Montreal is a city well-known for its flourishing food scene. This highly cultured city offers a tapestry of flavors that reflect its diverse history and amalgamation of culture. Our list below features a list of food you must try that ranges from satiating breakfast to delectable desserts that will give you a taste of Montreal’s culinary heritage.
1. Tourtiere
Tourtiere is a French Canadian meat pie that goes as far back as the 1600s, as a traditional dish made for Christmas. The filling consists of minced pork, veal, or beef (depending on the region) combined with potatoes, onions, garlic, and a blend of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg encased by a flaky pastry. One will often receive a side of ketchup or fruit chutney to complement the savory flavors of the dish.
2. Pouding Chomeur
Known as “unemployed man’s pudding, Pouding Chomeur is a classic Montreal dessert designed during the Depression era. It was developed by female factory workers who needed to scramble for ingredients and use what they had on hand. The dish is a sweet flour, sugar, milk, and butter cake. One puts the ingredients in a baking dish and then, before baking, adds syrup on top composed of brown sugar or maple syrup. As it cooks, the syrup creates a gooey, caramel-like sauce that envelops the cake. This unique style of cake will delight any tourist on a cold day.
3. Poutine
You cannot leave Montreal without getting your hands on some poutine. Poutine is a Canadian staple featuring a hearty, salty, satisfying plate of fries decorated with cheese curds and smothered in rich gravy.
A particular version of Poutine is called Poutine Rapee. It’s an Acadian dish steeped in the traditions of Quebec, consisting of a unique smooth yet coarse, boiled potato dumpling with pork filling, often served with apple sauce or molasses. This stands out starkly against the average poutine style, making it a must-try when expanding your idea of Canadian culture through food.
4. Smoked Meat Sandwich
A classic meat sandwich served at a place like Schwartz’s Deli, one of the best food places in Montreal, is a brisket sandwich, where they cure the meat for ten days and serve it on rye bread with mustard. The juice of the meat drips into the bread, leaving you with eyes rolled back.
5. Quebecois Cheese
Cheese-making in Canada is an evolution and an amalgamation of multiple cultures. Quebec’s rich history in dairy farming, coupled with ideal weather conditions, refined cheese culture in the area into a unique cuisine sure to impress any visitor who knows their cheese. Here are three cheeses you’ve got to try:
Top Cheeses to Try:
- Oka: Trappist monks were the first to pave the way for this style of cheese. Its slightly soft texture reveals a nutty and subtly pungent flavor. These monks are known for using antique artisanal techniques such as hand-ladling curds and aging the cheeses in holy environments.
- Bleu d’Elizaebeth: This blue-veined cheese has a creamy texture, salty flavor, and lighter smell.
- Cendrillon: Awarded the “World’s Best Cheese” title in 2009, Cendrillon is a tangy goat cheese coated with ash that provides an elusive nutty flavor.
6. Montreal-Style Bagels
You think you know what bagels are until you visit Montreal and encounter their groundbreaking bagel-making styles.
The first type of Montreal-style bagels to mention are hand-rolled, boiled in honey-sweetened water, and baked in wood-fired ovens. St-Viateur Bagel and Fairmount Bagel are the best bagels in Montreal, Canada, for you to try this heartwarming style of breakfast bread.
The second Montreal-style bagel is smaller than you might find in New York, but it is still enjoyed with cream cheese and lox. You can grab this tiny, sweet, dense bagel at Schwartz’s Deli.
7. Cretons
Cretons is a Quebecois pork spread or pate, spiced and enriched with garlic, breadcrumbs, and cream, giving it a soft consistency. It’s then topped with a unique blend of cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, lending a cozy, aromatic flavor perfect for warming the soul on a cold day. It’s an economical dish that reflects the rural mindset that goes well with farmer’s dining tables.
8. Tarte Au Sucre
Otherwise known as Sugar Pie, it is a Quebecois dessert offering a sweet, rich taste of simple, buttery pastry filled with cream, flour, and an abundance of maple syrup, resulting in a dense, caramelized treat designed to breed smiles and comfort.
Book a Montreal Food Tour with Spade & Palacio Tours
Ready to experience and expand your 
understanding of Canadian culture? Book a tour with Spade & Palacio Tours, and we’ll show you the side of Montreal only true locals can genuinely understand. We’ve been in this city for years and know the exact paths to take in order to eat your way through Montreal properly. By the end, we ensure you’ll understand Quebecois culture for all its delicacy and delight.
Call us at (514) 806-3263, email us at dp@spadeandpalacio.com, or visit our website to get your appointment reserved and your culinary journey underway!
