Masochists that we are, we love Montreal in January. Every year we come for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day long weekend to play hockey and hang out with our friends Derek and Tanya. Derek, being Canadian, is a valuable resource for us, but just in case you don’t have your own personal Canadian tour guide, here are some of our favorites around the MTL, whether you visit in the summer or the winter. (Honestly, the winter really isn’t so bad once you get past the 0-degree–Fahrenheit–high temperatures and double-digit inches of snow!)
The great thing about Montreal is that it so perfectly straddles the line between foreign and familiar, between casual and passionate. You can fly seven hours to Paris for that quintessential European charm and excitement, or you can fly one hour-plus (from New York) to get the same feeling in Montreal. And as soon as you start exploring, you sense the excitement: the city is still inexpensive enough for young, creative types to do their thing, whether it’s cook, mix, brew or make. It creates a place that is a great joy to explore, where the high-end is just as high as any other place like New York or Paris, but the low-end is also elevated, making it hard to have a truly bad experience when dining or drinking out.
Pro-tips
Language barrier
Does not exist. Next question. In all seriousness, I can probably count on my two hands the number of people I’ve met in Montreal that didn’t speak English, and half of them were taxi/Uber drivers. French is the official (and only) language of Quebec but you definitely wouldn’t be able to tell from visiting Montreal. I usually try to be polite and ask Montrealers in French whether they speak English, but I am totally stunned if anyone ever answers “non,” especially if they are in the service industry.
Where to stay
Also an easy question: Le Plateau is basically the epicenter of cool stuff in Montreal. Not only in the sense that there is tons of good stuff in the neighborhood, but also in the sense that it is pretty much equidistant from whatever cool stuff is outside the neighborhood. Basically if you stay somewhere around Rue Rachel or Ave Mont-Royal in between Parc Jeanne-Mance and Parc La Fontaine you will be in good shape. There are plenty of Airbnbs and it’s a very walkable part of town.
You could also do well in Mile End. In my opinion there is not quite as much cool stuff and it’s not quite as walkable as Le Plateau, but it would also be a good choice. Same goes for Little Burgundy/Griffintown; there is enough to keep you interested especially for a short stay of just a few days, but it’s not quite as central, not quite as walkable as Le Plateau.
Getting around
The main downside to staying in Le Plateau is the public transportation options are limited. The Montreal subway is clean and fast and efficient but it’s not very useful if you want to move around Le Plateau or in between Le Plateau and Mile End (which is a common trip for us ; ) Walking or learning the bus routes are pretty much the only options you have if you want to save money.
Ubers are plentiful and cheap in Montreal however so it is usually not a problem, especially if you can split with another couple or other people. And while in the summer months a 30-minute walk to the restaurant may seem like an enjoyable option, I’m sure $8-10 CAD for an UberX is going to seem like a great deal when it’s minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit outside in the winter.
Don’t miss
Pâtisserie Au Kouign Amann – Pastry Shop – Le Plateau
If you only listen to one recommendation from this post, I would suggest you to make it this one. We look forward to their killer croissants all year long. Everything here is delicious but the almond croissants, the ham and cheese croissants, the quiche Lorraine and the namesake pastry are the highlights. It’s tiny inside so there is almost no seating but if you are lucky enough to snag one of the three tables and especially if the snow is coming down in buckets outside then it is such a homey and comfy place to chill.
The namesake pastry 
Croque monsieur and fresh juice:
breakfast of champions
They have a homey interior with wooden floors that get worn down by every ones snowy boots and 2 large picture windows with tiny tables in the front and a large chalkboard menu with all of the beautiful pastries scrawled on the board in French. In the back, the pastry chefs carefully make these little yummy pieces of eatable art. Their ham and cheese croissant have the perfect amount of béchamel inside to their signature kouign amman that melts in your mouth, its just perfection. A kouign amman is also known as a Breton butter cake. The New York Times called it the fattiest pastry in all of Europe (sorry mom, it’s only once a year). Oh… and the almond croissant and the croque monsieur that is warmed on the panini press that gets the most perfect hatch marks on the buttery surface.
Dispatch Coffee – Coffee – Le Plateau
This place is a temple to good coffee. Still, it is welcoming and not oppressively geeky. They make mean espresso and have many single origin coffees to choose from; easily some of the best coffee in Montreal. I just wish it were a bit closer to the part of town we usually stay in : )
Le Chien Fumant – Dinner/Brunch – Le Plateau
We found this little neighborhood gem after partying late night at Igloo fest a few years ago. We read it is where all the chefs eat when they get done work, so we knew it had to be good and I also knew that there was so way that Tanya and Matt would read a description like that and not go. It’s a tiny spot with a few cozy tables and a long bar. It is surrounded by lots windows and a large chalkboard menu with the food offerings. We had an amazing dinner that night with great food, wine, and great company.
Scotch Egg brunch “salad”
We have also been for brunch and boy was it a meat lovers dream. Matt got the pork belly gyro and I got the scotch egg on top of crunchy tortilla strips, pickled veggies and a salad underneath.
Derek and Tanya got every breakfast meat known to man, blood sausage, ham, sausage, and bone marrow… I think I’m missing some too! Everything was perfectly fatty, salty and delicious. I’m not much of a brunch person, so I would tend to recommend it more for dinner.
Arts Cafe – Brunch/Lunch – Mile End
This place has the trifecta covered – great coffee, food, and ambiance! They have a great shakshuka here with merguez sausage & polenta and a duck poutine that is delicious (fyi… this is more of a russet potato breakfast potato hash than fries situation, just warning you so you’re not disappointed, which by the way you won’t be…). This time we all shared the roasted cauliflower on top of hummus with a garlic labneh and pistachios, this is definitely something that we will try to recreate at home.
For dessert, they have a homemade ring ding, one of my favorites! Eat your heart out Drakes : )
Fete des Neiges de Montreal – Festival – Parc Jean-Drapeau
Takes place for 1 month from mid January to mid February on the weekends in the Parc Jean -Drapeau in Montreal. Tanya and I went a few years ago and had a ball! First of all, any place they have a sugar shack where they pour pure maple syrup into the snow and make a “pop” out of them is a place for me. They have so many cool activities at the snow festival…dog sledding, axe throwing, sled racing to name a few. They have an awesome free outdoor ice skating path that is super fun to skate on and people watch.
Gypsy Cafe + Bar – Brunch – Le Plateau
This cafe and bar has the perfect bohemian chic, vibe. They have another location in Bali and you definitely feel that influence inside the different nooks of this spot. I love the variety of the different seating areas, rattan lighting and a gorgeous bar surrounded by fresh, fragrant ingredients. We went for coffee & brunch, but they also have dinner & cocktails. They make a solid avo toast here with grapefruit, radishes, tomatoes and a perfectly poached egg on top. Other highlights were the the breakfast sandwich and frites & their cassolette with mushrooms, sausage, and eggs.
Ile Flottante – New Canadian – Mile End
Vegetable-forward tasting menus with killer wine pairings; this place was a total revelation for four meat loving Americans (or I guess 3 meat-loving Americans and 1 meat-loving Canadian). Honestly of the seven courses the two meat dishes were my least favorite. Not to mention the wine pairings were slightly weird, obviously natural and quite delightful. Definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in Montreal.; I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – Museum (duh) – Downtown
An excellent art museum and I’m not normally much of a museum person. The collection of paintings in the Pavilion for Peace is the perfect size and very well-curated as to not be overwhelming but still be interesting. I especially enjoyed the modern art (which is extremely unusual for me) as well as the third floor Golden Age of Holland and Flanders. It’s an especially nice place to pass a few hours on a freezing winter day.
Ma Poule Mouillee – Poutine – Le Plateau
In our opinion this is the best poutine in Montreal. Portuguese rotisserie chicken are big in Montreal (see Rotisserie Ramados, below). Ma Poule makes the most perfect, smokey rotisserie chicken, cooked over open flame and perfectly seasoned the chicken is super flavorful and moist. You can get the chicken by itself with a green salad and some french fries on the side, but the pro move is to get it put on top of those perfectly crispy fries with some sliced Portuguese sausage, loaded up with gravy and topped off with fresh cheese curds. C’est parfait!
Larry’s – Breakfast – Mile End
Oh man, we love it here. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee break, happy hour; they do it all and do it all right. The food is eminently delicious, somehow simple and interesting and addicting all at once. If you’re there for breakfast DO NOT miss the pikeletes. They are out of control delicious when slathered with real maple syrup. The only thing you need to be aware of is it is SMALL in here. I mean like tiny. Go early or late or be ready to wait. In fact, maybe they could just take over Lawrence (see below) next door and make one big Larry’s; I’d be ok with that ; )
Provisions Restaurant – New Canadian – Outremont
This place is so good it makes me upset. There is no menu, just a board with the names of all the ingredients they bought at the market that morning and that will go into the dishes they are about to bring you. The food is seriously ridiculous and the wine pairings are actually *perfect* pairings with the food; they are definitely firing on all cylinders. It’s not cheap but it’s so worth it. Just go; you won’t regret it.
Provisions Bar a Vin – Wine Bar/Butcher Shop – Outremont
Just down the street from Provisions Restaurant (above), this is a more a-la-carte experience. The salad here was so good we ordered a second; made of fresh bib lettuce, ribboned carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers in a fresh yogurt dressing with mint – I want to recreate this at home. As a (part) butcher shop, their homemade sausage is a must-do. This night, it was served with pickled onions and a homemade mustard and was definitely on point. The steak frites were great, but the thick steak fries stole the show, they were absolute perfection super crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. The food and service at this place were both winners.
Aliments Viens – Charcuterie – Mile End
Fantastic cured meats and cheeses. Everything is homemade and has so much flavor. If you need provisions for a picnic (or just a snack at home before dinner) you could do a lot worse than this place. Be sure to head down the street to Hof Kelsten (below) to get some delicious bread to eat with the meaty goodies you just spent all your money on.
Hof Kelsten – Bakery – Mile End
The bread here is what’s up. Their croissants can seriously give Au Kouign Amman (above) a run for their money. They have coffee here too but to be honest I haven’t tried it since we usually get so distracted by the breads : )
Bar Le Lab – Cocktail Bar – Quartier Latin
Well-made drinks with unusual flavor profiles and interesting combinations of ingredients; they obviously take cocktail making very seriously and I appreciate that. Service had some hiccups when we were there, but overall this is one of the better choices (if not the best choice) for cocktail-geek cocktails in Montreal. Bonus points for the amazing popcorn–trust me, just buy a bag to snack on with your drinks.
Café Neve – Coffee – Le Plateau
Great cappuccinos and single-origin filter coffee. Seems small from the outside but the is a long communal table with ample space for drinking your coffee and even space for parking your bike. It’s very homey and comfy and would be a tempting place to lazily spend the day while it is dumping snow outside (which happens from time to time in Montreal ; ) NB there are two other locations, one on Rue Rachel and another (apparently) inside clothing store Frank and Oak on St. Viateur.
If you have time/are in the neighborhood
Bar Le Sparrow – Brunch – Mile End
Fried eggs with sage served with a pile of bacon, perfectly crispy potatoes and freshly toasted bread – this was delicious, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit I was diving into Matt’s plate for more of the Zatar sandwich, which is a totally genius breakfast. The only downside is the coffee kind of sucks.
Joe Beef – Quebecois Restaurant – Little Burgundy
This one is more like “if you manage to get reservations” than “if you have time” but in my (admittedly limited) experience it can be very hit or miss so don’t feel too bad if you can’t get reservations. I’ve been twice and one time it was terrible. The service, the food and the wine were all exceptionally disappointing. However, I came back a second time and found it a much more satisfying restaurant experience.
I believe the difference in my experiences may have a lot do with the time of my reservation. The pro move apparently is to make an early reservation because no one ever leaves their table on time and the servers are more likely to be helpful early in the evening. This is more important than it may seem because there is no printed menu, so you are either at the mercy of letting your server choose for you (yeah right, not this control freak) or you will have to make them read the entire menu to you while you scribble it down on the napkin in front of you.
Overall I would go back if I ever managed to snag a reservation (the DINR app comes in great handy in this regard if you are flexible about making last-minute plans), but I can’t say I count Joe Beef among my favorite restaurants in Montreal, and so I don’t usually get too upset if I can’t find any reservations.
Café Melbourne – Coffee Shop – Le Plateau
A good spot for espresso drinks and toasts with typical Australian toppings. The espresso is solid enough, but the filter coffee isn’t the greatest and the staff is a bit aloof (in that charming if frustrating Australian way). It’s a good spot but I prefer some of the other coffee shops in the area because they align more closely to my tastes. If you’re Australian I’m pretty sure you’ll love this place.
Le Bremner – Seafood Restaurant – Old Montreal
Very good service, cool ambiance and good wines. The food was also technically proficient but nothing that changed my life. I would return if someone else invited me since it is overall a good restaurant experience but I would probably not run back.
La Banquise – Poutine – Le Plateau
This is our favorite late night poutine spot (and everyone else’s too, including locals). Note the emphasis is on the phrase ‘late night’. If Ma Poule Mouille (above) is open; go there instead : )
Unlike Ma Poule however, La Banquise is open 24/7, so whenever you feel the need to warm up with some cheesy, fried goodness (i.e. whenever you are drunk), this is the spot. They have endless topping combinations. As if fries covered in gravy and cheese curds weren’t a gut bomb enough for you, you can add everything from hot dogs, to bacon or guacamole on top.
Igloo Fest – Festival – Old City/Harbor
If you happen to be in Montreal at the end of January/beginning of February and you are into EDM, make sure you head to Igloo Fest. Every year for three weekends on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights people get dressed up in ski gear and dance the night away in the outdoors. There are live DJs and ice sculptures, drink luges, and outdoor games. We had a blast dancing under freshly falling snow outside all night!
Zone Maison – Shopping – Le Plateau
Adorable furniture and home shop. This is a must visit on our annual trip to Montreal. They have great small scale furniture and accessories and always makes me jealous that we don’t have a place to decorate in Montreal.
September Cafe – Coffee – Little Burgundy
Very solid coffee (drip coffee and espresso from their La Marzocco) in a cool atmosphere with friendly people. Pair that with a stupendous chocolate chip sea salt cookie and you’ve got a great place to warm up on a cold winter’s afternoon. They also have some good-looking breakfast options that we unfortunately didn’t get a chance to try. Not necessarily worth going way out of your way for, but definitely a good option if you’re in the neighborhood.
La Dependance Espace Design Gourmand – Coffee – Le Plateau
Hipster haven coffee shop. They have decent cappuccinos here and more millennial pink and light grey than you could imagine. Cozy atmosphere with a separate room for people that want to camp out with their computers. They also have a great little shop that sells books and home goods. Mostly it is a nice, comfy place to pass the time with a book in case it is snowing buckets and freezing cold outside.
Time Out Market – Food Hall – Downtown
I think it is in a mall so maybe it is technically a mall food court but it is definitely the best mall food court we’ve ever been to. Instead of Panda Express, they have quick food (not fast food) from some of the city’s best chefs and restaurants.
Matt got a pork belly on top of a parsnip purée and carrots from Le Club Chasse et Peche which was a bit too fatty for Bryn, but definitely looked and tasted like an entree from a high end restaurant like Le Club Chasse et Peche, and for $16 it was a great deal. They also had a seasonal carrot salad with grapefruit and dates with some of the carrots shaved into long strips and some roasted to perfection, topped by a cumin vinaigrette giving it a slight heat.
Bryn had an awesome fish ceviche served with small sweet potato chips from Paul Toussaint. It was an acid bomb and she loved every bite! Overall, everything we ate was beautiful and delicious and reasonably priced for the quality. Our only complaint was the drinks situation; given the food selection I would have expected the bar to have a much more curated and composed selection of beer and wine, but it was very pedestrian. Hopefully they can change that and make Time Out Market a can’t-miss destination in Montreal.
Pullman – Wine Bar – Downtown-ish
Perhaps it’s not quite fair to pass judgement on Pullman since the power went out (on the whole city block) about an hour after we got there. The wines we tried (a very old-vine orange wine from Chile and a full-bodied but funky natural white wine) were very good, and the meat and cheese board was also real solid, but that was about the extent of our experience. The service was friendly and helpful though so I think that is enough to warrant a “go there if you feel like natural wines and snacks” in this part of town.
Some real “out there” wines btg : ) 
Cheese and olives? Yes please!
Monarque – Fancy Canadian – Downtown
The food at Monarch was very well executed and the wine list is solid if expensive. Actually, come to think of it, everything here is expensive. The restaurant is huuuuge and there are two distinct sections. The back section is much more of a white tablecloth, borderline stuffy experience which I was not the biggest fan of. I would recommend going back, but be sure to book the front section of the restaurant and be ready for a bit of a higher bill than you might otherwise expect. Some dishes though are totally worth the price; in our case we had a killer salt-baked celery root with coffee foam, but overall it doesn’t score super high on the value front.
Regine Cafe – Brunch – La Petite-Patrie
Eh. Not sure what all the hype is about; it’s good but not worth the wait in my opinion. The œuf et bœuf was the standout of what we tried. If there is no wait or I had reservations (which they accept–but are probably not necessary–on weekdays only) then I would come back, but otherwise I would probably pass.
Fromagerie Atwater – Cheese Shop – Little Burgundy
Great selection of artisanal products, especially meats and cheeses from the counter for very reasonable prices. Huge selection of craft beer too, at least at the Atwater Market location. Basically everything you need if you are planning a picnic and are not close to Aliments Viens (above). Note there is another location just below Parc LaFontaine.
O-Thym – Quebecois Restaurant – Gay Village
Very delicious and creative menu for dinner at very reasonable prices. The tartare du moment did not disappoint and my main course of venison was very good. The star of the show however might have been the apple bread pudding with black beer ice cream which was to die for! Since it’s BYOB it helps keep the cost of a fancy dinner in the realm of “we could do this every week”, which we totally would if we lived in the neighborhood. However, since it’s BYOB it may not be for everyone since it is somewhat hard to buy good wine at retail in Montreal.
Don’t bother
Lawrence – New Canadian – Mile End
I don’t normally black-list places after one visit, but I really had a bad experience here. We went for dinner–we had reservations for 3 at 8:00p. They sat us (party of 3) at a cramped 2-top right by the door; not off to a great start. I asked about the beers available–it didn’t seem like our waitress had much of an idea, so we went with cocktails. Bryn’s sazerac came in a rocks glass with no rock(s)–odd. We had some questions about the menu–which dish should we choose between these two, what are some of the more popular dishes, what is this particular dish like, etc. Our waitress’s explanations could not have been less helpful. In some cases she didn’t seem to know the menu, in other cases she basically just read the menu back to us. It was almost as if she had not ever eaten or even really seen any of the food being served. She made choosing our dinner very difficult, and not in a good way. In the end we trusted our own judgement of the menu and enjoyed supremely the charcuterie board, an appetizer of grilled heart and liver as well as an appetizer of octopus and eggplant and an entree of aged steak, cooked absolutely perfectly. The only miss was the whelk and sausage stew which was very heavy on the whelks and light on everything else. The food was so delicious it’s a shame our experience was ruined service that was sorely lacking. I could be persuaded to give it another try, especially since Larry’s is so good, but I won’t go back on my own accord.
Patati Patata Friterie de Luxe – Diner? – Le Plateau
If you are a hipster you will probably love this place. The servers are nice and helpful but everything else about this place is not making me want to run back. It’s small (I mean SMALL), cramped, the food is good if you’re drunk but not really otherwise. I will probably be looking elsewhere for my late night poutine cravings.
Bar Big In Japan – Cocktail Bar – Le Plateau
Cool ambiance but at the end of the day I want to drink when I go to a bar and their whiskey selection was very small: just two Japanese whiskeys, four scotches and a small number of bourbons. And given the prices I would not say any of them are really special; it’s pretty expensive. They do have cocktails but nothing too exciting or cutting edge. This place might be a good idea if you have a date to impress and you are pretty sure he or she cares more about pretty people and cool scenes than drinking and eating. Otherwise there are more interesting and exciting bars in the neighborhood and Montreal in general.
Romados – Rotisserie Chicken – Le Plateau
Charcoal grilled rotisserie chicken, fries and a salad are just what the doctor ordered on a cold winter day in Montreal. Or a warm summer day. Or any day in between; this chicken is always in season. Get the spicy sauce and use your fries to sop up the spicy goodness. It’s actually quite good; the only reason I say don’t bother is because it’s not quite as good as Ma Poule Mouille, which is literally right down the street and even if the line is longer at Ma Poule I would still go there instead of Romados.
Montreal Pool Room – Diner? – Downtown
Come here for the poutine and nothing else and you will be happy.
Café Myriade – Coffee – Le Plateau
Sadly, this place has gone downhill somewhat in my last few visits. There is still promise but the espresso has lately been bitter and dirty-tasting. Unfortunate because the location is pretty excellent, and the pastries are good but the coffee is just not great like it used to be and there are definitely better coffees in the neighborhood.
Hurley’s Irish Pub – Irish Pub – Downtown
Ok, this may not not be a popular opinion, but I think this place sucks. Mostly that is because the last thing I want to do for my once-yearly Saturday night in Montreal is spend the night drinking crappy beer and watching the Habs on TV. Unfortunately this is exactly what the Wild Turkeys (the hockey team which is the reason we come to Montreal in the first place) always want to do. Not only are there better places to drink in Montreal, there are also better places to watch the Habs. I say skip it.