The best romantic date night options during MTLàTABLE
For its 12th edition, MTLàTABLE will be activating restaurants all throughout Montréal from October 31 to November 17, 2024, providing over two weeks of three- and four-course, set-price evening menus at varying price points. That makes it perfect for planning date nights in Montréal. Let these spots do the cooking while you focus on who’s across the table from you: Choices are easy, or you can have fun sharing the options, all in environments that vary from high-end, white tablecloth dinners to more casual spots. There’s something for every taste and preference here, so dig in.
$80 set price restos
Lawrence
Chef Marc Cohen’s carefully crafted menu of fish, beef, and local vegetables with desserts to share is precise in its execution and impressive in its level of flavour. The menu has two options for each course, which means you and your date can explore it in its entirety.
9 Fairmount Avenue East
Bonheur d'occasion
Dishes like Magdalen Island scallops with black truffles or bison with chanterelles bring unique Québec flavours to the table of your date night and this well-known Saint-Henri spot. With its focus on quality produce and thoughtful preparation, the kitchen here provides a refined yet approachable dining experience perfect for an intimate evening out.
4001 Notre-Dame Street West
Chez Lévêque
There are few better options for a romantic meal in Montréal than the masterful French cuisine of this restaurant. You and your date can be being whisked away across the Atlantic and enjoy some exceedingly sumptuous plates like escargot puff pastry, Québec crab cakes, hanger steaks, and veal stew.
1030 Laurier Avenue West
Ratafia
As you and yours dip your toes into this restaurant’s extensive wine list and selection of signature cocktails, the dishes will consistently impress you both. Four courses with two choices each proffer a range of flavour profiles, from maitake mushroom confit and braised cabbage with Parmesan and Arctic char gravlax. All that gets followed by some highly crafted desserts.
6778 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
Bistro La Franquette
This dining destination in Westmount from chef Louie Deligianis is serving up an exceptional seasonal, four-course menu made up of fennel salads and yellow fin tuna from Nova Scotia, pasta and risotto, chicken with foie gras, sea bass with marinated radicchio, and banoffee or carrot cake for dessert. As you and your date sink into the restaurant’s darkly toned interior, you can feel like you have the place to yourself.
374 Victoria Avenue
$65 set price restos
Ibéricos
Thanks to the work of chef Haissam Souki Tamayo, your date night can be full of flourishes of Spanish cuisine. Options include paella with braised beef ribs, croquettes, and tres leches cake—all of which makes for wonderful dishes to split with one another.
4475 Saint-Denis Street
Heni
Heni’s intimate setting where Moroccan and Lebanese cuisine meet in a fresh, inventive way is an excellent choice for a date night. Offering a unique blend of Southwest Asian and North African flavours infused with Québec’s seasonal ingredients, dishes like kibbeh nayeh with P.E.I. beef and shish barak with local squash create a thoughtful culinary experience that invites a calming, shared exploration.
2621 Notre-Dame Street West
Mesón
Mesón’s Spanish-inspired dishes make it a great pick for a relaxed date night: Specialties like octopus with baby potatoes garnished with garlic oil and smoked paprika, Iberian Secreto, and a fish and seafood zarzuela bring vibrant flavours to the table, and get even better when paired with Spanish wines.
345 Villeray Street
Caifan MTL
The unique takes on traditional Mexican cuisine at Caifan blend authentic flavours with a lot of modern twists. Think dishes like empanadas filled with Québec shrimp, tostadas with salmon aguachile, and cayo de acha with pan-seared scallops wrapped in bacon and coated with a Mexican fruit sauce. While that all ought to provide a lot of conversation starters, their extensive selection of rare tequilas will no doubt add some social lubricant to your night out as well.
4542 Saint-Denis Street
Brasserie Le Pois Penché
Le Pois Penché sets the stage for a romantic date night with its Parisian brasserie ambiance. The warm hospitality, combined with classic French comfort cuisine like Québec duck confit and crème brûlée creates a setting where conversation flows easily and the evening feels special.
1230 De Maisonneuve Boulevard West
$50 set price restos
ChuChai Restaurant
If you and your date love a menu full of vegetarian and vegan choices, ChuChai should be a first and easy choice. Offering Thai dishes made entirely without animal byproducts, its chef Lily Sirikitikul uses vegetable proteins to recreate the textures of traditional meats, with options like vegan shrimp and beef featured across the menu. The restaurant’s diverse selection of Thai specialties is not only flavourful, but satisfying as well for a plant-based dining experience for two.
4088 Saint-Denis Street
La Boqueria
With its tastes of Mediterranean cuisine with a focus on fresh seafood and Iberian charcuterie, La Boqueria’s dishes like crispy duck croquetas and seared Icelandic cod showcase a commitment to quality ingredients and thoughtful preparation. All of the shareable plates and vibrant flavours here lend themselves well to a date night to boot.
121 De la Commune Street West
June Buvette
June Buvette in Pointe-Saint-Charles is an ideal spot for a relaxed and enjoyable date night. The seasonal menu features fresh, thoughtfully prepared dishes like P.E.I. beef tartare and Québec potato gnocchi, with a carefully selected wine list to match. With its warm, understated ambiance, June Buvette provides a comfortable setting for an evening of good food and easy conversation.
1900 du Centre Street
Darna bistroquet
With its combination of African, Mediterranean, Québec cuisine in one creative menu, Darna offers dishes like grilled halloumi, oyster mushroom tajines, Eastern Townships lamb merguez couscous, and a vanilla orange blossom panna cotta that’ll end your date night on both a high note and a sweet note.
1106 Beaubien Street East
Rita
If Italian is one of the world’s most romantic languages, Italian cuisine is undoubtedly one of the world’s best for romantic nights out. Pizzas and risotto, roasted veg and Caesar salad, and chocolate olive oil cake and pine nut tarts with yuzu jelly—all of it’s perfect for sharing with your beau.
3681 Wellington Street
Kamúy
Paul Toussaint’s pan-Caribbean restaurant is bringing the best of the islands and South America together with a menu of dishes that are both greatest hits and wholly new creations. Ceviche, jerk shrimp, hanger steaks with chimichurri, grilled fish with his signature passion beurre blanc—each successive course is sure to impress.
1485 Jeanne-Mance Street
Babacool
For a relaxed yet memorable date night, Babacool offers a bohemian setting with Middle Eastern-inspired dishes perfect for sharing. The menu invites you to explore flavours from Lebanon, Morocco, and beyond, with options like kefta meatballs, olive chicken, and a range of vibrant dips. The warm atmosphere, complemented by natural wines and playful cocktails, creates an intimate space for unwinding together over thoughtfully crafted food.
140 Notre-Dame Street West
Ăn Chơi Plaza
This Vietnamese buvette provides an ideal setting for those seeking a casual date night. A fusion of Vietnamese tradition and local ingredients on Plaza Saint-Hubert, Ăn Chơi Plaza offers a dining experience with savoury soups and salads, as well as inventive dishes like scallop ceviche and cơm tấm, all curated by chef Galaxy Minh Duong.
6553 Saint-Hubert Street
Les Street Monkeys
Les Street Monkeys spot offers an inviting space to explore small, shareable plates full of richly aromatic dishes inspired by street vendors in Cambodia. With dishes like salmon crudo with jalapeño Nam Jim (Thai dipping sauce), tempura Maitake mushrooms, and grilled lamb chops that have been marinated in coconut milk, each plate is informed by Quebecois terroir and offers bold flavours in every bite. The atmosphere mirrors the vibrancy of Cambodian cities, and it’s a casual yet thoughtful experience for those craving something a little different.
3625 Wellington Street
$35 set price restos
Le Garden Room
Le Garden Room’s romantic setting below a long glass ceiling is a laid-back one to enjoy Thai dining by its chef Pamika Sukla. The menu includes light options like papaya salad and vegetarian pad thai, with desserts such as coconut ice cream and mango sorbet—all of which gets even better when paired up with some of the restaurant’s cocktails and wines.
1445 Bishop Street
Fugazzi Pizza
You’re going to love the wild décor and the delicious, filling options at this Italian restaurant that’s just oozing cool. Pizza is the name of the game here, but the low-priced menu also includes things like meatballs and panzanella salad, and—naturally—fresh pasta made to order in a wheel of Grana Padano.
1886 Centre Street
Le Blind Pig
The Texas-style roadhouse experience here features a three-course offering for just $35, where pairs of diners guests can enjoy favourites like corn fritters and 12-hour smoked brisket to pulled pork sandwiches and fried maple leaf cookies. After you eat your fill, stick around for some affordable drinks.
3882 Ontario Street East
Mariscos
Old Montréal’s Mariscos has menus that combines the bold Sinaloa-style seafood with Mexican street food to provide a lively date night. The menu features dishes like Matane shrimp tacos and cochinita pibil, or shareable plates like nachos, paired with cocktails, beers, and wines. Try to book during one of their Latin karaoke nights and enjoy some entertainment provided directly to tables by locals.
436 Saint-François-Xavier Street
Tsukuyomi
Given the season, you and your date are probably looking for something warm and welcoming to eat. Look no further than this ramen restaurant, serving choices like salmon sashimi and tartare served with yuzu ponzu sauce and fried chicken or calamari, before digging into hot bowls of shio ramen with a clam-chicken brother or tonkotsu ramen with chashu pork.
5207 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
JP Karwacki
JP Karwacki is a Montréal-based writer and journalist whose work has appeared in Time Magazine, the Montreal Gazette, National Post, Time Out, NUVO Magazine, and more. Having called the city home for over a decade and a half, he regularly focuses on spreading the good word about the amazing things to eat, drink and do in Montréal. One half raconteur and the other flâneur (with just a dash of boulevardier), when he wasn’t working on the frontlines of the city's restaurants and bars, he spent his time thinking about, reading about and writing about restaurants and bars.