Known for being a city brimming in culture and activity, Montreal is also a gustatory haven for good food and wine. The city is blessed with chef-restaurateurs who lead an oft-envied independent culinary scene that is exciting, flavour-driven and delicious. Here, local talent dominates in each of Montreal's 19 boroughs. Full of personality, these neighbourhoods are steeped in history, culture, and urban aesthetics.

Few would argue against the charms of well-trekked Old Montréal and its cobblestone roads, Verdun, aka Time Out's coolest neighbourhood in Montréal pick, Plateau Mont-Royal and the iconic shops and restaurants in Mile End, but for frequent or curious travellers, there are plenty of (tasty) reasons to head outside the tried-and-true core. Whether it's your first or first of many trips to Montreal, Villeray and La Petite-Patrie are the eclectic areas that are serving everything that's hot, happening and in the IYKYK camp.

VILLERAY

PreviousNext

Most familiar with Montréal likely conjure images of Little Italy's Jean-Talon Market. Synonymous with the city, the open-air public market is one of the largest in North America. The stalwart is known to attract crowds for its vast array of fresh, local produce and vendors specializing in meats, cheeses, pastries, and other uniquely Québécois products. But venture steps away, family-friendly Villeray is attracting all the attention.

Lauded in 2021 by Time Out Magazine as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world, the charming and compact quartier is a mix of residential and commercial offerings from public parks to sports areas including all-season outdoor fun at Parc Jarry, where the annual Rogers Cup tennis tournament is held at the IGA Stadium. This is where you'll find quaint tree-lined streets peppered with friendly cafés, fantastic restaurants with open-air terraces, plus a diverse collection of independent boutiques to shop and thrift at.

Casavant: Art Deco Neo‑Brasserie

Charming and cozy Casavant has quickly risen as a local favourite since opening in 2023. The Art Deco-accented French brasserie-style restaurant is a welcoming place where great food and good times intersect in an intimate 45-seat room with a lively atmosphere. Here, chef Charles-Tristan Prévost serves seasonal, neo-brasserie-inspired cuisine that's been given a French-Canadian twist, including the delightful tartelette Provençale that's packed with ratatouille-like stewed vegetables. It's wonderful paired with the restaurant's extensive selection of natural wines, which can be enjoyed inside the Ménard Dworkind design room or out on their seasonal curbside patio.

Claire Jacques: Apéro & Market‑Cuisine

Newcomer Claire Jacques offers a homey escape at the corner of rue Saint-Denis and rue Jarry. The quaint apéro comes from life and business partners Laurence Théberge and Philippe Guilbault, who opened their own concept in May of 2024 after working at some of the city's top restaurants. (Théberge worked for eight years at renowned-but-now-shuttered Patrice Pâtissier, while Guilbault spent time at Mastard, Hélicoptère and Pastaga.) Tuck into creative plates featuring seasonal local ingredients in unconventional sweet, savoury and tart combinations such as blueberries and black garlic with vibrant pickled purple cauliflower. It's a refreshing option that caters to everyone from solo diners escaping to a sun-drenched alcove with a glass of wine, guests bellying up to the long bar for inventive cocktails that are made from Québécois spirits to groups crowded around tables with plenty of space to park strollers while having a tête-à-tête. 

Neapolitan Dough, Natural Wines & Nostalgia

For Neapolitan-style pies, wines and beer, chef Luca Cianciulli's pizza palace, Moccione Pizza, is hard to resist. Try the Mela Smokey that blankets a tomato and eggplant pizza with a blend of cheeses, including smoked mozzarella or the crowd-pleasing Sazeech that's crowned with rapini, sausage, confit garlic, mozzarella, pecorino, and olive oil. Meanwhile, Knuckles Cantine & Vins is a neighbourhood gem best known for modern Canadian fare using Québec-sourced produce paired with low intervention wines. But don't miss the house specialty knuckle, which is a plump cheese and tomato sauce stuffed panzerotto that sports a crisp shell that's thin, supple and light.

LA PETITE-PATRIE

Plaza St-Hubert: A Welcome Reinvention

For something eclectic, head to the revamped Plaza Saint-Hubert in the neighbourhood of La Petite-Patrie. Crowned one of the coolest streets in the world in 2024 by Time Out Magazine, this strip on the centre-east side of the island is a hotspot brimming with unique culinary spaces and a slew of buzzy restaurants. Partly covered by glass awnings, the outdoor mall stretches over four blocks and is home to 400 businesses that reflect the multi-ethnic neighbourhood. You'll find everything from clothing-notably bridal-shops, thrift stores, vendors including Épicerie Conserva to load up on chef-made pantry goods and Québec-produced products, restaurants including the first St-Hubert rotisserie, plus three-story Art Mûr, one of the country's largest private contemporary art galleries.

Step into Marci sur la Plaza, which has become a go-to for New York-style pizzas, low intervention wines, and playful flavour-packed plates that pair well with moderately priced negronis and martinis. Alternatively, there's friendly Double Menton et Saucisson where you can engage in a game of pétanque while sipping on pastis and snacking on a classics like chicken cordon bleu or their library of artisanal sausages. (If you're keen on leaving a mark, pin a Polaroid selfie of your best double menton (chin) to the neighbourhood bar's wall of fame.)

Montréal Plaza: Serious Flavour, Seriously Fun

Then there's Montréal Plaza on the south end of the strip by Toqué! alumni Charles-Antoine Crête and partner Cheryl Johnson. It's a favourite among gourmands for fun, inventive flavours and playful ambiance since it opened in late 2015. Like the Zébulon Perron and Crête co-designed room, the menu is eccentric and built on a backbone of pristine seafood with seasonal produce that might pair Québec winter strawberries with pancetta or sweet shrimp tempura. You'd be remiss to skip on the daily specials, brilliant desserts (especially the deceptive simple sounding crispy fruit or frozen cake that are benchmarks in textures and whimsy) or other original numbers that are often plated in the most unexpected way, i.e. sashimi-grade hiramasa and salmon draped with matchstick apples and melon on a toy brontosaurus' back. Don't be surprised if the restaurant's resident life-size Elmo or Cookie Monster plushie takes a seat unexpectedly at your table mid-dinner.

Juliette Plaza: Playful, With a Side of Nostalgia

Separated from its older sibling by only a curtain, Crête and Johnson have recently opened bright and fanciful Juliette Plaza next door. The bistro serves a nostalgic and accessible menu that's touched with the duo's creativity. Here, silky confit arctic char comes dressed in an umami-rich seaweed vinaigrette while creamy foie gras terrine is sandwiched with tomatoes and sided by a sharply dressed fresh sea vegetable salad. Wash the line up of casual or fried bites with some low intervention wine while taking in the décor from the framed comic book pages lining the open room's walls to a ceiling wallpapered with prehistoric scenes.