Beyond the Bagel: Eat your way through Montreal’s Jewish culinary history, both past and present.

Renowned worldwide for its unique take on Jewish cuisine, Montreal is the birthplace of countless Jewish foods, both iconic and overlooked. Experience the rich and delicious Jewish food culture of Montreal’s Mile End and Plateau neighbourhoods by visiting decades-old food institutions alongside new businesses that are revitalizing the city’s food scene. We’ll also travel to backyards and alleyways to uncover this city’s hidden Jewish food history and taste nearly forgotten delicacies. And of course you’ll get to feast on the classics like smoked meat and bagels, so make sure to bring a healthy appetite!

• Created by a Jewish food historian and experts in Montreal’s Jewish history, this tour offers a unique take on the city’s Jewish food history through personal narratives, recipes, and photos gathered from restaurants, business owners and their families.
• The seven food tastings include some of Montreal’s iconic dishes: a Schwartz’s smoked meat sandwich, Saint-Viateur and Fairmount bagels, and the Wilensky Special.
• Get an insider’s perspective on the stories behind Montreal’s Jewish culinary institutions, including well-known spots like Beauty’s and Moishes, and foods from Montreal’s Hasidic community.
• Learn about the resurgence of Montreal’s Jewish food scene and visit the establishments that are contributing to this movement.
• Explore the main streets and back alleys of the eclectic Plateau and Mile End neighbourhoods while learning the fascinating history of these traditionally Jewish neighbourhoods.
• This tour is not certified kosher/kashrut, and cannot provide vegan, gluten, or allergen-free alternatives. Vegetarian alternatives are available on the tour.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 3.5 km and lasts 3 to 4 hours)

Making their Mark: Discover the schools, synagogues, hospitals, and cultural organizations around St-Laurent Boulevard that continue to leave their mark on Montreal society today.

The epicentre of Jewish life in Montreal from the turn of the 20th century until the 1950s, today’s Plateau neighbourhood once teemed with tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Learn how they worked, worshipped, and supported one another as they built new lives in Montreal. Our visit uncovers the synagogues, schools, hospitals, and cultural organizations they established and that still leave a mark on Montreal society today. Immerse yourself in the Jewish stories held in the streets and buildings of this vibrant neighbourhood.

• Learn about the foundations of Montreal’s Jewish community as you explore the eclectic Plateau neighbourhood, which was the epicentre of Jewish life in Montreal in the early 20th century.
• See the beautiful Bagg Street Shul. This heritage site is the last operating synagogue in the Plateau neighbourhood.
• Visit iconic Montreal culinary institutions, including Schwartz’s and the founding location of Moishes Steakhouse.
• Stroll along bustling St-Laurent Boulevard while you catch a glimpse of Montreal’s numerous murals and street art.
• Our friendly and knowledgeable tour guides are university-level researchers and will answer your questions and lead discussions throughout the tour experience.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 2 km and lasts 1.5-2 hours)

Rabbis, Writers and Radicals: Delve into the diverse stories of notable characters of the Mile End, including iconic authors, radical political leaders, and colourful religious figures who were often connected in unexpected ways.

A hub of Jewish culture since the 1920s, Mile End was home to cantors and community organizers as well as poets and politicians of all stripes. Mile End has been a centre of the Yiddish language for nearly a century, first with its left-leaning Jewish schools, libraries, and social clubs, and now with dozens of Hasidic synagogues, yeshivas, and storefronts. Our visit travels through the parks, streets, and back lanes of the neighbourhood, tracing the evolution of Montreal’s literary, musical, and culinary culture and exhibiting the diversity of Jewish life in this very diverse neighbourhood.

• Stroll through the Mile End, Montreal’s trendiest neighbourhood, and an important centre for Montreal’s Jewish culture today.
• Learn more about the works and lives of Jewish Montreal writers, such as Mordecai Richler and Ida Maze.
  Hear the sounds of Montreal’s largest synagogue, known as Montreal’s “Carnegie Hall” of Jewish music in the early 20th century.
• Discover the diversity of politics in Montreal’s Jewish community at the time.
• Visit two of Montreal’s major Jewish culinary establishments: Fairmount bagels and Wilensky’s.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 2.5 km and lasts 1.5-2 hours)

In the Shadow of the Mountain: Explore Jewish culture in the early 1900’s! Meet the famous poets, utopians, outcasts, and exiles who called the streets below Mount Royal home.

In the Shadow of the Mountain explores the vibrant Jewish cultural life established in between Montreal’s Francophone and Anglophone communities from the 1910s to the 1960s. Visit the parks, streets, and alleyways at the foot of Mount Royal and discover Montreal’s Jewish poets—from literary icons like Leonard Cohen to lesser-known but internationally-appreciated Yiddish writers such as Jacob Isaac Segal and Ida Maze. Through the stories of writers, activists, and other idealists, this tour explores the dreams that Jewish immigrants had for their lives in the new world, and contrasts these utopian visions with the sometimes harsh realities they faced in this city.

• Trace the development of Jewish literature in Montreal from famous Yiddish poets J.I. Segal and Ida Maze to English writers A.M. Klein, Irving Layton, and Leonard Cohen.
• See Leonard Cohen’s home in Montreal and other places he frequented.
• Stroll along Montreal’s historic and iconic boulevard St-Laurent and avenue Mont-Royal while you catch a glimpse of Montreal’s numerous murals and street art.
• Take a break from the bustle of downtown with a walk through Parc Jeanne-Mance, right across from Mount Royal Park.
• Visitors have the unique opportunity to gain insider knowledge on one of Montreal’s most vibrant neighbourhoods: Plateau-Mont-Royal.
• Moderate walking (tour is approx. 2.2 km and lasts 1.5-2 hours)

The Jewish Montreal Kosher Food Tour: You’ll try everything from karnatzel to kichel while learning about the culinary history of Jewish Montreal. Starting with kosher third-wave coffee from Café Navire, take a guided journey through the Mile End and Outremont neighbourhoods, home to some of the city’s most vibrant Jewish communities. Along the way, you’ll explore iconic kosher bakeries and delis, and discover how generations of Jewish immigrants helped shape Montreal’s unique food culture.

• Savour five tastings from beloved kosher spots, including Montreal icons Cheskie’s bakery and Deli 365.
• Explore the Jewish history of Outremont and Mile End, two of Montreal’s oldest and most vibrant Jewish neighbourhoods.
• Learn about how Matzah got its shape, and how the Steinberg’s supermarket chain helped shape the city.
• Enjoy a small-group, family-friendly experience where all tastings are under kosher supervision (see our FAQs or Additional Information on the tour booking page for more information about kashrut certifications)
• If you do not keep kosher, don’t worry! This tour is still for you! The Jewish Montreal Kosher Food Tour lets visitors of all backgrounds taste various delicious foods that showcase our city’s unique Jewish cuisine and that also happen to be kosher.