Montreal is a great restaurant city. We have been spending more time there again as our daughter attended McGill and is now living and working in Montreal. My wife and I each have long-time connections to Montreal, and we had some of our earliest dates there, as she was working in New Brunswick and I lived (and still live) in New York. My daughter also gave me the cookbook, Montreal Eats, which has descriptions and recipes from some of Montreal’s most interesting restaurants. So it is only fitting that I share some of our favorites. Of course, like New York or Paris or any other great restaurant city, singling out a handful of restaurants as favorites is not anointing them “best” or anything like that. Just some places we pick or happen upon and enjoy. Hopefully, I will have more to report on in future posts.
L’Express. 3927 St. Denis. A Montreal standby, beloved of many, including our entire family. The few months Michele and I dated before she moved to New York we ate here a number of times and, on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, 1993, I asked her to marry me over steak frites and red wine here. And surprisingly, she said yes! So almost every trip involves a stop at L’Express, if we can get in, for mainstream French bistro fare, starting with a large jar of cornichons on the table, then a beet salad or pate or, my personal favorite, celeri remoulade, followed by roast chicken, steak frites or salmon, with lots of wine and baguettes and a tarte or something sweet afterward. Yum!
Tuck Shop. 4662 Notre Dame St. W. My favorite spot in Montreal, in the St. Henri neighborhood, so a bit of a haul to get to. It’s loud, funky, with great food and good music. Feels a bit Brooklyn (which I know is a New York-centric thing to say and which, in this case, I mean as a compliment). It has a market-driven menu that changes all the time, and great selection of wines and other libations. The staff is incredibly welcoming and the crowd pretty diverse. One visit I ended up waiting at the bar for my party and spent an enjoyable half hour, taking in the scene and chatting with the bartender, while every other stool was occupied by people seriously eating, and talking.
Impasto. 48 rue Dante. A lively, bright and cheerful trattoria with good food and a nice Italian wine list. Like some of the others on this list, it can be hard to get a reservation, so lunch on a nice day, with the sun shining in and simple but beautifully executed food is lovely, particularly after a glass of chilled white wine. And I must admit, when eating there with my daughter, I greatly admired our server’s tattoo—a sommelier’s friend wine pull occupying his entire inner forearm–but so far, I have resisted.
Dominion Square Tavern. 1243 Metcalfe. An English pub (real or faux, take your pick) in a long, high ceiling room which only magnifies the din. The bar runs almost the length of the room. Bangers and mash are a favorite of my kids, while we favor their salads, table d’hote choices and salmon or chicken salad. Good cocktails, wines by the glass are fine, but it is a fun and lively spot not far from the McGill campus.
Graziella. 116 McGill St. An elegant, beautiful high end Italian restaurant in the Old City. Great wine list, although not a bargain for either the food or the wine. The pastas are lovely, the service is warm and professional. The dishes are composed and generally well-executed. We celebrated out daughter’s graduation here with a party of six, ranging in age from 11 to 84, and they did a wonderful job. It also serves as a romantic dining spot when we get an evening out alone.
Pizza Napoletana. 189 rue Dante. In Little Italy, not too far from Impasto. The pizza is ok—forgive yet again my New York-centric attitude on this—but the place has been here forever (70 years or so). It’s simple, casual and fun, in another interesting Montreal neighborhood. The service is perfunctory and if I recall, it has no liquor license, but it’s a pleasure to have an old-fashioned pizza joint to go to.
Byblos le petit cafe. 1499 Avenue Laurier E. Another casual spot, for delicious Persian/middle eastern food in suitably decorated, funky interior. Something for everyone, delicious mezzes, flatbreads, diverse crowd in a fun area of the city.
Burger Royal. 3820 St. Laurent. My daughter took me here—I think with some trepidation on her part—it’s bare bones, loud, full of young people and the occasional family. I am sure I was the oldest person in the place by several decades, but everyone was very relaxed and I felt, if not at home, at least not completely out of place. The burgers are surprisingly good and come in over 25 variations, plus a build your own, each with the choice of beef, chicken or vegan and each in three different sizes, plus a range of fries, poutines, mac n’cheese, chili (or as spelled there, chilli) and other sides. If I recall correctly, I ordered the 6 oz “Big Boss, a small meal on a burger. Lemonade or soft drinks only.
Lameac. 1045 Avenue Laurier O. Good French bistro fare—a bit more elaborate than L’Express, and a brighter, more open interior, with large windows looking out onto the wide avenue, and a side room for dining on a nice evening. Very crowded, with a wide range of customers. The young servers handle everything reasonably well and the hosts are welcoming and very efficient. Pretty good wine list—mid-range prices—and the food is well-executed and sometimes very good. Like many neighborhoods of Montreal, once the winter weather lifts, entire streets seem to be immediately dug up and under construction, so the street view out the large front windows is not exactly anyone’s idea of an ideal cityscape, but a relaxed but still somewhat refined experience.
All these restaurants seem dope !