National Geographic Traveller (UK) - Food

How best to spend a culinary trip to Montreal

Canada’s second-largest city has a distinctly French flavour, but whether you’re ordering bagels, poutine or fine dining cuisine, expect a thoroughly Québecois twist

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In Montreal, North America meets Europe — architectu­rally, culturally and gastronomi­cally. Wedged between the St Lawrence and the Prairies Rivers, the Island of Montreal forms the city’s heart, and around the Old Port, the cobbled streets could easily pass for those of a French town. Nearby Downtown, meanwhile, has all the skyscraper­s and modernity you’d expect from Canada’s second-largest metropolis.

With one of the highest numbers of restaurant­s per capita in North America, Montreal has earned a reputation as Canada’s culinary capital. Its dynamic dining scene has been locked down in recent months, but in normal times it runs the gamut from old-world restaurant­s serving French classics to modern fine dining establishm­ents and hipster spots in districts such as Mile-ex and Hochelagam­aisonneuve. There are patisserie­s, Englishsty­le pubs and magnificen­t produce markets, including Marché Jean-talon, in Little Italy.

Among the city’s best loved foods are bagels and smoked meats, which arrived with Jewish and Eastern European immigrants from the 18th century onwards, and are still served in decades-old Jewish delis. Soaked in honey syrup before baking, and rolled in sesame or poppy seeds to finish, Montreal bagels are sweeter, denser and smaller than their New York cousins, with a caramelise­d, crunchy exterior and a tender interior. Like any good Montrealer, you’ll be expected to swear allegiance to either St-viateur or Fairmount, the city’s two biggest bagel bakeries, whose rivalry goes back more than 60 years. They’re just a block from each other, in Mile End.

One can’t discuss eating in Montreal, however, without an honourable mention of poutine. This dish of French fries smothered in cheese curds and gravy is

100% Québecois, best eaten late at night after drinking — although it’s acceptable at other times too, either on its own or with a steamé (steamed hotdog). The bestknown place for a late-night plate is 24-hour La Banquise, but there’s a poutinerie for every taste: from old-school Paul Patates to upscale Au Pied de Cochon, with its foie gras poutine.

Montreal’s already strong culinary credential­s have been bolstered by several big-name chefs setting up shop. Marcus Samuelsson (of Harlem-based soul food restaurant Red Rooster) launched

Marcus Restaurant and Terrace, at the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal, in 2019. It competes with the nearby Maison Boulud, run by

French chef Daniel Boulud, in the Ritz-carlton and, at the Casino de Montréal, L’atelier de Joël Robuchon.

It’s not all imported talent, though. Homegrown chefs are also beloved by Montreal’s gourmands, with the likes of Emma Cardarelli, of Sud-ouest hotspots Nora Gray and pizzeria Elena, and Marie-fleur St-pierre, of Villeray restaurant­s Tapeo and Mesón, earning awards and legions of fans.

Internatio­nal influences may abound, but the city’s culinary scene is much more than the sum of its parts. From experiment­al aperitifs made with local ingredient­s to midnight plates of poutine, the menu is perfectly Montréalai­s.