The Best Bagels in Montreal: Where to Find Them
Since bagels are a Montreal specialty, a short list of suggestions for very good bagels around town was missing from our best-of rankings.
Legend even has it that they are better in Montreal than in New York… You be the judge. For us, there is no doubt left: the ones from Montreal are the ones we prefer. Compared to the “New York–style bagel”, the Montreal bagel is poached in honey water before being baked in a wood-fired oven. That method gives the bagel a soft, chewy texture and a nicely golden crust.
A bit of history! Montreal being marked by a great deal of multiculturalism, the city’s dining scene was built over the years through successive waves of immigration. The Eastern Europeans who settled in Montreal brought their culinary customs with them, the biggest contribution to the city’s food identity being smoked meat and bagels. The bagel was introduced to North America by Jewish immigrants from Poland and other Eastern European countries. To this day, the origin of the bagel in Montreal remains unclear and disputed. Some cite Chaime (Hyman) Seligman as the father of the Montreal bagel, selling them from a horse-drawn carriage and setting up a bakery on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in 1900. Others say it was Isadore Shlafman (founder of the institution Fairmount Bagel) and Jacob Drapkin who introduced the bagel to Montreal.
Special mention
Because good bagels do not stop at Montreal’s city limits, here are a few addresses outside the city that also deserve a mention.
Bagel Ste-Rose – Laval
This address is a genuine institution in Laval for bagel lovers… but not only for them! The bagels are baked on site, from a dough prepared at La Fabrique à Bagel in Blainville. Always busy, the spot also serves waffles, croque-monsieur and other sandwiches. At breakfast, the plates come with a generous portion of fruit and a coffee; at lunch, they come instead with a soup, greens, a pasta salad or the salad of the moment. If you stop by Bagel Ste-Rose, we strongly recommend the “Ste-Rose”: bacon, ham or sausage, poached egg and melted Swiss cheese.
Bobino Bagels – Gatineau
In Gatineau, Bobino Bagel does justice to the great Montreal bagel tradition. Here, the bagels are shaped by hand, dropped into honey water, then baked in a wood-fired oven right in front of customers. You eat them still warm, plain, topped or as a sandwich, in a simple and generous format. A good reason for a small detour when you are passing through the Outaouais.
Bügel – Québec
In Quebec City, Bügel stands as a pioneer: opened in 1987, the house presents itself as the city’s first bagel bakery. Since 1988, it has occupied its address on rue Crémazie Ouest, where artisanal bagels are made from carefully chosen ingredients, notably Quebec honey and organic Quebec sunflower oil. A neighbourhood institution that has been cultivating its own approach to the bagel for close to 40 years.
So here is a small selection of places to enjoy the best bagels in Montreal. Such a simple pleasure, and such a good one!
Fairmount Bagel
Fairmount Bagel is a genuine institution in the city. You come and come back to this address for a simple, flavourful creation that has become, over time, a Montreal signature. In its earliest days, the bakery offered only one kind of bagel, the poppy seed one, the traditional version. It was only when a regular customer complained that the poppy seeds kept getting stuck under his dentures that Isadore started producing a second variety: sesame.
Montréal
St-Viateur Bagel
Another Montreal icon: St-Viateur Bagel. Founded in 1957, the company today counts seven addresses, including four cafés, on top of its online shop. Over the decades, this true Mile End institution has earned a reputation that reaches well beyond Montreal. A number of well-known figures have passed through its famous shop on rue Saint-Viateur, among them Leonard Cohen and Céline Dion. Several books — including Saturday Night at the Bagel Factory —, along with several paintings, photographs and films, have also been inspired by the place.
Montréal
Bagels Le Trou - Griffintown
“It’s the hole that makes the bagel.” Le Trou Bagel serves delicious bagels made on site, hand-rolled in the pure Montreal tradition, in Griffintown. If you stop by this address, we recommend trying the famous “bouche-trous”, bagel holes with cheese, Nutella, salmon or plain.
Montréal
District Bagel - Av du Parc
District Bagel marries the Montreal bagel tradition with the experience of a kosher catering service born in Outremont in 2008. You stop in for the freshly baked bagels, but also for the breakfasts, the sandwiches and the generous lunches, all of it fully kosher certified.
Montréal
Beaubien Bagel
Opened in 1987, Beaubien Bagel is a real neighbourhood address, known for its entirely vegan Montreal bagels. Prepared fresh throughout the day, they come in several flavours and contain neither eggs nor honey. A fine local address to pick up a few bagels straight out of the oven.
Montréal
Bagels on Greene
Opened in Westmount in 2000, Bagels on Greene is a family address where you come as much for the freshly baked bagels as for the breakfasts, sandwiches and prepared dishes. The house offers several classics — sesame, poppy seed, plain, all-dressed — as well as a few more indulgent variations.
Westmount
Bagel St-Lo Verdun
Open in Verdun since 2014, Bagel St-Lo prepares its bagels fresh every morning and bakes them on site. True to the Montreal tradition, the dough is boiled in water lightly sweetened with honey before baking. You also come for the generous breakfasts, brunches and sandwiches.
Montréal
M.T.L. Bagel
In Côte-Saint-Luc, MTL Bagel carries on the Montreal bagel tradition with know-how developed notably at Fairmount Bagel. The bagels are made by hand and baked in a wood-fired oven, following a recipe perfected over the years.
Côte Saint-Luc
R.E.A.L. Bagel Inc.
R.E.A.L. Bagel is one of those neighbourhood bakeries where the wood-fired oven runs at full tilt. The Montreal-style bagels are hand-rolled and baked on site every day, with the sesame and poppy seed classics, but also more unexpected flavours. A sandwich and prepared-food counter rounds out the offering.
Montréal
Bagel Henri-Bourassa
Opened in 2016, Bagel Henri-Bourassa was born after nearly 20 years of bakery experience. The bagels are hand-rolled and baked on site in a wood-fired oven. Over time, the house has also brought onto the menu flavours inspired by its owners’ culinary roots, notably with naans, samosas and butter chicken.
Montréal
BBagels
New York bagels in Montreal? A bold proposition, but a frankly successful one. Inspired by Popup Bagels in New York, Bbagels goes for plump, soft bagels served warm, with a choice of generous spreads. A simple, playful and very indulgent formula that makes a pleasant change from the classic Montreal bagel.
Montréal
St-Viateur Bagel Bar
A takeout spread counter, where the bagel comes with 15 house-made cream cheeses, from cacio e pepe to tiramisu, in addition to the regular, the light and the vegan. Also signature sandwiches, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Montréal
