Where to eat lunch on a Monday: A few suggestions
If there’s one time slot where it’s hard to arrange a business lunch or a lunch with friends, it’s Monday at noon. It seems that almost every restaurant in Montreal takes a break on Monday at lunch time. While everyone needs a day off, we understand your frustration in finding a place to get good food.
Instead of wasting your time searching the internet and trying to find a restaurant that fits your schedule, we decided to save you some time! Although the pool of restaurants open on Mondays is not very large, there are more than you might think. So we’ve put together a little list of restaurants for your Monday lunches! There are as many affordable addresses like Venice as there are chic ones like Monarque.
Maybe you’re looking for a place to lunch on another day of the week in Downtown? Check out our list of classic downtown lunches. Happy exploring!
Caffe un po di piu
Caffe Un Po Di Piu opened its doors in Montreal’s Old Port in the summer of 2018. Here, you can enjoy fresh, original, and very delicious Italian cuisine, all set in a beautifully manicured space. On the menu are delicious small plates to share, some seasonal salads, burrata, focaccia, market vegetables, charcuterie, beautiful meat dishes, and pizzas. The menu changes a little with the seasons, but there is a common thread that respects the tastes of the customers. The plates are fresh and original; we loved the burrata and the winter salad. Don’t forget to save room for the desserts.
Montréal
Épicerie Pumpui
L’Épicerie Pumpui is a small resto-counter that opened in November 2017 on St-Zotique Street and offers a great menu with flavours from Thailand! The menu offered at Épicerie Pumpui offers mostly Thai dishes, but with influences from Southeast Asian cuisines. The items change a little each day, the base being always curries; served in soups, noodles, stir-fries, and more. Prices range from $3 to $35. The dishes are comforting, offer authentic tastes and are very tasty! To drink, there are different juices, sodas, Thai teas and coffees (very unique), and in summer they have an iced tea made with condensed milk.
Montréal
BarBara Vin
BarBara is a beautiful address that opened on Notre-Dame Street West in January 2020. The menu is signed by David Pellizari with a special emphasis on fresh pasta and other small Italian delicacies. During the day, they have focaccia, zeppoli, bombolini and other dishes to savour on the go that make us hungry just talking about them. The house has a wine cellar full of products selected by Catherine Draws; small producers from here and elsewhere whose products can be enjoyed without thirst.
Montréal
Mano Cornuto
An Italian cafe-restaurant in Griffintown, Mano Cornuto has been very popular since it opened! Everyone here seems to know each other, and the atmosphere is very welcoming. Every day, the house prepares its own focaccias. These oven-baked flatbreads are offered with your choice of spread (truffle honey, fig or apricot jam) and ricotta cheese. The rest of the menu is designed to showcase excellent local and Italian products. There are a few fresh pasta dishes, colourful salads, two generous sandwiches (one of which is vegetarian), good pastries and plates of salami or crudo. For dessert, the kitchen offers a delicious doughnut that is a nice ending to any meal.
Montréal
Chez José
Located on Duluth Street, Chez José is a staple neighbourhood address. Over the years, the 25-year-old establishment has forged an identity that is both unique and shaped by the lives of its many regular customers. There are many options for sandwiches, breakfast plates, sweet and savoury crepes, soups, hearty salads and great smoothies. Each dish has its own story behind it, which makes the menu all the more interesting. Among our favorites is the Churrasco chicken sandwich; marinated chicken, guacamole, cheese, cucumber: perfect simplicity.
Montréal
Pho Lien
Pho Lien is a famous restaurant in the Côte-Des-Neiges neighbourhood: crowded from opening to closing, it offers one of the best pho soups in Montreal! When we come here, it’s not to admire the decor, but most certainly to savour their very good Vietnamese menu! Ms. Lien is the one who developed the recipes for the establishment. There are six starters, including some salads, excellent imperial rolls and spring rolls with peanut sauce. The specialty of the house, however, is the phở soup. Phở soup, or Tonkinese soup, is the national dish of Vietnam that is most commonly eaten for breakfast, but can be enjoyed at any time of the day.
Montréal
Venice MTL
Venice MTL is a small restaurant with about 60 seats that opened its doors in Old Montreal. The concept of Venice MTL was to offer a place open during the day, in Old Montreal and downtown, offering healthy dishes, but especially very affordable. We’re talking salads, tartines, soups, tacos, pizzas, poke bowls, and desserts. Gluten-free, vegetarian and lactose-free options are scattered throughout the menu, and everything is as the place says: beautiful, good and cheap. They may not be reinventing anything, but what they do is done well.
Montréal
Well
Well is an establishment on Wellington Street that opened in July 2017. The restaurant offers generous yet comforting cuisine in a friendly atmosphere. There are a dozen dishes on the menu including the deliciously decadent poutine with bacon or ham, egg sunny side up with pickles and the salmon and edamame gravlax – those Japanese peas – served with arugula and a poached egg. The bacon and ricotta pancakes is a customer favourite.
Montréal
Pizzéria NO.900
With executive chef Mirko D’Agata at the helm, Pizzeria No.900 is a great place to stop for lunch or dinner. The pizzaiolos prepare quality pizzas, topped with fresh ingredients! In the summer, we particularly like the location on Bernard Avenue in Outremont. With a glass of wine or a spritz on their terrace, it’s a perfect option for a quick lunch.
Montréal
Bouillon Bilk
Bouillon Bilk is a staple in town and one of the best restaurants in Montreal! Their menu offers an exceptional taste experience, with reduced prices for lunch and a savoury menu that we recommend for dinner! It is based on a protein – guinea fowl, cod, venison, crab etc. – and its accompaniments.
Montréal
Monarque
Monarque is one of Montreal’s indispensable restaurants as well as one of the most beautiful in the city. Here, they invite their clientele to savour delicious French-inspired gourmet cuisine. On the menu of the brasserie, you will find dishes that vary slightly according to the season so that freshness is always at the table. Fish and seafood bouillabaisse, Cornish chicken, sweetbreads, taleggio veal meatballs and house-aged Prince Edward Island beef are among the delicious items on the menu. The dining room menu features a four-course offering that will change several times throughout the year. The dishes are often carefully crafted classics with a focus on market cuisine.
Montréal
Helena
Located in Old Montreal, Helena is the restaurant of the Portuguese-born chef Helena Loureiro. In this elegant restaurant on McGill Street, one savours a cuisine with Portuguese influences that is both classic and modern. The menu includes hot and cold tapas (Pasteis de bacalhau, Mexilhão à portuguesa, Vieiras U, Chouriço assado, etc.) and, for the pièce de résistance, meat and fish dishes (Ensopado de borrego, Salada de polvo, Filetes de Sardi, etc.). The house also offers a nice wine list of private Portuguese imports.
Montréal
Ferreira Café
Ferreira is a Montreal institution and one of the best Portuguese restaurants in the city. Ferreira is the very definition of Portuguese class. The renowned restaurant has earned its reputation through years of hard work and constant renewal. Carlos Ferreira opened the restaurant to introduce Montrealers to his country’s cuisine, but his daughter Sandra has been helping him run the restaurant for some time now and has brought a breath of fresh air to the place. The restaurant has recently redone its decor to give a new look to the establishment. We love this address for its delicious cuisine and its festive evenings. We come here to savour fresh fish, grilled seafood and Portuguese-style meat.
Montréal
Renoir
Renoir Restaurant is the chic and delicious restaurant of the Sofitel Montreal Le Carré Doré hotel, in the heart of downtown Montreal. The lunch and dinner menus change seasonally. For lunch, the chic address offers a $40 per person menu. Among the signature dishes on the menu is the pork and lobster dish, a dish that remains on the menu even if the garnish changes; Renoir is also known for having one of the best beef ribs in Montreal.
Montréal
India Rosa
Le India Rosa est un restaurant qui permet aux saveurs indiennes de s’accorder en douceur avec les étés montréalais. Les plats sont bien exécutés tout en étant servis en portions généreuses conçues pour le partage entre amies ou amoureux. Comme tout bon restaurant indien, le poulet au beurre est fondant à souhait. On aime aussi l’agneau Madras, un classique qui ne déçoit pas. Le menu abrite aussi quelques pizzas Naan qui rappellent la fusion indo-italienne du Sandhu, un des autres restaurants des propriétaires.
Montréal
