Montréal is the most populous municipality in the province of Quebec and the 2nd-most populous in Canada – boasting a population of approximately 4.1 million in its metropolitan area (according to a 2014 census). Originally called Ville-Marie, or “City of Mary,” it’s named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city.

Montreal has hosted multiple international conferences and events throughout its history, including the 1967 International and Universal Exposition and the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics. Currently, the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival.

Three quick facts about Montréal:

• Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world, after Paris.
• Montreal is one of three North American cities home to organizations of the United Nations (along with Washington, D.C. and New York) and also has the 2nd-highest number of consulates in the continent.
• Montreal’s Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel gained international recognition when John Lennon and Yoko Ono conducted held their legendary bed-in from May 26 to June 2, 1969, writing the anti-war song “Give Peace a Chance.”

Evelyne at Mionetto party

the local: Evelyne Budkewitsch
the location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

how long have you lived in Montreal? My whole life, lets say 40-ish years 😉

a quick intro about yourself
Evelyne Budkewitsch is the owner and publisher of CulturEatz, a delicious blog dedicated to food lovers, home cooks and restaurant-goers, all wishing to explore a more exotic palate in their plate. My goal is to help readers discover different cuisines, ingredients and flavors found in dishes around the world through recipes and reviews. I live in the wonderful French city of Montreal. My roots are part Quebecois, Canadian, Austrian and Russian. If I am not at home trying to keep the peace between me and my cat or cooking a weird recipe in my kitchen, you will find me gallivanting about the city trying a new restaurant, food or drink with friends. Good thing Montreal is known worldwide for its food diversity!

you can follow Evelyne on:
– her site: www.cultureatz.com/
– youtube: Evelyne at CulturEatz
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– twitter: @cultureatz

If I am not at home trying to keep the peace between me and my cat or cooking a weird recipe in my kitchen, you will find me gallivanting about the city…

WHERE TO EAT:

It is so hard to pick my favorite restaurants. After all Montreal has more restaurant per capita than any other city in North America. I will choose my latest favorites, the list constantly changes 🙂

Pummaro
5205 Rue Sherbrooke O, Montréal, QC, H4A 1T7 | http://pummaro.ca

This is probably my latest great discovery. This pizzeria specializes in true Sicilian style pizza. The owner Ugo makes his dough by hand at the end of each evening. I love the irregular elongated shape and the presentation. There is a large selection of pizzas to choose from. The tiramisu is a must too: not to sweet and bitter chocolate. This place is BYOB, a popular criteria some restaurants have in Montreal: bring your own bottle (of wine). Keeps the bill down.

Saiko Bistrot Izakaya
1065 Côte du Beaver Hall, Montréal, QC, H2Z 1S5 | http://sai-ko.ca

A Japanese friend took me here. This girl knows her sushi and she says it is the best in town. I must say it was excellent sushi. We got the Omakase menu which is a chef’s choice tasting menu. We enjoyed a delicious fish soup, a seafood salad, fish tartar,a lovely selection of sushi and a matcha cake roll. And this is where I learned to eat sushi properly. When I was about to dip the rice part of my sushi piece in the soya sauce, my friend gave me a death stare. The proper way to sauce your sushi is by dipping the fish part, not the rice part. Yeah so extra chop stick practice is on order for me lol.

Pied de Cochon
536 Avenue Duluth E, Montréal, QC, H2L 1A9 | aupieddecochon.ca

Want a Quebec experience, but with a debauchery twist? Than let insane chef Martin Picard (right of group photo) blow your mind and waistline. He is the genius behind the infamous fois gras poutine. There is the restaurant in the city, there is a food truck, and the bi-annual sugar shack event in Mirabel. I have done each option several times. I have gone with groups of food bloggers and friends. My all time favorite dish from the sugar shack was a cabbage head stuffed with pork, foie gras AND lobster. But my favorite moment was at the restaurant when we befriended the table next to us, a couple from NYC that came to Montreal only to eat. He ordered the entire roasted pig head with a lobster in the mouth and decorated with edible gold leafs.

Sumac
3618 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal, Québec, H4C 1P5 | sumacrestaurant.com

A great address for delicious Middle Eastern fair in a modern eatery setting. First thing you need to know about this place is that they do not take reservations so expect a line up. My party of three was lucky and we got a table pretty fast. Everyone lines up to order at the cash and then you wait to be seated or do take-out. The menu is huge: very fresh salads, pita sandwiches, dips, pickles and you must try the hummus fries. if you want to try a few things get a plate option and pick your salads. There are also huge dishes to share called family style. Their pita bread is to die for. Oh and it is in a very trendy gentrified neighborhood so make sure to walk off your dinner in Griffintown after along Notre-Dame street.

Thanks for helping us Eat Like a Local in Montreal, Evelyne!

Planning a trip or thinking about visiting Montreal? Check out Tourism Montreal for some great information and guides! Or buy DK Books’ Top 10 Montreal & Quebec City from Amazon!

The Eat Like a Local series is a unique look at good places to eat in various town, cities and countries around the world. This isn’t your usual tour book guide list and it definitely isn’t paid for by any restaurants or tourism boards – this is just a local resident sharing their favourite food recommendations. You can check out all the places we’ve covered on and find out how YOU can get involved on this page.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. However, I am part of the Amazon affiliate program and the product links shared in this post are affiliate links – if you click on them and purchase something, I will receive a tiny commission fee (at no extra cost to you) which helps me keep this site running. Please read my disclosure policy for more information.

All photos in this post belong to Evelyne Budkewitsch and are used here with permission. Please do not copy or reproduce any part of this post (written content or images) without obtaining the proper permissions.