We all got so excited about the MICHELIN Guide coming to Montreal, but do they really know this city? With only three stars dolled out so far and a handful of Bib Gourmands, the world-renowned dining guide is slowly building a list of Montreal "mentions"... which sadly leaves so many great restaurants out.
Here are 11 of our unmentioned faves, from holes-in-the-wall to world-class gastronomic destinations.
1231 Avenue Lajoie, Montreal, H2V 1P2
Tucked into the sweetest street in residential Outremont, Alma is your fine dining escape to Mexico. Chef Juan Lopez Luna venerates corn in all its forms with almost every sophisticated dish, from starter to dessert. They offer a tasting menu only; you can choose the normal mode or the extended version at 9 courses. Don't let your greed win over, the normal 5-course experience is enough to feed even the hungriest hippo! You will travel through planes, valleys, mountains and seaside towns with transportive flavours ranging from an impossibly fresh fish crudo (served as a whole beautifully sliced fish) to a smoky and atmospheric take on pozole.
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5386 Boulevard St-Laurent, Montreal, H2T 1S1
This Mile End spot offers pure northern Italian trattoria fare. With a decor that's light and bright with white marble-top tables and red velvet banquettes, you'll want to try owners Pierpaolo and Davide Sansone's bruschetta selection: the spicy nduja is addictive, as are the fantastic fresh anchovies. The endive salad is the perfect balance of bitter, crunchy and sweet, with its grilled orange dressing that sings with the fennel. Pasta lovers need to try the creste di gallo, and for mains the steak with sautéed local mushrooms and smoky green pesto is truly yum.
686 Rue Notre Dame O, Montreal, H3C 1J2
Okay, it's a supperclub in Griffintown, with all the glitz, glamour and wafting aftershave that can imply, but it's also an aesthetic spot to savour one of the best Vietnamese soups in town. To call it a phō may be a bit misleading because this one is both high-class and petite: it's made with Wagyu strips that are melt-in-the-mouth and a broth that is concentrated full of incredible umami. That's just one of the dishes that Marlyne Tran will impress you with, though: the Vietnamese-style marrowbone is an amazing twist on the French appetizer (it's served with a killer chimichurri), the hai hau ribs are a fave and the beef salad (herbaceous with sawtooth coriander and rice-patty herb) is arguably the best in town.
4255 Rue Ontario E, Montreal, H1V 1K4
Chef David Ollu doles out fresh-picked flavours from Quebec everyday at his first self-owned restaurant in Hochelaga. The uplifting renovated space takes full advantage of its corner spot with its double-window frontage, and welcomes diners at cute small tables or a super comfortable bar, complete with cream leather seats. The dishes are pretty on the eyes too, served up on locally designed crockery. Go to Hélicoptère when you're looking for a great spot to share plates with friends over a couple of bottles of biodynamic wine. The delicately crisp sweetbreads took us somewhere special, but everything on the menu will delight… and the tasting menu is always a good choice to get the best of the chef's creativity.
2621 Rue Notre-Dame O, Montreal, H3J 1N9
It's classy, it's moody, it's Heni. This Little Burgundy restaurant blends influences from Southwest Asian and North African countries into a heady mix of high-fragrance foods, each more prettily presented than the other. With a distinct focus on local ingredients, Heni's beautiful mélange is ripe for discovery again and again: think lobster tails spiced with ras el hanout, or fish brightly spiced with green chili, tahini and pickle turnip, all plated with the most sublime finesse. Save yourself the trouble of choosing and just go for the four-course tasting menu, designed to share. There's even a vegetarian version.
533 Avenue Duluth E, Montreal, H2L 1B1
Chef-owner Georges Greiche has written a love letter to Spain, and its name is Bar Vivar. He's distilled all the sunshine of Barcelona into this casual Plateau bistro with a soccer-focused Euro-sports bar in the front and classy resto in the back. Saddle up to a blue leather banquette and relish some light Spanish fare redolent of the kind of casual insouciance we might associate with Joe Beef, Greiche's alma mater. Paper-thin slices of jamón Iberico de Belotta with a gorgeous drizzle of olive oil, a hearty plateful of sardines with boquerones, stuffed squid and Galician-style octopus, a lobster-topped tortilla espanola… yes, please.
1002 Rue Saint-Urbain, Montreal, H2Z 1K6
The fact that it's a hidden gem is half of the fun. This Japanese snack bar nestled in Chinatown feels like the kind of place you go to meet a sexy date, all mood lighting and mystery. Chef Tetsuya Shimizu will do his own seduction of your taste buds with his blackened duck that's aged for three days in white miso (soooo aromatic) or his delightfully puffy fried soft tofu with daikon and mushroom broth. If you want to just dive into the sake and share little tasting plates, go for a selection of the freshest sashimi in town and a few of the okazu dishes; and don't skip the sea urchin mousse, scooped up with shrimp chips. It punches above its weight.
394 Chemin de la Grande-Côte, Boisbriand, J7G 1B1
Got a special occasion? Take yourself out to Boisbriand for Asteur, where the dining room offers a bona fide foodie adventure. Chef Olivier Robillard offers diners a three-hour experience in a gorgeous historic greystone house, with a secret 10-course menu that changes every season, if not every day, according to his creative whims. Each dish, from the season's first asparagus shoots to the shoyu-cured scallops from the Magdalen Islands, reflects in food form a memory or a tale from Québec's past. You'll live the story in every bite, if you can bear to disturb the gorgeous plating!
1425 Rue Saint-Alexandre, Montreal, H3A 2G6
Family-dining is the vibe at this large, casual eatery in the centre of the city, where the team from the nearby Furco and Café Parvis serves up succulent meats and sides so delish you'll want to spoon up every last morsel. In an effort to create a circular economy and avoid food waste, this resto group has its own farm and shares kitchen tasks. The stunning decor is also part of an effort to recuperate: the tables are made from old school benches, for example. Bring a gang of friends and share the charcoal-grilled spatchcocked chicken and the Blue Dot ribeye from PEI with a side of chimichurri or Hollandaise, and don't leave without trying the Parm-topped eggplant drizzled with honey.
115 Avenue Laurier O, Montreal, H2T 2N6
This wine bar on the cusp between Mile End and Outremont is a quiet but mighty force in the food department. What may appear as simple bar foods reveal themselves after a bite or two to be of next-level caliber, with one of the most delicious beef tartares in town, a tender-issimo sweet'n'sour grilled octopus with roast potatoes and herbaceous mayo, and a sophisticated scallop dish with green grapes and sorrel. All around you, locals will mill and buzz and yap and cheer, making for a super fun ambiance to sip away an evening.
1025 Rue Lenoir, Montreal, H4C 2Z6
Chef Janice Tiefenbach nods to the Abruzzi region of Italy with her menu packed with tasty grilled meat skewers, fresh oysters and generous selection of antipasti, not-coincidentally all fantastic enjoyed with copious amounts of wine. Go classic with the fennel, chicory and anchovy salad, or experience the sweet bitterness of castelfranco lettuce paired with juicy pear and crunchy roasted hazelnuts, gorgeously paired with creamy Gorgonzola. There are always a couple of pastas to choose from too, which go great with the grilled brochettes or the shareable bistecca in this airy, casual Saint-Henri hangout.
Here is a list of the MICHELIN star restaurants and more details are found in this article featuring all Montreal restaurants included in the MICHELIN guide.
