The Au Pied de Cochon restaurant is where it all began. Passed from one generation to the next, family knowledge contributes to the restaurant's reputation. Constantly evolving, the Pied de Cochon celebrates its 20th anniversary in November 2021. This à la carte restaurant is located in the heart of the Plateau Mont-Royal. Authentic to its Quebec and Canadian roots, the dishes are hearty and comforting. Adopting the style from French brasseries, the chef and his team draw inspiration from local and seasonal products to create a timeless menu. With private import wines, beers brewed in Montreal, and signature cocktails, Au Pied de Cochon restaurant is a friendly place where local products are showcased. There is one of the first open kitchens in Montreal where you can see the cooks in action.
Reviews portray Au Pied de Cochon as a landmark Montreal experience that combines indulgent Quebecois cuisine with a festive open kitchen atmosphere. The menu centers on rich, hearty dishes like the famous Duck in a Can, foie gras poutine, and other duck and pork specialties, with many diners calling the food decadent, flavorful, and unforgettable, though sometimes heavy. Service is repeatedly praised as attentive, knowledgeable, and warm, with several reviewers highlighting memorable staff, while a few notes mention slow pacing or occasional missteps during busy periods. Reservations are strongly recommended, especially for bar seating or peak times, and the restaurant is often described as lively, bustling, and loud but welcoming, sometimes feeling like a culinary show. Overall, Au Pied de Cochon is celebrated as a must-visit Montreal institution, worth the splurge for bold flavors and a unique immersive dining spectacle; some readers suggest it may not suit those seeking lighter fare or quiet dining.
I have frequented this establishment on numerous occasions throughout the years, & it has consistently met my, & on occasions exceeded my expectations.
While the wine selection is extensive, I highly recommend sampling their in-house ciders or cocktails.
For first-time visitors, the duck in a can is an excellent choice. It is a substantial & flavorful dish that will leave you feeling satisfied.
Their foie gras dishes are all exquisite, but my personal favorites are the nigiri & the poutine, which I consider to be the finest in the city.
The atmosphere is consistently vibrant & bustling. The staff members are all courteous, polite, & provide exceptional service. Although the evening began a bit slowly, it was understandable given how crowded the restaurant was.
I often forget that the restrooms are situated in a somewhat inconvenient location, behind the bar. Additionally, they could benefit from more frequent attention throughout the shift to maintain their cleanliness.
I dont believe anyone can be disappointed making a reservation here. Im excited to book my next visit.
We sat at the bar & I highly recommend that for the experience, the service was excellent & the food was outrageous. I might need some time to visit again because I ate so much foie gras, but I would come back easily & I'll be recommending this restaurant to any friends visiting montreal.
Apr 23, 2026
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Ça faisait plusieurs années que je rêvais d'y aller. Ce fut un plaisir pour les pupilles. Une expérience exceptionnelle. Nous étions assis au bar & avons vue le spectacle des cuisiner a l'oeuvre. Je recommande ce resto.
Fantastic meal. Sat at the bar & was able to watch the kitchen work, which was incredibly entertaining & educational. Service was spot on & each employee friendly & helpful. For the experience, definitely value for money.
Eating is usually functional, rarely is it an artistic experience. When I was making plans for my girlfriend & I before we visited Montreal, I almost made reservations for a place called Joe Beef. They had a few reservations left at the bar here, which I was slightly nervous about because bar seating isn't quite as intimate but I made them anyway. Little did I know we would have front row seats to an incredible display of execution & teamwork as well as a meal to remember. Ariel was our server, welcoming us with a brief walkthrough of the seasonal menu - she left us to decide the journey we wanted to take. After we ordered, we quickly became mesmerized by the way the HC Robert moved with the food like a graceful dance. This alone was impressive but in addition to his skills it became evident he was teaching a junior chef (Spanish speaking), both about plating & food as well as French! Both gentlemen were a treat to watch work. We chose a sweet & salty starter - my introduction to Foie Gras arrived on a bread pudding complemented with a lovely cider reduction & poached pear. After tasting that we honestly couldn't believe two other groups had already come & gone beside us as if this was any other meal. Our grilled Rabbit, Tuna, & sourdough came after we had a minute to take a breath from our starter. We took our time with this & the following dishes as we felt savoring this effort was the best compliment we could pay our hosts. The chef noticed we had taken enough time to clean the grilled rabbit plate with our sourdough so only trace evidence was left of what was served - so he offered to heat the tuna for us - extremely grateful for his attentiveness. The grilled tuna was incredible, sandwiching bacon, greens, & served in a tomato water with cherry tomatoes. My girlfriend couldn't finish her portion so I took one for the team. No dishes went back to the kitchen with food. For dessert we decided on a caramel fondant with frozen raspberries, ice cream & a coffee. I'll just say even if I had no room for this I would've found a way to struggle through. The staff was having fun, we had fun, everything was beyond our expectations! If you are considering making a reservation - stop thinking & figure out where it will fit into your schedule. This place was perfectly reflective of our lovely trip, Thank you so much to the staff & specifically Robert & Ariel - we will surely be back :) Merci!
Food was amazing. Everything that I heard about was accurate. Service was on point. I sat at the bar in front of the kitchen & observed all of the dishes. I could have ordered everything that I saw being prepared. I had the duck tartare & the duck with foie in the can. Absolutely delicious.
Dès la première bouchée j'étais sans mots… le foie gras sauce aux prunes, le pâté chinois au foie gras, la poutine au foie gras! Nous étions au bar pour voir l'équipe travailler dans une sorte de chaos contrôlé. Une experience magnifique!
Sep 21, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Le meilleur spot est au bar! On se sent dans l'action, le service se fait tout autour de nous & on peut discuter avec Margot qui est si minutieuse dans son art!
La qualité de la bouffe est incomparable...du vrai beurre, de la crème, du gras de canard, du foie gras, les goûts se marient si bien! C'est dur de résister à la gourmandise de prendre plus de plat de chaque service! Toutes les entrées sont pensées en vue de les partager donc laissez vous tenter quand même un peu!
Personnel amical comme si on y étais chaque semaine & service par pleins de monde comme s'ils étaient tous là juste pour nous. C'est plus que de la bouffe, c'est une expérience ❤?
We had a great dinner at the bar & got to watch the chefs hard at work in the open kitchen. Our server Alex was amazing & very accommodating to our requests in wanting to try a variety of food. We definitely will be back for more duck in a can.
Sitting at the bar was an action filled experience. Lovely people & staff. Keep in mind you'll have a long wait if ordering the Canard en conserve, make sure to order appetizers. The fresh fruit dessert was mind blowing. Who knew the mixture of radishes, yellow & red cherry tomatoes with raspberries, cream & maple syrup would be so heavenly❣?Their special chili vodka was spicy but doable.
We could only book the one bar seating left at 10PM on a Wednesday right after Holiday. There were quite a bit of empty seats when we arrived so me & my husband could be seated on a table. We snacked for dinner earlier already because the reservation was late at night. My husband wanted to order the beef tripes but was sold out. Dessert options of the day were not interested at all for me. My husband is allergic to alcohol & I am pregnant so we cannot drink. We ended up only getting couple of appetizers for a late night snack which were the duck temaki & foie gras nigiri. They were delicious & unique but the price value were not good. Paid $60 for just 6 bites. Glad that we finally tried the restaurant but probably won't go back. Would like to visit again for the two appetizers though if the price is better.
Jul 5, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
OH MY WORD!! My first night visiting Montreal & I was able to snag a spot at the bar. The bartender made me a nice off menu mocktail & I had some really good locally sourced sparkling water. I ordered the duck tartare & the foie gras poutine - which is a must move for first timers! The duck tartare was served sushi style with crispy potato bits & wrapped in seaweed. Best to eat with your hands. Delicious! The main delight for me was the foie gras poutine. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before. There are two different sauces that go so well together & the cheese curds are cut slightly longer on the bottom. The fries were perfectly crisp & the foie gras had a lovely char to it. Everything works so perfectly together & I was beyond joyed for my specific life choices that brought me to this heavenly dish. Thank you so much, Au Pied de Cochon!! I'm gonna see if I can make a reservation to come back this week ☺?
Une soirée mitigée. Les plats excellents, décadents, superbe carte des vins, mais assis au bar & la cuisine un réel chaos devant nous. Nous sommes pas à notre premier resto assis au bar, mais première fois qu'on assiste à une soiree autant chaotique. Le sous chef a sacré tout le long de la soirée qui a créé une ambiance pas à la hauteur du repas & loin d'être agréable pour les clients qui consomment devant lui. Les gens en salle ont sûrement eu une ambiance différente qu'au bar. Toutefois, je tiens à mentionner que le cuisinier a couru tout le long de la soirée & a maintenu le cap, impressionnant de le voir aller !
Our first time & it was exceptional. Loved sitting at the bar & watching the extremely organized chaos going on in the kitchen. Food & drinks were delicious & I would highly recommend it.
Ma douce moitié, un excellent cuisinier, retraité de la restauration depuis 2 ans mais encore sous le choc de la folie du milieu, refuse en général d'aller au restaurant. Quand'Au pied de cochon' a ouvert il y a déjà longtemps, il avait vraiment envie qu'on y aille mais n'osait pas, par peur d'être déçu. C'est un running gag dans la famille depuis plus de 20 ans. Je pensais qu'on irait jamais & je ne me sentais pas coole de le trahir en y allant avec qqn d'autre.
C'est aujourd'hui qu'il a dit'au pire, je serai déçu!', & qu'il a réservé, à ma grande surprise. Les enfants sont grands, les enjeux financiers sont différents, alors le risque lui paraissait dorénavant acceptable ;)
Ce long build-up aurait pu tuer le fantasme, mais au contraire, j'ai été témoin d'un émoi sincère lors de la croquée initiale du nigiri de foie gras...La dernière fois que je l'ai vu comme ça, c'était au Laurie-Raphaël à Québec à l'été 2008. Je ne sais pas comment dire que c'est tout dire.
Ces nigiris de foie gras, donc, ont été notre coup de coeur à tous les deux. Une simplicité désarmante qui se révèle être en bouche d'une complexité équilbrée & tellement satisfaisante! Un must pour quiconque doit choisir dans le menu sans tout prendre (euh.)! Merci au serveur, Gabriel (excellent), de nous l'avoir recommandé, car nous ne serions pas allés là d'instinct.
Nous n'avons pas pris de plat principal, c'est partie remise, mais les autres entrées ont été à la hauteur, mention à la Plogue à Champlain : wow. Je pense que tout est bon, mais nous n'aurons pas le choix d'aller vérifier...
C'est pas McDo,'c'est cher', direz-vous, mais c'est quoi,'cher', si on met en perspective combien de McDo valent cet excellent repas? Je préfère me passer de McDo pour aller là une fois de temps en temps! L'ambiance est vraiment agréable, &, assis au bar, le spectacle de la cuisine est passionnant pour qui est intéressé! S/O à la belle brigade aux fourneaux, jeune, pleine de nerf & de talent, en espérant que les tips sont partagés avec eux aussi!
Feb 26, 2025
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
We were 2 guys at the bar & had an incredible experience. Arthur was a great waiter. The Beef tripe is simply unbeliveable & the Plogue a Champlain a must have. I'm already planning to go back soon.
Absolutely phenomenal. I'll be back to try the rest of the menu. We got the Duck Temaki (10/10), Plogue a Champlain (a little too sweet for our palate but would make for a good dessert), Scallop Quenelle (light & delicious), & Plogue a Champlain (perfect). We sat at the bar overlooking the kitchen, which I quite liked. Service was impeccable.
Thanking the bartender that noticed my wife is pregnant & made her a mocktail without asking. In addition didn't charge for it. Thank you!
The aged pork chop & maple fries were great! I ate the duck in the can, but have mixed feelings about it. Bread pudding was good but a little too sweet for my liking.
Toujours une belle expérience. Les nigiris au foie gras restent un incontournable. La quenelle aux pétoncles étaient délicieuses. Le coup de coeur aura été le pouding chômeur avec extra cheddar & foie gras. Absolument décadent. L'expérience au bar s'avère agréable où l'on voit les cuisiniers en action. Le service est impeccable. Les serveurs sont très sympathiques.
