GUIDE

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Restaurants

Best Vegetarian

  • Le Commensal (various locations): Vegetarian self-serve restaurant where you pay by the gram. Vegetarian. Consistently voted the best vegetarian restaurant by readers of the Montreal Mirror with several convenient locations. Service is buffet style and you pay by weight so costs can add up easily with the heavier dishes. There is also a new sit-down Commensal Bistro at 837 Mont-Royal East (Metro Mont-Royal). Open daily. Buffet Style, take-out, VISA/MC/AMEX. $$ - $$$
  • Aux Vivres (4631 St-Laurent, 842-3479): Alternative vegetarian cuisine.
  • Chu Chai (4088 St-Denis, 843-4194): (All vegetarian Thai) - excellent food at reasonable prices and you can bring your own wine (good brunch specials for under $10.00). A vegetarian Thai culinary delight. A must visit. The meals are prepared with mock meat but most carnivores wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. 'beef" panang is a personal favorite as is the sticky rice and mango for desert. Full service. Open daily. VISA/MC. $$ - $$$
  • Spirite Lounge (1205 Ontario E., 522-5353): Unique! Only one meal on the menu each night and a $2 penalty for not eating everything on your plate (donated to charity) really makes this place a unique dining experience. Most ingredients are organic and while the menu is not always vegan, vegans and those with allergies are happily accommodated. The food is excellent and the restaurant also has a unique eating registry that keeps track of when you came and what you ate, so you don't get served the same meal twice. Open daily 6-10 pm (midnight on Thur-Sat). Bring your own wine. Reservations required. No credit cards. Wheelchair access. $11 per meal. $$

Veggie Friendly

  • Greek
  • Arahova (various locations): Arguably the best souvlaki in town. Veggie friendly.
  • Ouzeri (4690 St-Denis, 845-1336): Affordable nouveau-greek cuisine. Veggie friendly.
  • Terrasse Lafayette - 250 Villeneuve West. Excellent souvlaki. City's best kept secret. Veggie friendly.
  • Asian
  • Chao Praya - corner of Laurier and Clark. (Thai). Run by the same folks who do Chu Chai, this place serves meat and fish along with veggie-friendly Thai dishes.
  • Mongolie Grill [1180 Wolfe (Corner of Rene Levesque)], (514) 526-0605 - Mongolian. Semi-buffet-style. A do-it-yourself stir-fry with hundreds of possible combinations. You select what you want, give it to the chef to cook, and then pay by weight (discounts for vegetarian plates). Your meal is cooked on the same grill as everyone elses, but if you ask the chef, he will clean your portion of the grill before stir-frying commences. The meal is served with vegetarian hot and sour soup, rice and rice-wraps. Most meals are around $15 (CAD), but if you pick carefully you can eat well for under $10. Open daily. $$ - $$$
  • Restaurant Sauve du Temps, 766 Beaubien East near St-Hubert - Vegetarian sushi, bubble tea, noodles and rice. Unpretentious and pleasant.
  • Lola Rosa - Milton (International vegetarian). Lots of good all-veggie eats just off-campus.
  • Pizzedelic - 3509 St. Laurent, other locations (Pizza). Chain known for their designer pizzas. Veggie friendly.
  • Santropol (3990 St-Urbain, 842-3110): Great sandwiches with the best backyard terrace. Veggie friendly. A Montreal legend, big sandwiches, fairly traded coffee, heavenly herbal teas, and sumptious soups make up this delightful café, full of sumptious vegetarian and some vegan choices. In the summertime and well into the fall, you can sit out on the enclosed terrace and forget about the city. Sandwiches and pies start at around $7. The Café also provides a Meals-on-Wheels service to people who are on a limited budget and unable to get around.
  • Découvrir le Sénégal - 66 St. Viateur West (West African-Senegalese). Least expensive place with the best food. Veggie friendly.
  • Pucapuca - 5400 St. Laurent (Peruvian). Inexpensive dinner specials. Veggie friendly.
  • Café Pharmacie Esperanza, 5490 Saint-Laurent Blvd., 514-948-3303 - Organic vegetarian and vegan treats, funky setting, one non-smoking room, one smoking. Art gallery in back. Espresso machine.
  • Les Chèvres, 1201 Van Horne, 514-270-1119 - Said to be the closest thing to vegetarian haute cuisine in the city, this resto has been cropping up on many general top spot listings lately. Expensive.

Breakfast

  • Eggspectations (various locations): Great local chain with several for breakfast. Veggie friendly.
  • Beauty's (93 Mont-Royal W., 849-8883]: Very popular brunch place. Veggie friendly.
  • Dusty's [4510 du Parc, 276-8525): Really cheap diner-style breakfast institution. Veggie friendly.
  • Café Melies - St. Laurent, south of Prince Arthur. Great for brunches that go beyond eggs and bacon.
  • L'Avenue du Plateau - Mont-Royal E. (Breakfast/Brunch). Stylish setting, excellent breakfast potatoes. Worth the line-up.
  • Caféteria - 3581 St. Laurent (Diner/Cafe). Good breakfasts. Stylish clientele. Veggie friendly.
  • Place Milton - Milton (Breakfast/Diner food), Well-known breakfast joint, good cheap eats.
  • Chez José, 173 Duluth East, 514-845-0693 - Tiny, popular breakfast and lunch joint, a place where veg and non-veg can eat happily together. The lemon crepes are a reliable treat. Non-smoking, sidewalk tables in summertime. Good espresso.

Best Poutine

  • La Belle Province (various locations)
  • Mondo Fritz (3899 St-Laurent, 281-6521): Belgian-style fries with flavoured mayonaise. Sandwiches and burgers. Cheap beer specials. Vegetarian poutine!
  • Lafleur (various locations): Hot Dog Chain. What's Montreal without a "Steamé and a Poutine"? Translation: Hotdog and fries with gravy and cheese curds. The gravy is vegetarian based and they have veggie dogs and burgers, if you are not fussy about the cooking surface. Possibly the best french fries in town. Non-alcoholic. No Credit Cards. Open daily 24 hours. $
  • Casse-Croûte La Banquise (994 Rachel E., 525-2415): Open 24 hours. La Banquise consistently tops locals' lists for best poutine in town (perhaps because it's open for post-bar-hopping munchfests when judgment is slightly impaired). The clientele is hip and clubworn, and the staff is friendly. Poutine makes up most of the menu, but if you insist there are hamburgers and other fast-food fare. $6-10.
  • Mamma's Pizzeria (75 des Pins W., 288-1128)

Best Smoked Meat

  • Schwartz's (3895 St-Laurent, 842-4813): Original Smoked meat. A Montréal institution.
  • Reuben's (1116 Ste-Catherine W., 866-1029)
  • The Main (3864 St-Laurent, 843-8126)
  • Ben's (990 de Maisonneuve W., 844-1000): Go for the service. Leonard Cohen used to hang out here.
  • Jarry Smoked Meat (6549 Jarry E., St-Leonard, 322-3220)

Best Cheap Eats

  • Soup and Noodles (1871 Ste-Catherine W., 933-0531)
  • Al-Taib (2125 Guy, 931-1999): Fast-food. Middle Eastern Pitas baked with thyme, feta cheese, egg, and/or vegetables for under $3.00 (CAD). Try them plain or wrapped around fresh veggies (delicious) for only an extra $.075 (CAD). The pies are also excellent and inexpensive for a fast grab. The baklava is ok but nothing special. Order-at-the Cash. Non-alcoholic. Open Daily from 8am until 11pm. $
  • La Belle Province (various locations)

Best Late-Night Eats

  • Picasso Serre (6810 St-Jaques W., 484-2832)
  • The Main (3864 St-Laurent, 843-8126)
  • Boustan (2020A Crescent, 843-3576)
  • Euro Deli (3619 St-Laurent, 843-7853): Very cozy deli/cafe in the middle of the trendy section of St-Laurent. Excellent fresh pasta, meatballs, lasagna, salads, etc. Very affordable.
  • Al-Taib (2125 Guy, 931-1999)

Best French

  • L'Express (3927 St-Denis, 845-5333): French bistro style, ooh-la-la - dessert ile au caramel flottante is to die for.
  • Toqué (3842 St-Denis, 499-2084): Was voted best Montreal restaurant by Gourmet magazine readers a few years back. Definitely one of the most expensive places in town.
  • Le Paris (1812 Ste-Catherine W., 937-4898)
  • L'Académie (4051 St-Denis, 849-2249)
  • Au Petit Extra (1690 Ontario E., 527-5552)

Best Japanese

  • Kaizen Sushi Bar (4120 Ste-Catherine W., 932-5654)
  • Soto (3527 St-Laurent, 842-1150)
  • Mikado (various locations)
  • Katsura (2170 de la Montagne, 849-1172)
  • Tokyo (115 St-Paul W.)
  • Kotori - Corner Parc and St-Viateur (Sushi). Quality sushi at good prices.

Best Bagel

  • St-Viateur (263 St-Viateur W., 276-8044): Bagel bakery (could be city's best).
  • Fairmount (74 Fairmount W., 272-0067): Bagel bakery (could be city's best).
  • R.E.A.L Bagel (various locations)
  • Faubourg's The Bagel Place (1616 Ste-Catherine W., 931-2827)
  • DADs Bagel (5732 Sherbrooke W., 487-2454)

Best Bakery

  • Première Moisson (various locations)
  • Au Pain Doré (various locations)
  • De Gascogne (various locations)
  • Cantors (8575 8e, 374-2700)
  • Pâtisserie Alati-Caserta (277 Dante, 271-3013)

Best Coffee

  • Tim Horton's (various locations)
  • Second Cup (various locations)
  • Open Da Night (Café Olimpico) (124 St-Viateur W., 495-0746): Some of the best coffee in the city. Soccer on TV.
  • Java U (various locations)

Best Desserts/Sweets

  • Rockaberry (4275 St-Denis, 844-9479; 5390 Queen Mary, 481-0092)
  • Calories (4414 Ste-Catherine W., 933-8186): Mainly cheesecakes and pies. Open twenty-four hours.
  • Kilo Restaurant (various locations): Giant pieces of cake (hence the name), coffee and a surprisingly wide selection of candy.
  • Première Moisson (various locations)
  • Pâtisserie de Gascogne/Le Duc de Lorraine (tie) (various locations / 5002 Côte-des-Neiges, 731-4128)

Best Ice Cream

  • Le Bilboquet (1311 Bernard W., 276-0414)
  • Ripples (3880 St-Laurent, 842-1697)
  • Roberto's Gelateria (2221 Bélanger, 374-9844)


Clubs, Venues & Bars

Clubs

Casa Del Popolo (4873 Boulevard St. Laurent), La Sala Rosa (4848 St. Laurent) and El Salon (4388 St. Laurent) These clubs form the hub of the Montreal music scene, and are favorites of bands like Stars and the Dears.

Barfly (4062A St. Laurent) Every band cuts their teeth here, and it is still a meeting place for acts like the Stills and Starvin' Hungry. Capacity is only 65, and if you want to use the bathroom, prepare to ask the bass player to step aside.

L'Hemisphere Gauche (221 Beaubien E) Underground rock 'n' roll and pop.

Cafe Chaos (2035 St. Denis, Web site: This co-op run club hosts bands that do justice to itsname.

O Patro Vys (356 Mount-Royal East, Web site: Experimental music, not for the uninitiated.

Le Divan Orange (4234 St. Laurent) The bimonthly Mandatory Moustache nights have been packing the house.

Venues

Much of the best music in Montreal is played in dank warehouses and abandoned office spaces. Visitors may find them hard to access, but they can start by checking

Fort Moshington (2106 Bleury) This is the fan-turned-promoter Aaron St. Laurent's living room. Capacity is 50 people, and leave your shoes at the door.

The Electric Tractor (6674 L'Esplanade) One of the most popular warehouses. Bands like the Gossip, Buried Inside, and Les Georges Leningrad have played here. A warning: pesky neighbors sometimes shut down performances.

Cryochamber (1180 St. Antoine, Suite 315) Perhaps Montreal's least conventional music spot. Last weekend, it sponsored a chili cook-off, treating fans of the band Crime Moth to $2 portions, provided they brought their own bowls.

Le Local (7159 St. Urbain) A new after-hours clubs, and home to bands like Lesbians On Ecstasy and Pony Up.

Bars

Best Sleazy Dive

1. Miami

2. Bifteck: 3702 boul. St-Laurent. Dive bar. Some of the cheapest beer in town, served with some of the saltiest popcorn in all Creation, consumed by bohemians and students from near and far (and the occasional honest-to-God rock star). Great place to start or end a St-Laurent pub crawl: to the south, you'll find trendy, relatively expensive places; to the north, some of the best dive bars anywhere. Or you can just stay and get tanked.

3. Peel Pub

4. Foufounes Électriques: 87 rue Sainte-Catherine Est (metro Saint-Laurent), 514-844-5539. 3PM-3AM every day. The name means "Electric Ass" in English, which is always worth a few laughs. But Foufounes is more than just a funny name: it's ground zero for Montreal's rock-and-roll scene. The cavernous bar hosts shows from local bands as well as lots of touring shows from around the globe. Reasonable prices and a down-to-earth attitude make Foufounes popular with residents and visitors alike. $3 draft beer, $4 well drinks.

5. Barfly

6. Madhatter

7. Cock 'n' Bull

8. Blue Dog

9. Sir Winston Churchill

10. Copacabana: 3910 St. Laurent (Bar & Indian food). Popular grad student bar with really cheap tasty Indian-inspired food. Veggie friendly.

SAT (Société des arts technologiques), 1195 boulevard Saint-Laurent (metro Saint-Laurent), 514-844-2033 (). M-F 5PM-10PM, Sa-Su various hours. This one-of-a-kind venue is supported by the province of Quebec and the federal government to display and promote digital art. With high ceilings and low couches, it has the feel of a funky uberhip techno club, and in fact there is quite a bit of great club music on weekend nights. But there's also fascinating computer art installations going on at all times, with some video and live performances. A great place to meet people in Montreal. $4.50 draft beer, $5 well drinks, $5-25 cover (no cover before 10PM).

Pub Sainte-Élizabeth, 1412 rue Sainte-Élizabeth (metro Saint-Laurent). Best terrasse for a drink. Feels like a greenhouse.

Les Bobards, 4328 boulevard Saint-Laurent (metro Mont-Royal). Good happy hour. Great dancing on very diversified music on Friday nights.

Bily Kun, 354 avenue Mont-Royal Est (metro Mont-Royal), 514-845-5392. 3PM-3AM every day. Bily Kun -- the name is Czech -- is an institution in Montreal's Plateau district. Dim lighting, candles, and a huge bar give an intimate atmosphere, but Bily Kun gets hopping after 10PM with Montreal's hippest francophones practically every night. Some of the area's top DJs spin experimental or loungey techno, but there's really no dance floor to speak of. Bar staff is kooky and nice, even if no one can quite explain the ostrich heads lining the walls. $4.50 draft beers, $5 well drinks.

Casa Del Popolo/La Sala Rossa, 4873 boulevard Saint-Laurent (metro Laurier), 514-284-3804. Established in September 2000, Casa Del Popolo is Montréal's only family-run neighborhood vegetarian hot-spot! Part fair-trade café, part music venue, part bar, part foozball hall... The Casa and its sister venue, La Sala Rossa, frequently host touring indie artists. Shows are cheap, or even free. Try the goat cheese sandwich!

Le Réservoir, 9 avenue Duluth Est (metro Sherbrooke), 514-849-7779. Brewpub. Amazing snacks.

Dieu du Ciel, 29 avenue Laurier West (metro Laurier), 514-490-9555. Brewpub.

Le Sergent-Recruteur, 4650 boulevard Saint-Laurent (metro Mont-Royal), 514-287-1412. Brewpub. Every Sunday evening, there's storytelling emphasizing myths and legends from the old French Canadian culture (Quebec's pioneers).

L'Amère à Boire, 2049 rue Saint-Denis (metro Sherbrooke), 514-282-7448. Brewpub.

Le Cheval Blanc, 809 rue Ontario Est (metro Sherbrooke), 514-522-0211. Brewpub. Occasionally stands in as an art gallery, with comix shows.

Les 3 Brasseurs, 1658 St-Denis (metro Berri-UQAM), 514-845-1660. Brewpub and restaurant.

Brutopia, 1219 Crescent (metro Peel), 514-393-9277. Brewpub. English-speaking college crowd.

Go Go Lounge, 3682 boul. St-Laurent. It's on the trendier part of St-Laurent, it looks trendy outwardly, the martini menu is certainly hip and happenin', but there's something missing: attitude. Anyone is made to feel welcome here, and if there's a velvet rope and a doorman, it's only because the place really is full.

Else's, 156 rue Roy est. Small, cozy space with a great selection of draft beers and fine whiskies. Technically, it's a restaurant, but you're better off eating elsewhere and just picking at the mandatory nosh (bowl of olives, etc.).

L'Ile Noire - Ontario. Whisky bar, as well as beer.

Laika - nice bar.

Mile End Bar - nice looking space. further up on st laurent, but fewer cheesy people hang out there.

L'barouf! - st denis. a french-flavoured bar.

Velvet - old port. good music, pretty good crowd.

Attractions

Old Montreal and the Old Port (Vieux-Montréal, Vieux-Port): South of rue Saint-Antoine between rue McGill and rue Berri (metro Champ-de-Mars or Place-d'Armes). Old Montreal's cobblestone streets lined with buildings dating from the 17th through 19th centuries make it a scenic and popular tourist attraction. However, it is largely cut off from the rest of the city and lacks the flavor of routine local life. The Old Port is a large waterfront greenspace with attractions such as Cirque du Soleil's home base.

St. Joseph's Oratory (Oratoire Saint-Joseph): 3800 chemin Queen Mary (metro Côte-des-Neiges). The largest church in Canada. A favorite pilgrimage for devotees of Frère André, who was reputed to have healed the sick and handicapped. Includes a remarkable collection of crutches and canes from the healed.

Basilique Notre-Dame: 116 rue Notre-Dame ouest (metro Place-d'Armes). Probably the city's most spectacular cathedral.

Mary Queen of the World Cathedral (Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde): 1065, rue de la Cathédrale (metro Bonaventure). A 1/4 scale copy of St. Peter's in Rome.

Musée des Beaux-Arts/Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: 1380 rue Sherbrooke Ouest (metro Guy-Concordia). Free permanent exhibitions and many prominent traveling shows.

Biodôme: 4777 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin (metro Viau). The former Olympic Velodrome is now a showcase of different ecosystems.

Jardin Botanique: 4101 rue Sherbrooke Est (metro Pie-IX). Huge and stunning botanical garden, featuring numerous theme gardens. Admission is about $8, but after 5 PM the indoor section closes and the outdoor part is free until it closes at sundown. During winter only the indoor greenhouses are open to visitors.

Olympic Stadium: 4141, avenue Pierre de Coubertin (metro Pie-IX), 877-997-0919. 9AM-5PM every day. Created for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, this amazing and controversial building's tower (from which the roof is suspended) is the world's tallest leaning structure. No major pieces have fallen off in the last ten years. You can take a cable car to the top of the Montreal Tower for an incredible view of the city.

Parc Jean Drapeau: metro Jean-Drapeau. Part of the site of the 1967 World's Fair, now devoted to green space and a large outdoor concert venue.

Habitat 67, 2600 avenue Pierre-Dupuy (take Chemin du Moulins exit from Hwy 10 south), 514-866-5971. This visually striking residential building was created by architect Moshe Safdie for Expo 67. The result was an amazingly modern dwelling that challenged the way architects created urban homes. Compared alternately to a beehive, a Taos pueblo, and a crystalline growth, the complex's 154 units are composed of prefabricated concrete cubes assembled on site. The apartments here are highly prized and a number of prominent Montrealers make Habitat 67 their home.