7 Deserving Of A Michelin Star Restaurants in Montreal, Canada

Montreal is truly a city of culture, beauty, and good food. However, there are no Michelin-starred restaurants in Montreal. This is because, while the Michelin Guide does cover Vancouver and Toronto, it has not expanded its awards to the city of Montreal. Even though Michelin is perhaps one of the most famous culinary awards in the food world, there are other awards that recognize restaurants well worth their salt. Canada's Top 100 Restaurants award ranked many of the restaurants on this very list. One of the newest culinary awards in the Quebec province is the Lauriers. These are similar to the James Beard Awards in the States, and in 2021, they recognized several Montreal restaurants as finalists.

There are Michelin-Star awarded chefs who have continued their culinary adventures in the city of Montreal. This should show you that even the chefs know how to extend beyond an award and bring good food to communities for the love of the restaurant world. Keep on reading to learn about the restaurants in Montreal that deserve a Michelin Star.

Maison Boulud

1228 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1H6, Canada

This is actually a Michelin-recommended restaurant, as per their website. Maison Boulud is run by Michelin-starred Chef Daniel Boulud and Executive Chef Romain Cagnat. Boulud owns numerous restaurants, such as Daniel in New York, which currently has two Michelin Stars. Maison Boulud serves French-inspired creations in the elegance of the Ritz Carleton in Montreal. Chef Boulud combines his experience in award-winning kitchens with all kinds of cuisines, to form a menu based around contemporary and flavorful French food. They offer a petit-déjuner breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner menu. Let's take a look at their dinner menu.

Their dinner menu costs $189 per person and features an 8-course tasting menu. You'll start with oysters on ice and your choice of caviar. For mains, try the fresh pasta with mushrooms, roasted lamb saddle and leg, Prince Edward Island prime rib, or the sea bass. Save room for dessert; a couple of great options include chocolate coulant cake and their assortment of homemade ice creams and sorbet. This experience is well worth the price tag!

Joe Beef

2491 Notre-Dame St. West, Montreal, Quebec H3J 1N6, Canada

Joe Beef is run by Chef Fred Morin and works to showcase the local produce, meats, and ingredients of the Quebec terroir. Many people credit the Joe Beef restaurant group as a driving force in the Montreal food scene (via Tastet). Their menu is seasonal, but features items like steak dishes, Foie Gras, tartare, and croquettes. Joe Beef does not always have an up-to-date menu available online, so place a call in to the restaurant if you want to check about the availability of a certain dish. Check out their reservation page for more details on when you can try this Anthony Bourdain favorite- Joe Beef in Montreal.

Le Vin Papillon

2519 Notre-Dame St. West, Montreal, Quebec H3J 1N4, Canada

Another restaurant in the Joe Beef restaurant group is Le Vin Papillon. This wine bar is recommended by the James Beard Foundation as part of their “Devouring le Montreal” series. It also won the “Restaurant of the Year” Laurier Award in 2021. With a killer wine list and lots of good food to try, this place is well worth a jaunt through the streets to get a table. The food options include white ham with cheddar, house brioche with braised greens, a combination of mushrooms, honey, and nuts, and lamb leg skewers. This is yet another one of the Montreal restaurants that deserves a Michelin star.

Toqué!

900 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Montréal, QC H2Z 2B2, Canada

Toqué! is a James Beard-associated restaurant – specifically due to Chef Normand Laprise's cookbook regarding the beauty of New Quebec Gastronomy. Chef Laprise has also been honored with a James Beard Award for his work in the field of gastronomy (via Time Out). With its farm-to-table concept, Toqué! brings some of the best ingredients from the region into the kitchen. They offer a lunch menu, a dinner menu, and a tasting menu. The 7-course tasting menu will total $198 per person. Let's dive into their numerous dinner menu options, specifically what you can find on their a la carte menu.

For starters, you can choose delicious dishes like sunchoke soup and roasted quail. Main courses include delicious items like lamb, trout, a beef filet, and squash cavatelli. Finish your meal off with one of their desserts; the carrot cannoli and the vanilla mousse sound particularly appealing. Pair your meal with a selection from their extensive wine list. What's not to like?

Vin Mon Lapin

150 Rue Saint-Zotique East, Montréal, QC H2S 1K8, Canada

Vin Mon Lapin won a Laurier Award for Restaurant of the Year in 2019 (Via Eater). Similar to Toqué!, Vin Mon Lapin offers farm-sourced fare, highlighting the local ingredients of the region in their menu choices. A seasonal menu from 2022 had dish options like mussels with mushrooms, duck heart, and homemade gnocchi pasta. Desserts featured yogurt ice cream with apricot preserves, chocolate truffles, and a buckwheat cake with chilled cheese. More recently on their Instagram, they showcased a new dish of zucchini puff pastry, raw cheese, and anchovies. Whatever you'll find on the menu when you choose to get a reservation, it is sure to be a phenomenal dining experience.

Le Mousso

1025 Ontario St E, Montreal, Quebec H2L 1P8, Canada

Le Mousso is another Laurier Award winner; as recently as 2021, this restaurant was named as “Restaurant of the Year”. This prix fixe tasting menu is $250 per person; it is named on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants List and recommended by Bon Apétit. The menu changes often, as designed by Chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard. Bon Apétit describes the experience as modernity meeting minimalism. Since their menu changes often, your best bet is to place a call in to the restaurant with inquiries about what is currently available.

Le Mousso only does one seating per evening, with up to 30 diners. They are able to make changes to the menu to accommodate severe allergies, but may refuse a reservation if too many alterations need to be made. A $60 fee is charged for a same-day cancellation.

Hoogan Et Beaufort

4095 Rue Molson, Montréal, QC H1Y 3L1, Canada

Hoogan et Beaufort is another James Beard recommendation. Located not far from the waterfront, this restaurant serves contemporary New Canadian food in a stylistic, minimalist setting. They serve both lunch and dinner menu options, as well as a multi-course tasting menu. Their dinner menu starts strong with fresh focaccia bread and butter, followed by options for hot oysters, trout, duck, and lamb. There are a number of sauces and pâtés that can be paired with these dishes. Their menu does change, so keep an eye on their website for the latest offerings.

For desserts, Hoogan et Beaufort offers cheeses, apple desserts, and other sweet treats. When James Beard writer Mitchell Davis visited, he recommended the lunchtime beet and pistachio soup and the haddock, served on a bed of ramps. This is definitely one of the restaurants in Montreal that deserves a Michelin star.

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