MTLàTABLE: Le Cuisinomane’s 10 must-try restaurants
From October 29 to November 15, MTLàTABLE celebrates Montréal’s culinary scene as more than 165 restaurants across the city showcase their creativity with fixed-price menus. To help you navigate this feast of options, we’ve handpicked 10 restaurants worth discovering—and perhaps booking a table at.
1. Portus360
Located on the top floors of the EVO building downtown, Portus360 offers spectacular views of Montréal. Its fully glass-enclosed dining room completes a full rotation every two hours, giving diners a panoramic view of the city from every angle. For MTLàTABLE, chef Helena Loureiro has created a five-course menu ($90) that showcases her passion for Portuguese cuisine. The feast begins with a choice of tuna pica-pau (sautéed in a wine sauce) or her famous grilled octopus glazed with maple syrup. For the main course, choose from trout confit in extra-virgin olive oil with whelks, saffron rice with Nordic shrimp, or braised beef shoulder with sautéed mushrooms. Finish on a sweet note with an upside-down apple and caramel tart or rhubarb pavlova.
777 boulevard Robert-Bourassa
2. Bistro Le Cerf-Volant
We’ve heard nothing but good things about this bring-your-own-wine restaurant in Tétreaultville. Its $70 four-course menu makes the most of Québec’s fall harvest, with creative twists that are sure to whet your appetite.
On the menu: porcini mushroom pierogies or veal tataki with dukkah, followed by Icelandic cod with bacon and clam salsa or beef flank steak with squash two ways—purée and kimchi. For dessert, an île flottante with apples and Calvados crème anglaise.
8480 rue Hochelaga
3. Café Rutba
The $38 four-course menu at this Indian restaurant in Plateau-Mont-Royal is sure to turn heads. Rutba blends Indian culinary traditions with Montréal flair, boldly reimagining classic dishes while staying true to its promise of taking diners on a culinary journey.
Meat, fish and paneer are roasted in a tandoor oven, lamb is slow-cooked in a velvety spinach sauce, and shrimp are simmered in a fragrant coconut curry infused with curry leaves and aromatic spices. Don’t miss the garlic or sesame naan, freshly baked to order.
For brunch, you can also enjoy a thali platter served with chai for $28.
3633 boulevard Saint-Laurent
4. Terroirs
Located in the Angus district, Terroirs takes a bold approach to dining, serving exclusively Québec cuisine year-round. Rather than seeing the absence of ingredients from elsewhere, such as lemons and pepper, as a limitation, chefs Marc-Antoine Joncas Zarate and Victor Baumont embrace it as an opportunity to explore the richness of Québec’s culinary landscape and spotlight lesser-known products from small local producers.
The festival menu ($70) reflects this philosophy, featuring wild mushrooms from Estrie, rice from Gaspésie, northern walnuts and hazelnuts from Lanaudière, canola oil from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, and much more. Expect an evening that’s as delicious as it is enlightening.
2600 rue William-Tremblay, Suite 120
5. Café Miracolo
When it comes to Café Miracolo, think “lively night out” rather than “romantic dinner for two.” Soak up the bustling atmosphere and discover the talents of young chef Alejandro Vega, whose modern take on Italian cuisine avoids the usual clichés in favour of inventive dishes with a personal touch.
Think double ravioli with squash and brown butter, risotto with oyster mushrooms and chanterelles, grilled branzino with beets and oranges, scallop crudo, or beef carpaccio with black garlic and Louis d’Or cheese. All for a tempting $55!
3891 boulevard Saint-Laurent
6. Le St-Urbain
It’s easy to overlook the restaurants that helped shape Montréal’s—and Québec’s—culinary scene. Founded in 2009 by chef Marc-André Royal, Le St-Urbain is still going strong, serving its distinctive cuisine year after year in the heart of Ahuntsic. For MTLàTABLE, chef Lindsay McLaren has created a five-course menu ($90) that puts game, foraged ingredients and seafood front and centre. Highlights include smoked Arctic char, a celery root and truffle tartlet, surf clam salad, wild mushroom ravioli, fresh pasta with braised duck, leg of lamb, and scallops from Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Several vegetarian and gluten-free options are also available, including desserts. (Good to know: This restaurant is close to 132 Bar Vintage, where you can get a discount on the fall cocktail menu during MTLàTABLE when you show proof of reservation.)
96 rue Fleury Ouest
7. Bistro La Franquette
You don’t go to Bistro La Franquette for daring flavour combinations or culinary theatrics. You go for the comfort of classic dishes, expertly prepared.
The kitchen team takes no shortcuts: the bread is homemade, as are the feta and halloumi cheeses. Even the fries undergo a meticulous three-day preparation process, carried out with almost scientific precision. On the festival menu ($70): braised leeks with vinaigrette, chicken liver parfait with sourdough bread, hanger steak and fries, or grilled sea bass. For dessert, choose from apple pie, coconut panna cotta or chocolate-hazelnut tart.
374 avenue Victoria
8. Papito
Papito’s $55 menu is well worth the detour. The evening unfolds over four courses designed for sharing (or not!), with vegetables from the restaurant’s own farm taking centre stage alongside free-range chicken, fish, duck and beef sourced from Québec farms.
To start, burrata strikes a sweet-and-savoury balance with plum jam and roasted parsnips. The second course is all about salads: lettuce and grilled tomatoes with buttermilk-Parmesan dressing, cucumber with dill and crème fraîche, beets with ranch dressing, or charcoal-roasted potatoes with pickled mushrooms.
For the third course, take your pick of half a chicken, half a duck magret, kefta skewers, hanger steak or fish of the day. Finish on a sweet note with pouding chômeur or chocolate-raspberry tart.
1425 rue Saint-Alexandre
9. Porte à Côté
Located right next door to its big sister, Rose Ross, this neighbourhood café-bar offers a more relaxed dining experience, inviting guests to linger over a selection of dishes for lunch or dinner. In the kitchen, chef Myriam Pelletier, formerly of Toqué!, has put together a $38 menu of comforting favourites. Start with rutabaga soup topped with bone-in ham or roasted squash and goat cheese, followed by blood sausage with celeriac purée or duck leg confit with braised red cabbage. Round off the meal with honey panna cotta or lemon crémeux.
3019 rue Masson
10. Bistrot La Fabrique
Just two years shy of its 20th anniversary, Bistrot La Fabrique embodies everything a great neighbourhood restaurant should be: hands-on owners—Jean-Baptiste in the kitchen and Stéphanie Labelle in the dining room—honest cooking and warm hospitality. Its special $55 MTLàTABLE menu stays true to that spirit, with generous, unfussy dishes: squash ravioli with hazelnut milk and pulled pork, mussel chowder croquettes, Arctic char with chanterelle beurre blanc, braised beef chuck with barley risotto, and duck tartare. For dessert, the restaurant’s famous French toast with clove caramel and fleur de sel is hard to resist.
3619 rue Saint-Denis
Tommy Dion
Tommy is a journalist, food critic, and the founder of the blog and gourmet guide Le Cuisinomane, whose mission is to showcase Québec’s local products and gastronomy. With an in-depth knowledge of Montréal’s food scene, his expertise and professionalism make him a trusted source for all the best food spots and experiences in Montréal. In addition to tasting and writing about food, Tommy also creates content for brands, always related to food and gastronomy.