This lively restaurant, manned by chef Martin Picard, has earned a cultlike following both within the city and abroad for its obsessive (and inventive) preparations of all things meat. Inside, the atmosphere is pitch-perfect habitant: rollicking, fiddle-heavy Québécois music plays on the stereo, and the menu features no less ... Morethan nine permutations of foie gras: in a tart, in a terrine, on poutine, and with boudin (Mon Dieu!), to name a few. Be warned: dishes are absurdly copious and rich, if you hadn’t figured that out already.

Address:
536 Rue Duluth Est.
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 281-1114Less

A cheerful after-work crowd heads to this trendy wine bar for locally brewed McKeown cider and tasty bar snacks like grilled calamari and olives marinated with fennel.

Address:
4869 Ave. du Parc
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 750-6577

Open since 1980, the restaurant is still the spot for expertly prepared French classics such as the generous pot-au-feu or the citrusy octopus-and-lentil salad.

Address:
3927 Rue St.-Denis
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 845-5333

Just steps from the Jean-Talon farmers’ market, diners sit at a counter and watch chef-owners Mathieu Cloutier and Jean-Philippe St.-Denis cook up whatever’s freshest. (With only one other employee, the chefs are also the restaurant’s servers, sommeliers, and dishwashers.)

Address:
60 Jean-Talon St. E.... More /> Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 315-8994Less

Chef-owners Frédéric Morin and David McMillan are the mavericks behind Joe Beef, a delightfully disheveled counterpoint to the city’s often overstyled restaurants. The décor (a bear’s head trophy over the bar; rustic wooden tables; très country checkered napkins) verges on irreverent, but the food is far from... More it. Though oysters and crab cakes make a cameo, the emphasis here is decidedly Québécois—heavy on meat, with healthy doses of foie gras and boudin, served with a poached egg. Morin and McMillan’s antiestablishment stance has worked so well that their peanut-size dining room in the up-and-coming Little Burgundy is now a favorite of both the city’s star hockey player, Saku Koivu, and the Quebec premier, Jean Charest.

Address:
2491 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 935-6504Less

Stop in at this 2009-opened boutique to pick up cult clothing brands Supra and Elm, plus works by up-and-coming Montreal artists.

Address:
506 Rue Rachel E
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 903-4006

Stepping into the St-James feels like stepping back into a genteel, Gilded Age manse. Housed in a gracefully restored 19th-century bank building just a few blocks from the Notre-Dame Basilica, the hotel’s large guest rooms are piled with Oriental carpets, antiques and paintings from the owner’s private collection, yards of chintz draper... Morey, leather button settees, and enormous wooden beds. Room to Book: Pony up for an over-the-top heritage room if you can, or ask for room 10-02, a corner deluxe that’s almost as nice.

Address:
355 Rue St. Jacques
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(866) 841-3111Less

One part restaurant, one part late-night bar, Garde Manger offers innovative seafood and a seat at the hottest party in town. Set in a historic Vieux-Montréal building, the dining room keeps things rustic with exposed-stone walls, chalkboard menus that change often (try the spicy General Tao lobster and jerk shrimp), and brown paper covering... More a collection of wooden tables. After midnight, the music is turned up (loud) and the restaurant fills with thirtysomethings in their hip finery. Don’t miss the enormous (almost eight-foot-wide) chandelier, ripped—or so it appears—straight from the dining hall of a pirate ship.

Address:
408 Rue Saint-François-Xavier
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 678-5044Less

Fans of vintage clothing shouldn’t miss this 15-year-old shop for its well-curated selection of designer hats, scarves, and party dresses from the 40’s to the 70’s.

Address:
3976 Blvd. St.-Laurent
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 842-3893

The brewing tradition is alive and well in Quebec, nowhere more so than at this excellent, nothing-but-the-basics microbrewery just a few blocks east of Laurier’s tony boutiques—far enough away, that is, to maintain its authenticity. Inside, the wooden chairs and tables are appropriately worn and stained, and the stainless-steel ferment... Moreing casks gleam brightly. There are more than a dozen beers on tap, including Irish cream ales, smoked porters, and cask-conditioned IPAs. The easy-to-drink Belgian Trappist-style Rigor Mortis ale is particularly delicious; at 10.5 percent alcohol, its name serves as a fair warning.

Address:
29 Avenue Laurier Ouest
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 490-9555Less

Funky little art gallery and café housed in a former foundry.

Address:
257 Rue Prince, Darling Foundry
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 866-1213

With most of the city’s top hotels near the old city, many a traveler interested in exploring the boutiques, restaurants, and lounges of Montreal’s colorful central neighborhoods (Le Plateau, Outremont, Mile End) has been forced to shuttle to and fro via taxi. It was a welcome relief when this serene five-room inn opened in 2006. The la... Morendmarked French Renaissance Revival building has beautiful historic details, including wrought-iron stairs and a terra-cotta fountain in the front hallway. The owners take the Bianca (white) theme seriously, with very little color in the rooms save for blond-wood floors and bright green and red bedspreads. But quirky little touches—a John Currin-style painting in the upstairs Rachel suite, an all-organic food-and-furnishings approach—warm the place up considerably. Room to Book: Marie-Anne may not be the quietest of rooms (it’s set near the front door and the breakfast nook), but it’s the largest and most stylish, with a spacious sitting room and abundant wainscoting.

Address:
4351 Ave. de L’Esplanade
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(866) 775-4431Less

Chef Samuel Pinard and his gang of six make almost everything in house—from pastas and bread to the cured sausages hanging in the glass meat locker.

Address:
1302 Mont-Royal E.
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 522-0777

Set among Vieux-Montréal’s cobblestoned lanes, this eatery is marked only by the antler-and-fish crest hanging outside the door (appropriate, since chasse et pêche means “hunting and fishing”). Inside, the atmosphere is dark and full of disorienting design touches (old-school leather club chairs combine with ... Moremod white ceramic birds taking flight from low-hanging glass pendant lights), and the tables are spread through a pair of little dining rooms with an excellent soundtrack overhead (dub and reggae are often on the playlist). The dishes, which pay homage to both gun and rod, are surprisingly light. Try the striped bass with asparagus and sorrel in a risotto-style Parmesan sauce, or the rabbit and lobster gnocchi. In summer, the restaurant also has tables on an outdoor terrace just across the street in the garden of the historic Château Ramezay. The terrace is open only on weeknights, and tables go quickly. Be sure to book in advance.

Address:
423 Rue St.-Claude
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 861-1112Less

Once you have the gourmet accoutrements from the Les Touilleurs kitchenware store, cab it up to Little Italy and this enormous food market, which is the city’s culinary epicenter. Here, you can stop by the William J. Walter boucherie for—count ‘em—more than 50 kinds of sausage; at La Fromagerie Hamel you can sample from doze... Morens of raw-milk, unpasteurized cheeses that you won’t find stateside. Before you leave, pick up a package—or three!—of sugary, leaf-shaped bonbons d’érable (maple candy) at the farmers’ stalls in the center of the market.

Address:
7070 Rue Henri-Julien Rd.
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 937-7754Less

Housed in two buildings, including an old leather factory from the 19th century, the 24-room hotel appeals to young entrepreneurs with its tech-savvy touches like free Wi-Fi and plasma TV’s outfitted with Wii Fit stations.

Address:
168 Rue St.-Paul Ouest
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:<... Morebr /> (877) 530-0360Less

The hotel consists of a 22-story tower and the former headquarters of the city’s Gazette newspaper. The indoor glass-bottomed pool, seemingly suspended over the hotel’s main entrance, makes an indelible first impression; a basement corridor connects to the city’s famous subterranean shopping mall.

Address:
... More> 270 Rue St. Antoine W.
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(877) 961-8111Less

Proof that Montreal is an epicurean’s dream: this exquisitely ordered kitchenware store in Outremont’s poshest shopping neighborhood. The marble counters are piled with gleaming gourmet equipment, including Italian-made Guzzini serving spoons with mod yellow handles, Revol French culinary pottery, and Quebecer Tom Littledeer’s aus... Moretere maple cooking paddles. After doubling its size in 2005, it now offers in-store cooking classes from local chefs.

Address:
152 Ave. Laurier Ouest
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 278-0008Less

The shop specializes in underground comics and illustrated novels, including titles written and produced by the store’s own publishing house.

Address:
211 Rue Bernard Ouest
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 279-2224

Evidence that Montreal designers can compete on the world’s stage: the glorious interior of Pullman, which merges mid-century modernism (polished wooden tables, stone floors, and a palette of gray, black, and cream) with a hint of 21st-century baroque (a multitiered wine-glass and champagne-flute chandelier). The trilevel bar and restaurant i... Mores co-owned by designer Bruno Braën, who also created the distinctive look of the restaurant Club Chasse et Pêche. But it’s not all about design here. The place is popular among Montreal’s bons vivants (reservations are recommended) for its extraordinary—yet gently priced—wine list. There’s also a menu of sweet and salty snacks, so you can start (or end) the evening with a glass of 2003 Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese and a perfect little endive and hazelnut salad.

Address:
3424 Ave. du Parc
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 288-7779Less

Lively lunch spot and bar in the Plateau.

Address:
9 Duluth St. E.
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 849-7779

Legendary home of Montreal's "smoked meat"

Address:
3895 Blvd. St.-Laurent
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Phone:
(514) 842-4813