Montreal is my #1 city; the place where I failed out of university twice*, ordered Roman Cokes for an embarrassingly long time before someone told me it was just a “rum & coke,” and ‘smoked’ cigarettes in earnest for about six months before someone pointed out that I wasn’t inhaling. My Montreal isn’t just a collection of college memories of me trying (and failing) to be a badass, though. As much fun as I had on St. Catherine (when Peel Pub was in its original basement location, RIP), this bilingual babe of a city gets top billing for so much more than drunken, under-21 antics.
If you’re American and under the age of 21, you’re staying in a cheap hotel room close to the action of St. Catherine in downtown Montreal. While there are nice hotels downtown (including the dog-friendly Hotel Vogue, where a lovely gentleman named Guillaume watched Reggie on New Year’s Eve 2018 in our hotel room), I prefer to book an AirBnB in a neighborhood packed with incredible restaurants, cute cafes, bespoke butcher shops, and all that other nice shit.
And that’s why I like to neighborhood in Little Burgundy. [Note: If you’re interested in the backstory of Little Burgundy, Untapped Cities has an excellent overview of its history as the epicenter of Montreal’s jazz scene in the 1880s, as well as how it became a thriving working-class neighborhood in the 1930s and 1940s.]
Check in

Airbnb: You’re not neighborhooding right if you’re shacking up at a hotel, so hit up the ole Airbnb search for tons of apartment options in Little Burgundy and nearby Griffintown and St. Henri. We stayed here most recently and loved everything about this two-bedroom duplex with its own private entrance on the same block as Cafe Lali and Perles et Paddock. [2024 Update: This apartment is no longer on Airbnb! So, check out this one instead. This is also a great one where we’ve stayed before.]
Eat like it’s an Olympic Sport
Foiegwa: Yes, the name is making fun of how non-French speakers pronounce foie gras, and yes, despite 10+ years of French study and 5+ years of living in Montreal, my pronunciation still sucks so I am (just like you) the butt of this joke. But who cares. This IG trap** of a French diner serves fried frog legs with ranch dressing, truffled spaghetti dripping in butter & parm, and foie gras topped cheeseburgers. It’s all a bit rich, but just do it. Make sure you stop by Atwater Cocktail Club before, after or both. Same owners. Literally around the corner. Website / Instagram
Le Vin Papillon: A wine bar from the same people as Joe Beef. I visit every time I’m in Montreal and sit at the bar for some funky ass wine and bites like spot prawns and a “pastrami” sandwich made from carrots. Hot tip: you have to order food with your wine bc of the type of liquor license this place has. Website / Instagram
Foxy: It’s become my NYE tradition to dine here after nearly ruining NYE 2017 with an ill-informed reservation at a tourist trap prix fixe spot in the Old Port. This neighborhood joint puts the spotlight at charcoal grilling and wood fired seafood, meats and vegetables, pulling spices & flavors from all around the world. Be sure to order the feta maison, an ever-changing preparation of their creamy house made feta cheese. Website / Instagram
L’Avenue: Montrealers have made brunch an art form, and this St. Henri outpost is just as good as the Plateau original. Yes, you will wait in line. Yes, if it’s winter you will wait in line outside in 0-degree weather with a bunch of other psychos but ~trust~ it’s worth it. This may be the only place I’ve ever waited in line once I was out of my 20s. And as someone who is deathly allergic to waiting in line for anything, I assure you the wait — even when it’s in the dead of winter, -20 degrees, and you’re behind 30 people — is worth it. Montrealers don’t f*ck around when it comes to brunch and L’Avenue is the shining example of it done so very very right. Website / Instagram
Joe Beef: I didn’t want to include this because you can’t read a single article about Montreal restaurants without this being mentioned, but ugh, here we go. Advance reservations (as in, 2-3 months in advance) are a must, though I’ve snagged a 9pm Friday reservation a week out thanks to Resy Notify. If you’re going on Feb/March, look into Sugar Shack, a cozy cabin/dining experience that celebrates maple syrup season. For last-minute (aka day-of) reservations, hit up the DINR app, where some of Montreal’s top restaurants (including Joe Beef, sister restaurant Liverpool House and a bunch of others) release tables that open up from cancellations. You can search in the app the morning of and set up a notification if any tables open up. Click here for more in-the-know travel tips like downloading DINR when traveling to Montreal. Website / Instagram
Bar OTTO: Japanese small plates, ramen & sushi. Grab a seat at the bar overlooking the open kitchen and definitely order the oshizushi salmon, which is torched salmon on top of Osaka-style pressed sushi topped with spicy mayo & jalapeno. One of the best bites I’ve had recently in Montreal. Website / Instagram
Drink Like a Local

Atwater Cocktail Club: There are some theatrics at this cocktail bar (eg. drinks arriving in cloches that are dramatically removed when served) and yet it manages to be approachable and fun rather than pretentious. Once you’re inside the graffiti-covered door at the end of a little alley off Atwater Avenue, the decor is Speakeasy 101 (velvet banquettes, polished brass) and the clientele is a good mix of cocktail enthusiasts tourists and locals. A good spot to begin or end the night. Website / Instagram
La Drinkerie: A cocktail bar with killer bathroom wallpaper. Instagram
Burgundy Lion: A British-style pub with a dog-friendly outdoor terrasse. Lots of beers, ciders and whiskeys as well as comfort food. When you need a break from natural wine, foie gras and $15 cocktails, come here. It’s directly across the street from Joe Beef. Website / Instagram
Perles et Paddock: Though they were closed for the holidays during our last visit, I’ve had my eye on this place because of its interior design (lots of plants hanging from the ceilings) and cocktail/brunch menus. Website / Instagram
Steal Free WiFi

Cafe Lali: Tiny neighborhood coffee shop with additional seating up a spiral staircase. I appreciate any coffee shop with more than one milk alternative, and this place had the three majors – oat, almond, soy — so they get an A in my book. Also dog friendly, so make that an A+.Website / Instagram
Lord William’s Pub: Feels like an American sports bar, which must explain why we ended up meeting a bunch of Americans here. When in Rome! Website
Shopping

Atwater Market: Even if you’re not cooking for yourself during your visit to Montreal, you can’t miss a trip to the market. This one on the west side of Montreal is mostly indoors with covered shops.

Boucherie Grinder: When you need an excellent $200 cut of beef. They also have a restaurant of the same name next door. Website
Stalk the Stylish Locals
View this profile on Instagram
Caroline is a model/singer whose posts are all about the fashion vibes, with a bit of restaurant inspo along the way.
View this profile on Instagram
Dyan is the owner of Foxy and Olive & Gourmando and she gives a cool glimpse inside her life in Montreal.
Excursion-Worthy
If you must leave the neighborhood, these spots are worth the haul.

NeoTokyo: The Bladerunner-inspired interiors at this Japanese ramen shop are reason enough to check it out, but the food is great too. On the same block is a cool cocktail bar Le Mal Necessaire, and two blocks away are a pair of great Peruvian restaurants Chifa and Tiradito, as well as a subterranean cocktail spot called Club Pelicano that’s designed to look like an indoor pool. Website / Instagram
Damas: This is a Syrian restaurant in Outremont on the other side of town from Little Burgundy, but not more than a 20-minute drive. The first time we came to Montreal together, we got a 10:30pm reservation at the bar and ended up having the hands-down best hospitality experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Website / Instagram
L’Express: This is a suuuper classic French restaurant and a Montreal institution. From the checkerboard floors to the waiters in ties & vests, L’Express is my favorite spot for an indulgently boozy lunch of steak tartare, duck confit and profiteroles with a bottle from their killer wine list. Website / Instagram
Marche Jean-Talon: Though it’s open year-round, Jean-Talon is best experienced in the summer when there are vendors set up all along the streets. Website
Montreal Tips & Tricks
Parking: Street parking is fairly easy to find; just pay attention to the signs for weekly street cleaning. Download the P$ app to pay by phone. During the winter months, they will tow your car in order to plow. But since it’s Canada and everyone/everything is nice, they just tow it a few streets over and don’t give you a ticket.
Reservations: Download the DINR app, which gives you access to last-minute table availability at some of the city’s best spots like Vin Papillon, Liverpool House, Garde Manger, Caffe Un Po Di Piu and more.
Alcohol & Cannabis: These are federally controlled so can only be purchased at province-run stores such as the SAQ (beer, wine, booze) and the SQDC (cannabis). And there’s no such thing as gummies in Canada, but they do sell cannabis pills, seltzers and snacks. You can buy beer and cheap wine at most deps (short for depanneur, like a convenience store), including chain ones like Couche-Tard.
BYOB: There are a ton of BYOB restaurants in Montreal, including a cluster on Duluth Avenue in the Plateau where almost every cuisine is represented. In college, my favorite was L’Academie but the St. Laurent location has since closed and the one on Crescent just isn’t the same.
*If you count my initial acceptance into McGill University plus the two times I had to talk my way back in after failing out, I’ve been accepted to this prestigious beacon of higher education THREE times. Most people end up with a PhD after getting accepted into a university three different times, but I’m perfectly happy with my barely-earned Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies, thankyouverymuch.
**This placed is designed to within an inch of its life, and usually that’s a HUGE turn-off for me, but they’ve been able to strike a nice balance between a beautiful, Instagram-worthy interior design and a sense of coziness that doesn’t make you want to kill yourself.