Top “instagrammable” restaurants in Montréal
Do you like a side of gorgeous design with your meal? These Montréal restaurants are some of the prettiest in town and would make a gorgeous addition to your Instagram feed.
Perles et Paddock
Griffintown’s Perles et Paddock is located inside a beautifully renovated garage. The pristine space houses a bar under an oversized skylight and a curtain of greenery. Blush-coloured chairs and funky lighting complete the décor of one of the most beautiful restaurants in town.
403 des Seigneurs Street
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Restaurant Mélisse
Stepping into Old Montréal’s Restaurant Mélisse is like stepping into a Pinterest board with the latest design trends. Wicker-backed chairs, a pastel-hued palette, hanging plants, dazzling lighting fixtures, mosaic floors and marble and grass accents make this airy and luminous dining room everyone’s favourite picture background. And come summertime, the terrasse is just as nice as the dining room!
719 William Street
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Bar-St-Denis
Two former Au Pied de Cochon chefs are behind Bar-St_Denis, a stunning spot in La Petite-Patrie. An orange bar with a corrugated front lines one side of the space while the facing brick wall is lined with dark reflective tables. The space is mostly designed with a dark palette, which makes the imposing light ceiling and its brass honeycomb pattern shine even brighter.
6966 Saint-Denis Street
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Henri Brasserie Française
Named after Henri Birks and located inside the Birks Hotel, Henri Brasserie Française is a magnificent brasserie with the same opulence as the Birks institution. Dazzling intricate moldings around the high ceiling, plush velvet seating, brass accents and a beautiful herringbone parquet flooring lend a warm and classy ambiance to this brasserie.
1240 Phillips Square
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McKiernan Luncheonette
Located inside an industrial behemoth of a building in Verdun, the McKiernan Luncheonette is a beautiful spot to dine in. Biergarten-style tables and chairs, whimsical nautical objects, high ceilings, original wood flooring and columns and strung fairy lights make this one of the best-looking restaurants in town.
5524 Saint-Patrick Street
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Monarque
The grandiose Monarque space is divided into a bar area, a bistro one and a dining room. The glassed-in kitchen is the main focal point with materials such as brick, warm wood tones, metal accents, leather seating and a stunning marble floor with a fan pattern creating a cozy yet refined ambiance.
406 Saint-Jacques Street
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Hoogan et Beaufort
It is quite impossible to have a bad meal at Hoogan et Beaufort. Chef Marc-André Jetté’s cuisine is elegant and his plating spectacular. It also helps that the restaurant’s design is gorgeous. The light-flooded dining room with its 30-foot wood beam ceiling is chic yet cozy and centered around a wraparound bar and an open fire pit. Hoogan also has two terrasses to enjoy when the weather is nice.
4095 Molson Street
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Elena
Pizza restaurant Elena has won the 2022 enRoute Magazine decor of the year award, and for good reason. The space is slick, with lots of bold colours adorning its plush velvety banquettes. The long marble bar is lined with bright yellow stools with an electric blue art piece that would make a great background for your IG post.
5090 Notre-Dame Street West
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Le Serpent
The industrial chic Le Serpent occupies a renovated factory space in Old Montréal. High ceilings and distressed cement columns make up the bones of the space as well as large windows that flood the dining room with a diffused light. The palette is a monochromatic grey that’s complemented quite dramatically by the funky orange lighting fixtures.
257 Prince Street
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Le Blossom
If you’re on Instagram, you’ve probably already seen Le Blossom’s central pink tree on your feed. Time to head to the Village location of this Japanese restaurant and sake bar to enjoy a meal around the tree and take a shot of it for your ‘gram. The rest of the space is just as nice, with a long bar on one side and an interesting lighting system that zig zags through the restaurant like a lightning rod.
1101 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East
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Ibérica
Barcelona’s tapas life is alive and well at Ibérica, a downtown Montréal establishment envisioned by Montréal star designer Zebulon Perron. The cathedral ceiling is adorned with two impressive, oversized diamond-shaped chandeliers that loom over the busy dining room. Distressed walls, circular plush banquettes and funky lighting fixtures are some of the remarkable design elements in this trendy spot.
1450 Peel Street
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Jiao
Jiao is surely one of Montréal’s most beautiful restaurants with a breathtaking décor that includes a Manga mural and oversized light fixtures. It’s the perfect spot to grab a drink and a snack after work or to linger until last call. The menu includes dim sum classics as well as revisited dishes.
399 Notre-Dame Street West
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Damas
In a décor reminiscent of a thousand and one nights, Damas offers its clients a magical dining experience. Serving wonderfully spiced dishes from the Middle East, and more specifically from the Syrian capital, every corner of Damas serves as the perfect background for your Instagram posts.
1201 Van Horne Av.
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Bar Darling
Bar Darling is anything but minimalist. Rich textures, extravagant light fixtures, eclectic objects, warm tones and plush leather couches are all piled up in a dizzying mishmash of colours and textures that make this space unique and welcoming.
4328 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
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Le Bird Bar
Le Bird Bar’s chic and trendy décor is the perfect background for an #instapic, from the swank black velvet and brass accents to the stunning white and black marble bar.
1800 Notre-Dame Street West
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Satay brothers
Entering the unique Satay Brothers restaurant feels like a walk in an outdoor food market in Asia. Sure, the food is absolutely delicious and worth a spot on your feed but the red walls, hanging lamps, kitsch décor and electrifying ambiance are almost more appealing… almost.
3721 Notre-Dame Street West
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Tiramisu
“Italian by nature, Japanese by love”, Tiramisu offers great food from brunch to dinner. Bathed in natural light, the space combines a gorgeous Italian design esthetic with brightly coloured tiles, plush banquettes and bar stools, beautiful light fixtures and hanging plants everywhere.
989 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
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La Petite Dinette
If you’re a fan of Archie comics and vintage American diners, then you’ll love La Petite Dinette. Bold colours, vinyl seats, Formica topped tables with chrome accents and checkered floors are all beautifully replicated. The menu, however, is not all burgers and milkshakes but rather a unique fusion between Québécois and Vietnamese classics.
4186 Saint-Denis Street
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Bar George
Located in a heritage mansion, Bar George pairs history with creativity in one perfect package. Grab a nosh at the bar or book a table at the restaurant where classic British cuisine is served. Both spaces have been restored to their former glory and are just stunning with intricate dark wood paneled walls and ceilings, 300-year-old stained glass windows, a grand staircase, rich fabrics, and gold accents.
1440 Drummond Street
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Hiatus
The Hiatus décor is certainly noteworthy, elegant, and refined, with warm wood tones and a minimalist contemporary approach. However, what steals the show here is the 360-degree unadulterated view of Montréal from the mountain to the river from Hiatus’ home on the 46th floor of Place Ville Marie.
1 Place Ville Marie
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Place Carmin
Spread out over several levels, Place Carmin’s décor is minimalist chic with deep wood tones, clean lines and a colour palette that ranges from deep burgundy to warm hazels. The long bar with high mirrors at the back is where you’ll find some of the best seats in the house.
740 William Street
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Restaurant L’Express
Stepping into L’Express feels like you’ve travelled to an establishment in the Ville Lumière. Open since 1980, this iconic Montréal restaurant excels at everything, from the handwritten menu listing all the classics to the inimitable service. The décor, with its long bar, warm wood tones, immense mirrors, and checkered black and white floor adds to the charm of this timeless place.
3927 Saint-Denis Street
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Palma*
Green and gold are the two predominant colours at Palma*, a place that feels like a virtual trip to some tropical locale. Plenty of light, velvet seating and a variety of big leafy plants add to the illusion of an escape to a warm location, if only for a night. Try and get a table near the golden mirrored wall for a great background to your Instagram photos.
100 Peel Street
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Dandy
Mustard coloured banquettes, light fixtures that arch over the entire width of the space, warm tones and the gorgeous features of this historic Old Montréal building make Dandy a great place to pose for a photo or two. Oh and their brunch is one of the best in Montréal.
244 St-Jacques Street
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Kabinet
In a 1920s inspired décor with plush velvet seating in jewel tones, wrought iron tables with marble tops, fringed light fixtures, and black and white mosaic floors, every corner of tiny Kabinet is a marvel and the perfect backdrop for your photos. Order a champagne coupe and splurge on a caviar bump and settle in for a great night.
98 Laurier Avenue West
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Le Miracolo
Enter into the cabinet of curiosities that is the sensational Miracolo. Inside this veritable cavern of eccentricities are luminous and unique objects and decorations that will invite your eyes and your imagination to wander. The food is great, the ambiance heady and the décor enchanting and disarming.
3891 St-Laurent Boulevard
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Mayssam Samaha
Mayssam Samaha is a food and travel writer and blogger and the founder behind the blog Will Travel for Food. She travels the world in search of the next culinary discovery. From Iceland to South Africa, she’s already visited over 36 countries and there’s nothing she enjoys more than wandering around a farmers’ market in a foreign city. She is also the founder of the SAISONS intimate dinner series highlighting Québec products and chefs.