Food guides for Quebec

Atwater Market guide: what to buy and eat by the Lachine Canal

Atwater Market is Montreal's art deco market hall by the Lachine Canal, open all year with butchers, cheese shops and farmers' stalls. How to get there, what to buy and how to make a day of it.

Best Bakeries in Montreal: Croissants, Sourdough and Babka

A guide to the best bakeries in Montreal: where to compare croissants, sourdough and babka, what to order first and how to shop for bread and pastry.

Best Brunch in Quebec City: Old Quebec and Beyond

A guide to the best brunch in Quebec City: what a Quebec brunch plate holds, Old Quebec rooms on rue Saint-Paul and Saint-Louis, bakeries and cafes.

The best neighbourhoods for food in Montreal, and what to eat in each

Montreal is one of the great food cities of North America. Where to go for bagels, smoked meat, markets, bring-your-own-wine bistros and late-night poutine, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

Best Pho in Montreal: Noodle Soup and Vietnamese Food

A guide to the best pho in Montreal: the broth, the noodles and the herbs, Chinatown and Côte-des-Neiges bowls and how to order well on a cold day.

Best Poutine in Quebec City: Where to Eat It

A guide to the best poutine in Quebec City: what goes into the dish, the classic and gourmet versions, where visitors eat it in the old town and how to order.

Bring your own wine in Montreal: how "apportez votre vin" restaurants work

Montreal is famous for "apportez votre vin" restaurants, where you bring your own bottle. How they work, where to find them, what to bring, and the etiquette that matters.

Brunch in Montreal: Where to Go and How to Skip the Line

A guide to brunch in Montreal: how weekend lines work, how to skip them, which neighbourhoods to try, what the menus look like and what to order.

Build Your Montreal Comfort Food List: A Method

Build a Montreal comfort food list with a method: what to judge in a pâté chinois, a pea soup and a pudding, how to take notes and how to share favourites.

Chelsea and Wakefield Restaurants: A Gatineau Hills Guide

Chelsea and Wakefield restaurants in the Gatineau Hills include a farm-to-table kitchen, a farmhouse institution and a riverside village. Where to eat.

Date Night Restaurants in Montreal: Old Montreal and More

A guide to date night restaurants in Montreal: candlelit rooms in Old Montreal, a hotel dining room, bistros and how to choose a table for the occasion.

Food Allergies in Montreal: Bagels, Smoked Meat, Poutine

Food allergies in Montreal: how a sesame bagel, spiced smoked meat with mustard, poutine and tourtière raise questions, plus the French words worth knowing.

Gatineau and Ottawa Food: Eating Across the River

Gatineau and Ottawa food in a day: how the two sides of the Ottawa River differ, what to try on the Quebec side and a list that crosses the bridge.

Gatineau Brunch: Where to Go on a Weekend Morning

Gatineau brunch means a Sunday bistro on Rue Laval, a four-course farmhouse meal in Chelsea and morning plates in Wakefield. Where to go and what to order.

Gatineau Pizza and Pasta: Where to Find Both

Gatineau pizza and pasta, from fresh pasta in Old Hull to a wood-fired oven in Chelsea and a riverside brewery kitchen. What to order first.

How much do you tip in Montreal? Quebec tipping, GST and QST explained

In Montreal, tip 15 to 20 percent of the pre-tax bill at a sit-down restaurant. How GST and QST appear on the bill, and Quebec's pre-tax rule for card terminals.

How to check a Montreal restaurant's food safety record

Montreal does not post inspection grades on restaurant doors, but convictions for food safety offences are public. Who inspects restaurants, where to look up the record, and how to read it.

Find Good Food in Gatineau: A Walker’s Method

A walker's way to find good food in Gatineau: pick a sector, read menus in French and English, narrow the choice with tags and keep a list of what you try.

Find Good Food in Quebec City: Walls, Hills and Lists

Find good food in Quebec City by leaving the walls: Old Quebec on foot, neighbourhoods beyond, tags, dish ratings, Top 3 and a list you share with friends.

How to order in French at a Montreal restaurant: useful phrases

You do not need fluent French to eat well in Montreal, but a few phrases go a long way. What to say when you arrive, order, ask for the bill and pay, plus the Quebec words on the menu.

Jean-Talon Market guide: what to eat and buy in Montreal's Little Italy

Jean-Talon Market is one of Montreal's biggest and best-loved public markets, open year-round in Little Italy. When to go, what to eat and buy, and how to combine it with the neighbourhood.

Limoilou Quebec City Restaurants and Cafés

Limoilou Quebec City restaurants and cafés along 3e Avenue: tacos, a farm-shop brunch and a bakery counter, and how to rate and remember what you try.

Little Italy Montreal food guide: espresso, pizza and delis

Montreal's Little Italy runs along Saint-Laurent Boulevard between Jean-Talon and Saint-Zotique. Where it is, what to eat, how to pair it with Jean-Talon Market, and when Italian Week happens.

Montreal bagels: what makes them different and where to get them

Montreal bagels are smaller, sweeter and denser than New York's, boiled in honey water and baked in wood-fired ovens. The great rivalry, how to order, and how to eat them.

Montreal Chinatown food guide: dim sum, noodles and bakeries

Montreal's Chinatown is compact, walkable and one of the oldest in North America. Where it is, its history, what to eat on De La Gauchetière and around it, and how to fit it into a day.

Montreal food festivals: MTLàTABLE, Montréal en Lumière and more

Montreal has food events in every season: a restaurant week in the autumn, a winter festival built around gastronomy, Italian Week in summer and sugar shack season in spring. How each one works.

Montreal Food Halls and Time Out Market

Montreal food halls explained: Time Out Market at Centre Eaton, Le Central by the Quartier des spectacles, Le Cathcart under Place Ville Marie, with tips.

Montreal Public Markets: Jean-Talon, Atwater and More

A guide to Montreal public markets: the Art Deco halls of Jean-Talon and Atwater, the smaller Maisonneuve and Lachine markets and how to shop like a local.

Montreal smoked meat: how to order it and what makes it special

Montreal smoked meat is cured, spiced, smoked and steamed brisket piled on rye with mustard. How it differs from pastrami, how to order lean, medium or fatty, and where to eat it.

Montreal terrasses and pedestrian streets: where to eat outside

Every summer, Montreal closes several commercial streets to cars and fills them with terrasses. When terrasse season runs, which streets usually go car-free, and how to get a table outside.

Old Montreal food guide: how to eat well and avoid the tourist traps

Old Montreal is beautiful and full of restaurants, but the busiest squares are not where the best meals are. How to tell a tourist trap from a good table, and where to go instead.

Plateau-Mont-Royal and Mile End food guide: where and what to eat

The Plateau and Mile End are where many Montrealers eat every day: bistros, brunch, bagels, Portuguese bakeries and bring your own wine dining rooms. A street-by-street guide to eating there.

Poutine in Montreal: where it came from and how to spot a great one

Poutine is fries, fresh cheese curds and gravy, and Montreal takes it seriously. Its Quebec origins, what makes a great one, the best variations, and when to eat it.

Quebec City Farmers Markets by Neighbourhood

Quebec City farmers markets by neighbourhood: a year-round public market, summer Saturday and Sunday markets, what they sell, and how to rate what you buy.

Quebec City Ramen: Where to Find a Good Bowl

Quebec City ramen explained: the small Saint-Roch kitchens known for their broths, what to order, and how to rate a bowl so you remember your favourite.

Quebec Comfort Foods in Gatineau: A Menu Guide

Quebec comfort foods in Gatineau explained: poutine, tourtière, fèves au lard and pouding chômeur, what each is, how to read the words and how to rate the dish.

Quebec Apple Orchards: Rougemont, Cider and Fall Markets

A guide to Quebec apple orchards: Rougemont, pick-your-own, cider houses and ice cider, plus what to eat, how to get there from Montreal and when to go.

Food Worth a Drive in Quebec: Cheese Routes and Sugar

A guide to food worth a drive in Quebec: artisan cheese routes in Charlevoix and the Eastern Townships, abbey cheese, sugar shack season and how to plan.

Quebec Regional Foods: Tourtière, Maple and Curds

A guide to Quebec regional foods: the meat pie of the holidays, the layered comfort dish pâté chinois, a sugar shack meal and the cheese curds under the gravy.

Sugar shack season in Quebec: what a cabane à sucre meal is like

Every spring, Quebec's sugar shacks serve huge maple-soaked feasts and maple taffy on snow. When the season runs, what you eat, and how to plan a trip from Montreal.

French Menus in Gatineau: A Visitor’s Glossary

French menus in Gatineau decoded: the words that matter, from maison to du jour, the dietary phrases to know and how to rate a dish whatever the language.

Saint-Roch Quebec City Restaurants: Where to Eat

Saint-Roch Quebec City restaurants in the Lower Town: ramen, Neapolitan pizza, a late-night poutine counter and natural wine bars, and how to rate them.

Sugar Shack Season Near Gatineau: What to Expect

Sugar shack season near Gatineau explained: when it runs, what a traditional meal includes, how maple taffy on snow works and how to log the dishes you ate.

Tourtière: Quebec's meat pie, what is in it and how to eat it well

Tourtière is a spiced meat pie and one of the best-known dishes of Quebec's winter table. What goes into it, the regional versions, how it is served with ketchup or chutney, and how to find a good one.

Verdun Montreal Restaurants: Wellington Street and Beyond

A neighbourhood guide to Verdun Montreal restaurants: how Wellington Street works, where to find burgers, Peruvian food and terraces, and how to plan a visit.

Vieux-Hull Restaurants: Where to Eat in Gatineau

Vieux-Hull restaurants in Gatineau cluster on Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue Laval: fresh pasta, contemporary French, shareable plates, pizza and bagels.

Villeray Montreal Restaurants: A Neighbourhood Guide

A guide to Villeray Montreal restaurants: brunch rooms, a Syrian Armenian bistro, a market full of snacks and how to spend a relaxed day near Jean-Talon.