Lesters Deli

Mike

5.0

I had the smoked meat sandwich which was good but the real story here is what my girlfriend ordered. She had the tuna sandwich but could not finish it so she got the second half to go. When we got back to our hotel she put it in the fridge & promptly forgot about it. Fast forward 2 days & it's time to go home & the sandwich is discovered in the fridge. She grabs it & we head off to the train station.
Some how the bread was not soggy it was supple & cohesive perhaps because it had a barrier of iceberg lettuce in between the delicious tuna salad & the requested rye bread. But let's talk about the tuna salad for a moment. It had just enough mayo to be zesty but not too much to make it mushy (hence the condition of the bread). So imagine my delight when she told me how well the sandwich was preserved & offered me a bite! 😋
I addition to the delicious & juicy smoked meat sandwich I also had the fries, a pickle & some coleslaw. The coleslaw is among the finest I have tasted in this style & much better than the coleslaw Schwartz's sells.
The bottom line is if you are going to eat there I'd go for the smoked meat but if you plan to eat some of it later, & I mean a lot later, get the tuna salad. All that being said I did notice you could buy their tasty smoked meat vacuum sealed in plastic.
Formidable! 👏🤘

Wendy

5.0

This restaurant is a must try!! Growing up hearing that catchy radio commercial, finally tried them today & wow!! Best hotdogs, hands down! The smoke meat sandwich combo with fries, coleslaw, & pickles was on point! The staff were very friendly, making my boyfriend & I feel like home. Super accommodating & efficient. We are definitely going back for more!!

Avril

5.0

Great time, really great sandwich. Excellent pickles.

OY

4.0

Old school, friendly, busy smoked meat deli. Had a'Super Smoked Meat' combo. It was very tasty with a mountain of perfectly smoked meat, tart dill pickle spears & delicious, authentic'dirty fryer' French fries.
It was expensive, $33 + tax & tip.
(There is a little bathroom in the back. Small but clean.)
Street parking only.

Finally I decided to try a smoked meat sandwich at Lesters on Bernard at the terrace to see what the fuss was all about . As a smoked meat comnnaisseur , I was disappointed with the sandwich that was served basically cold . Th cook was too lazy to srve a hot sanndwich at 3 pm . Lesters is over rated and no offense to the people who liked it, they havent tried real smoked meat at Shwartz, and Dunns . To ad insult to injury, I saw the cook when he came out outside to smoke a cigarette, a disgusting display of lack of hygiene. I thought I was in Bengladesh , and I was served a sandwish by a cook with a gross beard that was not coverd by a net .That person manipulatd my sandwich . Gross I mentionned it to the asian waitress, which it wasnt her fault. If you want a smoked meat , make sure you dont find facial hair .. The price wasnt worth it . It took me hours to digest it , and got sick after eating it . Not sur he washes his hands.

DanielAlf-3400

4 août 2026

Antoine

5.0

La quête du meilleur smoked meat de Montréal se poursuit!

4e arrêt : Lester's.

Le smoked meat de chez Lester's grimpe directement à la 2e place de mon palmarès, juste derrière Schwartz's. Une belle surprise!

Petit bémol : il n'est pas possible de commander une assiette, seulement des items à la carte. Je n'ai donc pas pu goûter au fameux pickle. J'ai plutôt opté pour les frites, qui étaient tout simplement excellentes.

Le sandwich est généreux, bien garni & préparé avec des ingrédients de qualité. Une adresse que je recommande sans hésitation pour les amateurs de smoked meat.

Penny

4.0

We decided we needed to try a smoked meat sandwich during our visit to Montreal in mid-May 2026 & wound up visiting Lester's Deli in the Outremont area. As a side note, if you're trying to get here & are looking at street numbers on Bernard Ave, the numbers skip from 300s to 1000s due to the old numbering system they used (we thought we were 7 blocks away but then saw the signs for Lester's & were confused).

We ordered the Smoked Meat Sandwich ($16), All Dressed Hot Dog ($4.5), Regular Poutine ($10.5) & added a dill pickle for good measure.

The shop wasn't very busy at the time, which is a definite plus... didn't want to wait in a huge line like some other places.

The sandwich itself was pretty good. It was piled high with meat & the meat was tender & not dry. The hot dog was better than expected too with a thin bun, mustard, sweet relish, & crisp onions. The poutine had lots of gravy & cheese & was well balanced. We wound up taking some of the smoked meat from our sandwich & mixing it with the poutine & that kicked it up a notch. If we weren't already so full, we would have eaten more.

Alice

5.0

We went to Lester's Deli, a historic Montreal restaurant located in Outremont that has been serving traditional smoked meat sandwiches since 1951, & they are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year. It is considered one of the top smoked meat spots in the city. We ordered the Smoked Meat Special & Smoked Meat Sandwich. The signature classic Montreal-style smoked meats were served with bread, yellow mustard, accompanied by a side of fries & whole dill pickles. It was a casual deli experience but the food tasted delicious & appetizing!

Catherine

5.0

Got take out but now I really want to eat there too: staff is helpful, sweet & chatty & the smoked meat was delicious. Tangy cabbage salad & pickles were perfect sides, both home made as well.

Robert

5.0

No debate brings out the emotions of a Montrealer more than who makes the best smoked meat. To my mind Lester's is hands down #1 ☝?by far. This delicacy 😋 is an outsized contribution from Montreal's Hungarian community to the fabric of this city's soul… maybe a complimentary pickle for Hungarian passport holders?

Kiaam

5.0

I don't eat meat but the lox bagel is really good for pescatarians. Get the pickles & coleslaw also if you like fermented foods.