Impasto is an italian restaurant in Little Italy, Montreal.
Impasto is the rustic Italian room on Rue Dante in Montreal's Little Italy, cooking market-driven pasta and salumi a short walk from the Jean-Talon Market.
Editorially verified July 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: The house-made pasta of the day and a plate of salumi.
Tip: Lunch is quieter and cheaper; the same kitchen, fewer crowds than dinner.
Address: 48 Rue Dante, Montreal, QC H2S 1J5
Moccione is a tiny, charming Italian trattoria on Saint-Denis in Villeray, Montreal, hand-rolling pasta and pouring Italian wine in a snug neighbourhood room.
Order: The cacio e pepe or whichever pasta is fresh that night.
Tip: It seats barely thirty; book ahead or aim for an early weeknight table.
Helicoptere is a chef-owned favourite at the gateway to Hochelaga in Montreal, sending out inventive, wine-friendly small plates in a relaxed corner room.
Order: The snacks and share plates with a natural bottle.
Tip: Hochelaga is an easy metro ride east; the room is casual and worth the trip.
Kazu is the tiny, roaring Japanese counter on Sainte-Catherine in downtown Montreal, famous for its 48-hour pork, salmon bowls and long sidewalk queue.
Order: The 48-hour pork and the salmon and tuna bowl.
Tip: Expect a line and cash-friendly bowls; go at opening or off-peak to skip the wait.
Foxy is the Olive et Gourmando team's wood-fired Griffintown restaurant in Montreal, cooking vegetables, fish and flatbreads over open flame on Notre-Dame.
Order: The wood-grilled vegetables and a charred flatbread.
Tip: The open kitchen and its fire are the show; ask for a counter seat facing the grill.
Le Serpent is a sleek Italian-leaning bistro in a converted foundry in Old Montreal, plating confident pasta and grilled mains near the Fonderie Darling.
Order: A plate of pasta and whatever is grilled over coals.
Tip: The concrete room is loud and fun; book the early seating for a slightly calmer meal.
Ferreira Cafe is the polished Portuguese institution on Rue Peel in downtown Montreal, grilling whole fish and pouring deep Portuguese wine since 1996.
Order: Grilled whole fish and the salt cod, with a glass of Douro red.
Tip: The fixed-price lunch is the value move; dinner is a splurge worth booking ahead.
