Montreal restaurants: outdoor dining edition
June 20, 2022 9:32 AM Subscribe
Mr. Millipede and I are going to a wedding in Montreal over July 4th weekend. We'd like some outdoor-dining restaurant recommendations.
The wedding is just one night, so we have one dinner and two breakfasts/lunches available.
We love all cuisines! We are adventorous. One stipulation is that for the dinner, we would probably like a fancy date-night sort of atmosphere, as this is our first trip alone without our 3.5 year old twins, ever.
Breakfasts/lunches can be anything.
We very much care that there is outdoor seating and that we can make a reservation that guarantees we can sit outdoors.
We are staying at Le Méridien Versailles, which looks like it is near Concordia University (neither of us know Montreal at all, by the way). We will not have a car. We are comfortable walking a lot and we love a transit adventure.
Bonus points if you have any other ideas of things we should absolutely do.
The wedding is just one night, so we have one dinner and two breakfasts/lunches available.
We love all cuisines! We are adventorous. One stipulation is that for the dinner, we would probably like a fancy date-night sort of atmosphere, as this is our first trip alone without our 3.5 year old twins, ever.
Breakfasts/lunches can be anything.
We very much care that there is outdoor seating and that we can make a reservation that guarantees we can sit outdoors.
We are staying at Le Méridien Versailles, which looks like it is near Concordia University (neither of us know Montreal at all, by the way). We will not have a car. We are comfortable walking a lot and we love a transit adventure.
Bonus points if you have any other ideas of things we should absolutely do.
There are a LOT of restaurants in Montreal worth visiting, so it's hard to narrow down. Eater Montreal has a good overview, and the rest of the website has a lot of good suggestions.
Given your comfort with walking and adventure, I recommend selecting destinations that allow you to visit different areas of the city. For example, for breakfast/lunch try Larry's in Mile End, an awesome neighborhood to walk around, and the place to pick up Montreal bagels, which are the best in the world. It's about an hour's walk - you can walk from your hotel east along Sherbrooke and then up through the Plateau; or you can go up and over Mont Royal, then into Mile End.
For the dinner, a lot of Montreal restaurants have terraces, so it's more a question of where you want to be and what kind of cuisine you want to eat. The Sud-Ouest area has a ton of great, newer and hipper restaurants. I had an awesome meal at Beba a couple weeks ago; it's in Verdun and has a terrace. Tuck Shop is great and has outdoor seating as well, though it's a bit more informal. Again, it's about an hour walk from where you're staying, Atwater market is along the way, and you will be near the canal, which is worth strolling along.
Unless you find a specific place that you really want to try, stay away from downtown and Old Montreal, which are touristy and overpriced.
Feel free to MeMail me if you want more specific suggestions.
posted by googly at 12:03 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Given your comfort with walking and adventure, I recommend selecting destinations that allow you to visit different areas of the city. For example, for breakfast/lunch try Larry's in Mile End, an awesome neighborhood to walk around, and the place to pick up Montreal bagels, which are the best in the world. It's about an hour's walk - you can walk from your hotel east along Sherbrooke and then up through the Plateau; or you can go up and over Mont Royal, then into Mile End.
For the dinner, a lot of Montreal restaurants have terraces, so it's more a question of where you want to be and what kind of cuisine you want to eat. The Sud-Ouest area has a ton of great, newer and hipper restaurants. I had an awesome meal at Beba a couple weeks ago; it's in Verdun and has a terrace. Tuck Shop is great and has outdoor seating as well, though it's a bit more informal. Again, it's about an hour walk from where you're staying, Atwater market is along the way, and you will be near the canal, which is worth strolling along.
Unless you find a specific place that you really want to try, stay away from downtown and Old Montreal, which are touristy and overpriced.
Feel free to MeMail me if you want more specific suggestions.
posted by googly at 12:03 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
[Hi googly!]
My first experiences in Montreal were under the guidance of googly, so please follow any advise he has!
That said, we try to go every year or so, but haven't been since 2018 due to pandemic, etc. But after that visit I created a map with the places we have gone, and I update that whenever we try new places in the city.
The last time we visited I wrote up a travel blog entry and embedded the map in that post. You can view that here. I have no idea if any of these places have closed due to the pandemic, so hopefully it is still accurate.
So many places will have outdoor dining this time of year. One of our favorite places though that comes to mind is Les Deux Gamins.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to MeMail me, with the caveat that I will be traveling from 22 June to 8 July.
posted by terrapin at 12:32 PM on June 20, 2022
My first experiences in Montreal were under the guidance of googly, so please follow any advise he has!
That said, we try to go every year or so, but haven't been since 2018 due to pandemic, etc. But after that visit I created a map with the places we have gone, and I update that whenever we try new places in the city.
The last time we visited I wrote up a travel blog entry and embedded the map in that post. You can view that here. I have no idea if any of these places have closed due to the pandemic, so hopefully it is still accurate.
So many places will have outdoor dining this time of year. One of our favorite places though that comes to mind is Les Deux Gamins.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to MeMail me, with the caveat that I will be traveling from 22 June to 8 July.
posted by terrapin at 12:32 PM on June 20, 2022
I just moved here a week ago, but I walked past Hoogan et Beaufort the other day which looked (and smelled) great - a fire pit restaurant with outdoor seating in the Angus Market. It looks like you can book outdoor seating specifically. It's a bit out of the way but you can reach it easily by bus from your hotel.
posted by Gortuk at 3:14 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Gortuk at 3:14 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wow, today I learned that Montreal is known for its bagels! Please try one and let us know what it’s like.
posted by cakelite at 6:16 PM on June 20, 2022
posted by cakelite at 6:16 PM on June 20, 2022
Hi, fellow outdoor diner!
Elena is a great suggestion, though I haven't been for outdoor dining. Hoogan and Beaufort is another great suggestion. We've always found the service and the food there outstanding. They had a beautiful terrasse last summer, but I haven't been this year so I can't say specifically what their deal is. (You can call and speak English no problem, though, fwiw. Or the hotel can perhaps call for you; that sounds like a nice hotel.)
Totally echo googly's notion to stretch beyond your hotel area for dining options. I wouldn't say the options there are horrible, just that most people I know in Montreal don't head down to that area for a meal. There are so, so many great neighbourhood options and you sound like you'd be up for exploring a neighbourhood a bit.
To that end, if you want to grab a pastry and/or coffee and eat outdoors, I'd recommend Automne Boulangerie or Pâtisserie Rhubarbe. Both are in really lovely, walkable areas and pretty easily reached by transit. You'd have to be OK popping in to order; there's no table service at either. (Rhubarbe is more likely to have a line-up.)
posted by fruitslinger at 6:01 AM on June 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Elena is a great suggestion, though I haven't been for outdoor dining. Hoogan and Beaufort is another great suggestion. We've always found the service and the food there outstanding. They had a beautiful terrasse last summer, but I haven't been this year so I can't say specifically what their deal is. (You can call and speak English no problem, though, fwiw. Or the hotel can perhaps call for you; that sounds like a nice hotel.)
Totally echo googly's notion to stretch beyond your hotel area for dining options. I wouldn't say the options there are horrible, just that most people I know in Montreal don't head down to that area for a meal. There are so, so many great neighbourhood options and you sound like you'd be up for exploring a neighbourhood a bit.
To that end, if you want to grab a pastry and/or coffee and eat outdoors, I'd recommend Automne Boulangerie or Pâtisserie Rhubarbe. Both are in really lovely, walkable areas and pretty easily reached by transit. You'd have to be OK popping in to order; there's no table service at either. (Rhubarbe is more likely to have a line-up.)
posted by fruitslinger at 6:01 AM on June 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh, just to say: I don't know the restaurants but either Beba or Tuck Shop is probably in a more interesting neighbourhood vs. Hoogan and Beaufort. There's nothing wrong with Hoogan and Beaufort's area at all and the terrasse last summer was really nice, but the surrounding area is a bit newer and doesn't have quite as much neighbourhood charm as I would expect the areas around Beba and Tuck Shop to have, for example.
posted by fruitslinger at 6:32 AM on June 21, 2022
posted by fruitslinger at 6:32 AM on June 21, 2022
Crossing the streams here – unless this was also you – there's a similar discussion right now on Reddit.
posted by zadcat at 10:33 AM on June 21, 2022
posted by zadcat at 10:33 AM on June 21, 2022
Had a great meal at Wolf and Workman in Old Montreal. I recommend a reservation.
posted by Gor-ella at 10:42 AM on June 21, 2022
posted by Gor-ella at 10:42 AM on June 21, 2022
Can I recommend the rooftop patio of the SAT's Foodlab? The atmosphere is nice and SATfest is on at that time, if you are into immersive films projected on a dome.
It is a medium walk through the heart of downtown from Concordia to the SAT, or a quick metro ride.
posted by keeo at 7:37 AM on June 22, 2022
It is a medium walk through the heart of downtown from Concordia to the SAT, or a quick metro ride.
posted by keeo at 7:37 AM on June 22, 2022
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posted by yellowcandy at 11:57 AM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]