This post is a tad overdue, but I’ve been dying to share with you my Montreal travels! I went in May this year and it is safe to say I have completely fallen in love with the city. So much so, I came home feeling melancholy and anticipating my next trip out. Lucky enough, my brother is moving there for school in the fall so I know I will visit again soon.
I have pinned all my travel stories on my Instagram account – so do check it out for some added footage! I will give you a recap as best as I can on all my favourite spots that I visited (food related!)
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Montreal Travels | The Meals
Dirty Dogs
The minute I arrived to Montreal, I knew I had to get some poutine. I have had a couple plant-based poutines here in BC, which have been underwhelming to say the least. So the hunt was on! We arrived late at night and immediately when trekking down St. Laurent. It wasn’t long until we stumbled upon Dirty Dogs – a happening little pub/restaurant that served doctored up hot dogs, poutine and the like. Low and behold, there was a vegan poutine!
I ordered the Memphis, which had grilled tempeh, caramelized onions, coleslaw, barbecue sauce and mushrooms. It was absolutely packed with flavour. I believe there was even some vegan cheese in there. It was tangy, slightly sweet and filling. I would definitely go back for more!
Burger Royal
Another spot I ventured to in the St.Laurent strip, which was packed with restaurants and good shops, was Burger Royal. What I loved about this spot was that you could fully customize your burger, or order a slider if you didn’t feel like a full meal. Their veggie patty was packed full of goodness, I’m not kidding. Some of its mane ingredients are mushrooms, chickpeas, tofu, pearled barley, leeks and almonds. I kept it simple and added some vegan cheese, caramelized onion and mayo to mine. It was probably one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had! If you eat dairy, you can also get a scoop of macaroni and cheese in yours!
Lov
For something a bit fancier, we ventured to Lov. There are multiple locations, the one we went to the location on Rue de la Montagne. I would say the real appeal to this restaurant is the vibe. It is mostly white inside with lovely seating and some interesting decor on the walls.
There were so many amazing things to try but I managed to settle on some kimchi fries (keeping up with my poutine cravings) and a faux Poke bowl with riced cauliflower, cashews, pickled watermelon (to mimic tuna) and other pickled vegetables.
I would say the fries were a definite must, but I wasn’t overly impressed with the poke. It was a fun dish to try, but a bit bland for my taste buds and something I could easily make at home. Like I said, this restaurant I found was mostly fun because of the great atmosphere. The cocktails were also super fun!
Mandy’s
For something on the healthier side (I swore I didn’t always eat fast food) – we decided to go to a hoity toity gourmet salad bar – Mandy’s. This place was a design dream. I loved the typography of the menu and logo and the colour story used throughout. It also had many things besides the regular food you could purchase, such as to-go containers, cute ceramics, grab and go snacks and treats. The portions were huge and you left feeling satisfied with the abundance of protein rich toppings. What really took it to the next level for me was their ‘chick’n’ made with tamari marinated and fried mushrooms. I would get the “Endless Summer” and you won’t be disappointed!
Want to make your own food while you travel? Montreal is the place to do it!
We also discovered some great little grocery stores in Montreal. Too many to fully mention, but here are my top three!
Aux Vivres
We stumbled across the beauty that is Aux Vivres (also a restaurant). Apart from the most amazing selection of cookbooks, they also have great snacks including packaged cookies, coconut bacon and homemade tempeh/tofu. A great spot to grab some goodies for a picnic or a home cooked meal if your hotel has a kitchen.
St. Viateur’s Bagels
St. Viateur is known for their bagels. Not vegan, but when I travel I’m not strictly plant-based. These bagels have eggs, so vegetarian! I couldn’t get over how soft they were and how easily they toasted, without crumbling. I highly recommend, just even to watch them make them in action.
Rachelle Bery
Heading down Rue Rachel, we often passed Rachelle Berry, which was hands down my favourite grocery store in the Montreal travels. It was definitely on the pricier end of the spectrum, but I have never seen a vegan aisle quite like it. I could have easily dropped all my spending money in that one very section of the store. They had an abundance of local dips, vegan meats and breads along with a beer and wine section. Vegan bacon included…Hello!
I could go on forever on my favourite places, but I also want you to explore and let me know what you discover. My list will ever be evolving. The city has such a European feel, along with the trendiest restaurants, stores and scenery you will ever see.
I hope you enjoyed my mini Montreal Travels foodie tour. Please comment below on other vegan/vegetarian places in Montreal you have explored and loved!
