34 editor picks in Montreal.
34 cheap eats places in Montreal, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Montreal: the places editors actually return to. All Montreal food.
St-Viateur has hand-rolled and wood-fired Montreal bagels around the clock since 1957, the Mile End benchmark for the honey-boiled, denser city style.
TipBuy them hot by the dozen; a sesame bagel straight from the wood oven needs nothing but your hands.
St-Viateur turns out Montreal's honey-boiled, wood-fired bagels around the clock in Mile End, sold hot by the dozen from a flour-dusted Saint-Viateur counter.
OrderWood-fired bagel
TipEat a sesame bagel while it is still warm; day-old ones are for freezing and toasting later.
Fairmount Bagel is Montreal's oldest bagel bakery, wood-firing sesame and poppy rings around the clock on Avenue Fairmount since 1919 a block from St-Viateur.
TipPick a side in the Fairmount-versus-St-Viateur debate by buying a hot dozen from each and comparing.
Cafe Olimpico has poured Italian espresso in Mile End since 1970, a loud, cash-friendly Montreal institution where regulars argue over soccer at the counter.
TipIt is cash-only and standing-room busy on weekends; take your cappuccino to the terrace out front.
Fairmount Bagel has wood-fired Montreal's oldest bagels since 1919, a 24-hour Mile End window turning out sesame and poppy rings a block from its rival.
OrderWood-fired bagel
TipBuy a hot dozen and settle the Fairmount-versus-St-Viateur argument for yourself on the walk home.
Wilensky's is a nine-stool Mile End counter open since 1932, serving the fried bologna-and-salami Special exactly as it did in Mordecai Richler's novels.
OrderThe Wilensky Special with mustard, no substitutions allowed.
TipThey never cut the sandwich and never hold the mustard; order it their way or not at all.
Cafe Saint-Henri is one of Montreal's pioneering micro-roasters, roasting for its own cafes from a Notre-Dame Ouest flagship in its namesake neighbourhood.
TipThe Notre-Dame flagship is the one to visit; ask what single-origin is on filter that week.
A hot St-Viateur bagel with cream cheese is Montreal's cheapest signature bite, sold around the clock in Mile End for the price of pocket change.
OrderBagel with cream cheese
TipBuy a dozen to take home; per bagel it is far cheaper than any cafe breakfast in the city.
Au Kouign-Amann is the tiny Plateau pastry shop in Montreal that made the caramelised Breton kouign-amann a local ritual, baked warm in small daily batches.
TipGo by 09:30 for a warm kouign-amann; when the day's batch sells out, that is it until tomorrow.
Kem CoBa is the Mile End ice cream shop in Montreal whose salted-butter soft serve and rotating sorbets draw a summer line down Avenue Fairmount.
TipThe salted-butter and one fruit sorbet twist is the order; it is seasonal, so check before a winter trip.
Dispatch Coffee roasts light, modern coffee for its Montreal cafes, its Saint-Laurent flagship pairing a bright espresso bar with a busy retail bean counter.
TipThe Saint-Laurent cafe is the roastery flagship; the subscription is a good way to take the beans home.
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.
OrderFried bologna special
TipAdd a hand-mixed cherry or lime soda from the fountain; the whole lunch still comes in under ten dollars.
Cafe Myriade helped launch Montreal's third-wave scene, pulling precise espresso and pour-overs on Avenue du Mont-Royal for a laptop-and-book crowd.
TipThe Mont-Royal branch has more seats than the tiny Mackay original; come mid-morning for a table.
Pikolo Espresso Bar is a two-level jewel near Montreal's Quartier des Spectacles, serving careful espresso and pastries to students off Rue Clark.
TipThe mezzanine has the quiet seats; the ground floor fills with a takeaway rush around lunchtime.
Cafe Neve is a laid-back Plateau coffee bar on Rue Rachel in Montreal, an early third-wave spot loved for its espresso, vegan cookies and calm vibe.
TipThe peanut-butter cookie with a latte is the local order; it stays mellow enough to work for an hour.
Cafe Humble Lion is a bright specialty coffee bar across from McGill on Rue Sherbrooke in downtown Montreal, pulling careful espresso for a student crowd.
TipIt sits right by the McGill gates and gets busy between classes; mid-afternoon is the calm window.
Cafe Falco is a serene, Japanese-minded coffee bar hidden in a Mile-Ex studio building in Montreal, making siphon coffee and onigiri in a plant-lined room.
TipIt is tucked inside an old garment building and closes weekends; go on a weekday morning for the calm.
Cafe Pista grew from a bike-borne espresso cart into a Rosemont roastery cafe in Montreal, known for nitro cold brew and its lemonade-coffee Cafelimo.
TipThe Beaubien roastery cafe is the hub; try the Cafelimo in summer and the cold brew on tap year-round.
Zab Cafe is a Petite-Patrie roaster in Montreal that shares roasting duties with Paquebot, pouring bright single-origins from a snug Saint-Denis cafe.
TipThe Saint-Denis cafe is small and calm; a good spot for a pour-over and a bag of beans to go.
Paquebot is a specialty coffee brand born from a partnership with Zab in Montreal, running a string of cafes and pioneering nitro cold brew.
TipThe Old Montreal cafe on Saint-Laurent is central; try the Cafelimo in summer and grab beans to go.
Wilensky's has griddled its fried bologna-and-salami Special at a nine-stool Mile End counter since 1932, an unchanging Montreal snack served with mustard.
OrderFried bologna special
TipIt comes with mustard and never cut; do not ask them to change it, that is the whole ritual.
Boustan is a downtown Montreal institution for cheap, garlicky shawarma, its Rue Crescent counter feeding students and night owls well past midnight.
OrderShawarma pita
TipThe Aladin potato pita is the cult order and barely dents a tenner; extra toum is free and essential.
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.
OrderPho
TipA large tai bowl plus a Vietnamese coffee is a complete meal for the price of a downtown lunch.
Pho Tay Ho is the Petite-Patrie pho specialist in Montreal, ladling deeply spiced beef broth over rice noodles that locals rank among the city's best.
OrderA large pho tai with brisket and a side of Vietnamese coffee.
TipCash is easiest and the broth is the point; skip the appetisers and order the big bowl.
Cafe Osmo is a Japanese-inflected coffee and matcha bar on Rue Sherbrooke in Montreal, teamed with Marusan for onigiri and pastries near the Plateau border.
TipThe matcha and the onigiri are the specialties; it is a calm spot to work between downtown and the Plateau.
Melk is a neighbourhood coffee bar on Monkland Avenue in NDG, Montreal, an easy all-day cafe for espresso, pastries and a laptop-and-stroller west-end crowd.
TipThe Monkland Village branch has room to sit and work; there is a smaller downtown outpost on Stanley too.
Pourquoi Pas is a tiny, welcoming espresso bar in the Village near downtown Montreal, a longtime neighbourhood favourite for careful coffee and a chat.
TipIt is small and friendly rather than a work cafe; go for a proper espresso and a chat with the barista.
Notre-Dame-des-Quilles is a late-night dive in Montreal's Mile-Ex with two half-size bowling lanes, pizza, cocktails and karaoke nights until 03:00.
TipThe two half-size lanes are the reason for the name; karaoke and drag nights draw a queer-friendly crowd.
Boustan has fed downtown Montreal since 1986, a late-night Rue Crescent counter with garlic-heavy shawarma and the fried-potato Aladin pita past midnight.
OrderShawarma and pita
TipAsk for extra toum garlic sauce and pickled turnip; it stays open long past the bars for a good reason.
Boustan keeps its garlicky shawarma coming past 2am on Rue Crescent in Montreal, a downtown late-night fixture for students spilling out of the bars.
OrderShawarma pita
TipThe Aladin potato pita soaks up the night; ask for extra toum and pickled turnip on the way out.
TipGo for the beef pho and a Vietnamese coffee; cash keeps the fast-moving lunch line moving.
Cafe Larue & Fils roasts its own beans for a small family of Villeray cafes in Montreal, a welcoming neighbourhood roaster near the Jean-Talon Market.
TipThe Castelnau cafe near Jean-Talon is the flagship; the house roast is sold by the bag at the counter.
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.
OrderFalafel pita
TipThe falafel pita with green sauce is the value pick; bowls cost a little more but feed you longer.
La Panthere Verte fries crisp falafel and stuffs zesty vegan pitas in Mile End and across Montreal, a green-minded counter for a fast, meat-free lunch.
OrderFalafel pita
TipThe falafel pita with green sauce is the order; it is fully vegan even when it does not taste it.
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