In April, I got to return to Montréal for a week to visit my best friend and attend a Florence + the Machine concert. Beyond the concert, I also got to explore the Montréal food scene, trying some amazing restaurants, cafes and bakeries as well as returning to some old favourites.
While my previous visit to Montréal was shortly after my friend had moved to the city, on this visit she was able to share some of her best discoveries since moving here nearly 4 years ago. I’ve shared many of these locations in the post below. As per usual, I have created a handy Google Map that you can save to your own account for easy trip planning.
A note on accessibility in Montréal: Many buildings in downtown Montréal pre-date accessibility code and therefore, are inaccessible. It is common for cafes and restaurants to have stairs down to their doors as they are set below street level. Unless otherwise specified, the cafes and bakeries on this list are not accessible to individuals with mobility issues.
1. Cafe Aunja
Location: 1448 Sherbrooke St W
Cafe Aunja is a beautiful Iranian cafe that I discovered on my first trip to Montréal, so naturally I had to return on my recent visit.
The cafe serves Iranian teas, coffee, breakfasts, sandwiches, and pastries. They are located just one block from the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (the Museum of Fine Arts).
This time, I visited for a Sunday brunch. I tried the vegetable omelette, which was served with tomatoes and Iranian bread. I also had a London Fog. They also serve a Persian Fog, which looks delicious if you can eat pistachios.
2. Shaughnessy Café
Location: 1455 Rue Lambert-Closse
Shaughnessy Café is located in Shaughnessy Village, part of downtown Montréal. The little cafe sits on the corner of Rue Lambert-Closse and the Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest.
It is a basement cafe accessed by a set of exterior stairs. They also have a small covered patio in front of the entry.
Shaughnessy Café is one of my friend’s go-to spots. I stopped in one day while I was working remotely and picked up a nice chai latte. They also serve sandwiches and pastries, in addition to the standard coffee and tea beverages.
3. Café Myriade
Location: 2021 Atwater Ave Suite 100
Accessibility: The Mont-Royal (28 Mont-Royal Ave W and Westmount locations (347 Av. Victoria) have stair-free entrances.
Café Myriade is a Montréal-based cafe with 5 locations across the city: in Shaughnessy Village, Westmount, Le Plateau, Mont-Royal, and Quartier Concordia.
It is a great place to go for pastries. They bake many of their goods in-house at the Mont-Royal location, and source their croissants from Hof Kelsten, a local bakery in Le Plateau. They have a partnership with 49th Parallel Roasters, a Vancouver-based coffee roastery, but also feature other guest roasters.
4. Rockaberry Café
Location: 5557 Monkland Ave
Accessibility: Most of their locations have step-free entry; however, the Griffintown location is not accessible.
Rockaberry is a cafe known for it’s extravagant pies. From classics like apple and strawberry rhubarb to more cake-like options like the Rockaberry chocolate brownie with mousse and the tiramisu, there is plenty to choose from. We visited the location in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
5. Bar Caffettiera
Location: 2055 Rue Stanley
Accessibility: They have a step-free entrance.
Bar Caffettiera is an Italian-style coffee bar with a no-nonsense attitude about their coffee. They have a list of their coffee rules posted around the space, such as no extra hot milk, no ice cubes, and no sizes. Beyond coffee, they also serve sandwiches on foccacia, an assortment of pastries, and cocktails.
If you are a coffee-lover with a strong respect for the bean the old fashioned way, you have to add Bar Caffettiera to your list.
6. Bernie Beigne
Location: 23 Rue Bernard O
Bernie Beigne is a doughnut shop in Mile End that opened during covid and is still going strong. This local business makes everything in house and serves a wide variety of donuts, from glazed and cinnamon sugar to M&M and Biscoff creations.
The shop also makes a delicious (and gigantic) apple fritter. You can watch them makes the doughnuts, from rolling out the dough, to frying, to glazing in the front window. It is a must-stop spot in the Mile End.
7. St-Viateur Bagel
Location: 263 R. Saint Viateur Ouest
St-Viateur Bagel is the place to go for authentic Montreal bagels. They have been handmaking the bagels in their woodfired oven since 1957.
The business is still cash or debit only, so keep that in consideration when visiting. You may also find their bagels in grocery stores around the city.
St-Viateur Bagel has 5 locations around Montréal. This includes their flagship location on Rue St-Viateur, as well as locations further out, in Anjou, Laval, and Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
8. Fairmount Bagel
Location: 74 Av. Fairmount O
Fairmount Bagel is a legacy bagel business in Montréal. Originally started as Montreal Bagel Bakery in 1919, the current bakery today is still run by the grandchildren of the founder, Isadore Shlafman.
Fairmount Bagel is your connection to the history of bagel making here in Montréal. Add this stop to your Mile End tour.
9. Cafe Fernanda
Location: 174a Rue Bernard O
Cafe Fernanda is a beautiful, cozy little spot in Mile End. This Portuguese-style cafe has a great atmosphere and cute decor.
It serves great coffees and tea lattes, along with the best pasteis de nata that I’ve had outside of Portugal.
We stopped here on our day exploring Mile End, where we had a breakfast of lattes and nata. I definitely recommend adding this spot to your cafe list.
10. Hinnawi Bros Bagel & Café
Location: 2002 Rue Mackay
There are 4 Hinnawi Bros Bagel & Café locations around downtown Montréal. I visited the location on the corner of Rue Mackay and Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, across the street from Concordia University.
The cafe serves a variety of breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches, salads, and tea and coffee beverages. We enjoyed a nice breakfast here of bagels, a chai latte, and a mocha.
Map of Cafes and Bakeries in Downtown Montreal
Save this map to your Google account for future reference!