St-Viateur Bagel Bar: A Spread Bar in the Mile End

St-Viateur Bagel opens a brand-new counter on the street where it all began, this time putting as much care into what goes on the bagel as into the bagel itself. St-Viateur Bagel Bar, set up right next to the Morena family’s second bakery, is a spread bar where the cream cheeses line up in small tubs behind a display case, calling to mind a gelateria.

The comparison is no accident. It’s “a spread bar, a little inspired by a gelato bar,” sums up Nicolo Morena, co-owner of the family business. The presentation, the display case, the little tubs lined up: everything borrows from the ice cream counter. Right down to the flavours, which run from savoury to sweet, tiramisu included.

Twenty Years of Ideas Scribbled on Scraps of Paper

The idea had been simmering for a long time. The space next to “Bagel 2,” the family’s nickname for the bakery opened in the 1980s, a few steps from the 1957 original, freed up just after the pandemic. Since the family owns the building, the question came up without any urgency: what could be added to the street that takes nothing away from the neighbours? The answer had been sitting in Nicolo’s notes; he has been scribbling flavour ideas on scraps of paper for some twenty years.

The counter offers a range of fifteen flavours, on top of regular, light or vegan cream cheese, with a possible rotation as the coming seasons go by. The owner’s favourite: the cacio e pepe, black pepper and romano, drawn from the Roman pasta dish. Next comes garlic and fine herbs, made with garlic roasted 20 minutes in the oven and olive oil. “We don’t mess around with the ingredients,” says Nicolo, who points out that it took the company nearly 70 years to develop a dozen bagel flavours, after hundreds of test batches.

Three Generations on the Same Street

The company remains a family affair through and through. Nicolo runs it with his brother Vincenzo, their parents are still in the picture, his niece works on Saint-Viateur Street and his three children work behind the counters in the summer.

That closeness can be tasted right in the recipes. The Morenas weren’t starting from scratch: their cafés have been serving flavoured cream cheeses for more than 30 years, in the Plateau, in the West Island, in Laval and in Anjou. Six proven flavours served as the base to develop others, tested the family way, in the kitchen, with the nephews, nieces, children, parents and friends, each one pitching in.

At St-Viateur Bagel Bar, you can also enjoy signature sandwiches, like the classic smoked salmon or the “Joe Bagel,” topped with ricotta, fig jam and a balsamic reduction.

On the drinks side, they serve coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. It’s a takeout counter with no seating, ideal for grabbing a bite while walking down this iconic Montreal street.

Written by Jean-Philippe Tastet
Photography by Alison Slattery

Updated on August 13, 2026

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