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.
Not going to lie the only experience I previously had with Polish food was the acknowledgement that perogies exist. Thank goodness for the introduction from Stash Cafe. The ambiance is moody, with dark red lanterns & piano music, like an old speakeasy in your grandparents neighborhood. But the food... perogies are delicious dumplings (cheese & potato were my favorite!). Loved the pickled white fish as well. The entire meal was warm & delicious, the perfect pick me up after walking in the snow & cold. The only thing that didn't make me reminisce about my imaginary Polish grandmother was the dessert. It was fine, but there are plenty of places you can go to really satisfy a sweet tooth. Focus on the food & you can't go wrong.
The food was excellent. Don't know if I'll ever have a better sausage & sauerkraut, & it's affordable! I really hope to return & try the pierogis & desserts.
Dec 6, 2024
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 arrived quite early on Saturday evening with no reservations & were just lucky that there was a no show. I would definitely suggest making reservations. Just as you walk in they had a gentleman playing piano which definitely provided a great lounge atmosphere along with the lighting. It was our first time there & so we wanted to try a bit of everything. I ordered an entree of 4 meat pierogis which were hands down the best I've ever had. The meat was spiced to perfection & the caramelized onions rounded it out. I had the strognow as my main meal which the mushrooms & the meat were superb. I enjoyed the beet salad. I would say the only negative was the potato pancakes were a bit on the oily side for me. My partner had the Table hôte which came with a soup, coffee & dessert. The soup was very tasty with fresh herbs. For a main course it was the veal sznitchel, potatoes & beet salad. Dessert was apple crumble which was delicious. We would definitely go back.
The food was amazing! 😍 My partner had the cabbage rolls (stuffed with meat). It was really delicious. I had the table d'hôte with the zurek soup, & the debutante plate. While our Polish friends mentioned it's not things that necessarily go together, it allowed us to taste a lot of different things. Everything was great! We had both the crumble & crêpes for dessert. Again, nothing to complain about. Also, we shared the pickled herring for the table. Highly recommended as a chaser. Amazing service (only complaint is that it was a bit slow but it was Friday night & they seemed slammed). & the ambiance is really cool & chill.
The comfort of Polish cuisine makes diners feel warm. Polish cuisine has the salty taste of pickles, the sour taste of fresh apples, the bitter taste of black tea & herbs, & the spicy duck of horseradish mustard. My sister & I chose the following dishes: - Beef Strogonow (main course) ~ $27 - Golabki (main course) ~ $22 - Peach Crumble Cobbler (dessert) ~ $6 - Apple Crumble Cobbler (dessert) ~ $6 - Birra Fanelli Beer ~ $11 Meat has always had a special place on the Polish table for generations. A unique dish is Golabki, stewed cabbage stuffed with pork & rice, served with tomato sauce, potatoes & salad. This dish is a combination of sour, sweet, salty & umami flavors. A simple yet delicious dish. Strogonow is strips of beef fillet in a red wine sauce with mushrooms, served with two potato pancakes & a beetroot salad. This is a dish that everyone should definitely try. The beef is marinated in wine, making it surprisingly tender & delicious. Croustade is a dessert with a choice of apple or peach, covered with the restaurant's homemade sweet cream. It's no surprise that apple pie is one of the most beloved pastries in Poland, with its delicious apple flavor. Since I don't drink beer & I'm not feeling very well, my sister was the only one drinking tonight. Luckily, she got to try their 50th anniversary Birra Fanelli, a light wheat beer with a lemon flavor. My sister described it as having a pleasant golden color, a very aromatic & slightly sour drink, & a very good digestive. Price does not include 15% VAT & 25% tip. Total bill was over $100 for 2 people, a great price if not a steal & I cannot recommend this restaurant enough.
We had an amazing experience tonight at this wonderful place. Usually you hope the wait for your table at a busy restaurant goes quickly but this wasn't true here. I enjoyed our wait for the table with their talented piano player & it was so much fun to listen to the music as we waited. The food was just off the chart delicious. I usually don't get dessert but tonight I did because I figured if the main course is this good then I have to see what the dessert is like. Also, I got an ultimate Manhattan... Best Manhattan ever.
Such a cute & cozy place! If you want to try some great polish food, this is the place to check out. Even for it being a Wednesday, it was quite busy & you can tell the severs were working hard. Because of the busy atmosphere, our order was initially deleted which resulted in a slightly longer wait. Due to this, we ended up getting free dessert for the trouble which was so nice of them to do. The service was fantastic & our waitress was very kind even when handing all the food, bar & cleaning all at the same time. If you're ever in Montreal, visiting here is a must ( just make sure to make a reservation)
Jun 12, 2024
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.
Try the pierogies! They are amazing! I had the maple whiskey for dessert, crazy good. When I mentioned how much I liked it the waiter showed me the bottle & topped me off! Love this place!
Amazing restaurant! Food is very delicious! Friendly staff! We ordered 2 beer, appetizer (potato pancakes) - just try it! Pierogies, sausages, & for dessert peach & apple pies. I would say, it was best dinner that I had in Montreal.
Wow wow wow. As someone from Kraków who cooks a lot of polish meals at home, I can definitely say this restaurant is extremely authentic. We were blown away by the quality & spot on authenticity of it. We ordered the zupa ogórkowa (pickle soup), barszcz (beet soup), krokiety (mushroom croquettes), pierogi ruskie (potato pierogis) & the szarlotka (Apple crumble pie). While everything was delicious & traditionally presented, the pierogi & szarlotka were our favorites. The pierogis were plump with great potato quality & not heavy on dough. You can def tell they were handmade. Every bite the potatoes melted in your mouth & you can taste the butter & onions. So good! Now the szarlotka. We never order dessert but based on how authentic everything else was, I could not resist trying this traditional apple dessert. Let me tell you, not only did it not disappoint but very much exceeded our expectations. It was served perfectly chilled, & you can taste both the sweet & tartness of the apple. & the fresh cream on top was so insanely delicious. We practically licked the plate. & don't skip on the cocktails! We also had the szarlotka cocktail which was served with Zubrowka vodka (our fave), apple juice & a splash of lemon. Served with a little bit of cinnamon & sugar on the rim. Wow oh wow. Refreshing & complex, what an amazing cocktail. Will def be trying to recreate at home but if not, just another excuse to visit this restaurant. Definitely don't skip this spot. If you want to try authentic polish food, this is the place! Enjoy it with the live piano player who is there most week night. Na zdrowie!
An absolute European gem in the Old Port. The staff is lovely, the pianist is fantastic, the place is cozy, even the path to the washroom is charming. The barszcz, cabbage rolls, schnitzels, krokiety, & pierogi are great, but the star is the placki for me. The desserts are a must-try, both the apple crumble & the cheese filled crepe! However, be warned that there are not many choices for vegetarians.
C'est vraiment mon coup de coeur de l'année! Tout d'abord, la nourriture est succulente! C'était ma première expérience de nourriture polonaise & ça m'a fait voyager!
Les potages d'entrée étaient délicieux & nous avons pris l'assiette de dégustation du débutant dans la table d'hôte & c'était à se rouler par terre! Portion très généreuse & goûteuse. Une explosion de saveurs! Le dessert était en toute simplicité mais délicieux également.
Le service était impeccable & très chaleureux. Notre serveur venait nous voir régulièrement pour nous demander comment on trouvait ça. On se sentait intégrés & appréciés. Vraiment parfait.
La décoration était géniale, avec les tableaux de différents artistes, l'aspect un peu rétro avec les boiseries & les lampes. & le pianiste maison pour agrémenter la soirée ajoutait une touche spéciale.
Je suis vraiment enchantée par ce restaurant & j'y retournerai certainement pour une autre occasion spéciale. C'était une surprise pour ma fête & j'ai été émue tellement l'expérience était parfaite.
