Montreal restaurants that are open late
When Expedia Canada – one of my favourite go-to travel sites – asked me to write an article about Montreal that visitors to our fair city would appreciate, I thought about the kind of post I would appreciate when I travel and restaurants that are open late immediately came to mind. When I travel, I am usually out exploring all day long and by the time I get back to my hotel, rest, shower and am ready to go out to dinner, it’s later than usual and I always have to check for a list of restaurants that are open late.
Most restaurant kitchens in Montreal are usually closed by 10pm or 11pm. Below, in no particular order, is a list of my favourite late-night eats that are open until at least 12am. Enjoy!
L’Express’ classic French cuisine
L’Express
3927 St Denis / 514 845 5333
Open 7 days a week until 2am
Ask any Montrealer about their favourite French bistro food in town and they’ll surely point you in the direction of L’Express, which has been serving classic French fare since 1980. Short of hoping on a plane to Paris, head over to Saint-Denis Street for a dining experience that will transport you to la Ville lumière as soon as you cross the threshold.
The outstanding pain perdu at Leméac {photo © Leméac}
Leméac
1045 Avenue Laurier West / 514 270 0999
Open 7 days a week until midnight with a special price menu after 10pm
Leméac is a lovely French bistro located on chic Avenue Laurier West. It serves traditional French bistro fare in a classic decor and lively ambiance. It is especially nice in the summer when the terrasse is open. Leméac also offers a reduced-price menu after 10pm.
Jatoba’s Chinese and Japanese influenced dishes {photo © Martin Girard}
Jatoba
1184 Place Phillips / 514 871 1184
Monday to Wednesday until 1am / Thursday to Saturday until 3am
Jatoba hasn’t been open long but is already a favourite among Montreal’s foodies. Located in the heart of downtown Montreal, the gorgeously renovated century-old space is the playground of chef Olivier Vigneault who playfully mixes Japanese and Chinese influences to create the beautiful dishes and tapas.
La salle à manger
1302 Mont-Royal East / 514 522 0777
Open 7 days a week until midnight
A fun and hip restaurant located in the Plateau Mont Royal neighbourhood, La salle à manger is famous for its homemade charcuteries, its local cuisine, its boisterous ambiance and its cool factor. It’s a great place to hunker down for a great late-night meal while mixing with the hip local Plateau crowd.
Chef Eloi Dion’s cuisine at Mimi la nuit {photo © Vadim Daniel}
Mimi la nuit
22 Rue St Paul East / 514 507 5449
Wednesday to Sunday until 2am
Mimi la nuit is a stunning neighbourhood speakeasy in Old Montreal where the food by renowned local chef Eloi Dion is sometimes refined and sometimes casual but always accessible, unpretentious and very good. The cocktail and wine lists are also memorable. This is a great spot to grab a drink and a bite while mingling with the beautiful crowd.
Majestique
4105 Saint-Laurent / 514 439 1850
Open 7 days a week until 2am
Located on The Main (St Laurent Boulevard) on the east side of Plateau Mont Royal, Majestique is a fascinating spot with a fun ambiance that’s akin to a well-balanced mix of vintage kitsch and circus delight. The cuisine is an ode to local products and the dishes are meant to be shared, although I did find that hard to do with some of the dishes like the braised Gaspor pork that I wanted to keep to myself.
Le comptoir’s elegant cuisine {photo © Ségué Lepage}
Le comptoir charcuterie et vins
4807 Boulevard St-Laurent / 514 844 8467
Open 7 days a week until midnight
The cuisine here is based on local and seasonal ingredients well prepared with flair and creativity. The extensive homemade charcuterie menu made using a nose to tail philosophy is a unanimous crowd pleaser. The natural wine list and great service are the final touches that make this small restaurant a great dining choice.
Thazard
5329 Saint-Laurent Boulevard / 514 802 8899
Thursday to Sunday until 2 am
A Japanese menu with a French bistro look and old-school tableside cart service is what awaits you at this newly opened Mile End restaurant. This is the reincarnation of Izakaya Iwashi with chef Hachiro Fujise at the helm cooking up some of his now-famous luscious ramen soups as well as a slew of other Japanese delicacies, including housemade charcuterie.
Pub Sir Joseph
4902 St Laurent Boulevard / 514 564 7477
Sunday to Wednesday until midnight / Thursday to Saturday until 1am
If you’re a fan of British pub food, this is a great spot to grab some created using local and seasonal ingredients. The homemade charcuteries are also a must and so is the great selection of beers and cocktails. Add a great ambiance and beautiful decor to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a fun dining experience.
Great food at Buvette Ludger in St Henri {photo © Ludger}
Buvette Ludger
4001 Notre-Dame West / 438 383 3229
Bar: open late Monday to Saturday / Restaurant: Thursday to Saturday until midnight
A great little restaurant located in up-and-coming St Henri, Ludger offers a seasonal menu based on local ingredients in a great setting where the festive ambiance created by the local patrons is lovely and contagious.
Le Chien Fumant
4710 de Lanaudière / 514 524 2444
Tuesday to Sunday until 2am
Located in the heart of Plateau Mont Royal, Chien Fumant serves their very own brand of comfort food based on seasonal and local ingredients but with a nod to the chef’s international culinary escapades. Night owls – including many restaurant industry people – and great cocktails make for a terrific ambiance.
Big in Japan
3723 St Laurent Boulevard / 514 847 2222
Open 7 days a week until 3am
There was a time when every cook and waiter in town congregated at this Japanese izakaya since it was one of the only spots that opened late. Although it’s not the case anymore, this classic Japanese restaurant remains a favourite among the local crowd.
Black pudding and scallops at Chez Victoire {photo © Vadim Daniel}
Chez Victoire
1453 Mont-Royal Avenue East / 514 521 6789
Open 7 days a week until midnight with a special price menu after 10pm
Chez Victoire is located in the heart of Plateau Mont Royal, that bohemian francophone neighbourhood that ranks as one of the coolest in North America. Chef Alexandre Gosselin’s French inspired cuisine is refined yet accessible and surprises with its unusual flavour combinations influenced by the chef’s travels. The homemade charcuterie platter is a definite must. The wine menu created by sommelière Sindie Goineau is one of the best in town and includes many natural and bio-dynamic options. Chez Victoire offers a reduced-price menu after 10pm.
Au pied de cochon
536 Duluth East / 514 281 1114
Wednesday to Sunday until midnight
This critically-acclaimed restaurant by chef Martin Picard helped put Quebec food on the international map. A word of warning, enter this lair of excess hungry! You will want to try some of the classics like the foie gras poutine or the duck in a can and leave lots of room for the excellent desserts.
Restaurant Manitoba’s bar {photo © Ulysse Lemerise}
Restaurant Manitoba
271 St Zotique West / 514 270 8000
Tuesday to Saturday until midnight
“We wanted a taste of the forest in our plates, a taste of nature in our glasses, wood, rock, wind.” Thus is the Manitoba manifesto. Located in the Mile Ex – a neighbourhood on the cusp of becoming the hippest one in town – Manitoba is a fun restaurant serving local and foraged ingredients. It is especially great in the summer when the back garage door is wide open turning the little patch of grass into the best spot to enjoy one’s cocktail.
The Gibeau Orange Julep, one of Montreal’s most memorable landmarks {photo © Susan Moss}
Gibeau Orange Julep
7700 Décarie Boulevard / 514 738 7486
8am until 2am in the winter and from 8am until 5am in the summer
In the iconic Montreal establishment category, you can’t get more authentic than the Orange Julep, that 40-foot wide orange sphere that’s been around since the 60s. Although its location is remote and far from any other tourist attractions, the old-school diner has been attracting hordes of fans since waitresses in roller skates was the rage. Famous for its hot dogs, creamy orange drinks and hot rod congregation in the summer, it’s open from 8am until 2am in the winter and from 8am until 5am in the summer.
Bottega
65 St Zotique East / 514 277 8504
Tuesday to Sunday until midnight
Bottega is located in Montreal’s Little Italy neighbourhood and serves some of the best Neapolitan pizza in town. Its loud and lively ambiance is reminiscent of a trip to Italy, more precisely to Napoli and its many pizzerias. Bottega’s forno a legno (wood burning oven) is made of imported volcanic rock from Mount Vesuvius. The pizza is a must, of course, but so is the gelato, one of the best in town.
The stunning cuisine of Hôtel Herman {photo © Hôtel Herman}
Hôtel Herman
5171 Saint-Laurent Boulevard / 514 278 7000
Open 7 days a week until midnight
Hôtel Herman has garnered accolade after accolade since its 2012 opening. The young and talented team works tirelessly to make you feel welcome the minute you cross the threshold. The U-shaped central bar of this industrial chic space is where you want to be seated to enjoy the refined Quebec “nordic” cuisine of talented chef Marc-Alexandre Mercier. If you’re a fan of natural wines (and you should be), the wine menu here will lead to some wonderful discoveries.
Plat du jour at Nouveau Palais {photo © Nouveau Palais}
Nouveau Palais
281 Bernard West / 514 273 1180
Thursday to Saturday until 3am
Nouveau Palais is a classic diner located in the Mile End, the hippest neighbourhood in Montreal. The menu counts many classic diner dishes such as excellent burgers and a great mac n cheese but you’ll also find many seasonal dishes and a daily dish. The sweet potato pie is an absolute must for dessert! I also love the old school ambiance and decor.
Bangers & mash at Dominion Square Tavern in downtown Montreal {photo © Dominion Square Tavern}
Dominion Square Tavern
1243 Metcalfe / 514 564 5056
Open 7 days a week until midnight
A wonderful little tavern in the middle of the downtown core, Dominion Square Tavern serves great and unpretentious Canadian comfort food inspired by traditional British pub grub. Bangers and mash, the Ploughman’s plate and a brilliant sticky toffee pudding are some of the must have classics on the Dominion menu. The dining room is beautifully decorated and still maintains some of the many elements that are a testament to its long history, like the colored terrazzo floors and the coats of arms of the provinces of the Dominion of Canada.
Pullman
3424 Parc Avenue / 514 288 7779
Sunday to Tuesday until midnight / Wednesday to Saturday until 1am
It is said that the Pullman’s grilled cheese sandwich is the best in Montreal. Their bison burgers are also a crowd pleaser. But the main reason people head to this popular wine bar is for the extensive and interesting wine list that never ceases to amaze amateurs and connoisseurs alike.
The beautiful decor at Commerce in Old Montreal {photo © Samuel Joubert}
Commerce
500 McGill / 514 871 1500
Monday to Saturday until 1am
Located in Old Montreal, this modern neighbourhood bar offers a “snack” menu of typical bar fare as well as a more elaborate menu with more refined dishes and complete meals created by renowned chef Martin Juneau that appeal to carnivores and vegetarians alike. The dazzling decor creates a warm and convivial space that centers around the main bar and its great lighting fixture while highlighting the space’s original brick walls and great windows.
Le Vin Papillon
2519 Notre Dame West
Tuesday to Saturday until midnight
Le Vin Papillon – Joe Beef’s little sister – is located in the heart of Little Burgundy, a neighbourhood that’s seen a proliferation of restaurants in the past few years. If you are a wine lover, then this restaurant should be at the top of your list. The food menu with its vegetable-centric (not vegetarian) philosophy is also worth a jaunt to that part of town. The tiny restaurant doesn’t take reservations so get there early or wait in line, it’s absolutely worth it!
I partnered with Expedia on this post but the subject matter and content remain my choices. Check out the Expedia Canada travel guide to discover more of what to do in Montreal.
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