Muscade
Go here for bulk foods that include all your grocery staples, cosmetic products as well as a few products from Québec creators and artisans in this zero-waste spacious store that's on a mission to save the planet. Don’t forget to indulge in a delicious coffee at the coffee bar manned by baristas Melyssa and Lola and Eline, chef and founder of the vegan blog Patate & Cornichon. Sip a delicious coffee and discover the pastries and vegan dishes Eline brings to you with love.
CRémy
If you want to dig into Montréal’s best doughnuts, head to CRémy Pâtisserie by Rémy Couture, and discover a mouth-watering temple to desserts. These crazy-fresh, melt-in-mouth yummy rings will sweep your taste buds off their feet. Bite in!
Café boutique Les Malins
In this sweet, family-oriented space, you can enjoy coffee and viennoiseries by the fireplace (recommended), enjoy bistro-style dishes prepared by chef Juliette Léger-Dupras with a glass of wine (natural or other) and take advantage of a superb play area for children that includes a slide kids will have a ball whooshing down over and over.
Affiche en tête
Caroline and Mathieu have an eye for little gifts to bring back home and they love encouraging Montréal artists. A poster, a painting or a cute illustrated greeting card: the selection is spectacular. Culled from Montréal’s best markets (like Puces Pop), they are also affordable and showcase local artists, with a small description and photo of each. A unique little initiative that puts a face to a name and a story to the poster you hang up at home. Bonus: the boutique features exclusive partnerships with certain artists, like the works of illustrator and designer Magalie Robidaire, whose beautiful compositions of photographs and drawings bring colours, textures and geometric forms together. Sold!
Chinoiseries et Dumplings Traiteur
After living in Hong Kong for 20 years, Québecer Claude Brûlé and his wife, originally from China, returned to Montréal and opened their own dumpling shop to share their favourite Chinese dish. Whether classic or reinvented, their dumplings are excellent, best savoured with a cup of fine or exotic tea. This sweet little spot offers in-house dining as well as take-out, plus a tiny Asian dépanneur. For years now, this simple and welcoming little spot has been a go-to for the neighbourhood.
Ernestine
Véronique Ethier, who hails from Québec’s Outaouais region, offers incredible chocolate creations from her workshop/boutique on Mont-Royal Avenue. The house specialties include the “croque-mou” (walnuts topped with chewy caramel and covered in milk or 64% dark chocolate), chocolate-maple bites and salted blonde chocolate cookies. In summer, she also serves ice cream sandwiches and mouth-watering homemade cake pops. Who can resist?
© Eva Blue
c'est beau
Looking for the perfect gift from Québec to bring home? Just head to c’est beau, an amazing multi-brand boutique that puts environmentally friendly, ethically sourced, locally made products in the spotlight. Their custom-made display furniture even comes from Québec. A hotspot for lifestyle, stationery, beauty, decoration, kitchen and gourmet products, you’ll find that so-very-Montréal thing in the handpicked selection from 75 or so local artisans and designers.
Boutique Les hauts et les bas
With her expert eye, Josée can size up your bra size in a second. You immediately feel at ease when you step into this cozy little boutique on Fabre, just a few steps south of Mont-Royal. And that’s what Josée and her team want to cultivate: extra special attention for and a bond with her (very loyal) clientele. You can leave with lovely lingerie from local brands like Sokoloff or Blush, or stunning classics like Simone Pérèle, Voilà pantyhose or Bleu Forêt socks. A friendly and discreet atmosphere, where ooh-la-la underwear await.
© Cindy Boyce
Bleu & Persillé
This welcoming wood-and-tile interior of this stylish and modern cheese house offers the perfect backdrop for browsing more than 200 Québec cheeses or picking up some tasty items for an impromptu picnic. It also has a boutique section, where you can find fine and gourmet products made by Québec artists, like the pots of honey from the beehive in the back. We could stay here forever!
© Susan Moss
Aux 33 Tours
If Ali Baba’s cave were crammed with vinyl, it would look like this. One of Canada’s biggest independent music stores, Aux 33 Tours houses rare albums and, particularly, an imposing selection of some 3,000 Japanese vinyl records that, every three months, join the store’s perfectly ordered and labeled shelves. The only place to find this kind of vinyl is Los Angeles, which makes 33 Tours the only official seller in eastern North America. “They’re the best vinyl presses on the market and the sound quality is impeccable,” explains Mathieu Morin, himself a collector and employee of the store. Bonobo and even Caribou have come here to stock up. May the listening joy be yours too.
Le Boucanier
You are going to love this gem of a Gaspésie fish shop, which specializes in smoked fish and seafood, has cast its net wider to the city. With its selection of fresh fish, from the Gaspésie, of course, gourmet products and homemade dishes, it’s the perfect place to delve into Québec’s marine bounty. The maple-smoked salmon appetizers are incredible and the 100% Québec products like the dried seaweed collected by a local artisan on the wild coasts of the Haute-Gaspésie are excellent gourmet gifts to tuck in your tote.
L’Intervalle and l'Intervalle Entrepôt
Shoe lovers will absolutely flip over the fab footwear in this boutique. L’Intervalle, a new Montréal brand by Sam Assaf and Vicky Scalia, has been offering stylish and contemporary creations at affordable prices that are designed here and manufactured in Europe (Spain, Brazil and Italy). In their chic, streamlined boutique, you can find perfect limited-edition pairs in leather or suede, with styles ranging from minimalist to edgy to out-there. A made-in-Montréal success story!
© Two Food Photographers
Le Toledo
People come to this bakery, urban cafeteria and café to savour delights like home-made pastries and maple-infused lattes. At the heart of this magnificent, sunny and airy space, the head baker pulls mouth-watering breads and pastries from the ovens that are made from ancient (and as often as possible, organic) grains supplied by local producers. Put together your own brunch basket, which comes with yummy local jams, or bite into one of the succulent sandwiches.
Point G
This temple to sweet treats specializes in macarons, crafted according to a top-secret, gluten-free recipe. These little round wonders, firm on the outside, gooey and delicious on the inside, are some of the best in Montréal. Choco-passion, poppy flower, lime and basil, maple taffy, Point G offers you an array of sumptuous, original and classic macaron flavours as well as a wide range of artisanal sweets that change according to the chef’s inspirations and the seasons.
Hoya
This BYOW Korean restaurant offers some of the best Asian-style fried chicken in town. Marinated in soya sauce and sweet garlic, chili or garnished with green onions and drizzled with the house’s Korean sauce, this crispy chicken bites are a hit with young and old. Be sure to try them!
Laure Juilliard
Laure Juilliard has been writing for over 10 years. She specializes in lifestyle, tourism, travel and food, she writes for the media as well as for different companies, agencies, freelancers or associations. Always in search of innovative concepts and top places to be at, she is also constantly preparing her next trip.
