While known as the vegetable-forward offering of the Joe Beef empire, its ingredients receive all the love and expertise of its meatier counterparts, plus a wine list of precision and innovation.

Mon Lapin has forged its reputation as one of the best restaurants in the city thanks to its impeccable consistency on all levels. The restaurant on Saint-Zotique Street has distinguished itself since its opening by offering refined cuisine, personalized service, an exceptional wine list, and a unique atmosphere.

Bar St-Denis is rapidly ascending Montreal's culinary ladder, and for good reason. The magic lies in the dedication of David Gauthier, Emily Holmsy, and their gifted crew. Among a menu of standout dishes, the Deer Kibbeh Nayeh stands out. This raw deer delicacy, with its creamy texture and subtle sweetness, is a testament to premium local sourcing. Garnished with mint and onions, and enriched by a premium olive oil drizzle, it's a symphony of flavors. Paired with spicy chili-brushed flatbread, every bite promises a new revelation.

This small tasting menu-focused restaurant from chef Marc Cohen celebrates offal and classics that have been with the restaurant from the very beginning, served with a level of hearty refinement.

A Westmount Square institution blends together the very best of French bistro fare, Italian trattorias and steakhouses into one solid offering that can upscale any night out on the town.

Dining at this Old Montreal jewel of a French brasserie and dining room from chef Jérémie Bastien is both a masterclass in its cuisine’s techniques and classics plus cosmopolitan inclusions from other cuisines.

A progenitor in the Montreal scene for taking Japanese cooking and treating it to French techniques and presentations, Hiroshi Kitano’s bistro in the Plateau is a must—especially the omakase.

Few restaurants exhibit as much a celebration of Quebec gastronomy as this one from Normand Laprise, where farm-to-table food and market-based menus receive leading-edge treatments by the chef and his team.

Consider this the next-gen steakhouse of Montreal: With its in-house butchery, it’s an address in Outremont that flips the porterhouse-and-martinis formula on its head in the best of ways.

From its interior ‘wine island’ to its lunches full of sandwiches ‘n’ salads and dinners of arrosticini, finely spun pasta, and contorni, this Saint-Henri spot is a fine dining gem without comparison.

John Winter Russell’s classic restaurant for refined seasonal dishes inside a deconsecrated church is an exploration of landscape through food, where the cooking is both intriguing and engaging.

The restaurant that launched a thousand ships, this is a definitive Montreal dining experience thanks to its one-two punch celebrating classic dining with a banquet-style celebration of good food.

This destination in Hochelaga is an exceedingly accessible option for fine dining where tasting menus take you on a tour of its chef David Ollu’s Bouillon Bilk tutelage plus wholly new avenues.

Dressed in an interior design of black and gold minimalism, the menus of this Griffintown destination sets a high bar for dining in Montreal thanks to its combination of wood-fired and fresh elements.

This next-gen Cambodian restaurant in Verdun is a lively cornerstone of the city’s dining scene because of the richly aromatic food they offer, playing on dishes both traditional and wholly new.

A Montreal institution since 1980 on rue Saint-Denis, L'Express continues to uphold its reputation for timeless French cuisine and conviviality. Founded by François Tremblay, Colette Brossoit, and Pierre Villeneuve, the restaurant caters to everyone with a welcoming atmosphere that remains to this day. With a menu largely unchanged over the years, L'Express offers classic dishes like sorrel soup, marrow, and veal liver, prepared with an unwavering consistency and attention to detail. Designed by renowned architect Luc Laporte, the elegant decor exudes a timeless charm, attracting a diverse clientele served by a stable team of long-serving staff.

Specializing in Niçoise cuisine that combines the best of southern France and Italy, the father-daughter team behind this sweet spot of a restaurant in Villeray easily makes for chic evening any night of the week.

A hidden gem of Westmount, this French-forward bistro is equal parts traditional dishes done to perfection and a level of experimentation you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

A local forerunner for Thai food augmented by pure creativity and Canadian products, this is where chef Jesse Mulder has taken his reputation for dizzyingly good eating to new heights.

Salle Climatisée is a Little Italy gem that marries the charm of a neighbourhood haunt with thoughtful, seasonal dishes inspired by local ingredients. This compact bistro doesn’t chase trends; instead, it celebrates simplicity with a menu that shifts subtly to reflect the rhythms of Quebec’s terroir. Expect a parade of carefully composed plates that reveal a mix of rustic and refined.

Low-intervention wines are a staple here, curated to enhance rather than overshadow the food, while the minimalist, François Séguin–designed interior balances elegance and coziness. Whether you’re perched on the street-side terrasse or settled inside, Salle Climatisée offers an experience that feels as intimate as it does inventive, perfect for those who appreciate the quiet power of well-executed simplicity.

Focused on Spanish cuisine, it’s an Outremont restaurant that sheds pretension and turns its nights of service into parties thanks to a great Catalan wine list and easily shareable menu of tapas.

Blending the owners’ Argentinian background with explorations of great cuisines from around the world, this tiny Verdun restaurant is cooking some of the most impactful yet deceivingly simple food in town.

An essential address in Montreal for Syrian cuisine, every spiced and aromatic bite here is impeccably sourced from across the Mediterranean, from shared mezze to sizzling grilled platters.

Hubert Marsolais and Claude Pelletier’s Old Montreal restaurant is a discreet and pensive place to spend hours over opulent dishes that, time and again, provide the most memorable of experiences.

Grounded in his home country of Haiti and exploring the islands and South America, eating at chef Paul Toussaint’s restaurant is always a unique celebration of spice and flavour you can’t find elsewhere.

Taking cues from Scandinavian cuisine and applying it to Quebec’s terroir, each plate here is done with pinpoint accuracy, resulting in plates that resemble small sketches or paintings from chef Antonin Rivard-Mousso.

Its rotating menus of upscale, seasonal fare will keep you guessing, but the buzzy ambiance and service at this Saint-Henri eatery will make you feel like you’re immediately at home.

This ode to Quebecois cuisine is essential eating in Montreal, served in a completely unpretentious fashion that takes diners to the very heart of what makes this province stand out.

One meal here and you’ll no longer be surprised why its tables are in such high demand: This restaurant has single-handedly stolen the show when it comes to eating a fantastically delicious Italian meal.

The vibes are high when eating at this restaurant from Chuck Hughes. It’s an absolute parade of surf and turf served up with a service staff that knows how to have a good time.

This Mile End restaurant focused on vegetable-forward tasting menus is considered among the very best in the city for its high calibre of cooking and service, along with its energetic atmosphere.

Casual, fun, and incomparably flavorful, this Singaporean restaurant’s menu walks the line between addictive comfort food and inventive visits to Malaysia, Indonesia, and beyond.

The wood fire-informed and deeply seasonal menus of this fine dining titan from chef Marc-André Jetté is as comforting as it is exciting, and its wine lists will immediately astound you.