Montreal is a city unlike any other, known for its vibrant cultural heritage, amazing architecture, and one of the best culinary scenes on the planet.
Not only is it influenced by the French, but also by British, Italian, Jewish, and many other communities from all over the world. If you’d like to make the most of this masterpiece of flavors, I promise that a food tour is unlike any other mouthwatering adventure you could ever go on.
From the most famous eateries to those local hidden gems, you’ll get to savor all kinds of diverse treats on these top Montreal food tours. We’ve carefully curated these 5 fantastic experiences, leaving your taste buds in pure bliss!
Best Food Tours in Montreal
| Montreal Walking Food Tour With Secret Food Tours | Montreal Personalized Private Food Tour with a Local Foodie | Mile End Montreal Original Food Tour - by Local Montreal Tours | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Walking Food Tour | Best Private Tour | Best Locals Tour | |
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| Departure: | 5170 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal | Hotel pickup and drop-off included | 5687B Av du Parc, Montréal |
| Start: | Between 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM | Between 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | 12:30 PM |
| Duration: | 3.5 hours | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| Includes: | Alsatian bacon and onion tart, Montreal-style bagel, Poutine and smoked meat, Gnocchi with tomato sauce, Delicious Secret Dish | A local host, 6–8 food tastings suggested by your host, 2 drinks (alcoholic or soft drinks), walking experience | Gravelax sandwich, Montreal bagels, Drogheria, homemade gnocchi with Montreal's best tomato sauce, ice cream, Kouzina Niata, Saint-Laurent, craft brewery 4oz beer or tea |
Quick Answer: The 5 Best Rated Montreal Food Tours For 2024
- Montreal Walking Food Tour With Secret Food Tours
- Montreal Personalized Private Food Tour with a Local Foodie
- Mile End Montreal Original Food Tour – by Local Montreal Tours
- Jewish Neighborhood Food Tour
- Old Montreal Food & Drink Tour by Local Montreal Food Tours
Montreal Food Tour Reviews
1. Montreal Walking Food Tour With Secret Food Tours
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Departure: 5170 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal
- Departure Time: Between 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Includes: Alsatian bacon and onion tart, Montreal-style bagel, Poutine and smoked meat, Gnocchi with tomato sauce, Delicious Secret Dish
If this is your first day in Montreal, I don’t care what else you do that day but you have to go on this tour first. The Montreal Walking Food Tour with Secret Food Tours is one of the best, most authentic ways to get to know this beautiful city and the versatile culture that lives within it.
Not only that, but you’ll get to try some seriously mouthwatering dishes that will change your life. Start out by meeting up with your tour guide and the rest of your group, which is at a central location that is easy for most people to access.
The group tends to consist of around 10 people, which seemed just perfect for making friends while still having a kind of “exclusive” group experience rather than being another head in the crowd.
I have to commend our guide and how well she did at keeping everyone engaged and interacting with each other naturally, making it feel like one big family!
In fact, you should think of your guide as your secret weapon: providing you with tips on where and what to eat in the city and any other cool insider tips you may be interested in.
You’ll head through Little Italy, where you’ll get to try one of the best gnocchi I’ve ever had in my life, along with tons of classic French dishes. Of course, there’s a bit more of a French influence in Montreal, so it makes sense that you’ll experience more of it here.
The Montreal-style bagels give NYC a run for its money, and the Alsatian tarts and local ice cream were the perfect desserts after sampling all of the delicious dishes and hearing about their history. The Italian coffee works as a tasty digestive ideal after trying the “Secret Dish” and all the other selections, too!
Tour Information & Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
2. Montreal Personalized Private Food Tour with a Local Foodie
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: Hotel pickup included
- Departure Time: Between 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Includes: A local host, 6–8 food tastings suggested by your host, 2 drinks (alcoholic or soft drinks), walking experience
Listen, I know how personal food is and that can make it difficult when you go on a “standard” food tour. You may worry that you’re wasting your money on food that you may not potentially enjoy, but that will never be the case with this tour.
The Montreal Personalized Private Food Tour with a Local Foodie is an exhilarating culinary journey that will take you on a treasure trove of eats based on your specific interests.
The tour starts off with you meeting with your tour guide in the heart of Plateau, which is known for being a hot spot for students and has a lively charm with tons of 24-hour eateries and casual bars. Make sure to bring some comfortable walking shoes, because you’ll be doing plenty of that today!
The guides are super friendly and will ask you about any interests or food preferences you have, to design a customized itinerary around that!
No matter where you go, you’re bound to explore an amazing array of local specialties in these multicultural neighborhoods, ending up in the trendy Mile End which is around 1.5 miles from the starting point.
I highly recommend you try the traditional bagel shops and “hip” cafes, which I personally could spend all day, every day in! After trying the legendary St-Viateur’s bagels, just know that you’ll always crave them, no matter where in the world you are!
I really enjoyed the local Italian grocery store, with its friendly staff and plenty of delicious wines, cheeses, and meats to choose from. However, if you really are a cheese fan, make your way over to Jean-Talon market for particularly interesting selections (with soft, chewy crepes to contrast!).
What made this experience even more profound, was getting to meet the owners, bakers, chefs, etc, along the way and hearing about the stories behind each locale.
Tour Information & Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
3. Mile End Montreal Original Food Tour – by Local Montreal Tours
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: 12:30 PM
- Departure Time: 5687B Av du Parc, Montréal
- Includes: Try local gravelax sandwich, Montreal bagels, Drogheria, fresh homemade gnocchi with Montreal’s best tomato sauce, ice cream (in summer months only) Kouzina Niata, country-style Greek eatery from a local crew Siboire Saint-Laurent, craft brewery 4oz beer or tea for non-alcohol drinkers, *Only on Tuesday – Phyllo Bar Melina’s Classic spanakopita
I guarantee you that you can find delicious, unique food in just about any neighborhood in Montreal. However, if you really want to experience a particularly vibrant food scene with a wide array of culinary offerings, Mile End is your best bet.
On the Mile End Montreal Original Food Tour – by Local Montreal Tours, you’ll get to taste everything from hand-rolled bagels and expertly-crafted espressos to Italian cheeses and Jewish delicacies.
Mile End is probably one of the most representative of Montreal’s multicultural spirit and dedication to culinary innovation, offering something for everyone! This can, however, make it a bit challenging to know where to begin with the huge array of eating options.
Meet with your local guide to ensure you enjoy everything you eat, learning some of the secrets that many tourists tend to miss out on.
First off, you’re going to have the pleasure of trying a gravlax sandwich, which is made with raw salmon cured with salt, sugar, and dill to give it an interesting sweet/salty flavor.
These are super popular in Montreal, and although everyone isn’t a huge fan, it’s worth trying! St. Viateur Bagel has been around for nearly a whopping 70 years, and you’ll get to learn about and try the delicacies from this iconic spot.
If you’re a gnocchi fan, you simply can’t pass up trying the city’s best tomato sauce (and gnocchi, of course) at the Drogheria Fine, which you’ll surely feel at home in.
For those beer lovers, try Siboire Saint-Laurent’s impeccable craft brews and refreshing teas for those non-alcohol drinkers. Depending on the time of year, you’ll also get to enjoy a tasty ice cream dessert at Kem Coba, which is truly some of the best I’ve ever had!
Tour Information & Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
4. Jewish Neighborhood Food Tour
- Duration: 4 hours
- Departure: 1057 Av. Bernard, Outremont, QC H2V 1V1
- Departure Time: 10:00 AM
- Includes: Local guide, 5 to 7 food tastings
While we know that Montreal has quite the international influence, its Jewish neighborhood has one of the biggest influences of them all. It’s no secret that the community has delicious eats, so why not try some while learning all about it on this next tour?
The Jewish Neighborhood Food Tour is one of the most unique food tours I’ve been on, seamlessly incorporating interesting historical accounts with delicious plates of food!
Start out by meeting your guide and the rest of your group at 10 am to set off on a fun walking tour through Montreal’s Jewish neighborhood lined with beautiful homes, cafes, shops, and eateries.
The first stop of the day is a deli known for its delicious smoked meats in Outremont, which is home to a big Hasidic Jewish community. Here, you’ll sample 3 traditional Jewish dishes while the guide tells you about Montreal’s overall history and food scene.
Everyone knows that the best complement to “salty” is “sweet”, so up next, we head over to a local kosher bakery to try some of the best Jewish desserts around!
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It won’t be the same every single time, but these samples will usually include chocolate babka, stuffed hamentashen, nutty rugelach, and poppy seed cake (my favorite!). Oh, and we would be sacrilegious to leave off a visit to a bagel stop given that it’s Montreal and a Jewish food tour!
That means we have to take a stop at one of Montreal’s best bagel shops (these may vary as well), learning about the local favorites and how they get their bagels so dense and flavorful.
As you walk between each stop to try new dishes, the guide will point out various points of interest, such as the unique architecture here. Learn about well-known past and present residents, including writer, Mordecai Richler, and enjoy this amazing experience!
Tour Information & Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
5. Old Montreal Food & Drink Tour by Local Montreal Food Tours
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: 360 Rue Saint-Jacques, Montréal
- Departure Time: 1:00 PM
- Includes: Crew Collective & Cafe, NELLI Wine Bar, Calem Ice Cream, Le Beau Marché
Old Montreal is one of my favorite places in the world, not only for the historic architecture, but for the Old Port views, lively Place Jacques-Cartier, and definitely the food!
You’ll be feeling like you’ve just been transported over to 17th-century Europe but with a lot better hygiene standards. If that sounds intriguing to you, do yourself a favor and sign up for the Old Montreal Food & Drink Tour by Local Montreal Food Tour!
Much like the previous tour, I felt this one was perfect for history buffs as it seamlessly melded the culinary scene with the history of the unique neighborhood. Start your tour by meeting your guide and the rest of your group at the breathtaking Notre-Dame Basilica.
You won’t go inside, but your guide will tell some fascinating stories and historical accounts about it! Then you’ll set off with your group to your first food stops, walking through the beautiful Old Port of Montreal on the way for some stunning views.
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The first stop is typically the Crew Collective & Cafe, where you’ll try a tasty smoked salmon bagel before heading over to NELLI Wine Bar for some poutine and red wine! If you haven’t tried that combo, trust me, it’s one of the best – especially late at night!
It’s not all about savory dishes, though – your next stop is at Ca Lem Ice Cream for a couple of scoops of interesting flavors like taro, tamarind, watermelon, and more!
After that, you will take a short stroll on over to Le Beau Marché for an expansive array of local cheeses and charcuteries! Overall, this is a fantastic way of exploring Old Montreal, with plenty of insider tips from an expert guide!
Tour Information & Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
FAQs About Montreal Food Tours
What are some foods that I will taste on a Montreal food tour?
Bagels: Montreal bagels are boiled in honey water and baked in wood-fired ovens, giving them a slightly sweet and smoky flavor. They are smaller, denser, and have a larger hole than New York bagels.
Smoked meat sandwiches: Smoked meat is cured beef brisket that is spiced, smoked, and steamed until tender. It is sliced thinly and piled high on rye bread with mustard.
Poutine: Poutine is a dish of fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. It is believed to have been first created in Quebec in the 1950s. It’s probably the most well known Canadian food. You can find poutine at almost any restaurant in the city.
Orange Julep: Orange Julep is made from milk, egg and orange juice and blended into a froth. It is served at Gibeau Orange Julep, a giant orange-shaped building on the Décarie autoroute. The drink is refreshing especially on a summer day.
Steamé: Steamé is a steamed hot dog served on a toasted bun with mustard, relish, and coleslaw. It is a simple but satisfying snack that you can find at many casse-croûtes (snack bars) in Montreal.
Wilensky’s Special: Wilensky’s Special is a grilled sandwich with all-beef salami and bologna, cheese, and mustard. It is served at Wilensky’s Light Lunch, a family-run diner that has been open since the early 1930s.
Pâté Chinois: Pâté Chinois is a casserole of ground beef, corn, and mashed potatoes. It is similar to shepherd’s pie but with a different origin story. Some say it was invented by Chinese cooks who worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 19th century. Others say it was brought by British immigrants who adapted it from the Chinese dish chop suey. You will find it find at any diner or bistro in Montreal.
Griot: Griot is a Haitian dish of cubes of marinated, spiced, and fried pork shoulder. It is served with rice and beans, plantains, pikliz (spicy coleslaw) and sauce ti-malice (a tangy sauce made with onions, garlic, peppers, and lime juice).
Is it worth doing a Montreal food tour?
If you want to explore Montreal and eat some delicious food then doing a food tour in Montreal is definitely worth it. A food tour is a great way to explore the city’s diverse and delicious culinary culture, learn about some history and maybe meet some local chefs. Montreal is known for its great food and restaurants. Doing a tour will give you the opportunity to try bagels, smoked meat and poutine.
Can I drink alcohol on a food tour?
Some food tours do include alcohol, such as beer, wine or cocktails. The drinking age is 18 in Montreal. Be sure to bring a valid ID to prove your age. If you do not drink alcohol there are plenty of non-alcoholic beverage options.
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The Montreal Walking Food Tour With Secret Food Tours is our Editors Choice for the best Montreal food tour
