A Montrealer’s Guide To Avenue Mont-Royal: Where To Eat And Drink In The Plateau
Ahhh the plateau.
We all hear the name and think of the neighbourhood’s eccentric and vibrant vibe, food, and hot spots. However, we don’t always know where to start when wanting to tackle the area for a day and/or night of fun.
Whether you’re a tourist, or if you just want to spend a day exploring one of Montreal’s many neighbourhoods, a good place to start your wander is on the iconic Plateau street: Avenue du Mont-Royal. Of course, we can’t mention all the spots, but there are a few that had to be shared.
No day starts of right without coffee, I don’t care what anybody says. Here are some places that will get your cup of Joe right every time.
Flocon Espresso
781 Avenue du Mont-Royal Est
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This place kicks ass at coffee. The small and cozy coffee shop offers some of the best lattes in the city.
Their espresso always has that nice, thick, caramel-coloured crema; the sign of a perfectly dripped shot. They also use top of the line soy barista-blend milk, so your soy latte won’t be disappointing, like many can be.
The quality, folk music, and cute setting of this place will rock your caffeine-desperate socks off.
Au Kouign-Amann
322 Avenue du Mont-Royal
The french café specializes in pastry, and it’s pretty obvious by the smell when you walk in the door. You are immediately greeted by sweet, floury air when you walk in. The hustle and bustle is dizzying. The café is tiny, but the lunch rush fills the joint right up.
The employees run around making sure everyone is served and the bakers in the back popping those pastries in and out of the oven like you’ve never seen.
They make quiches and ham and cheese croissants for lunch, and their specialty is their kouign-amann.
This cake, I learnt, is a traditional French pastry from Douarnenez, Bretagne. Kouign means cake, and amann means butter. It stays true to its name pretty damn well; it’s a heavenly, buttery, flaky, cake. Paired with one of their velvety lattes, you are good to go.
La Distributrice
408 Avenue du Mont-Royal Est
This option is great for you on-the-go peeps. The cafe is literally on the sidewalk.
The concept is great. The cafe is a tiny cubicle with a window, perfect for hurried, or simply curious walkers to stop by for their caffeine fix.
Plus side, the coffee is delicious! It is a little on the stronger side, which I think is a positive, but not for everyone.
When you’re all caffeined up, you can move on to exploring.
La Boite Noire
376 Avenue du Mont-Royal
This movie store is the perfect getaway for movie buffs.
They have movies from all over the world, the classics, the cults, the posters, and everything in between. The staff is really knowledgeable, so if you know nothing about cinema and need a little help, have no fear! Another plus, no need to buy, you can also rent! Never watched Italian or Iranian films? This place has your cozy night in, set.
PS- If you happen to have a couple thousand dollars handy, they have the original framed Raging Bull movie poster up for sale. Just saying.
L’Échange
713 Avenue du Mont-Royal
If you don’t want to break the bank, but still broaden your cultural horizons, head on over to the Plateau’s famous movie, book and CD boutique. Even if you don’t plan on buying, just wandering through the aisles is quite soothing.
PS- If you have any books, movies or CDs you want to get rid of, bring em’ on over, they’ll trade them for cash.
L’Avenue
922 Avenue du Mont-Royal
Huge portions, fresh food, artsy decor.
I could leave it there, but there are a few more details that make this place a must-see.
First, they don’t charge you extra for maple syrup, they slam the whole jar right on your table. Damn right.
Second, if you want to enjoy a pleasant and different bathroom experience, their stall is complete with glow-in the-dark with wall art.
Also, try one of their fresh smoothies, they complete the experience.
St-Viateur Bagel and Café
1127 Avenue du Mont-Royal
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Walking into this joint is like walking into your grandparents’ place: it smells like heaven, it’s warm and cozy, and has this vibe to it that completely chills you out (it’s probably all related to the smell of the fresh bagels, but whatever).
We all know and love Saint-Viateur bagels; hell you don’t need cream cheese with one of those suckers, when they’re fresh and hot, you just eat them as is.
Regardless, a fresh Montreal bagel with all the trimmings and fresh salad on the side is not to be refused. This spot has a menu full of bagel sandwiches. It’s rare that a sandwich place’s key ingredient is the bun, but that’s exactly the ingredient to look forward to at this place.
You can’t go wrong with soup, salad, sandwich and coffee for lunch. This place takes that perfect diner equation and gourmet’ed it right up. It’s also pretty cool that you can see the employees make the bagels in the back of the store. You must check this place out.
Trip de Bouffe
277 Avenue du Mont-Royal
This spot is pretty impressive. This Lebanese bakery/prêt-a-manger store has it all. They serve fresh Lebanese meals like Falafels, salads, Manakish Zaatar, Taboulé and stuffed grape vines. Perfect take-out food if you ask me.
There is a lunch counter and a place to sit, but the spot also serves as a small Lebanese grocery store. They sell fresh hummus, marinated turnip, fresh bread and a lot of items you may have never heard of.
Another cool thing about this bakery, is that whatever they don’t sell during the day, they package and put in a fridge for the next day. Whatever is still fresh and left after that day, is frozen and put on special for customers to grab. It saves wasting perfectly good food, and saves customers a couple bucks. It’s win, win.
The design of the location is also spot-on. They nailed the eclectic/retro style. The lamps were made by artist Emmanuel Cognée. They add an industrial, modern touch to the shop that fits perfectly with the retro feel.
I could go on and on for dinner spots, but here are some key ones:
Barraca Rhumerie et Tapas
1134 Avenue du Mont-Royal
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Tapas are the shit. They permit you to try everything on the menu without leaving the joint feeling 20 pounds heavier. Also, it’s perfect for sharing!
This rum bar also makes amazing cocktails. They create new ones every year to keep the menu fresh! My favourite: The strawberry mojito. The seller? They have a terrace.
La Salle à Manger
1302 Avenue du Mont-Royal
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The place ain’t cheap, but you get what you pay for.
The restaurant basically sophisticates Quebec dishes, for a fine-dining experience. The menu changes according to the season, which means you’re always eating the freshest local and in-season ingredients.
The design of the place is flawless. The trendy hanging light bulbs, the long wooden tables and industrial, open design make this place a real pleasure to eat at. If coming to Montreal is a rare treat for you, or if it’s date night, then you must hit this place up.
Now you have a two choices, you can either keep the drinks comin’ at your chosen dinner spot, or move on to a change of scenery. If that’s your choice, here are a few go-to bars.
La Distillerie No. 2
2047 Avenue du Mont-Royal
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Some people are over the whole mason jar thing, and that’s okay. But take a look at their menu, and even if the overly trendy cups annoy you, the cocktail list will lure you in.
They serve it all, so don’t worry if huge cocktails aren’t your thing. However, if those yummy drinks are exactly what you’re looking for, this place is heaven.
They make spicy sangria, dangerously good “Montreal” Iced tea (the pub’s twist on a Long Island), and way too many more.
Le Fitzroy
551 Avenue du Mont-Royal
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If you’re looking for a good spot for a game of pool, this is your place.
The music is great, and the atmosphere is energetic. The spot has TVs for the games, over 20 pool tables and even Foosball tables.
They serve great food and whip up good drinks. Basically, if you’re looking for more than a sit-down-and-chat bar, this is your place.
great article Danielle Gasher
muy bueno!
Just one comment : the avenue du Mont-Royal is split in east and west. This would be an excellent idea to revise your adresses in order to specify on which side of boulevard Saint-Laurent are all these places.