Top Best Italian Restaurants in Montreal

"Montreal isn’t particularly known for Neapolitan-style pizza, but when you’re looking for a thin-crust, made-to-order pie, Gema makes one of the best. This place uses top-quality ingredients and makes all their charcuterie in-house. You can also get frozen custard, and during the summer, there’s a little takeout window where you can grab dessert to eat while strolling around Little Italy, which is basically the perfect summer evening in Montreal."

"While this Little Italy gem may be better known for slinging pies, the secret’s out on its homemade frozen custard too. Served from a walk-up window, the rich and creamy treat is made in-house with dairy from Laiterie Chagnon in Waterloo, Quebec and offered in traditional flavours⁠—pistachio, vanilla, and chocolate⁠—that are switched up on the regular."

"Gema Pizzeria may be one of Montreal’s finest pizzeria’s, but Gema also has a counter selling extraordinary soft ice cream. Thanks to chef Michele Forgione’s recipe, Gema is now a Tastet favourite for ice cream. Whether it’s vanilla or chocolate ice cream, dipped in chocolate or caramel, the outcome is ice cream heaven!"

"What is it: It seems there’s no end to new restaurants that are upping the Italian game in Montreal, but there’s only so much room for champions. While a fresh arrival from the group behind Foxy and the popular breakfast-lunch spot Olive et Gourmando, Un Po’ di Più carries itself like a classic trattoria with its circa-1970s modernist look and feel. Chef Nick Siambattisto’s menu focuses on snacks and small plates that are traditional—think burrata, pasta, sandwiches—and of an incomparable quality."

"Discover this typical Italian happy hour at Caffe Un Po’ Di Piu in Old Montreal!. You will be transported to Italy circa 1920 with the old-fashioned bar, high stools and bricks walls. Specializing in Italian coffee, paninis, Negronis, Spritz, and small plates like burrata, bruschetta, focaccia, eggplant dip, etc., this is the kind of place where you can spend a whole afternoon (and evening) eating and drinking in a beautiful space."

"Italian cuisine is hot in Montreal right now, but the first wave of this trend shouldn’t be disregarded amongst all the press about what’s new. This project in Little Italy from chefs Stefano Faita and Michele Forgione became a darling of its community in a short span of time, whether it was for fall-off-the-bone contorni or fresh pastas, all celebrations of regional Italian delicacies. It’s now Aicia Colacci in the kitchen, and by her hand the menus are that much more wonderful and worth a trip."

"Chef-owners of this sleek restaurant, Michele Forgione and Stefano Faita, are among Montreal’s most notable restauranteurs, and their combined expertise makes for a mouthwatering menu. A four-course sharing option is available, alongside the à la carte offerings of casarecci nero di seppia, a calamari and shrimp dish, and porchetta del nonno, pork from Ferme St-Canut. The wine list is extensive and varied."

"Montréal’s inviting Little Italy is home to some truly outstanding Italian restaurants. Among them is Impasto, a contemporary eatery headed by acclaimed restaurateurs Michele Forgione and Stefano Faita. With a concise menu featuring an array of seafood, meat and pasta dishes, Impasto’s flair lies in its ability to perfect Italian staples and liven them up with fresh ingredients and surprising flavors."

"Considered one of the coolest spots to eat in Montreal, Le Serpent is located at The Darling Foundry – an old metal workshop in Griffintown, the former industrial fringe of the city’s downtown core. Adorned with lovingly curated contemporary art by friends of the owner Hubert Marsolais and Claude Pelletier, Le Serpent’s interior is designed by architect Annie Lebel of Montreal’s award-winning Atelier in Situ. The menu is predominantly contemporary Italian, the atmosphere friendly and the service impeccable."

"What is it: Another stellar restaurant from chef Claude Pelletier, Le Serpent comes out swinging with an Italian bent to its menu. From its raw and cooked appetizers to a heavy emphasis on pastas, risottos, surf and turf. Quite possibly the inspiration behind the more informal—and no less delicious—Il Miglio pasta bar located uptown, Le Serpent delivers one wow after another with impressive in-house ingredients."

"Canadian, Italian, French, Online Reservation, Restaurant With Bar. been described as casual. They are open at night from Monday to Saturday."

"Définitivement, rien n’arrêtera Vianney ; ni le Réseau Express Vélo (REV) sur Saint-Denis, ni la COVID-19. Cette fois-ci, avec l’aide du chef Nick Bramos, ils arrivent avec des classiques italiens : focaccia garnie, suppli al telefono, polpetteet plusieurs pâtes fraîches. https://www.succeda.ca"

"Almost hidden next to the century-old Segal's grocery store, Le Vieux serves affordable, ample breakfast plates daily as of 6:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. on Sundays). A quiet staple on the Main for decades."

"A true family establishment, the story begins with Vasco and Wilma, whose marriage in 1963 on Little Italy’s Dante Street led to their son Renato opening a restaurant there. Known for the best rabbit in town, Via Dante has a friendly vibe, which it matches with market fresh food and house-made pasta. It has become a neighbourhood favourite, with daily specials and an intimacy that makes it a choice spot for dates."

"No menus, no computers and recipes inspired by the home cooking of Modena, Italy - just the way the regulars like it. Café Via Dante never fails. The Little Italy haven has been a neighborhood favorite since it opened a few years back, but it deserves wider acclaim."

"Ronen Baruch and Saleh Seh's Mediterranean fare is the foundation which built this neighbourhood institution worth the ride out to the edge of Lachine. We've got mad love for theor equally cheap sabich with its runny egg and roasted egglplant and meatless takes on shawarma and shishtaouk by using shiitake in lieu of chicken, but the namesake falafel—crunchy chickpea balls, veg and sauce stuffed until brimming in a warm and fluffy pita bread—is our current favourite here. Never mind the time it'll take for a central islander to get out, this place's food makes it a home away from home."

"Run by a Jewish-Muslim team, Falafel St-Jacques is home to some of the city's best shawarma and falafel. Dabbling in fake meat, their faux-shish taouk converts meat-eaters and is well worth the detour to Lachine for a peek at the takeout counter. Otherwise, order on DoorDash, SkipTheDishes, or UberEats."

"At this much-loved Ville Saint-Pierre gem, $6.89 will get you one of the best falafel pitas in the city. Actually, all of their sandwiches (all excellent) ring in at under $10 — even carnivores are sold on the meat-free “chicken” shish taouk."

"Beautifully designed Bulma Bar is the hot new thing in Old Montreal. Stepping inside is a departure from the cobblestone streets of the area, where instead sleek modern lines, wood, concrete and neon lights dominate the space. Named for the Dragon Ball character, Bulma is an attempt to marry the owners’ Taiwanese heritage and love for Montreal."

"Poutine, that glorious Quebecois invention featuring french fries and cheese curds doused in gravy, is a must for every first time visitor to Montreal. The most famous spot is La Banquise, which servers poutine to the hungry (sometimes drunken) masses 24 hours a day. I asked my friend Jodi, a local, for her recommendation, and she suggested Frite Alors!"

"If you don’t want to venture as far as La Banquise, you could just go to Frite Alors!. in the Latin Quarter. It also has delicious poutine and it’s a little more centrally located. But La Banquise is a classic for a reason, in my opinion, so I think it’s worth it to go."

"The pogo was undercooked lol...Poutine was ok.I used to go to the frite alors near udem a lot when I was going to school. Now the sauce is not the same a..."

"Build-your-own-burger spots have never been so delicious or cheap, and that’s just the cost of a double burger. What makes these burgers a step up—hell, two or three steps up—from your average fast food joint is because of the patties. Made from an exceptional marinated beef recipe, they get sandwiched between buns that are glazed on the outside and crisp on the inside (they won't tell us where they get them from) and it makes for a irreplicable package."

"Suggestions of good restaurants that offer a special menu for Valentine’s Day Where can we find special menus for Valentine’s Day?. On the eve of Valentine’s Day, the Tastet team […]"