The Legal Nomads Guide to Montreal: What to Do & Where to Eat Gluten Free

Montreal and Leonard Cohen at Night by Mike Rigney

I was born and raised in Montreal and it is rightfully a hot tourist destination: it has great food, lovely views, a fun party scene, and is easy to get to. So I thought I’d put together a post on what to see, do, and eat, in the city, with additional notes to follow for fellow celiacs who need to be more careful about what they eat than the average tourist.

Below, you’ll find my thoughts on what to see and how to make the most of a cold winter visit, as well as the best rooftop bars and my picks for restaurants that you absolutely ought to try.

I hope you enjoy my city!

-Jodi

LAST UPDATED: AUG 1, 2023

My Opinionated Guide to Montreal: What do See, Do, and Eat

an opinionated guide to montreal: what do see, do, and eat
Montreal from atop Mount Royal

My Favourites for What To Do in Montreal

Much of the city’s activities are centred around the downtown core, now linked not only by subway but via Bixi Bikes as well.

  • In the Old Port area, ride around to see the beautiful cobblestone streets and older architecture, offering up a great overview of how the city began to take shape. Don’t miss Basilica Notre-Dame, built in 1672 and currently the largest house of worship in North America. It stands at the edge of the Old Port and its sanctuary is a marvel of stone, statues, and stained glass. Also head over to Place Jacques-Cartier to watch the bustle and noise of the artists and movement, and walk around the water’s edge while you’re there. And if it’s summer, the Clock Tower beach is a fun place to spend an afternoon.
  • Also in the summer, Sundays include the fun outdoor party at Piknic Électronik on Île Ste.-Hélène. The tiny island adjacent to Montreal easy to find (take the métro to Jean-Drapeau Park stop or use your Bixi bike!) and a perfect place to relax, or take advantage of some of the new free pop-up spaces and boardwalks around town, like Au Pied du Courant (at the edge of the current), right on the river. This mini-village is the product of a loving combo of art, food, drink, and music and it’s open as of June 1 every weekend.
  • Repercussion Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park happens annually, with one play selected to be performed throughout the city. 2018, their 30th anniversary, has Romeo and Juliet happening all across town. BYOB – bring your own BARD – and also, snacks and lawnchairs please.
  • I’d also recommend visiting Mont Royal, the tiny mountain looking down over Montreal. You can walk your way to the top, visit Beaver Lake and see the sunset over the city. In the summer, you can partake in a huge, free drum circle called Tamtams in Mont Royal park, happening every Sunday afternoon. Few people realize that Mont Royal was landscaped by the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, who also landscaped Central Park in New York City!
  • Montreal is also known for its huge, sprawling Underground City (locally called RÉSO), and in winter months the many kilometers of tunnels (32km and counting!) provides a welcome respite from the biting cold. There is a PDF of this large network of underground tunnels here.
  • For an evening drink, there are some great terrasses, rooftop bars that overlook the city. I’d recommend Terrasse Bonsecours, SAT FoodLab‘s rooftop bar,  Terrasse Place d’Armes (open for lunch and dinner in the summer months) in the Hotel Place d’Armes in the Old Port area of the city, and the William Gray hotel has a rooftop terrasse overlooking Place Jacques Cartier in the same area. Finally, I’m a big fan of Terrasse Nelligan. Note that because of Montreal’s cold winters, these rooftop bars are only open in spring and summer months.
  • If exploring local food and markets is your thing, then don’t miss the bustling Atwater or Jean-Talon fresh markets and their eye-opening selection of fresh cheeses and produce.
  • Built for the 1976 Olympic Games, the Olympic Stadium and Olympic Park are a worthwhile visit, especially if you have time to stop in at the nearby BioDome and Insectarium, a great day trip with kids. (Note that for Summer 2022, the Olympic tower is closed for repairs).
  • In the rain, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is always a fascinating way to spend an afternoon, with rotating exhibitions and creative hands-on events in a beautiful modernist space.

Montreal: A City of Many Festivals

Montreal is well-known for its many festivals, and growing up my family would trundle down to the downtown core to watch jazz in the summer, right in the middle of the streets. When I tell people to visit Montreal, I implore them to time it for the city’s most famous festival, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. Streets are closed off with hundreds of jazz shows, free and paid, taking over the spirit of the downtown core.

The second most known festival in town? Comedy. Montreal’s Just for Laughs has become a sprawling, world renowned event with huge names in comedy, newer artists breaking into the scene, and heaps of free shows and fun food trucks and more downtown for weeks.

A newer free street art festival MURAL has been making waves in the summer. It celebrates the creativity of urban art as it links up with music, dance, film, and street installations during the festival’s length.

Francofolies festival in Montreal
Francofolies festival in Montreal

Fantasia Film Festival runs in the summer months, right in the downtown core. Featuring films from all around the world, and known as the world’s largest genre film festival out there. 2018 marked Fantasia’s 22nd year, with every aspect of film industry represented: directors, actors, producers, studio reps, and so much more.

Montreal’s International Festival of Digital Creativity and Electronic Music (easier to just use Mutek, as it’s known here!) is a festival that happens around the world, in Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Tokyo, and more. In 2018, the dates were moved to August – this way it doesn’t conflict with some of the other big festivals in town – and for its 19th year Canada’s Heritage Minister Melanie Joly notes that the festival is “an essential event for fans of electronic and alternative music in Quebec. It sets itself apart through the quality and originality of its featured artists.” Don’t miss it if you’re in town in August!

Zoofest, is a Montreal festival founded in 2009 as an ode to risks takers and rising talents in comedy, allowing for the overflow from the now-super-famous Just For Laughs to start with something smaller. It’s fully bilingual, and one of the longest festivals in North America. Their 2017 events featured more than 500 artists over close to a month of  zany extravaganza.

For more festivals, including the Montreal World Film Festival, a summer series of fireworks shows, and the winter extravaganza, “IglooFest”, please see the Montreal Tourism Board’s festival page. To list them all out here would take up this entire post, but I wanted to highlight a few as it’s definitely a highlight of the city.

Also note that Montreal Museum Day happens once per year, where the city’s full roster of museums are free to enter. For 2016, it is May 29.

Winter Activities in Montreal: Bundle Up and Enjoy!

Despite the fact that my eyelashes often froze together in the winter months, Montreal in the winter is not all ice and cold. The city has an infectious spirit and an ingenious tendency to ignore the weather in favour of fun. With over 26km of underground passageways (and art!), even those who want to avoid the cold can find something to do around town. I wanted to post some of the winter highlights if you visit Montreal during its subzero months.

  • Écorécréo provides cross-country ski lessons, as well as rentals for skis, snowshoes, and sleds. For those who are feeling particularly adventurous, dog sled lessons are also available. Located in Parc Jean Drapeau, you can spend the morning outdoors and then head inside to the Biosphere to learn more about the environment you just enjoyed.
  • Montreal hosted a Hypothermic Half Marathon on February 15th,. A winter training challenge for runners, the 21km run is held around Canada – and in the US city of Eden Prairie, Minnesota – from January to March. If winter running is your thing, you can check the Quebec marathon calendar for updates for next winter.
  • If running is not for you, what about fishing? For winter months, ice fishing is available right inside the city, at the Bassin de L’Horloge (Montreal Yacht Club). Booking prices are available here. Note that they do not include the cost of the fishing permit, which is mandatory and also available on-site. Ice fishing in a metropolis is a rare feat.
  • For those who like to skate, skates can be rented throughout old Montreal, but specifically at the Old Port. From there, map out a skating route that takes you through the old city. Another option is to skate in the beautiful Parc Lafontaine. See Tourisme Montréal’s full list of winter sport options in the city, here.
  • If indoor skating is preferred, try doing so in an office building at Atrium Le 1000. Located in the lobby of Montreal’s tallest building, this indoor rink is a strange addition to the central business district, but one well worth experiencing before you leave town.
  • Montreal’s winter extravaganza, the Fête des Neiges (festival of snow), is on every winter, also at Parc Jean Drapeau. Weekends bring families and pets to the park to experience the array of outdoor activities, from skating, tubing and sledding to outdoor concerts, no matter the weather. Open from 10am-6pm the Fete is an ideal time to get a concentrated feel for a Montreal winter, all in one go.
  • For those 18 and over, IglooFest is a weekend event that brings out even the grumpiest travelers through the winter months. The Old Port of Montreal becomes the backdrop for a rowdy electronic music scene, dancing outside as the music reverberates off the frozen water.
  • The annual Montreal en Lumière festival is an 11-day behemoth that brings together food, culture, and a lot of light shows. One of the larger winter festivals around, its food and wine track has fueled its popularity, pairing local chefs with international ones as they cook for days. While some of the food events are quite expensive, the website does let you search by budget, with a list of available activities from $5-25 (as well as those for higher budgets too).
  • And last but not least, the world-famous Nuit Blanche (white night), a party from dusk to dawn that has thousands and thousands of revellers dressed in white and dancing the whole night through. Restaurants and museums stay open late – some until 3am. A night to remember.

For 2018, this list of activities is a good start, including warming up with bowls of ramen and a local beer tour.

Where to Eat in Montreal: An Important Question

Montreal is known for a wide range of gastronomic delights, and you’ll never run out of fun places to eat. Every summer when I return to visit my family, I’m excited to try the new restaurants that have sprung up in my absence. The city’s contemporary chefs focus on farm-to-table foods from Quebec, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients and a deep understanding of flavors. Ethnic food options abound, and I grew up on a steady diet of not simply local food but also Ethiopian and Indian and Vietnamese fare.

Where to eat in Montreal, including dedicated gluten free facilities
Pad thai at Cuisine de Bangkok
  • For starters: bagels. To he or she who says that Montreal bagels are the same as elsewhere, bite your tongue. Before my celiac diagnosis, these were my staple and when I ate bagels in New York I found them to simply be rolls with holes in them. Not the same! Fairmount or St. Viateur are each an ideal place to sample Montreal-style bagels. For more about what makes Montreal bagels special, see here.
  • Then head to Schwartz’ Deli for Montreal-style smoked meat, a world-famous smoked beef that comes with a side of dill pickles. Laden with yellow mustard and served on rye bread in heaping meat portions, it’s an institution and for non-celiacs should not be missed.
  • The best place to sample poutine is at La Banquise — try the original before venturing off into the french fry unknown. Readers have also highly recommended Poutineville and Chez Claudette for poutine that they truly enjoy. I can’t sample these two since they use wheat in their gravy but I’m passing on the suggestions! (Celiacs, see below)
  • Montreal is also known for pairing terrific, elegant food with bring your own wine (BYOW) restaurants. One of my favourites is Khyber Pass, for delicious Afghani cuisine. If you’re in the West Island, Aryana on des Sources is my pick. I love their pumpkin appetizer and the Kabuli palau. For a great roundup of BYOW spots, see this list of 19 spots where you can bring the bubbly. Another wonderful BYOB is Le Pegase, consistently placing in one of the top bring your drink spots in the city. Their website helpfully tells you which wines you might want to consider pairing with their fabulous menu.
  • Restaurant Marconi is a lovely example of how a shorter menu allows a restaurant to shine. Thoughtfully plated, tasty beyond measure. I recommend it often.
  • For delicious Syrian food, look no further than Damas. Highly recommended. Bonus: the dining room is beautiful.
  • For cheap eats Time Out magazine has 35 cheap eats from around town, published in 2020 and Eater Montreal also has their “18 affordable restaurants” for Montreal in April 2021.
  • Wine bars are a constant question from readers. I suggest Alma, Loic, Buvette Chez Simone, and  more upscale Le Diplomate. Larry’s isn’t technically a wine bar, but they’ve got great charcuterie and a long list of wines to try with a wide variety in prices.  For biologic / organic wines, I suggest Cul Sec. if you wanted to try a Joe Beef spot but can’t get into the main deal, their wine bar Mon Lapin is another bet.
  • For cheap and delicious Thai food, head to Cuisine de Bangkok, in the upstairs area of the Le Faubourg shopping mall. What you miss in ambiance you get in food – the photo above is from there. Other great and “as good as it gets outside of Thailand” Thai food can be found at the amazing Epicerie Pumpui, located on St. Zotique.
  • For more upscale dining, there is no shortage of choice. Liverpool House, the little sister of always-packed Joe Beef, offers fois gras, a sizeable wine list, and Montreal-style calf’s liver. Chic gastropub Lawrence serves tender meat and fresh seafood in a comfortable setting, with delicious brunches on the weekend. BarBounya takes traditional Turkish fare and presents it with care, often combining stunning presentation with delicious food.
  • If you’ve got a higher budget Martin Picard’s wildly popular Au Pied de Cochon, Normand Laprise’s Toqué!, and the mid-to-high range Shinji, for Japanese food.
  • And of course, the best for last. My favourite choice for Vietnamese foods. For bun cha, the incredibly delicious Pho Tay Ho, right at the corner of Saint-Dennis and Beaubien. Portions are huge, wait staff are friendly, and it never disappoints. If you’re on the south shore, Pho MC in Brossard has a fabulous bun bo hue – closest thing I’ve found to rival the real thing outside of Hue. And for my favourite pho in town, Restaurant Nguyen Phi in Cote-Des-Neiges takes the cake.

Gluten Free Restaurants in Montreal — Safe for Celiacs

(If you’re a celiac who travels, see my continuously-updated series of gluten free travel guides, divided by country. )

I got you covered in Montreal, mostly because it’s how I have to eat. As I have had to re-establish myself with a home base in Montreal due to health reasons, I plan to write a longer gluten free Montreal guide.

Until then…

Gluten free restaurants in Montreal

  • Cote-St-Luc BBQ has fries fried in separate oil, and the gravy is made with corn starch and not wheat flour, making it one of the few places I’ve found to consistently serve gluten-free poutine as a matter of course.
  • Another gluten free poutine option is downtown, near the Musée des Beaux Arts, at Hero Burgers. The ambience is extremely casual, but if it’s nice out get it to go and sit in the park for a treat. They’ve got gluten free buns, knowledge of cross contamination, dedicated fryers, and a prominent gluten free menu.
  • Ottavio’s is an established spot for gluten free pizza, with cross-contamination taken into account. Ottavio’s GF menu here. A better option for safe pizzas if you can’t make it to Pizza 900 Monkland, below.
  • And if you wanted Neapolitan style pizza, Pizza No. 900 is a safe bet. Note that each of their locations is franchised and knowledge of celiac may differ. In my experience, ONLY safe spot is the Monkland location. There, the chefs assured me that the pizzas were baked off premises (the gluten free dough is made from brown rice flour) and they always washed their hands and prepared my pizzas in a separate spot from all the flour floating around. They also cooked the pizza on a surface tray so that it did not come into contact with any flour left from the regular pies. Unfortunately, other locations did not follow the same protocol.
  • Toronto fave Tapigo!, a 100% gluten free tapioca crepe shop, has opened an outpost in Montreal! They have both savoury and sweet tapioca “tacos” (they’re folded over and look almost like hard 🌮 shells), and also have a selection of açaí bowls to choose from, and sell one of my absolute faves pao de quijo. So good.
gluten free tapioca crepe montreal
Tapigo! savoury crepe, courtesy of Liz who sent me this pic!
  • On the latin front: Arepera du Plateau, gluten-free corn arepas (fully gluten free facility), with chicken, cheese, and many other delicious fillings – plus fried plantains <3
  • Also on the latin front: D’maïs serves delicious gluten free empanadas made, as the name suggests, from corn.
  • With clearly-marked menu items that are gluten free, and a knowledgable staff, Venice is a good bet for poke bowls, tacos, soups and more.
  • Crêperie Du Marché, in Marché Jean-Talon, is one of my preferred spots for sarrasin (buckwheat) crepes. It has a dedicated gluten free facility – in that all of its ingredients and crepes are gluten free – and it’s smack in the middle of the chaotic market. Grab a crepe, stroll around. Eat some raw oysters. Enjoy the crowds. Can’t go wrong!
  • Newcomer Mucca just opened in Little Italy, and while I haven’t been there myself yet, Eater reports that it has a separate prep station for gluten free pastas, bread, and meals. I emailed the owner myself and he confirms that the staff is knowledgeable about celiac disease and that his wife will be able to assist with meal selection since she is strictly gluten free.
  • Abe & Mary’s on de la Montagne offers gluten free soups and salads, as well as bread toasted separately. Staff knowledgeable about celiac disease, and there are lots of snacks at the cash to grab on-the-go that are gluten free.
  • Restaurant Melisse does not have a set gluten free menu, but 80% of the dishes are already gluten free, and the staff is knowledgeable about celiac disease. The restaurant is set up beautifully, and it’s a lovely spot for a brunch or dinner if you’ve got the budget. (It’s closed in the mid-afternoons).
  • Another option in the Old Port is Ristorante Quattro, which is not a fully GF establishment but is familiar with celiac disease — so much so that their menu states, “some of these dishes are, or can be made, gluten free. Do not hesitate to ask us about it”.
  • Breizeh Cafe Montreal is the brainchild of Frédéric Coupard, who himself is from Rennes in France. His crepes are made from buckwheat and are 100% gluten-free, with both savoury and sweet options available.
  • Satu Lagi is an Indo-Malay bar and tapas bar that is 100% gluten free, and has a fun menu of small plates and satays, as well as riz dishes, for people to share or enjoy all to themselves.
Though the city is predominantly bilingual, some non-French speaking readers have had trouble as celiacs outside the Montreal area. You can pick up a French celiac translation card if that is something that worries you!

100% gluten free bakeries in Montreal

  • Le Marquis Sans Gluten is at the VERY top of the list because I have enjoyed their 100% gluten free croissants for years. They’ve got bagels, breads, tarts, and pastries, as well as online ordering available.
  • Petit Lapin’s products are gluten free, lactose free, and free of the ten priority food allergens (peanuts, tree nuts), sesame seeds, milk, eggs, seafood, soy, wheat, sulphites and mustard, and vegan. SOMEHOW, they still taste good. Order ahead via their website. You won’t regret it.
  • Parc Sans Gluten, near Parc Lafontaine, is another 100% gluten free establishment with tarts, eclairs, croissants, bread, and more. Note: they are on vacation from August 14 – September 6, 2021.
  • Cookie Stephanie is, as the name would suggest, primarily a bakery. And it’s completely gluten-free. Breads, cupcakes, cookies, and more – decadent, and safe for celiacs.
  • Gluten free donuts available at Doughnats, and courtesy of The GF BFF and and interview with the founder, they are in fact safe for celiacs. Also, The GF BFF recommends the BYOB restaurant La Brunelle as an option where they will happily adjust your meal for celiac purposes, plus bringing your own wine is a good summer sell!
  • Opened in 2019 is Audicieuse Vanille (audacious vanilla would ALSO make a great band name), a gluten free bakery in the Montreal suburb of Verdun. Rumours are that it may be closing for a time, but they hope to reopen later in the year.
  • Also established in 2019 is Vegateau, on Mount Royal E. The name is a portmanteau of Vegan and Gateau (the French word for cake), and the husband and wife owned bakery offer 100%  vegan gluten-free cupcakes, tarts, cakes, cookies, and ice cream for you to enjoy.
  • If you’re in the suburb of Lasalle, there’s a gluten free, dairy free, and nut free bakery called Mi et Stu for your dining pleasure.
  • And if you’re in the suburbs on the West Island of Montreal (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Pointe-Claire, Dorval, etc), then head to Susie Sans Gluten, whose bakery also has a robust offering of gluten free packaged products like pastas and crackers for purchase. Her cakes are incredible—I should know, since I had one for my birthday one year! Another option in that area is Delicious Without, especially good for those with more allergen issues than wheat/gluten. All of their ingredients are free of gluten, nuts, peanuts, dairy, soy or sesame. They’re also a kosher and dedicated gluten-free facility.

The bottom line: Come visit. You won’t regret it – though you might come away a few pounds heavier.

Best Books to Read about Montreal

Pre-trip reading always makes your time in a new place more interesting. Many books are set in Montreal, and reading them always makes me envision a wander around my city, reliving the characters in my mind.

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, by Mordecai Richler. Richler’s great wit and wry commentary on being an immigrant in Montreal made his books a popular requirement for schools as I was growing up, and this book remains one of his classics. The Guardian also has a good roundup of the places still standing in town that are featured in his books, in their “Mordecai Richler’s Montreal.” The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is part coming-of-age story, part family sitcom, and wholly enjoyable. I’ve read it many times and keep a copy at my parents’ place for my visits.

This Island in Time: Remarkable Tales from Montreal’s Past, by John Kalbfleisch. This book has no reviews on Amazon (I should get on that), but it is a fascinating tome about the crazy spies, royal tourists, priests, fur trappers, and more that made up the foundation of what is present-day Montreal. Engaging book, and highly recommended if you want an understanding of the city’s short but busy history.

The Tin Flute, by Gabrielle Roy. Set in the 1940s, the book follows one woman as she grows up within the slums of Montreal, during a time of war, poverty, and social stratification. A really interesting book that was originally written in French and then translated into English.

The Favourite Game, by Leonard Cohen. Many know Cohen for his songwriting, not writing, but this semi-autobiographical book follows a man named Lawrence Breavman as he grows up in Montreal.

Sacré Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec, by Taras Grescoe. I first read Taras via his excellent The Devil’s Picnic, a book about why places ban certain foods or activities. In Blues, explores the Quebec of the early 2000s, from a referendum issue to separate from Canada to fears about assimilation within an English-speaking country, to sense of humor and its relationship with France. Entertaining and an insight into some of what makes Quebec so different.

Balconville, by David. The bilingual play follows English and French-Canadian characters of Montreal’s working class, living in an area of town called “Balconville” because of the many balconies that line the buildings. A classic for us who grew up there, but great that it is available now in Kindle format to give an insight into the urban areas that founded the Montreal that we know today.

The History of Montreal: The Story of Great North American City, by Paul-Andre Linteau, translated from the French by Peter McCambridge. This book covers more than the “This Island in Time”, opting to start in prehistory and zoom all the way to the 21st century. One of the few long history books of Montreal in English, it’s a good primer of influences from the rest of the world and the city’s confluence of cultures.

 

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