Montreal Food & Travel Guide: 3 Days in Montreal

Ciao Everyone!

It seems this year has been the year of traveling for me, Alaska to Puerto Rico to Italy to Montreal, and the year isn’t over yet. With every trip I feel like I’m learning something new, experiencing a new culture, and of course, eating something new.

While I share my adventures online, I wanted to put together something you can actually refer to when you’re planning your own trip, or that might inspire you to travel somewhere new.

This past week I was in Montreal, Canada. It was my second trip there, I’d been once before with my parents a few years ago and had such fond memories of it being an incredible city, so I was so excited to come back and further explore. (Keep reading to find out which one did not disappoint again, and which one blew me away for the first time. I might seriously have to make a trip back just for that one.)

From finally getting my European-style fresh produce market fix, to taking a bilingual pilates class, to eating some of the best food I’ve had all year, Montreal is a place I want to visit again and again.

I truly fell in love with Montreal, the French culture had me feeling like I was in Europe, not on a quick hour flight from New York. YES, just one hour!

✨ High-Level Overview ✨
Day One
Pour-Over Coffee Tip
Day Two
Day Three
📍 Quick Links: Everywhere We Went
I want to hear your thoughts!

✨ High-Level Overview ✨

Day one is brunch at Olive et Gourmando, Old Montreal, Schwartz’s for the hype-worthy smoked meat, and dinner at Bouillon Bilk (book ahead, trust me). Day two is bagels, pick a side in the St-Viateur vs. Fairmount rivalry, mine’s St-Viateur, plus Café Olimpico, a $5 gnocchi window, and a wander through Marché Jean-Talon. Day three closes it out with a Chili Club pilates class, Atwater Market, and Bar Bara, and a final dinner that surprised me.

Read on for:

A full breakdown by day of what we did
Honest reviews & reccomendations on each spot
A hyperlinked list at the end with EVERYTHING

Editor’s Note: For this trip, I was staying at the Residence Inn by Marriott Midtown for a brand collaboration on their residence locations. However, all opinions and recommendations are entirely my own.

Day One

Montreal is about a six-hour drive from New York City, but the flight from LaGuardia only took around an hour! We left NYC early in the morning and were in Montreal by 9am. We had three full days to explore, but honestly, it wouldn’t be a crazy idea to fly in early morning and catch the last flight out that same day.

We had a lot of eating to cover in our short trip, and boy did we EAT. We kicked things off strong with brunch at Olive et Gourmando.

This little cafe was a recommendation from one of my Instagram followers, and it was the perfect start to the trip. It’s a lively spot with natural light and a pastry case that stops you in your tracks. The Sconewich was a highlight, a buttery, crisp scone loaded with ham, cheddar, and peach jam, savory and sweet, perfecto. The seasonal ricotta dish and the banana chocolate chip pastry also did not disappoint.

Honestly, all the food looked so good, I wish I could have tried it all!

From there we popped into a few shops on Old Montreal’s cobblestone streets. Le Magasin Général, we did some damage here. They have the cutest home goods, impossible to pass up.

We also stopped at Maison Margan, a Canadian shop making perfume oils, soaps, candles, and lotions, their signature scent alone is worth popping in for.

Then, after walking off a few calories to make room for more, we headed to Schwartz’s, an old-school, no-BS, iconic Montreal institution. It’s so hyped, and I’m here to report: it is so WORTH it.

It was quick, hot, fresh, and everyone was so nice, we even sat next to a local grabbing lunch, and if that isn’t proof of how good it is, I don’t know what is. The prices also blew me away: it was $16.95 Canadian for their classic smoked meat sandwich, which converts to $12.18 US dollars. Compared to NYC, the quality and quantity you’re getting for that price is incredible.

We made a couple more stops after that on St-Laurent street: Kitsch’n Swell, a fantastic 1950s-style vintage shop, and Dispatch Coffee, where I picked up a bag of beans for my brother’s birthday gift and ground coffee for myself. The barista even walked me through how to do a pour-over since I’d just bought a Chemex.

My Pro Tip

Pour-Over Coffee Tip

a good starting ratio is roughly 1 gram of coffee for every 16 grams of water, poured over in two or three portions rather than all at once.

For a short break from our first day of eating, we hiked to the top of Mount Royal Park Viewpoint, also walking through McGill University, which were both so beautiful! We then headed back to the hotel to get ready.

Dinner that night was at Bouillon Bilk, the restaurant I’d gone to with my parents back in 2020 and knew I had to return to.

It’s a dark, elevated space with food that’s high-quality, innovative, and creative. The cauliflower foie gras and the duck were both outstanding. The duck came with a duck-confit bread-like donut that was a personal standout!

Day Two

We started the morning with breakfast at the hotel, which was a genuinely nice surprise, a solid way to fuel up before a full day of eating our way through Mile-End. Like we needed that, LOL, but hey, it was included!

Then we headed off to try both sides of Montreal’s small bagel rivalry. At St-Viateur Bagel, you watch them making the bagels right in front of you, which is truly half the fun, it’s family-owned, and super lively inside.

Montreal bagels lean dense and a little sweeter, which held true at Fairmount Bagel too. Fairmount felt more low-key, and you don’t see the bagels being made in quite the same way, but they did have a wider range of flavors.

A local told us they didn’t taste much difference, but for me, St-Viateur was the winner, a little less sweet, with great texture.

Watch my full review here!

In between bagel shops, we made a coffee pit stop at Cafe Olimpico, another great stop on our trip. It’s a traditional Italian cafe, a small local chain, and very worth the hype it gets.

The crema di caffe is what they’re known for, and I am here to say that it held its own against versions I’ve had in Italy, and the coffees are served in glassware that made me feel like I’d been transported to a cafe in Italy for a few minutes. Surprisingly not too sweet, which I really appreciated!!

Cafe Olimpico: Hot Vanilla Latte, Crema Di Caffe, iced latte

Then I basically tripped and fell into Drogheria Fine, a tiny takeout window right near the bagel shops, famous for its $5 gnocchi served in a Chinese takeout container.

We were eating our bagels, and the line kept getting longer and longer across the street, so I had to see what I was missing. The stand is independently run, inspired by the owner’s parents’ restaurant, and the recipe comes straight from her nonna’s kitchen. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the neighborhood!

From there we went to Marché Jean-Talon, which was an absolute dream, I kept thinking about how much I’m missing an AFFORDABLE fresh market like this back in NYC. Truly the luxury of fresh produce.

We spent a little time working back at the hotel, more on that soon. Here’s a little sneak peek:

Then we rushed to a late dinner at Leméac, a warm and vibrant French brasserie. It was very good and traditional, solid, classic bistro fare, but if I’m being honest, it didn’t quite stick with me the way some of our other meals did. Though, the duck confit was UNREAL!

Day Three

Starting off the day at Crew Collective & Café, a café inside a former Royal Bank of Canada building from the 1920s, the soaring ceilings, marble, and interior all intact made for such a cool vibe.

I will say, if you want to get work done, there are no laptops allowed on the main floor; you have to head to a small side section. Still really cool and aesthetic. I got a raspberry matcha, which was so good, I love that most places here use a fresh fruit purée for their matchas, and not just a syrup.

We headed to Chili Club, and it kicked our butts but was the perfect little intermission to eating our way through Montreal.

Our instructor suggested Bar Bara for a light wine lunch, we got the sweet-and-salty focaccias and a few other bites, and everything was so fresh and delicious.

Then we stopped at Atwater Market, another market that blew me away. On the way in we grabbed a bite at Satay Brothers, which had been recommended to us many times, we got a bao bun and satay, and both delivered.

The market itself felt a bit more local, with restaurants and quick bites alongside no shortage of fresh produce and meats.

Our last dinner of the trip was at Foxy, it was dark, moody, and cozy, with an open fire running through the kitchen. (Fun fact: Foxy is actually the nighttime sister restaurant to Olive et Gourmando, from the same owners, small world!)

They served smoky, fresh, genuinely creative food and drinks, and the whole vibe was so welcoming, the servers, chefs, and bartender all clearly love their jobs, and you could tell. The thought and care they put into the dining experience is truly evident.

We wrapped up the night, and our whole trip, at Atwater Cocktail Club, a speakeasy bar tucked away in an alley. If you feel like you’re in the wrong place, you’re probably exactly in the right place, LOL. They had super fun, inventive cocktails and it was a great little spot to end a night out.