Meet 4 of Montreal’s Best Food Tours

Doing a food walk in Montreal might not be the first thing that pops to mind when you actually live here. Our holy trinity of bagels, smoked meat, and poutine is easy to explore: you already know the big players (and if you don’t, we’ve got the scoopon that). But for those keen to delve deeper into local food culture — native Montrealers, new arrivals, and visitors alike — an afternoon spent on a food walk with a savvy guide is a chance to learn (and taste) more.

These tours are run by Montrealers obsessed with the city’s food scene. You can sign on to be part of a group or set up a private tour (for any occasion), usually for two or more. Here are some picks of the best options that focus on keeping it small and connected to the community.

Beyond the Market (Spade and Palacio)

Spade and Palacio’s co-founders worked as accredited tour guides for years before taking the plunge with their own business. “We got tired of wearing uniforms and spewing scripts”, says Danny Pavlopolous. He and Anne-Marie Pellerin offer various “non-touristy” tours by bike and on foot, focusing on art, architecture, history, and food. Their Beyond the Market tour is a three-hour exploration of the area surrounding Jean-Talon Market, with an emphasis on small businesses, the majority women-owned.

Tastings start with Salvadorean pupusas in the Latino neighbourhood east of the market, followed by a visit to Jean Talon market for cheese, charcuterie, and ice cream, where a short exploration break is included. Next stop is Brasserie Harricana for a Quebec cheese and beer sampling; from there it’s off to a third-wave coffee roastery, finishing up with a southern fried chicken picnic in the Parc de la Petite Italie, weather permitting. “We knew people would come to the market, but wouldn’t necessarily explore too much nearby,” says Anne-Marie. “And that’s important.” They give a curated list of their favourite neighbourhood haunts to all visitors (plus a branded bag for market shopping) to ensure that participants know exactly where to go next time.

Taste of Chinatown with a Food Writer (Random Cuisine)

Chinatown offers a compact zone for tasting a range of regional Chinese flavours, and Victor Yu’s tour is a perfect introduction. The indefatigable Yu offers a three-hour tour peppered with information about the history of Montreal’s Chinatown and its food lore. Booked through AirBnB as a Montreal experience, Yu tailors his tours to his visitors’ interests, dietary preferences, and the level of spice they can tolerate.

A typical tour might start with bao — airy Chinese buns filled with various sweet or savoury fillings — and move on to a Cantonese barbecue stall, followed by a sit-down at a local restaurant. From there it’s some a Lanzhou noodles or a spun sugar candy demonstration, Hong Kong bubble waffles, or perhaps a salty, crunchy Chinese pancake snack. The highlight for many visitors is an extensive supermarket tour, where Yu — a physicist by training — explains ingredients, what real bok choy is (and what isn’t), and his tips for the best tea to drink after too much fried food.

Beyond the Bagel: Museum of Jewish Montreal

The Museum of Jewish Montreal has been offering historically informed food tours for the past five years. Setting off from Mile End bakery Cheskie’s (complete with a tasting of its cheese-crown danish), the four-hour tour wends its way down Parc Avenue to the Main and into the Museum’s own café, Fletcher’s, sampling bagels, the iconic Wilensky special, traditional rye bread at Hof Kelsten, pickles at the site of Mrs. Whyte’s original factory, and smoked meat at Schwartz’s.

Beyond the Bagel/Facebook

The information-rich itinerary is as dense and chewy as a fresh bagel: who knew that Moishes’ origins are in part due to a failed gambling bet, or that the Fairmont Bagel Bakery building was owned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses for decades? The tour’s trajectory offers poignant insights into a community with street vendors, horse delivery carts, and markets that have now disappeared.

Will Travel for Food (Mayssam Samaha)

Award-winning Montreal blogger Mayssam Samaha has been sharing her insights into Montreal’s food scene for the past nine years, winning accolades along the way from Saveur magazine, among others. Samaha shares her love of Jean Talon Market through her own food tours; (she’s also a guide for international outfit Context Travel). Samaha can arrange for private tours and moveable feasts tailored to special interests and occasions, such as wine, craft beer, and specific cuisines and foods: think of a curated wander through Little Italy with arancini, bomboloni, pizza al taglio, and coffee.

Samaha adjusts her market tours to the seasons, always making stops for local cheeses and ice cider. She wishes that more Montrealers would explore the city’s food through these kinds of guided walks. “If you come with me as a native Montrealer, you’re going to know where to buy the best cheese, the best fish, the best charcuterie,” she says. “It’s okay to ask questions, to talk to the vendors, to find out what’s next, crop-wise. Then when those people come back, they can build on their relationship with the vendors — and it can become their own market, too.”