Eat well in Montreal for under €15 a plate: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Montreal for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Boustan is a downtown Montreal institution for cheap, garlicky shawarma, its Rue Crescent counter feeding students and night owls well past midnight.
Try: Shawarma pita
Tip: The Aladin potato pita is the cult order and barely dents a tenner; extra toum is free and essential.
La Panthere Verte serves quick, cheap vegan falafel pitas and bowls across Montreal, a reliable meat-free lunch for well under fifteen dollars in Mile End.
Try: Falafel pita
Tip: The falafel pita with green sauce is the value pick; bowls cost a little more but feed you longer.
Nouilles de Lan Zhou fills a table for cheap in Montreal's Chinatown, its hand-pulled beef noodle soup one of the best-value hot bowls in the city.
Try: Hand-pulled noodle soup
Tip: One big beef soup and a plate of dumplings feeds two for the price of a downtown sandwich.
Qing Hua is a bargain in Montreal's Chinatown, a dozen hand-folded soup dumplings landing well under fifteen dollars and easily enough for a full lunch.
Try: Soup dumplings
Tip: A single dozen is a filling meal; split two orders across the table to try more fillings for less.
Bombay Mahal is Parc-Extension's cheapest serious feast in Montreal, a BYOB canteen where fiery curries and thalis stay well under twenty dollars a head.
Try: Indian thali
Tip: Bring your own beer from the depanneur and split several curries; the bill stays tiny even when you overorder.
Pho Tay Ho ladles deeply spiced beef pho for under fifteen dollars in Petite-Patrie, Montreal, a warming, filling bowl that locals rate among the city's best.
Try: Pho
Tip: A large tai bowl plus a Vietnamese coffee is a complete meal for the price of a downtown lunch.
Tacos Frida keeps its Mexico City-style tacos cheap in Saint-Henri, Montreal, with house corn tortillas and grilled fillings at a few dollars apiece.
Try: Street tacos
Tip: Three or four tacos makes a filling, low-cost meal; load up at the free salsa bar to stretch it further.
Ma Poule Mouillee delivers a big plate of charcoal Portuguese chicken and fries for cheap on Rue Rachel in Montreal, a filling Plateau meal on a small budget.
Try: Portuguese chicken
Tip: A half chicken feeds one generously; the chicken poutine is the indulgent-but-still-cheap upgrade.
Wilensky's Special is one of Montreal's great cheap eats, a griddled bologna-and-salami sandwich from a 1932 Mile End counter for the price of a coffee.
Try: Fried bologna special
Tip: Add a hand-mixed cherry or lime soda from the fountain; the whole lunch still comes in under ten dollars.
Romados serves a big plate of charcoal Portuguese chicken and fries for cheap on Rue Rachel in Montreal, one of the Plateau's best-value filling meals.
Try: Portuguese charcoal chicken
Tip: A half chicken with fries feeds one generously; the custard tarts are a cheap sweet finish.
A hot St-Viateur bagel with cream cheese is Montreal's cheapest iconic bite, sold around the clock in Mile End for the price of pocket change.
Try: Bagel with cream cheese
Tip: Buy a dozen to take home; per bagel it is far cheaper than any cafe breakfast in the city.
Chalet BBQ serves a hardwood-charcoal quarter chicken with gravy fries for a modest sum in NDG, Montreal, a filling retro-diner meal that has held its value.
Try: Quarter chicken and fries
Tip: The quarter-chicken combo is the value order; dine in for the full 1960s room at no extra cost.