The Best Cheesecakes in Montreal: Where to Find Them
Sweets, pastries, confections and everything in between. Today we’re talking about one of our favourite desserts: cheesecake. If you have a sweet tooth like we do, you’ll happily give in to the spots on our list of the best cheesecakes in Montreal.
Cheesecake traces its roots back to the vatrushka, a soft Slavic cake made with fresh white cheese and a gently tangy edge. Much like the bagel, the vatrushka recipe followed Jewish émigrés from Europe as they settled in America. So cheesecake isn’t the New York invention many assume it to be; it comes straight out of Europe. It’s made two distinct ways, and honestly, we can’t pick a side. The first is Italian, built on ricotta. The second usually relies on commercial cheese like Philadelphia Cream Cheese over a shortcrust base, and it’s this version that made the famous New York cheesecake you’ll find in every good deli in the Big Apple, often served with a red-berry coulis.
Mastering pastry in general, and this cake in particular, is trickier than it looks. Getting a cheesecake just right takes real skill and a lot of precision, and few of us actually know the magic formula. Few sweet-toothed souls can resist a treat this dense, silky and melt-in-the-mouth all at once. So we tracked down the best cheesecakes in town, for a quick round trip to New York, the unofficial world capital of cheesecake.
Fellow sweet lovers, keep our lists of the 10 most iconic desserts in Montreal and the best doughnuts in Montreal on your radar too.
SPECIAL MENTIONS go to Uncle Tetsu for its Japanese-style cheesecake and to Cheskie’s for its kosher version.
Enjoy the read!
Arthurs Dinette
The little sister to Arthur’s Nosh Bar and Romies, Arthur’s Dinette has set up on Monkland, in the heart of NDG. Alex Cohen and Raegan Steinberg serve cooking rooted in the Jewish diaspora, somewhere between Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions, from morning to night and always with their own signature touch. The spot is worth the trip for brunch, a supper with friends or a laid-back date night, but we also come back gladly for the cheesecake: a generous, comforting slice that sits right in the restaurant’s spirit. The kind of dessert that ends the meal on a high note.
Montréal
Mlles Gâteaux
Mlles Gâteaux is a whole lot of love packed into a small space, delicate and warm. It wins you over the moment you taste its pastries, which shift with the seasons. Among the house specialties, the reworked, no-bake cheesecake is hard to pass up. Mlles Gâteaux builds a lightened cream-and-yogourt version that takes on the texture of a mousse, set over a Graham cracker base with lime, lemon and strawberry coulis.
Montréal
La Croissanterie Figaro
On the corner of Hutchison and Fairmount in Outremont, La Croissanterie Figaro has been charming people for decades with its storybook decor, warm service and French-leaning menu. You’ll find the great classics, a solid selection of sandwiches and consistently tempting viennoiseries, but the cheesecake earns its own moment too. Rich, generous and also available in a marbled version, it slips naturally onto the list of sweets worth ordering at this well-loved neighbourhood spot.
Montreal
Zébulon
On Saint-Denis, Pâtisserie Zébulon quickly became a name worth knowing. Zébulon Vézina and his sister Alice are the proud owners of this pâtisserie, where they turn out vegan pastries that look as good as they taste. Among their specialties is a gluten-free tropical cheesecake with puffed-rice crunch, coconut sponge, passion-fruit confit, coconut mousse and a mango glaze, finished with real coconut slices. One to remember.
Montréal
Fous Desserts
At Fous Desserts, the pastries are European with Japanese influences. The idea is simple: top-quality ingredients turned into artisanal pastries that stay light and full of flavour. The shop’s precise, one-of-a-kind desserts make it one of the best pâtisseries in Montreal. Come for the cheesecake. House-made Graham cracker crust and a silky cheese cream topped with raspberry coulis or matcha green tea, your call. Hard to resist.
Montréal
Aux Vivres
Aux Vivres is a genuine Montreal institution that reshaped the city’s vegan dining scene. It also appears on our list of the best vegan restaurants in Montreal. On the dessert side, there are two excellent faux-cheese cakes to choose from: one with berries, the other with chocolate and peanut. Or you could simply order both.
Montréal
Romies
Romies offers a contemporary take on the American bistro, in a chic setting with a festive mood that suits both suppers with friends and livelier nights out. The menu runs through carefully reworked American classics, including a New York-style cheesecake that fully earns its spot among the house favourites. Served with a sherry-and-amaretto cream and a cherry compote, it lands a rich, pleasantly retro finish.
Montréal
Spuntino cafe Resto
Spuntino brings a touch of Italian sunshine to Westmount. In a pastel space of soft green, pink and pale wood, the spot radiates conviviality. Mornings are for ricotta toast with spiced honey, midday for a good sandwich, evenings for pizza alla romana and house-made pasta. More relaxed than its big sister Donato, Spuntino is the place for a colourful, unpretentious meal. For dessert, the cheesecake all’arancia rossa carries the house spirit nicely: a creamy version served with blood-orange syrup, a crumble and crème anglaise, at once indulgent, fresh and well balanced.
Westmount
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