Montreal Food Halls and Time Out Market

Montreal food halls arrived in a cluster. Between the autumn of 2019 and the start of 2020, three opened in the downtown core: Le Central, Time Out Market and Le Cathcart. All three are indoors, which makes them a good answer to a cold or rainy day. Walk the hall once before you order.

Tell the cook about any allergy and ask about shared equipment. Walk the hall once before you decide, and share a few plates among friends.

A downtown Montreal lunch in a food hall is quick, but peak hours are crowded, so use the underground city to stay dry. Food halls change vendors often, so do not rely on any list for hours or stall names.

What are the Montreal food halls?

A food hall is a large room with many small kitchens and shared seating. You order from the counter you like, pay there and carry your food to a table. Three halls sit downtown: Le Central, Time Out Market Montreal and Le Cathcart.

All three are indoors, which makes them a good answer to a cold or rainy day. Montreal winters are long, and a warm hall with a hot bowl and a seat by the window is a reasonable plan for a January lunch. In summer, the same rooms offer air conditioning and quick service when the streets are hot and crowded. They are also bilingual, with menus and signs in French and English.

What is Le Central?

Le Central food hall sits in the Quartier des spectacles, at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Laurent. It is a sprawling gourmet food hall with dozens of counters, covering tacos, dumplings and smash burgers, among many other dishes.

Because it is large, it suits groups with different tastes, including children, vegetarians and anyone who cannot agree on a cuisine. Walk the full room before you choose, and share a few dishes. It is close to theatres and festival sites, so it is busy before shows.

What is Time Out Market Montreal?

Time Out Market Montreal is on the second floor of Centre Eaton, at 705 Sainte-Catherine Street West. It is the Montreal branch of a chain of markets whose stalls are chosen by Time Out's editors.

Because the stalls are curated, the quality is consistent, and the format is a reliable introduction to local chefs. Seating is shared, so be ready to sit with others.

What is Le Cathcart like?

Le Cathcart sits under the esplanade of Place Ville Marie. It is a glassy food hall and beer garden, with chef-run counters and a central bar. Its position inside the downtown office district makes it a natural lunch stop.

Le Cathcart beer garden is a good place for an after-work drink as well as a meal. The Toronto guide shows how another city handles its office district dining.

How do you plan a downtown Montreal lunch?

A downtown Montreal lunch in a food hall is quick, but peak hours are crowded. Go before noon or after one o'clock if you can. Choose a table first, then order. Send one person to hold seats while others queue.

Use the underground city to stay dry. Le Cathcart and the Eaton Centre are both connected to it. Ask whether the hall has a quiet time, and whether you can bring a laptop.

How do you order and eat?

Walk the hall once before you decide. Look at the lines and the plates. Order from two or three counters and share. Pay at each stall, and keep your number or your buzzer.

If you have a food allergy, tell the cook and ask about shared equipment. In Quebec, a simple "bonjour" at the counter goes a long way before you switch to English if you need to. See the winter comfort food guide for what to eat when the weather turns.

How do you keep track of the best food hall counters?

A hall with dozens of counters is a memory test. In the Mosey app, rate each dish you ate, tag the counter Quick Service or Good Portions and keep a list called Montreal food halls. An invite link lets your lunch group add their favourites, and the map's Friends' picks layer shows what people you follow have rated downtown.

What should you know about changes?

Food halls change vendors often. A hall may add a vendor, lose one or change its layout, so check the hall's own page for the current list.

Look at the hall's own page for hours and stall names. If you are meeting friends, agree on a table landmark such as a pillar or a bar, because the rooms are large and phone signal can be weak. Families should note that high chairs are limited, and strollers can be hard to manoeuvre at peak hours. A hall that is busy in one season can look different the next.

How do you remember what you ate?

Write the stall, the dish and the hall. Note whether you would return and with whom. Halls are crowded, and the food is quick, so a note taken at the table is better than a memory taken at the metro.

Back on the metro, get the Mosey app, rate the dishes you tried and build a list of the Montreal food hall counters worth a repeat. The Canada guides hub lists more regional pages.