You Can't Miss This Canadian City With 20 Markets, 40 Breweries, and 4,000 Restaurants

A city's culinary scene is an amalgamation of its people, culture, history, and aspirations. And Montreal — with its distinct French and British heritage and status as an immigration hub where more than a third of its population are foreign-born — offers a unique landscape that’s continuously evolving. Whether tasted through a small neighborhood deli that specializes in wood-fired bagels or a fine dining restaurant helmed by a world-renowned chef, Montreal's culinary map is forever a work in progress, but one that always inspires. 

With more than 4,000 restaurants, 20 large public markets, and 41 breweries showcasing this city’s obsession with food, it can be hard for visitors to pick a place to start. 

This spring, the city is preparing for the rebirth of an iconic restaurant, l’Île-de-France, nicknamed Le 9e by locals after its location on the ninth floor of the former Eaton shopping center in downtown Montreal. The exquisite Art Deco dining room, which is now designated as a cultural monument, first opened in 1931 and was hailed as one of the most beautiful restaurants of that era.

Other highlights include Hiatus, the fine dining Japanese-inspired eatery occupying the 45th and 46th floors of Place Ville Marie, which offers premium cuts of Wagyu Miyazaki and some of the best views of Montreal. 

A year after the closure of one of Montreal's best party shops, the beloved Patrice Pâtissier, chef Patrice Demers teamed up with sommelier Marie-Josée Beaudoin to open Sabayon, a bright multifunctional space in the Pointe-Saint-Charles neighborhood on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. A bar with a dozen seats fronts an open kitchen, acting as a classroom for cooking and wine tasting, while a 14-seat dining room sets the scene for the chef's six-course menus, rich in vegetables and seasonal produce.

But one of this year’s most talked about additions to Montreal's stellar dining scene is Oncle Lee, an ode to modern Chinese cuisine. Created by Chinese-Canadian chef Anderson Lee, who honed his skills in places like Singapore's Odette and Core by Clare Smyth in London, Oncle Lee takes its inspiration from Lee's heritage, blending classics with modern delicacies. Expect to find dishes like steamed sea bream with ponzu sauce, marinated cured salmon with ginger and scallion, and seafood Chow Mein.

Wine lovers should take a trip to Pamika Wine Room. Situated on an exclusive stretch of Laurier Avenue West, guests are treated to small South Asian plates paired with an excellent wine list sourced from producers across the globe and curated by sommelier Guillaume Turpin. 

For those seeking a more experimental experience, Raphaël Podlasiewicz's Le Nord Laboratoire Culinaire by Strøm Nordic Spa, located in the quaint suburb of Chambly, is making waves as a rustic chic culinary laboratory where guests get to taste some of the chef's newest dishes that will eventually make it to Strøm Nordic Spa's restaurants. 

Global Tastemakers is a celebration of the best culinary destinations in the U.S. and abroad. We asked more than 180 food and travel journalists to vote on their favorites, including restaurants and bars, cities, hotels, airports, airlines, and cruises. We then entrusted those results to an expert panel of judges to determine each category’s winners. In many categories, we’ve included a Plus One, hand-selected by our expert panel, to shout out more culinary destinations we don’t want our readers to miss. See all the winners at foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers.