L'incontournable Schwartz vous sert la meilleure viande fumée depuis 1928, sa recette est originale et ses épices uniques. Imaginez, vous passez la porte et vous vous retrouvez 75 ans en arrière sur l'historique --Main-- de Montréal. Un vrai monument à Montréal qui a reçu des célébritiés et des visiteurs de tous les coins de la planète.
Schwartz's est une institution montréalaise où le sandwich à la viande fumée est au cœur de l'expérience : viande tendre et généreuse, pain de seigle et cornichons à partager, souvent accompagné d'une poutine ou d'un soda cerise. L'endroit est constamment animé et les files peuvent être longues, mais le service reste rapide et l'ambiance old school rend la visite unique et conviviale. Certains trouvent le prix élevé ou la poutine décevante, mais l'envergure historique et la constance des saveurs font de Schwartz's un incontournable du patrimoine culinaire montréalais et une halte qui vaut le détour pour les amateurs de viande fumée.
Memory, like smoked meat, requires the proper cure.
At Schwartz's, Montreal's famous Hebrew Deli, both have been marinating since 1928, & I've been sampling the meat & the memory since the 1960s, when my father led me through a blizzard into what appeared to be an entirely male domain wreathed in steam.
I was seven, perhaps eight. The windows were opaque with condensation, as if the deli were keeping secrets from the street. Inside: old men, everywhere. Serving, eating, talking in that particular Montreal patois where French & Yiddish & English form an uneasy trinity.
The original owner moved among them like a presiding deity who happened to know both my grandmothers. That first sandwich - strange, tangy, accompanied by what I remember as'yummy friends' (fries, presumably, though the phrase suggests a child's more profound insight about the fellowship of food) & coleslaw & pickles & a black cherry soda that tasted of artificial everything & absolute happiness.
Then the changing of the guard. New management. The windows no longer steamed. Across the street, the Main, where my uncle Jerry had landed after abandoning high school for the immediate rewards of the service industry. A pragmatic choice that probably made more sense than it should have. His offer of a free Main smoked meat couldn't lure me away from Schwartz's - the place I was smitten with.
Schwartz's endured through its transformations. By my university years, there was Frank Silva, dark-haired & mustachioed, barely older than we were, serving us at 1 a.m. with the air of someone dispensing not just smoked meat but narrative. His daughter now waits tables, another layer of sediment in the archaeological dig that is this place.
The restaurant sold again. Bought by the Nakis & Angelil-Dion families, though everyone says it's owned by Celine.
The lines grew longer, a mixed blessing, like fame. A takeout shop materialized next door, because even tradition must eventually bow to efficiency.
& now, in 2025, the final indignity: Schwartz's has been listed in the Michelin Guide. The countercultural haven where we huddled at 1 a.m., where steam obscured the windows & old men held court, has succumbed to its own fame & glory. Legitimized. Validated. Reduced to a destination for culinary tourists with their tire-company-approved itineraries. One can almost hear the ghost of the original owner sighing into his pickle barrel.
I've brought my children. They love it as my grandmothers did, as my mother did, as my father especially did & many friends we brought there. Four generations united by cured brisket & the persistence of a single address - though now we must queue alongside people consulting their phones for the Michelin star count.
What Schwartz's teaches: that some things - not many, but some - deserve to survive. That a good sandwich is a form of time travel. That inheritance isn't always genetic; sometimes it's culinary. & that recognition, like preservation, always comes at a cost.
Go. Take your children. Let the smoke & spice seep into them as it has into the walls, into the city, into all of us who return again & again to this shrine of meat & memory. Just don't tell them it's in the Michelin Guide.
This place came highly recommended & it did not disappoint. A very old-school deli/diner style. I ordered the smoked meat sandwich, the pickle & a cherry cola. This food was well priced & tasty 😋🤤. Love classic style joints like Schwartzes & would recommend.
12 nov. 2025
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Une véritable légende à Montréal ! Schwartz's Deli est un arrêt obligatoire. Le smoked meat est d'une tendreté & d'un goût inégalables.
?Petit conseil d'initié : plutôt que le sandwich, je vous recommande vivement l'assiette de smoked meat pour vraiment savourer la générosité & la qualité de la viande sans être limité par le pain.
?Un must absolu si vous visitez la ville ! 😋👍👏👏👏
A true legend in Montreal! Schwartz's Deli is a mandatory stop. Smoked meat is of unrivalled tenderness & taste.
Insider tip: Instead of sandwiching, I highly recommend smoked meat platter to really savor the bounty & quality of the meat without being limited by the bread.👍👏👏👏
It's a deli famous for it's beef, & we got the beef! Pretty delicious & a great little delight where you get to meet some people as you'll be sandwiched in with some other travellers. A great experience & hits the exact mark you're expecting.
We had a shwartz beef sandwich & a poutine with beef on top. Both excellent.
The only critique would be the line up. While we expected a wait, the line was filled with /
'I think this of what we're supposed to do'. That being said, we all figured it out.
Delicious but gets busy inside, leading to it getting….
hot in there (so hot)
so take it all to go
I got so hot, I cooled off with a big juicy green pickle
This place is a no-brainer if you're in Montréal & are a meat lover. Established in 1928, this place has the same vibe & quality of food since last 97 years. The smoked meat was so soft & delicious, never had a comparable quality meat anywhere else in the world. Céline Dion, who herself is originated from Montréal, is the owner of this gem from last 12 years or so. Do yourself a favour & visit this place while you're in Montréal!
A classic!! The line goes quickly because the servers are very attentive & food is quick. It's definitely worth the wait, the smoked meat is delicious.
As good if not better than a NYC deli. There is a wait to get in but be patient its goes fast & you will be rewarded with one of the best smoked meat sandwiches 🥪 you'll ever have. & was it down with a cherry 🍒 cola. You can thank me later.
28 août 2025
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Découvrez en primeur les ouvertures les plus branchées, des menus secrets et les coups de cœur de RestoMontreal.ca. Rejoignez plus de 50 000 foodies.
Can't believe I'm giving 5 stars! But that's what they deserve. Last time I was at Schwartz was 20 some years ago when the place was smelly, greasy & not very clean. Boy, it has changed! Clean tables, waiters wore clean aprons, all too needed AC all around. Service & atmosphere was great, the Schwartz way. Food was, as expected, delicious. I had, um... oh, yeah - Smoked meat sandwich 👍 That hasn't changed. Loved it 😋
