Where to go for oysters in Montreal
Oysters: you either love them or you hate them. We love them! This marine mollusc, rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins, seduces many! Malpeque and Colville Bay from Prince Edward Island, Beausoleil from New Brunswick, or Hamma Hamma from Washington: there is an incredible variety of oysters (more than a hundred around the world!) Juicy, meaty, salty, sweet, mineral, firm, soft or vegetal, we enjoy savouring them with a glass of bubbles or a good glass of white wine.
In Montreal, we are very fortunate to have access to a wonderful gastronomic scene. Many excellent restaurants on the island feature this delicious and delicate product of the sea – the perfect way to begin a meal. Many places also let you choose the oysters of your liking given their selection. They are then carefully shucked and placed over a bed of ice, and then garnished with slices of lemon, a mignonette, grated horseradish, tabasco or other accompaniments.
We have prepared this list of places that offer great selections of oysters: fresh and always delicious. These are places where we particularly like to go to enjoy these tasty molluscs.
If you’re an oyster lover and want to eat oysters in industrial quantities, we also have a list of our favorite places to enjoy oysters for $1.
Enjoy!
Bar Henrietta
This neighbourhood bar inspired by the taverns of the 1960s and Portugal, opened several years ago, and serves a variety of cocktails, Quebec beers, organic and natural wines and bubbles. In this charming space, with a glass in hand, you can enjoy fresh and fleshy oysters served with lemon and freshly grated horseradish. Note that the author is madly in love with one of the owners of this establishment.
Montréal
Cadet
Le Cadet restaurant is a great place to have a drink and share several dishes. Bouillon Bilk’s newest restaurant offers fresh oysters served plain with a choice of three accompaniments: lemon, piri-piri and strawberry mignonette. You can also enjoy oysters au gratin with bacon and spinach.
Montréal
Chez Victoire
We come to Chez Victoire to celebrate, the room having been conceived so that the party picks up rather quickly! Here, you can find small delicate plates to share and – you guessed it – excellent oysters. For birthdays, festive evenings or even parties for two, the house displays a wealth of ingenuity to please everyone depending on the occasion.
Montréal
Joe Beef
Joe Beef is on our list of the best restaurants in Montreal! Here, they serve high quality oysters, served with lemon and their homemade sauces, which you can enjoy on their beautiful terrace. The restaurant also has its own rolling oyster bar which is catered for oyster parties where you can order oysters at the cash register to take away (service for 20 to 200 people).
Montréal
Lucille’s Oyster Dive
Located on Monkland Avenue, in the heart of the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, the famous Lucille’s Oyster Dive offers one of the best selections of oysters in Montreal. The festive neighbourhood restaurant is known for its raw bar and huge seafood platters. Lucille’s Brasserie, from the same owners, also serves oysters, and the option to make a reservation.
Montréal
Le Majestique
Le Majestique is a bar with just the right amount of charm and kitsch. It’s also one of the best places to eat in town AND offers oysters at $2 for happy hour! We stop by to enjoy Choice Harbour’s oysters (a very famous oyster catering service) served with two mignonettes (one classic and one with honey and apple), smoked jalapeño hot sauce, heirloom tomato hot sauce and fresh horseradish. Professional shuckers make a show of shucking your shellfish for you (say that ten times fast), adding to the experience.
Montréal
Montréal Plaza
Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson’s Montreal Plaza is a beautiful place for everyone to enjoy very well executed and refined cuisine. The restaurant offers fresh oysters served with mignonette, horseradish and hot sauce every day. We love this place!
Montréal
Jaja
Pastaga is one of the best Quebecois restaurants in Montreal. Located on St-Laurent Boulevard, Pastaga offers succulent maritime oysters. The restaurant, run by chef/owner Martin Juneau and his partner Louis-Philippe Breton, offers a superb selection of natural and organic wines to perfectly accompany the oysters.
Montréal
Le Serpent
Le Serpent is part of our list of must-visit restaurants in Montreal. The restaurant offers oysters all year long, served with a maple mignonnette to be savoured in their sublime space! The perfect way to begin a meal before savouring their fantastic pasta (our favourite).
Montréal
Le Filet
Le Filet is part of our list of must-try restaurants in Montreal. The restaurant offers oysters with jalapeño and maple or miso gratin. The space is intimate and romantic, and the address is also on our list of the most romantic restaurants in Montreal.
Montréal
Restaurant Tuck Shop
Tuckshop is a magnificent little gourmet restaurant on Notre-Dame Street West in Saint-Henri. After a makeover in early 2019, the restaurant added an oyster bar where you can sit back and watch the cooks practice their art thanks to the beautiful new open concept kitchen!
Montréal
Liverpool House
Liverpool House is a Montreal institution. We come here for a generous and tasty meal in a lively atmosphere. Next door to Le Vin Papillon and Joe Beef, we eat, among others, delicious seafood! The oysters are displayed atop a magnificent iced counter and seem to be available indefinitely. We love this place!
Montréal
