City overview
Montreal's Orthodox community lives in the west-central part of the island rather than downtown. The densest cluster runs through Côte-Saint-Luc, Hampstead and Snowdon, where Décarie Boulevard, Van Horne Avenue, Victoria Avenue and Côte-Saint-Luc Road carry most of the kosher groceries, take-out counters and restaurants — Décarie Square, at 6900 Décarie, holds several kosher eateries under one roof. Outremont and neighbouring Mile End are home to the city's Hasidic communities and their bakeries and shops, while Laval (Chomedey) and the West Island (Dollard-des-Ormeaux) have congregations and Chabad houses of their own. For Shabbat, the real choice is between downtown and Old Montreal — central for sightseeing but outside any eruv — and the hotels on Décarie Boulevard in Snowdon, which sit inside the Montreal Grand Eruv within walking distance of the Montreal Torah Center in Hampstead. The eruv joins Côte-Saint-Luc, Hampstead, Montréal West, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Snowdon and Outremont into one continuous area, so a family staying in that belt can walk to shul and to meals with a stroller. Most local kosher establishments are certified by MK.
Activity providers
Museum of Jewish Montreal
Montreal, QC · Walking tours: adults $26, seniors 65+ $24, students and teens 13–17 $14, children 8–12 $8, 7 and under free. Kosher Food Tour: adults $115, seniors 65+ $110, students and teens 13–17 $94, children 6–12 $60, 5 and under free. Prices exclude tax and a 6% booking fee.
The city's Jewish museum runs guided walking tours of Jewish Montreal: Mile End's rabbis and writers, the institutions of the Main, the streets below the mountain, and Canada's first Jewish community in the Old Port. Its Jewish Montreal Kosher Food Tour covers the kosher scene in Outremont and Mile End. It also runs short guided visits of H. Fisher & Fils, a century-old sewing-supply shop on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
Time needed
Walking tours one and a half to two hours.
Hours
H. Fisher & Fils heritage building open Thursday–Sunday 10:00 AM–5:00 PM. Tours run on scheduled dates.
Tips
Book walking tours at least 12 hours ahead and the Kosher Food Tour at least 48 hours ahead. Most walking tours meet outside H. Fisher & Fils at 4129 Saint-Laurent; the Kosher Food Tour meets outside Café Navire, 1273 Av. Van Horne; the Old Port tour meets at 400 Place d'Youville. Private tours on request at tours@imjm.ca.
Phone
+1 514-840-9300Neighborhood
Plateau-Mont-Royal
Kosher map of Montreal, QC
Pick a place on the map or search an address or hotel to see what is kosher around it.