Restaurants

A generation ago, most restaurants in Montreal served only French cuisine. A few temples de cuisine delivered haute standards of gastronomy; numerous accomplished bistros served up humbler ingredients in less grand settings; and folksy places featured the hearty fare that long employed the ingredients available in New France -- game such as caribou, maple syrup, and root vegetables. Everything else was considered "ethnic." The food crazes of the 1980s focusing on Cajun, Tex-Mex, and fusion didn't make much of a dent at the time: Quebec province was French, and that was that.

Over the last 10 years, however, this attitude changed dramatically. A recession in the 1990s put many restaurateurs out of business and forced others to reexamine their operations. Immigration continued to increase, and along with it, the cooking styles of the world. Montrealers now routinely indulge in once-exotic edibles found in the storefront eateries all around them -- Portuguese, Indian, Moroccan, Thai, Turkish, Mexican, Japanese.

An intermingling of styles, ingredients, and techniques was inevitable, and Montreal, long one of the world's elite gastronomic centers, is now as cosmopolitan in its offerings as any city on the continent. Indeed, in some eyes, it has taken Canada's leadership role in gastronomy. True, some of the silliness that attended culinary innovation elsewhere afflicted chefs here, too. But for most, novelty is still secondary to the freshness and appropriateness of ingredients.

The bottom line on dining in Montreal: A meal here can be the equal in every dimension to the best offered anywhere in the world.

The Dining Scene -- Deciding where to dine among the many tempting choices can be bewildering. We've highlighted the restaurants that are most honored, most special, or of the most value.

Restaurants -- called "restos" in the colloquial -- are often clustered together in certain neighborhoods. Many of this city's moderately priced bistros, cafes, and ethnic joints offer outstanding food, congenial surroundings, and amiable service at reasonable prices. Nearly all post menus outside, making it easy to do a little salivation-inducing reading and comparison shopping.

It's a good idea to make a reservation if you wish to dine at one of the city's top restaurants, especially on a weekend evening. Unlike in larger American and European cities, a day or two in advance is sufficient most places on most days. A hotel concierge can make the reservation, although nearly all restaurant hosts will switch immediately into English when they sense that a caller doesn't speak French.

Except in a handful of luxury restaurants, dress codes are all but nonexistent. But Montrealers are a fashionable lot, and manage to look smart even in casual clothes. Save the T-shirts and sneakers for another city.

Two insider websites featuring reviews and observations about the local dining scene are www.montrealfood.com and http://endlessbanquet.blogspot.com. The delightful essays and reviews of resto critic Lesley Chesterman of The Montreal Gazette can be found online at www.montrealgazette.com.

On The Menu -- One thing to always look for are table d'hote (fixed-price) meals. Entire two- to four-course meals, often with a beverage, can be had for little more than the price of an a la carte main course alone. Even the best restaurants offer them, so tables d'hote can let you sample some excellent venues without breaking the bank. They're often offered at lunch, and are even cheaper then. Having your main meal at midday instead of in the evening is the most economical way to sample many of the top establishments.

Many higher-end establishments are offering tasting menus, with surprise menus equally popular -- you don't know what you're getting until it's there in front of you. Remember that an entree is an appetizer, not the main course, which is le plat principal. In fancier places, where a pre-appetizer nibble is proffered, it's called an amuse-gueule or amuse-bouche.

Be sure to try the inexpensive regional specialties. A Quebecois favorite is poutine: french fries doused with gravy and cheese curds. It's especially ubiquitous in winter. Numerous places serve sandwiches and snacks for only a few dollars and go by the generic name casse-croute -- literally, "break crust." You'll find a few stools at a counter and a limited number of menu items that might include soup and chien chaud (hot dog). As in Europe and the U.S., many Thai, Chinese, and Indian restaurants offer inexpensive all-you-can-eat lunch buffets.

It's becoming a little more common to find fine restaurants that offer wine pairings, where the sommelier selects a glass for each course. In general, though, alcohol is heavily taxed, and imported varieties even more so than domestic versions, so if you're looking to save a little, buy Canadian. That's not difficult when it comes to beer, for there are many breweries, from local powerhouse Molson to micro, that produce highly palatable products including Belle Gueule and Boreal. The sign BIERES EN FUT means "beers on draft." Wine is another matter. It is not produced in significant quantities in Canada due to a climate generally inhospitable to the essential grapes. But you might try bottles from the vineyards of the Cantons-de-l'Est region (just east of Montreal) or from British Columbia or the Niagara Frontier. And sample, too, the sweet "ice wines" and "ice ciders" made from fruit after the first frost. Many decent ones are made at vineyards and orchards just an hour from Montreal.

Quebec cheeses deserve attention, and many can only be sampled in Canada because they are often unpasteurized -- made of lait cru (raw milk) -- and can't be exported. Better restaurants will offer them as a separate course. Of the more than 300 now available, you might look for Mimolette Jeune (firm, fragrant, orange in color), Valbert St-Isidor (similar to Swiss in texture), St-Basil de Port Neuf (buttery), Cru des Erables (soft, ripe), Oka (semisoft, made of cow's milk in a monastery), and Le Chevre Noire (a sharp goat variety covered in black wax).

Prices -- The restaurants recommended here are categorized by neighborhood and then by the cost of an average dinner for one person. Prices listed for main courses in these entries are for dinner unless otherwise indicated (lunchtime prices are usually lower). Prices here do not include wine, tip, or the 7% federal tax and 8% provincial tax that are added to the restaurant bill.

Parking -- Because parking space is at a premium in most restaurant districts in Montreal, take the Metro or a taxi in the central districts. If you're driving, ask if valet parking is available when you call to make a reservation.

Smoking -- Quebec has long had a smoking culture, but smoking in bars and restaurants has been banned by law since 2006.

Tipping -- Montrealers consider 15% of the check (before taxes) to be a fair tip, increased only for exceptional food and service. The easiest way to calculate the amount is to add together the federal and provincial taxes, separately listed on the check. They total 15%.

Poutine, Smoked Meat & the World's Best Bagels

While you're in Montreal, be sure to indulge in at least a couple Quebec standards. Although you'll find them dolled up on some menus, these are generally thought of as basic comfort foods:

• Bagel: The doughnut-shaped roll that in Montreal is smaller, chewier, and -- it must be said -- more deliciously sublime than its New York brethren.

• Cretons: A pate of minced pork, allspice, and parsley.

• Poutine: French fries doused with gravy and cheese curds.

• Queues de Castor: Literally "beaver tail," a deep-fried pastry the size of a man's footprint served with chocolate or cinnamon.

• Smoked meat: A maddeningly tasty sandwich component that hovers in the neighborhood of pastrami and corned beef.

• Tarte au sucre: Maple sugar pie.

• Tourtiere: Meat pie of beans and pork baked in maple syrup.

Late-Night Bites

Most Montreal restaurants serve until 10 or 11pm, but sometimes you need something else -- a meal or just a snack -- after midnight. Here are some places to keep in mind:

• Boustan: In the middle of the late-night hubbub on downtown's rue Crescent, Boustan has lines out the door at 2am of partiers jonesing for a falafel or shawarma sandwich.

• Buonanotte and Le Blanc: In the heart of the boulevard St-Laurent party action, Buonanotte serves until 1am Thursday through Saturday nights, and until midnight the rest of the week. Nearly across the street from Buonanotte, Le Blanc keeps the same hours.

• Cafe Cherrier: The kitchen closes at 10pm, but on warm summer nights they will keep the terrace open to midnight or 1am.

• Chez Schwartz: Schwartz's serves all your smoked meat needs until 12:30am every night, and until 1:30am on Fridays and 2:30am on Saturdays.

• Lemeac: This Mile End joint serves up bistro food on a terrace until midnight (until 1am Thurs-Sat nights).

• L'Express: Not only is it a classic Parisian-style bistro, but it's open until 3am every day.

• Ora: This newcomer plans to keep its kitchen going until 1am with pizzas, pastas, and super-tasty crab cakes.