Cafés with Good Food: Our Montreal suggestions
Montreal’s food scene is known around the world for its impressive variety of restaurants, for its unique specialties and for its flavours influenced by cultures across the world. Over the past decade, Montreal’s coffee culture has grown exponentially, and the city has become a hub for enjoying good coffee from a variety of origins. From the traditional Italian café to the multiple third wave addresses, Montreal is full of great places to enjoy excellent coffee.
At Tastet, we love good coffee AND good food, so we’ve put together a list of café suggestions in Montreal that offer delicious food!
Montreal’s food scene is known around the world for its impressive variety of restaurants, for its unique specialties and for its flavors influenced by various cultures of the world. Over the past decade, Montreal’s coffee culture has grown exponentially and the city has become a prime location to sample a multitude of coffee types from a variety of origins. From the traditional Italian coffee to the multiple third wave cafés, Montreal is full of good places to drink excellent coffee. At Tastet, we like to drink well AND eat well,
Whether it’s for a snack, a lunch during a study or work session, or simply to satisfy a craving, we always like to be able to accompany our coffee with one (or more!) small dishes or snacks that hit the spot.
Note that for you, coffee lovers, Tastet has prepared several lists that allow you to make informed choices about your next coffee destination. On our site, you will find several lists, including a list of places to enjoy an excellent Italian coffee, another one presenting the most beautiful café terraces in town, as well as a list of Montreal’s cafés that are perfect for working.
Here is our list of cafés where you can eat well in Montreal:
Hélico
Hélico café is a charming address in the neighbourhood of Hochelaga. Formerly of Bouillon Bilk, the young trio that operates the cafe-pastry shop is dynamic and very talented. Café Hélico offers a short menu of simple, delicious and fresh dishes for lunch and brunch! It is David Oulu who thinks up the good recipes for the small dishes that we savour here; refreshing salads, cold soups and other very good dishes. On the sweet side, it’s Stéphanie Gagnon who has elaborated some exceptional artisanal delights: chocolate chip cookies, one of the best brownies in Montreal, kouign-amann, brioches, and much more. All this to be enjoyed alongside a delicious coffee, of course.
Montréal
Monopole
Monopole is a café-bar in Old Montreal that offers something unique to the neighbourhood. During the day, you can enjoy delicious dishes conceived by Julien Coulombe-Morency. Although they change according to the season, the café generally offers a few simple and well-prepared dishes: toasts, sandwiches, soups and salads. On the sweet side, you can enjoy classic morning pastries from Hof Kelsten.
Montréal
Cordova
Cordova is a café in St-Henri where you can enjoy excellent Spanish tapas and sip delicious coffees and wines. At the heart of Cordova’s concept is the Spanish gastronomic culture, in all its freshness and conviviality. In addition to serving excellent coffee and pastries from Hof Kelsten, Cordova offers an exquisite tapas menu of the highest quality. The menu is simple and fresh of authentic Spanish dishes: bread with tomatoes, olives marinated in orange, garlic and bay leaves, Spanish preserves (mussels in escabeche, sardines in olive oil), cold cuts and cheeses. We love this casual café with Mediterranean flair.
Montréal
Café San Gennaro
San Gennaro is a small and charming café and pizzeria on St. Zotique Street that opened in 2015. Great for a good Italian coffee, it’s also perfect for lunch: fresh juices, salads and a dozen al taglio pizza options are available. In addition to the simple, concise menu, you can also enjoy pastries, cakes, and homemade gelati that will transport you to the Italian sun.
Montréal
Café Parvis
Café Parvis is a beautiful place to have a coffee, a drink, or a great lunch or dinner. The large windows and many plants in the house make Café Parvis stand out—it is one of the most beautiful cafés in Montreal. The menu features daily pizzas and salads of all kinds in small, medium and large portions. You will also find a soup of the day and some desserts. Café Parvis is comforting, beautiful, and delicious.
Montréal
Café Pista
It all started with Maxime Richard’s ingenious idea of setting up a specialized bicycle café service that travels for customers! With all the success of this initiative, Café Pista opened its doors in 2014 in a charming space; it is also on our list of the most beautiful cafes in Montreal! In addition to great coffee, you’ll savour delicious brunch items like toast, breakfast croissants, waffles, granola and more.
Montréal
Café Bloom
Located in the heart of Pointe-Saint-Charles, Café Bloom is a little gem that has quickly become a favourite spot for artists and locals in the neighbourhood. The charming address is ideal for working for a few hours: customers enjoy the lovely natural light thanks to the large bay window of the place, and there are several large common tables. In addition to very good coffee, the house offers several seasonal toasts, sandwiches, salads, waffles, pancakes and grilled cheese. For those with a sweet tooth, the house prepares delicious homemade pastries. If you’re in the area—or even if you’re not!—we recommend you try this lovely Pointe-Saint-Charles café!
Montréal
La Bête à Pain
La Bête à Pain Griffintown is one of our favourite addresses in town! The place is a café, an organic bakery, a mini restaurant, and a mini caterer all in one. The establishment belongs to the talented baker Marc-André Royal. The room is bright and when you enter, you feel like you are in the baker’s home. In addition to drinking a very good coffee, one comes here to enjoy one of the best breakfasts in Montreal, memorable sandwiches, as well as exceptional breads, pastries and baked goods. The house also offers a small take-out counter (soups, charcuterie, cheeses and a few homemade dishes) convenient for locals who live in the area.
Montréal
Café Dei Campi
Barista Nicola Vardarro and pastry chef Isabelle Deschamps (formerly of H4C) are the owners of Café Dei Campi. Having recently moved from Rosemont Boulevard to their beautiful new space on Chabot Street, the café offers some of the best Italian coffees in Montreal! They are also known for their pastries made without eggs, butter or milk that taste exactly as if they had them! On the counter, they also offer delicious pizzettes and vegetarian sandwiches, as well as tasty soups. Everything is plant-based, homemade, and the place is perfect for this neighbourhood in full swing, regardless of your dietary preferences!
Montréal
Café Bazin
Open since July 2017, Café Bazin is the result of the collaboration between renowned chefs Antonio Park and Bertrand Bazin. In a chic and bright space, you can savour delicious French pastry classics, both on the sweet and savoury side. For lunch, you will find delicious and comforting dishes, carefully prepared by chef Takeshi Horinoue. Among others, the place offers classics such as vol-au-vent, croque monsieur, tartine niçoise or smoked salmon pancake. For a sweet treat, you’ll find a multitude of exceptional classics such as crème brûlée, pound cake, crème caramel, and more. In sum, everything here is executed brilliantly.
Westmount
Le Butterblume
Butterblume is an absolutely charming little café-resto-boutique wedged between La Maison de l’Aspirateur, the Rosemont viaduct and the Whisky café in the Mile-End. Here you can enjoy great coffee, with a few small sweet homemade bites including cookies, scones with butter and jam, muffins and a slice of the cake of the moment—or, of course, anything else on their fresh, tasty, and succinct menu. One of our favourites is the German ravioli “maultasche”. The cuisine is refined, without being too sophisticated. It is accessible and almost everything is homemade. With a clean and bright decor, a friendly staff and absolutely delicious dishes, this charming address brings a breath of fresh air to this little corner of the Main.
Montréal
Club Social PS
Tucked under the reputable Saint-Henri restaurant Elena—and opened by the same owners—Club Social PS is a little gem of a café. In addition to their excellent coffee (roasted by PS coffee) and delicious homemade Italian pastries—including one of the best cannoli in town—they also make exquisite pizzas, for which the place is famous! Enjoy it all on their lovely terrace in the summer, which backs onto the alley. We love this place!
Montréal
Entre-Deux
Located in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, l’Entre-Deux is a charming café-buvette where you can enjoy good coffee and natural wine. Their menu is composed of fresh and tasty dishes: cauliflower caccio e pepe, beef tartare, zucchini hummus, mushroom toast, and more; all of which can be enjoyed on site or to take away. We also invite you to take a look at their cocktail list as well as their wine list—several choices of natural wines or signature cocktails that will perfectly accompany your meal!
Montreal
Bonheur d'occasion
At Bonheur d’occasion, a warm welcome, attentive service and carefully concocted dishes await you. Their menu offers nourishing and generous dishes, composed mainly of local products, for reasonable prices (for this type of refined cuisine). As a daytime café, you’ll find sweet and savory offerings, and even gluten-free options. You can expect a changing offering of mignardises, cakes, shortbread, savoury puff pastries, and more. Definitely worth a try! The address is also part of our list of staple restaurants on Notre-Dame Street West.
Montréal
Tabac Villeray
Café by day and bar by night, Tabac Villeray is a gathering place for the people of the neighbourhood. People come here as much for a good coffee as for a gourmet evening with a drink. In the morning, you can find delicious pastries from Automne bakery as well as a brunch menu (on weekends only), made with fresh and local products. In the evening, it’s more of a small-dishes-to-share kind of vibe. Accras, salad of the moment, oysters, foie gras, jambon beurre sandwiches… there’s something for everyone to enjoy!
Montréal
Le Darling
Darling is well-known for its evening menu as well as its delectable wines and cocktails. They also offer great lunches during the week and great brunches on the weekends! Everything on their menu is fresh, they have vegetarian options, and they even have homemade pastries. Plus, their coffee is very good. You can work in the daytime, and finish the day with a few drinks and great bites with friends. It’s a great place to hang out or have a drink at any time of day.
Montréal
Osmo X Marusan
By day, Osmo X Marusan is a specialty café that offers simple and very good Japanese food. Ebi curry, Japanese sandos (egg tartare and egg ramen sandwich, pork chop sandwich)… everything here is delicious! The house also offers delicious pastries. They are a great complement to the meal or a perfect accompaniment to a coffee if you just want a snack. Osmo X Marusan also offers its customers a nice selection of coffee beans from different roasters.
Montréal
