© Susan Moss
Perles et Paddock
403 des Seigneurs Street | Website
Griffintown’s Perles et Paddock is located inside a beautifully renovated garage. The pristine space houses a bar under an oversized skylight and a curtain of greenery. Blush-coloured chairs and funky lighting complete the décor of one of the most beautiful restaurants in town.
© Mélisse
Restaurant Mélisse
719 William Street | Website
Stepping into Old Montréal’s Restaurant Mélisse is like stepping into a Pinterest board with the latest design trends. Wicker-backed chairs, a pastel-hued palette, hanging plants, dazzling lighting fixtures, mosaic floors and marble and grass accents make this airy and luminous dining room everyone’s favourite picture background. And come summertime, the terrasse is just as nice as the dining room!
© Two Food Photographers
Bar-St-Denis
6966 Saint-Denis Street | Website
Two former Au Pied de Cochon chefs are behind this stunning spot on Saint-Denis Street in La Petite-Patrie. An orange bar with a corrugated front lines one side of the space while the facing brick wall is lined with dark reflective tables. The space is mostly designed with a dark palette, which makes the imposing light ceiling and its brass honeycomb pattern shine even brighter.
© Ocean Marketing
Henri Brasserie Française
1240 Phillips Square | Website
Named after Henri Birks and located inside the new Birks Hotel, Henri Brasserie Française is a magnificent new brasserie with the same opulence as the Birks institution. Dazzling intricate moldings around the high ceiling, plush velvet seating, brass accents and a beautiful herringbone parquet flooring lend a warm and classy ambiance to this brasserie.
© Matthew Perrin
McKiernan Luncheonette
5524 Saint-Patrick Street | Website
Located inside an industrial monster of a building in Verdun, the McKiernan Luncheonette is a beautiful spot to dine in. Biergarten-style tables and chairs, whimsical nautical objects, high ceilings, original wood flooring and columns and strung fairy lights make this one of the best-looking restaurants in town.
© Alison Slattery
Monarque
406 Saint-Jacques Street | Website
The grandiose Monarque space is divided into a bar area, a bistro one and a dining room. The glassed-in kitchen is the main focal point with materials such as brick, warm wood tones, metal accents, leather seating and a stunning marble floor with a fan pattern creating a cozy yet refined ambiance.
© Hoogan et Beaufort
Hoogan et Beaufort
4095 Molson Street | Website
It is quite impossible to have a bad meal at Hoogan et Beaufort. Chef Marc-André Jetté’s cuisine is elegant and his plating spectacular. It also helps that the restaurant’s design is gorgeous. The light-flooded dining room with its 30-foot wood beam ceiling is chic yet cozy and centered around a wrap around bar and an open fire pit. Hoogan also has two terrasses to enjoy when the weather is nice.
Elena
5090 Notre-Dame Street | Website
Pizza restaurant Elena has won the enRoute Magazine decor of the year award, and for good reason. The space is slick, with lots of bold colours adorning its plush velvety banquettes. The long marble bar is lined with bright yellow stools with an electric blue art piece that would make a great background for your IG post.
Le Serpent
257 Prince Street | Website
The industrial chic Le Serpent occupies a renovated factory space in Old Montréal. High ceilings and distressed cement columns make up the bones of the space as well as large windows that flood the dining room with a diffused light. The palette is a monochromatic grey that’s complemented quite dramatically by the funky orange lighting fixtures.
© Alison Slattery - Two Food Photographers - Tourisme Montréal
Le Blossom
1101 de Maisonneuve Blvd. | Website
If you’re on Instagram, you’ve probably already seen Le Blossom’s central pink tree on your feed. Time to head to the Japanese restaurant and sake bar to enjoy a meal around the tree and take a shot of it for your ‘gram. The rest of the space is just as nice, with a long bar on one side and an interesting lighting system that zig zags through the restaurant like a lightning rod.
© Ibérica
Ibérica
1450 Peel Street | Website
Barcelona’s tapas life is alive and well at Ibérica, a downtown Montréal establishment envisioned by Montréal star designer Zebulon Perron. The cathedral ceiling is adorned with two impressive oversized diamond-shaped chandeliers that loom over the busy dining room. Distressed walls, circular plush banquettes and funky lighting fixtures are some of the remarkable design elements in this trendy spot.
© Two Food Photographers
Un Po Di Piu
3 de la Commune Street | Website
Get transported to Italy via Un Po Di Piu! The Old Montréal restaurant is inspired by the Italian slow life and transforms from café to spritz bar throughout the day, with delicious bites to boot. The restaurant is made up of three spaces with a stunning mosaic tiled floor that’s Instagram worthy.
Jiao
399 Notre-Dame Street | Website
Jiao is surely Montréal’s most beautiful restaurants with a breathtaking décor that includes a Manga mural and oversized light fixtures. It’s the perfect spot to grab a drink and a snack after work or to linger until last call. The menu includes dim sum classics as well as revisited dishes.
Damas
1201 Van Horne Av. | Website
In a décor reminiscent of a thousand and one nights, Damas offers its clients a magical dining experience along the spice route. Serving wonderfully spiced dishes from the Middle East and more specifically from the Syrian capital, every corner of Damas serves as the perfect background for your Instagram posts.
© Alison Slattery
Bar Darling
4328 Saint-Laurent Blvd. | Website
Bar Darling is anything but minimalist. Rich textures, extravagant light fixtures, eclectic objects, warm tones and plush leather couches are all piled up in a dizzying mishmash of colours and textures that make this space unique and welcoming.
Le Bird Bar
1800 Notre-Dame Street | Website
Combining the comfort of fried chicken and the luxe of great bubbly and cocktails is the brainchild of chef Kimberly Lallouz. Le Bird Bar’s chic and trendy décor is the perfect background for an #instapic, from the swank black velvet and brass accents to the stunning marble bar.
© Two Food Photographers
Satay brothers
3721 Notre-Dame Street | Website
Entering the unique Satay Brothers’ restaurant feels like a walk in an outdoor food market in Asia. Sure, the food is absolutely delicious and worth a spot on your feed but the red walls, hanging lamps and kitsh décor is even more photogenic.
© Alison Slattery - Two Food Photographers
Tiramisu
989 Saint-Laurent Blvd. | Website
An Italian restaurant with a Japanese twist, Tiramisu has great food, including one of the best menus in Montréal. Bathed in natural light, the space combines a gorgeous Italian design esthetic with brightly coloured tiles, plush banquettes and bar stools, beautiful light fixtures and hanging plants everywhere.
Maman
1524 Notre-Dame Street | Website
An institution in New York, Maman’s Montréal’s establishment in Griffintown is just as beloved. The vintage country style décor extends to the white and blue china, destressed wood furniture and hanging wicker plant baskets.
La Petite Dinette
4186 Saint-Denis Street | Website
If you’re a fan of Archie comics and vintage American diners, then you’ll love La Petite Dinette. Bold colours, vinyl seats, Formica topped tables with chrome accents and checkered floors are all beautifully replicated. The menu, however, is not all burgers and milkshakes but rather a unique fusion between Québécois and Vietnamese classics.
© Alison Slattery
Mayssam Samaha
Mayssam Samaha is a food and travel writer and blogger and the founder behind the blog Will Travel for Food. She travels the world in search of the next culinary discovery. From Iceland to South Africa, she’s already visited over 30 countries and there’s nothing she enjoys more than wandering around a farmers’ market in a foreign city. She is also the founder of the SAISONS intimate dinner series highlighting Québec products and chefs.
