Montreal · Canada
The Montreal food cheat sheet
One page from Chef Amazing · November 2026
The dish to eat
Brisket cured with spices, smoked and steamed, sliced hand-thick onto rye with yellow mustard.
Best at Schwartz's, Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Plateau. Get: Medium-fat smoked meat on rye, fries, a pickle and a black cherry soda
Five places, and what to order
- Ma Poule Mouilléecounter · PlateauGet: Piri-piri Portuguese chicken with the poutine
- Kazucounter · Downtown / Shaughnessy VillageGet: Okonomiyaki, shrimp burger, Japanese comfort plates
- Wilensky's Light Lunchinstitution · Mile End (Fairmount Ave W)Get: The Wilensky Special: pressed beef salami and bologna on a kaiser, mustard included
- St-Viateur Bagelfor Montreal bagels · Mile EndGet: Sesame or poppy bagel, straight from the wood-fired oven
- La Banquisefor poutine · PlateauGet: Classic poutine, or one of 30 varieties
The market
Covered / open-air. Québec cheese, butchers, seasonal produce
The line worth it
Schwartz's DeliPlateau (St-Laurent)
Get: Smoked meat, medium fat, with a pickle and a cherry soda
Expect: 20 to 45 min on weekends. Beat it: Go at off hours, or use the take-out counter next door.
How it works here
Tip: Tip 15-20% at sit-down restaurants.
Book: Book the popular places a week or two out; markets and casual spots are walk-in.
When locals eat: Lunch noon-2pm, dinner 6-9pm.