seafood. The clientele seems to consist primarily of business folk who appreciate upscale Portuguese grub. Single diners can enjoy food at the bar.


• Camellia Sinensis
  351, rue Emery (Quartier Latin), 514-286-4002
  A tea salon / café founded in the early 2000's by a team that included four travel-happy "professional tea tasters." The core group of founders still regulary travel Asia in search of the best teas to bring to Montreal. An incredible array of teas, including dozens of varieties of black (of course), white, yellow, and green teas.


• Chez Queux
  158 rue St-Paul Est (Old Montreal)
  Traditional French cuisine.


• Cluny
  257 rue Prince (Cité Multimédia), (514) 866-1213
  A café/bar/restaurant serving tasty sandwiches, salads and hot dishes.


• da Emma
  777 rue de la Commune Ouest (Cité Multimédia), (514) 392-1568
  Traditional Roman (Italian) cuisine.


• Gibby's
  298 place d'Youville (Old Montreal), (514) 282-1837
  A well-known steak and seafood restaurant. Cabs waiting in line outside will give you an indication of its popularity.


• Ginza
  4593, rue Saint-Denis (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 904-0079
  Ginza managed to excel in a potentially risky format of "all you can eat sushi". The fine print (of course, there is fine print!) is that there are maximums and the stuff you order but don't eat will cost you extra.


• Holt Renfrew Café
  1300 rue Sherbrooke Ouest (Downtown Montreal), (514) 282-3749
  Hungry shoppers enjoying the famous sandwiches in a minimalist décor.


• Joe Beef
  2491 rue Notre-Dame Ouest (Little Burgundy), (514) 935-6504
  Don't let the somewhat simplistic decor and setup fool you: this is a high-end (and fairly expensive) establishment. Joe Beef has a menu highlighting fresh ingredients with a focus on fish and seafood, although first-class meat dishes (as the name would suggest) are offered as well. The wine lists starts at around $60/bottle. Small summer terrace (7 tables) is available.


• La Chronique
  99 rue Laurier Ouest (Mile End), (514) 271-3095
  Eclectic "market cuisine" restaurant; winner of many gastronomical awards.


• La Gargote
  351 Place d'Youville (Old Montreal), (514) 844-1428
  Although the word “Gargote” means “cheap restaurant” or “diner” in French slang, this bistro actually offers fairly upscale versions of classic French dishes (with some North African influences).


• Laloux
  250, avenue des Pins Est (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 287-9127
  Nouvelle Cuisine "with a twist". Romantic atmosphere, despite somewhat barren location.


• Le Cartet
  106 rue McGill (Cité Multimédia), (514) 871-8887
  Opened in 2005, this "boutique alimentaire" + café has been getting increasingly popular with 30-something, particularly for brunch.


• Le Reservoir
  9 Duluth East (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 849-7779
  A micro-brewery which has gradually evolved into a bona fide bistro/brasserie restaurant.


• Le Roi du Plateau
  51 Rachel Ouest (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 844-8393
  Simple family-run restaurant serving authentic Portuguese dishes.


• L'Entrecôte St-Jean
  2022 rue Peel (Downtown Montreal), (514) 281-6492
  L'Entrecôte St-Jean's menu may be short (essentially containing just one main dish - its signature steak) but the execution is flawless and the restaurant's success is a proof that the strategy worked. "Aucune surprise" indeed.


• L'Express
  3927 rue St-Denis (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 845-5333
  L'Express is simultaneously the coolest bistro in Montreal and its relatively well-kept secret. There is no sign on the door and they don't need one - everybody who is anybody in Montreal knows exactly where it is. Reservations are recommended (especially during the "regular" dinner hours), but the wait is probably going to be acceptable if you come come after 10:30 pm. The restaurant is open late (until 2 am).


• Lola Rosa
  545 Rue Milton (McGill Ghetto), (514) 287-9337
  A restaurant based on an eclectic quasi-vegetarian cuisine. The main influence is obviously Mexican, but the interpretation is fairly vague, which makes it more appropriate to classify the restaurant as "eclectic". The space is smallish, the atmosphere rather informal (which can be a good or not-so-good thing depending on the day and your mood), the staff friendly and the prices reasonable.


• Milos
  5357 Avenue du Parc (Mile End), (514) 272-3522
  Milos is considered one of the best Greek restaurants in the city. The accent here is on seafood.


• Nocochi
  2156 rue Mackay (Downtown Montreal), (514) 989-7514
  Nocochi is a café-tea house specializing in light fare and offering something unique in addition to its relatively typical menu of omelettes, sandwiches and salads: the distinctive Persian cookies. These tiny multi-coloured Persian treats can be bought "to go" (by the box) or consumed on the spot. The cookies, the food, the tea, to a lesser extent the coffee, as well as Nocochi's clean and airy light-toned interior design attract an appropriately mixed crowd: museum goers, old ladies chatting after shopping, visiting Europeans and Concordia students.


• Olive + Gourmando
  351 rue St-Paul Ouest (Old Montreal), (514) 350-1083
  An extremely popular café-bakery (so popular, in fact, that sometimes it's difficult to get a seat as there are only about a dozen tables). Passable coffee and excellent pastries made in-house.


• Pintxo
  256 rue Roy Est (Plateau Mont Royal), (514) 844-0222
  Pintxo serves food based on the modernized concept of miniature Basque tapas (yes, tapas can be made smaller than usual). You can also order "regular" size dishes which complement the tapas. The tasting menu includes one main dish and four pintxos (tapas).


• Pullman
  3424 Avenue du Parc (McGill Ghetto), (514) 288-7779
  Wine bar serving small tapa-like dishes. Sharp, award-winning design. Over 250 wines on the menu (50 available by the glass).


• Soupesoup (Cité Multimédia)
  649 rue Wellington (Cité Multimédia)
  Despite what its excessively descriptive name would suggest, this café doesn't limit its menu to soups - in fact, sandwiches at Soupesoup proved to be at least as big an attraction as the headline item.


• Titanic
  445 rue St-Pierre (Old Montreal), (514) 849-0894
  A semi-basement café serving breakfast and lunch (weekdays only).


• Toqué!
  900 place Jean-Paul Riopelle (Quartier International), (514) 499-2084
  One of the quintessential Montreal restaurants, popular with moneyed out-of-town foodies eager to get a taste of Québec cooking. Not everyone was happy when the restaurant moved to its current location, but apparently the move didn't diminish the restaurant's qualities - Toqué! is still considered one of the best restaurants in Montreal.


• Vago
  1336 Avenue Greene (Westmount), (514) 846-1414
  


• Veritas
  480 Boulevard St-Laurent (Old Montreal), (514) 510-7775
  A modern café serving healthy food and first-class (but "third-wave") coffee.

Legend: = contributor review(s);