Eating Out on a Montreal Weekend Getaway
You’ll probably not get any argument that Montreal’s food scene is amazing and that it really is a foodie’s paradise. Italian, French and Mexican, Pub grub and cafe style! There are great restaurants aplenty in the city and if you failed to make a proper plan like we did on our recent weekend getaway to Montreal, you’ll not be at a loss for find a place to have a good meal.
In case you want some ideas of where to eat, I’m sharing the Montreal restaurants where we ate along with a list of suggestions of where to eat that was shared with us by a friend.
Where We Ate:
On a recent weekend getaway to Montreal, Quebec we didn’t do much planning, the food choices were rather random and based on proximity to where we were at the time. I must say I wasn’t disappointed. But before I get into that, I want to share a couple of tips with you:
Tip 1: Make reservations if you can, even if there are only two of you. I was surprised to see how busy many restaurants were in Old Montreal (the patios for packed)
Tip 2: If there’s only two of you, try to be flexible in where you are seated – at the bar or by some bar stools by window might be available and you may get seated even if you didn’t have a reservation- this happened to us twice and we were seated right away.
Le Warehouse (pub food chain in downtown Montreal)
We chose the Warehouse because it was a short walk from the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, our first stop of the morning and was one the only places along a row of restaurants and pubs that was open at the time we were looking to grab a quick bite.
Maison Christian Faure
For the French pastry / any kind of pastry lover in you! We stopped by Maison Christian Faure for some afternoon tea while we were walking around Old Montreal. It’s a chic little cafe with desserts that will make your eyes a big as saucers and may cause you to drool. Talk about a sugar rush! Also, it was just all very pretty to look at.
They also serve lunch as well and from what I spied on the tables beside me, the lunchtime dishes looked as yummy as the desserts.
We had pastries from the selection on the pastry tray and tea from a variety of teas. Sorry, I cannot recall the names of what we had but seriously, does it matter? Look at the selection!
We did have to wait for about 10-15 minutes for a seat. It was around the afternoon rush hour so seating was limited and the place was busy.
The service was efficient and friendly. They also had a takeaway counter – I noticed people coming in to get macaroons and cakes to-go.
Pizzeria Mangiafoco – Mozzarella Bar
(Located in Old Montreal) Great vibe and fast service. There was a live DJ but the music was just right (not too loud), the place was busy and pizza really good.
Escondite
Tasty Mexican food in a lively atmosphere (also has a small side-walk patio). We arrived at 6:30 pm on a Sunday and without reservations. We were met with a small lineup and the place was already fully booked…almost. We lucked out and since we were a party of 2, they checked and found one table available for 1.5 hour so we jumped on it! We weren’t planning on a late night so it was perfect.
The service was excellent and fast. The food – we opted for tapas – was great! The vibe was lively and casual atmosphere, great spot to have drinks with a small group of friends (with reservations made well ahead of time).
Olive + Gourmando
For the brunch lovers out there and the pastries! We enjoyed breakfast very much and regretted not getting a brioche or croissant to go.
Tip for getting a seat at Olive + Gourmando: The restaurant is not that big and it looks like they also provide to-go service as well so the small entrance way can be lined up with people.
We arrived for breakfast super early on a Sunday morning (they open at 8). We were glad we got there at 8:30 because it quickly started filling by 9:00 and people were still coming. I was told the brioche comes out at 9:30 or so – if you wanted brioche for breakfast you’ll have to wait.
BONUS: MONTREAL RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS
I know, I know, I’m awesome! Here is an additional list of restaurants in Montreal that was recommended to us for our recent trip. Ok, so I cannot take any credit for the actual list. We also didn’t get a chance to check out the restaurants on the list either.
I’m sharing the list of restaurants in Montreal because I have the list and it’d be shame not to share it with you guys and also I wish I had access to the list like this whenever I travel – recommendations from friends of friends who’ve actually eaten at some of these places. It would be a nice starting point for my own research. I hope you find this useful as well.
Brunch | Lunch
Dinner
Bocata – Restaurant and Wine Bar
Patios | Terraces
Again, I’d suggest you call head and make reservations if possible, especially if you are a party of more than one and it’s a popular spot. Alternatively, go early or prepare to wait. In any event, I’m sure you’ll find great food to enjoy as much as we did.
Bon appétit!
Swagger & Greys 