Stash Café! Discover an Old Montréal institution serving up traditional Polish cuisine in warm, inviting surroundings that showcases stone walls and a mix of Polish art and convent furnishings. This Polish restaurant offers a big selection of traditional foods. The specialities of the house are roast duck and wild boar Polish style. Spend an evening at Stash's, and discover a small corner of Poland!
Stash Café stands out for authentic Polish comfort food served in a warm, intimate Old Montreal setting, with generous portions of pierogies, kielbasa, barszcz, zurek and other classics, complemented by a live piano performance and a solid cocktail menu. While most reviews praise the welcoming staff, cozy decor, and homey vibes that feel like a hug, some note slow or busy service and occasional long waits, especially on weekends, but the meals are widely described as delicious, satisfying, and reasonably priced. Reservations are recommended on busy nights, and many diners leave feeling they discovered a special, comforting dining experience that still delivers on flavor and authenticity.
First visit to Stash, can't wait to go again! Superb, delicious, authentic Polish food. We had krokiety, potato pancake, beetroot salad, pierogies, bigos & schnitzel followed by peach cobbler for dessert. Wonderful! Wine & mixed drink selection is good. Pleasant atmosphere & service was excellent.
This has to be my favourite meal I've had in my 8 months of living in Montreal. Stash Cafe had been on my bucket list for months, but due to the busy schedule & shallow pockets of a student like myself, I had to put off making the trip to Old Montreal for a while.
First of all, the restaurant itself is gorgeous. The ambiance is perfect with the soft piano & all the wonderful art to admire.
The beef pierogis were so flavourful & paired perfectly with the peppery sauerkraut & sour cream. Exactly what I needed today after finals. I tried both desserts, & while I felt the apple cobbler was a bit lacking (too much crust/not enough apples, & I felt like it should have been served warm instead of cold), the sweet cheese crepe was life changing. I could have drank a bucket of the raspberry coulis mixed with the sweet cream.
Our server was very friendly, the food came extremely fast after ordering, & the meal wasn't even that expensive! Two main courses & 2 desserts for $56 is extremely reasonable for this level of quality & deliciousness. I'll be returning the first chance I get after summer break!
Apr 30, 2026
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Stopped here for lunch & was blown away. The prix fixe menu was amazing value - would highly recommend. The food was all hearty & delicious - as one would expect. The dill pickle soup was a fun surprise & the menu debutant & stroganoff were both top notch picks. My highlight was dessert - the peach crumble with fresh cream was absolutely amazing.
The real special thing here is the ambiance though. The dim lights, wooden benches, & the pianist playing really elevated the experience. Everyone moving through the space was absolutely struck by how great it was. Make sure to bring some cash to tip them!
Nous sommes allés au Stash Café pour célébrer un anniversaire. L'ambiance est vraiment superbe, avec un pianiste qui joue extrêmement bien & apporte une touche chaleureuse & intimiste que nous avons beaucoup appréciée.
Côté cuisine, les plats sont bons & il y a pas mal de choix pour tous les goûts. Nous avons commencé avec une soupe à la betterave, puis pris en plat le'débutant', qui permet de goûter à un panaché de spécialités, une très bonne idée pour découvrir plusieurs saveurs en une seule assiette. & pour finir, une crêpe polonaise juste incroyablement bonne.
Petit plus très apprécié : si vous le mentionnez, ils ajoutent une bougie sur le dessert de la personne qui fête son anniversaire, & le pianiste joue la chanson, un moment vraiment spécial !
Nous avons adoré l'ambiance intime & l'expérience globale. Nous recommandons vivement 👍
Delicious Polish food. Had the pierogis & kielbasa & both were excellent. The apple cobbler dessert was also very nice! They have a solid cocktail list as well!
Delicious Polish food. Had the pierogis & kielbasa & both were excellent. The apple cobbler dessert was also very nice! They have a solid cocktail list as well!
Great place for lunch with live music. We had a great time. Each of the dishes were very flavorful & cooked to perfection. I really enjoyed the dessert crepe with cheese filling served with fresh & tangy raspberry coulie & creamy vanilla sauce
Mar 16, 2026
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We had a fantastic culinary experience at Café Stash & would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for comforting, authentic Polish cuisine in old Montreal.
The atmosphere immediately stood out - warm wooden tables, cozy bench seating, & those iconic red hanging lamps that give the dining room a lively but intimate feel. A live piano player during dinner added a wonderful touch & made the whole evening feel special without being overwhelming.
Food-wise, everything delivered. The beef stroganoff was rich & deeply flavorful, perfectly paired with crispy potato pancakes. The kielbasa was juicy & nicely grilled, served with tangy sauerkraut & mustard that balanced the dish beautifully. The breaded pork cutlet was classic comfort food done right.
Both soups were highlights: the pickle soup was surprisingly bright & addictive, while the mushroom soup was earthy & satisfying. Desserts - apple & peach cobblers - were excellent, pleasantly flavoured & not overly sweet.
Drinks were equally enjoyable. The cocktails were solid, & the raspberry & tobacco vodka shots were memorable & fun.
Great food, lively ambiance, & genuine hospitality - Café Stash is an easy recommendation.
I was so impressed with this restaurant during a visit on a Friday for lunch (only day M-F that they serve lunch). I had visited Poland earlier this year & really enjoyed the pierogis & other items. This cozy restaurant was so true to Polish cuisine that I'll return in March when I visit Montreal next. I overdid it in order to try pierogis (they have a mixed platter of 4 total with each filling represented), golubki (stuffed cabbage), dessert, an excellent rioja, & finally a shot of vodka. The pianist was a fantastic touch for lunch. Don't let my spend scare you. I had everything & 3 glasses of wine. You could probably get out for less per person.
Between two people we ordered a rye soup, pierogi plate, kielbasa, plus a peach cobbler for dessert. All were excellent though the cobbler was the most memorable!
It was a well-rounded, tasty meal that was surprisingly light. The ambiance is well thought out too; it's dark inside & lit by red lampshades. Will go back again!
We arrived at 1:10 PM for lunch & were seated at 1:30 PM, which is not really a problem. However, unfortunately, we received the bill at 5 PM.
In more detail, an hour went by after our order was taken before our appetizers arrived, another hour for our mains, & another hour for dessert. The food was delicious but needing to wait nearly 4 hours for lunch (all the food was ordered promptly by 1:30 PM) is insanity.
For the prices being charged, the slowness of the service was unacceptable. The waiters were polite & largely this is the fault of the kitchen. Some kind of comping given the circumstances would have been appreciated, but hey...
Dec 28, 2025
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Every time I'm in Montreal, Stash Café is my dinner place - without question. We just went three nights in a row, & I still couldn't get enough. I could honestly go a fourth.
This place feels like a warm hug the second you walk in. The food is pure comfort - hearty, rich, & absolutely delicious. & the best part? There was nothing bad on the menu that I've tried. Every dish has been a hit, each one better than the last.
The vibe is fantastic - cozy & full of soul, especially with the live piano player creating the perfect ambiance (& yes, make sure to tip - it's part of the magic!). This is easily one of my favourite spots in Montreal, especially on a cold winter evening when it truly warms your soul.
The experience is made even better by the incredible staff. The servers are always polite, smiling, & genuinely kind - warm service that matches the restaurant's atmosphere. It makes you want to stay longer, order more, & come back tomorrow… which we did.
If it's your first time, trust me & go for the pierogies & the mixed platter - the best way to try a bit of everything. Also - don't skip dessert. The desserts are just as delicious as the mains, perfectly sweet, comforting, & unforgettable.
Authentic. Soul-warming. Addictive.
Highly recommend - just be warned, you might end up going three nights in a row too.
Already dreaming about my next plate of pierogies… & dessert. 🥟🎹🍰
Stash is the reference for polish food in Montreal. It sure brings back good childhood memories of me waiting fork & knife up at the kitchen table of my Polish Lithuanian Grandma. Some of you won't be able to pronounce the original names of each of the plates at Stash, but your taste buds will happily tell you in a familiar language. From Bigos & Perogies, & across the many soups like the Barszcz (beet broth), the Ogorkowa (pickle broth) & the Zurek (sour rye malted broth), to something more filling like the Kielbasa (sausage), the Krokiety (meat pancake) or the Goulash/Strogonow (beef stew) with Placki (potato pancake), don't stand bewildered by what might seem too exotic. Jump headfirst, it's worth the adventure. If you can't make up your mind, try the beginner's plate, as it should satisfy the most skeptical amongst us, or throw in 1 or 2 Zubrowka shots, then the inspiration will come on its own ! Polish cuisine is very tasty, yet not spicy. It is hearty, however very healthy. It's the comfort food you wished your grandparents would bring you 3 times a day, or your significant other so to entertain the relationship for many more years. Once you are done with starters & main courses, I suggest pursuing with the awesome desserts & a kawa (coffee). Do keep some room for a couple of vodka shots; it'd be insulting the traditions not to take at the least two, & Stash does keep a stash of vodka (get it?!) in the freezer. After that, what else ? Maybe walk a stretch of a couple of miles so to lose the calories. Na Zdrowie (Cheers)!
Imagine us- two friends roaming the cold streets, cold, hungry & yet wanting something new during our visit to Montreal.
Imagine what Stash Cafe must've seemed to us as we stepped in through the heavy door & into its warm threshold! Warm & inviting, with gentle chatter from pleased patrons & lovely piano music trickling through the air. We did not have a reservation but luckily there were two seats left at the bar which we gratefully sat down at.
Straight away we ordered cocktails. I got the Bloody Polak, which I felt a little bad to order out loud but any guilt was washed away with the first sip. Finally, a Bloody Mary with enough horseradish! Do you know how far I've traveled to find one? I do not remember the name of my friends drink, but I think it was somewhat cherry forward & I know she thoroughly enjoyed it.
From our bar seat vantage point, we watched the bartender Nicolas mix & pour a great variety of drinks. He was extremely skilled & knowledgeable & treated our questions with kindness & patience. I wonder if Montreal knows that the maker of the best Bloody Mary in the world is hidden right here. He is also studying for his doctorate in medieval pilgrimage literature & let me tell you, one sip of his drinks & you'll beg to read the full dissertation. He's not finished yet, but that'll just give you the excuse to return to Stash Cafe.
We ordered a starter- I had the soup of the day, a barley soup, & my friend had a salad. Both delightfully fresh & appetizing, they only made us more exited for our main course to arrive.
I had ordered four perogies, a little doubtful that I would want the whole eight offered in the bigger size dish. Oh boy was I wrong. Each was a delightful little pillow ready to introduce me to the flavors of Polish food. When I finished them, I had no choice but to order four more, & I swear our waiter Adam had a knowing twinkle in his eye. He said the perogis were the same as his grandmothers & I do not doubt that for a second.
Speaking of Adam, what hospitality! He was so kind to us & we felt so lucky to be his guests! I do not doubt each customer there that night under his care felt the same way. He introduced us to a world of flavors we were not overly used to or even aware of, explaining the culture & history around different traditions & dishes at our request. & he also introduced me to the joys of pickle juice- never before would I want to reach for a sip of the vinegary juice. Now? Yes please!
I believe my friend got the Stroganow for her main course. I feel I can review it for I kept sneaking bites when she wasn't looking. The meat? Tender! The beet salad? Fresh! The potato pancakes? Crispy! All the flavors & textures came together in a lovely melange.
When our plates were scraped clean & you could see rings on condensation marked all over our placemats from our drinks, the inevitable question of whether we wanted dessert was asked. Reader, is the earth round? Of course we wanted dessert! Now I don't remember the name of either. I don't think we let Adam get to that when he was describing each dessert. We heard farmers cheese & apricot & said yes please, one of each! The folded crepe with the sweet cheese filling reminded me of my grandmothers blintzes on the first bite & the crumbly peach delight brought memories of summer to mind.
We left Stash Cafe warm & full, with new friends & new favorite foods. I cannot understate what a lovely experience we had! Thank you Adam & Nicolas! Dear reader, if you are scrolling through Google maps, a little overwhelmed by all the choices on here & can't make a decision let me make it for you. Go to Stash Cafe! Quick! Before the line is out the door!
If you didn't think you could fly until now, try this superb culinary treasure! I thoroughly enjoyed its cosy, romantic ambiance & a meal to howl out loud to! The veal schnitzel main followed by the crepe dessert will make this memory long~lasting!
Nov 16, 2025
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Table of 7 people sunday afternoon, room temp water to start, then 6 of us got our food, they forgot my order, I ate once our table was almost finished. Never came around to ask for a second drink, never came around to ask for dessert or coffee order. Clearly short staffed. Hire a runner or bartender/busperson, food was good, that is all 🤷🏼
Such a lovely dining experience with authentic Polish cuisine! My hubby & I walked in w/o a reservation on a Saturday evening in March at 8:30pm. Despite still being full, we were seated right away at a cozy window table. Upon walking in, you are greeted with wonderful live music from a very talented piano player right at the entrance. The restaurant is warm & cozy with a red light district vibe with the red lampshades on all the lights. Lovely beamed ceilings & church pew bench seats with a long bar on the side. Our waitress was great, professional, & courteous. We ordered perogies, schnitzel, among other Polish dishes, & yummy cocktails. We thoroughly enjoyed each dish & the entire evening. We loved the perogies so much that instead of ordering dessert, we ordered another 8 mushroom perogies to go! I HIGHLY recommend for some authentic Polish cuisine!
I had a great time at Stash Café on Saturday, April 5th, celebrating a friend's birthday with a group of nine. The decor felt straight out of a Wes Anderson movie or an old-school train cabin-super charming & nostalgic. The food was decent, but what really stood out for me were the drinks-especially the pickle martini, which was a hit. They even made us a plate of pickles upon request, even though it wasn't on the menu, which was a really nice touch.
Overall, the vibe was lovely & we were having a great time-until our interaction with our server, which unfortunately didn't match the rest of the experience. She approached our table without a greeting & bluntly asked,'What do you want to drink?' It felt a bit off-putting right from the start. Then, before even offering dessert, she told us she needed to make sure we were leaving soon. This caught us off guard, as we were still ordering drinks & planning to enjoy coffee & dessert.
It felt like we were being rushed out, though the restaurant didn't appear to be full-there was no one waiting at the door when we checked. She also entered the wrong payment amount for one of our friends, & when he pointed it out, she implied that he hadn't paid her in full, which wasn't the case. It turned into an awkward exchange. After we left, we all realized she had been cold or distant with everyone at the table-not just a one-off moment.
On the bright side, the bartender who brought us our drinks was incredibly kind & all smiles-he really added warmth to our night.
Just a heads-up: the bathroom is located upstairs, so it might be a bit tricky if you have mobility issues. I was in a boot & using a cane at the time, & navigating the stairs wasn't the easiest. Getting around the table was also a bit of a challenge.
All in all, it was a fun night with great company & unique drinks, but the service unfortunately took away from what could have been an excellent experience.
Simply amazing. Came in around 9:30 pm on a Saturday & were seated right away. Ordered the pickle soup as an appetizer. Then for our mains we got the cheese & potato pierogis, & the kielbasa sausage (with potato salad, mustard, & sauerkraut). For dessert, we shared a crepe. All of the food was incredibly delicious. In addition to the perfect food, the live piano & the vibe of the place is great. Our waitress was amazing too.
