For over 30 years Montreal’s upmarket Greek restaurant, Milos, has been forcing penny-pinching skeptics to eat their words – between rounds of glistening olive oil anointed feta and crispy towers of fried eggplant.  Yes, Milos is costly but when buying top quality product – let’s face it, there’s no free lunch. The Montreal restaurant helmed by chef/owner Costas Spiliadis promises the best of the best ingredients, cultivated by years of travel and research. And chef Spilladis delivers. From salt-flecked surf to sun-cured turf, Spilladis’s culinary delights are so delicious the Canadian God of Greek cuisine now has outposts in New York, Athens and, most recently, Las Vegas. Still, nothing beats the original. Milos in Montreal is an absolute must.

5357 Ave. du Parc, Montreal, Quebec, (514) 272-3522

The Sparrow

Mile End is to Montreal as Brooklyn is to New York: A place for lazy hipsters to build artisanal paper dolls and lazily guffaw at those who actually work to buy that crap from them. Oh and they both house some fabulous, offbeat places to eat. Par example: The Sparrow.  Originally opened back in 2009 by London ex-pat Marc Cohn and Ethan Willis, the dimly lit gastropub serves an all-day brunch that would bring even the most affectless hipster to his knees. This place is so cool it doesn’t even have a website.  I’m no hipster but I do know that their bourbon lemonade and house smoked pork and eggs make me want to grow a beard and put on skinny jeans. It’s that good.    

5322, Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2T 1A5, (514) 690-3964

Les 400 Coups

Whatever the dish executive chef Marc-Andre Jetté puts to plate - from smoked bread to sweetbreads – the clean modern elegance of the rising culinary star shines through. Yet, the chef would never claim to be the be all and end all of Les 400 Coups.  Jetté is merely one-third of the impressive triumvirate behind the recent Montreal entry, made up of a wine program by Marie-Josée Beaudoin and an exquisite dessert card by veteran pastry chef Patrice Demers. A more serious culinary experience indeed, the dark, high-ceilinged space is a chic welcome to the world of fine dining.  Warning: Not for the faint of wallet.

400 Notre Dame East, Montreal, Quebec (514) 985 0400

Joe Beef

With celebrity endorsements from the likes of Anthony Bourdain and David Chang, it’s no wonder that Joe Beef has been Montreal’s it-spot since the once 30-seat restaurant opened in 2009. Now the home of the Foie Gras Double Down is significantly larger and, unfortunately, harder to get into. If you do, however, manage to swing a seat at the amazingly unpretentious eating-house be prepared for an unconventional meal that could go from delicate oysters to fried brains really quickly. Bring an empty stomach and an open mind.

2491 Notre-Dame West, Montreal, Quebec, (514) 935-6504