# Visiting Montreal early July **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** vacation-travel\ **Created:** [May 8, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914 "2026-05-08T19:57:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/1 "2026-05-08T19:57:27Z")
I’m going to a square dance convention in Montreal around July 4th. Mostly I’ll be busy at the convention, but I’d like to go to a good restaurant with a friend while I’m there. Actually, I’d like to do two meals: 1. deli for lunch one day 2. someplace fancy for dinner another day I might also have a few hours to walk around the city some morning. What do you recommend? (There was a Montreal sliced meat place someone recommended in a previous thread, but i can’t find it.) For dinner, I’ll be with a friend i like to get together with for fine dining. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/2 "2026-05-08T23:41:45Z")
Probably Schwartz’s on St. Laurent was the smoked meat place recommended, although it is hard to find a bad smoked meat place. In recent years I have lost track of fine dining places, including a few with Michelin stars. My favorite go to place is called Sirene de la Mer restaurant and sea food store. What my wife and I do is go into the fish store and pick out fish (usually one fish large enough for two) and then do into the restaurant and choose an accompanying potato or rice and tell the waiter that you have chosen fish from the store and they will serve it over a bed of veggies. Usually we will order some Lebanese appetizers. And they have good Lebanese desserts. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/3 "2026-05-09T00:10:23Z")
Schwartz’s sounds right. I see there’s a lot of middle eastern influenced food there. I’m going to need to be careful to tell them I’m allergic to eggplant. That doesn’t usually come up in America. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/4 "2026-05-09T04:57:32Z")
I hear the bagels there are supposed to be pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/5 "2026-05-09T11:15:52Z")
St. Viateur and Fairmount are the two biggies in the Montreal bagel world ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/6 "2026-05-09T11:29:50Z")
Oh, that’s a good point. Montreal has it’s own style of bagels, that are sweet. Or so I’ve heard. I don’t really want my bagels to be sweet, but it would be fun to try a Montreal bagel while I’m there. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/7 "2026-05-09T11:31:31Z")
Following because we will be there in early June and wouldn’t mind a few recs! ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/8 "2026-05-09T11:42:26Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Montreal has it’s own style of bagels, that are sweet. They aren’t pastry-sweet, but they are boiled in water with malt sugar in it before baking. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/9 "2026-05-09T11:47:45Z")
A proper New York bagel is boiled in water with lye, not sugar. 😆 But you’re absolutely right, i should try to have one. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/10 "2026-05-10T02:36:59Z")
I dislike Montreal bagels. I guess they are pretty good with butter, but don’t get along with cream cheese and lox. And their holes are much too large to make a decent sandwich anyway. Of course, I grew up with NY style bagels. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/11 "2026-05-10T02:45:53Z")
Yeah, i think I’m going to have to try it as a new-to-me kind of bread product, because I’m nearly certain it will disappoint me as a bagel. Still, i _would_ like to try one. Do i have to go to a bagel place to get a real one, or can i get them in other places? (In new York City, many supermarkets, delis, and even convenience stores sell brand name bagels from good places.) ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/12 "2026-05-10T02:51:04Z")
My opinion is that you need to get one fresh from a place where they are baked in house. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/13 "2026-05-10T03:02:29Z")
You can certainly get them in supermarkets. But they don’t keep very well and, when my kids visit, they will want them from St. Viateur. My daughter lives in Brooklyn and somebody drives Montreal bagels down to Brooklyn and sells them. She says that even 6 or 7 hours on the road leaves them decidedly poorer. They should be eaten as fresh as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/14 "2026-05-11T13:52:26Z")
It sounds like you’re covered for deli/bagels. It strikes me that you’d prefer Schwartz’s Montréal smoked meat over Saint Viateur or other Montréal style bagels. The following is quoted from the last time I asked my Montréalaise friend Elaine about fine dining - "Someone mentioned Montréal Plaza to me yesterday - 6230, rue St-Hubert. One of my favourites is le Mousso, but you would need to book in advance and it is pricey though well worth it. “Le Mousso proposes a fixed tasting menu for 250$ per person, there’s a wine paring optional also. Every client has to be in the room by 18h30. The night will end around 22h.” They feed you, you have no say in what is put in front of you. They serve 30 people per night. My local fave is Rose Ross, on Masson, I have never been disappointed, the food is creative and flavourful. An epicurean suggested Furco downtown, [https://www.barfurco.com/](https://www.barfurco.com/). Then his thoughts turned to other neighbourhoods : Vin mon lapin, [https://www.restomontreal.ca/resto/vin-mon-lapin-little-italy/12256/en/](https://www.restomontreal.ca/resto/vin-mon-lapin-little-italy/12256/en/) and Pichai, [https://pichai.biz/](https://pichai.biz/). I don’t think any of these would be cheap, but the Québécois live to eat, and I’ve never been disappointed in their haute cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-montreal-early-july/1029914/15 "2026-05-11T15:00:15Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > It sounds like you’re covered for deli/bagels. One final question about the bagels, if I may. Can you recommend good bagel places in the Montreal area?