Best Restaurants in Montreal, Canada

1 Le St-Urbain

Le St-Urbain put Ahuntsic on the map for many. More than half a decade on, chef Marc-André Royal and company have yet to slow down. This restaurant is home to one of the most professional, unflagging crews in the city, and sister bakery and café La Bête à Pain just unveiled its grand new outlet in Griffintown.

96 rue Fleury Ouest
Montreal, QC, H3L 1T2

(514) 504-7700

2 Trilogie

It's (relatively) out of the way near the 40 highway, tiny and only open at lunch, but Trilogie's Chinese eats are well-loved. The family-run all-woman team keep a minimalist menu and equally minimal décor with extraordinarily refined dumplings and salads.

8521 Boul. Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2P 2M9, Canada

(514) 813-6638

3 La Récolte

Meet Montreal's best reviewed restaurant of 2015. La Récolte is not new, but the Petite-Patrie restaurant did expand beyond a popular brunch in December 2014 with a farm-to-table-style dinner service. There's since been a groundswell of buzz, and universal, enthusiastic praise for chef Étienne Huot, and partners Lyssa Barrera and Denis Vukmirovic, from the city's food critics. “[A] meal with nary a technical fumble in sight, ” wrote Lesley Chesterman this past February.

764
rue Bélanger, Montreal, QC H2S 1C6, Canada

(514) 508-5450

4 Salmigondis

Arguably the surprise hit of 2014, Salmigondis showcases the talents of New Brunswick native chef Brian Peters, and chef de cuisine Robert Kaniak. The word "brilliant" was invoked to describe the food by at least one critic. One of the prime reasons Little Italy is on a restaurant high.

6896 Saint-Dominique
Montreal, QC H2S 3B1, Canada

(514) 564-3842

5 Impasto

Michele Forgione and Stefano Faita grabbed the attention of Montreal diners in 2013 with this finely-tuned Little Italy collaborazione. Now the duo has Gema, a fine pizzeria, down the street, and casse-croûte Chez Tousignant around the corner.

48 Rue Dante
Montreal, QC H2S 1J5, Canada

(514) 508-6508

6 Montréal Plaza

In Montréal Plaza, ex Toqué! chef Charles-Antoine Crête, with partners Sébastien Blanchette (front-of-house manager) and Cheryl Johnson (co-chef), wanted to provide a place where "people feel welcome and good, like at home." More than half a year on, the polished, whimsical, and packed Petite-Patrie restaurant feels like a watershed. Mission accomplished, then.

6230
rue Saint-Hubert, Montreal, QC H2S 2M2, Canada

(514) 903-6230

7 Manitoba

Mile Ex restaurant Manitoba fittingly just feels like Canada — and in a remarkably modern and fresh way that steers well away from tropes of maple syrup or lumberjacks. Chef Simon Mathys (ex-Bistro Accords) heads up a kitchen that deals in hearty meats and game and ample root vegetables; their winter offerings still feel local, but without seasonal affective disorder, and in summer, the restaurant's backyard is one of the top terrasses in town. It's topped off with a neatly-curated natural wine list, too.

271 Saint-Zotique O.
Montreal, QC H2V 1A4, Canada

(514) 270-8000

8 Pastaga

Most diners are now hip to the fact that Pastaga, despite the name, Little Italy address and playful vitello tonnato, is not an Italian restaurant. Kudos go to veteran restaurateur and chef Martin Juneau, who has finally won a measure of celebrity beyond Montreal. The 2011 Canada Gold Medal Plates champ helms a restaurant with presence.

6389
boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC, Canada

(438) 381-6389

9 Damas

Damas was Montreal's comeback restaurant of 2015. The story has been well-circulated by now: the original Damas was gutted by fire a year ago. Chef-owner Fuad Alnirabie's reborn Syrian restaurant in Outremont, in the old Les Chèvres, is more ambitious, more popular, and, indeed, just as excellent as ever.

1201 Van Horne
Montreal, QC H2V 1K4, Canada

(514) 439-5435

10 Provisions

At Provisions, manager Tina An, and chefs Hakim Rahal and Pablo Rojas (pictured), replaced the somewhat stuffy Van Horne with a 25-seater strongly focused on market cuisine, where sharing plates are encouraged, and prix fixe options are available. “We let people know the main ingredients that we have in house, but part of the fun has been the element of surprise, ” Rahal remarked when the restaurant opened. “If people take a stroll through Jean Talon market on any given day, they'll have a pretty good idea what we'll be serving.”

1268
avenue Van Horne, Montreal, QC H2V 1K6, Canada

(514) 508-0828

11 Maison Publique

Derek Dammann, prominent chef ambassador for Montreal that he is, is an ardent advocate of a Canada-wide culinary identity (indeed, his cookbook, , is all about it). His popular Plateau gastropub brings it all home.

4720
rue Marquette, Montreal, QC H2J 3Y6, Canada

(514) 507-0555

12 Hoogan et Beaufort

The Rosemont restaurant from chef Marc-André Jetté and sommelier William Saulnier — both Les 400 Coups alums — has rare bragging rights: to date it is universally adored by local food critics. The dreamy yet industrial-feeling build sits in the Technopôle Angus development. Sweeping windows and exposed 25-foot ceilings give plenty of breathing room to the captivating, locally sourced food on the table. The a la carte menu is equally suited to sharing or traditional ordering. Just note that Jetté has an especially gifted hand with vegetables and the handmade strozzapretti with sea urchin has quickly become a signature dish.