A Summer Stroll in the Mile-End and Outremont, Montreal’s Heart and Soul in Leonard Cohen Country …

A Summer Stroll in the Mile-End and Outremont, Montreal’s Heart and Soul in Leonard Cohen Country …

You’re visiting Montreal and you’ve enjoyed Downtown, Ste-Catherine Street, the Mountain and Old Montreal, but you have an extra day and would like to discover something different?  You're looking to explore a charming and genuine area where Montrealers actually hang out? OK, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell any tourists ?? …

Montreal is a collection of multicultural and multilingual neighbourhoods and communities, built and inhabited by immigrants from around the world. Open-minded, tolerant, entrepreneurial and passionate people obsessed with food – nowadays a bit lefty for a place that used to be the North American capital of the fur trade two hundred years ago!

And what better place than Montreal’s adjacent Mile-End and Outremont neighbourhoods to taste our city’s beautiful and inclusive melting pot?   

So, what I am sharing with you here is an itinerary of my own personal favorite part of Montreal: the area encompassing the adjacent neighbourhoods of the Mile-End and Outremont. If you come to Montreal and you want to get it, do this walking tour on a sunny summer day. Stop in shops, coffees and bars you like, meet people, enjoy a drink on a terrace, try Montreal’s famous bagels, Portuguese chicken or Wilenski's unique baloney sandwich, check out home staging stores and finish your day enjoying dinner in one of the many excellent restaurants in the area. But watch out, you may end up deciding to move here, so you've been warned …

Here we go!

Outremont and the Mile-End are two adjacent neighborhoods. For me, their combination sums up a good chunk of “what makes Montreal ... Montréal”! Both are residential neighborhoods and, while they are quite different from one another, they are extraordinarily complementary. Together, they form in my view Montreal’s best multi-cultural district, with a rich and harmonious combination of residential areas, parks, cultural influences, cozy commercial streets, cafes, shops, boutiques, bars, restaurants and eateries reflecting food and flavors from around the world. These two districts are easy to jointly visit in half a day – obviously, you could spend an entire day there (or days, like I still do every month or so) if you fall in love with this irresistible Montreal gem.

The Shopping Strip on Laurier Street in Outremont

Terraces on Bernard Street in Outremont

Here's my quick description of each of those two neighbourhoods before I get you going with the walking path.

Outremont - formerly a town in its own right - is a gorgeous residential area just north of the mountain. It features several large and beautiful parks, houses and lots of mature trees. Its geographic position (i.e. just over the mountain from downtown - or ? outre le mont ? in older French) helped give the area its name. Outremont is roughly bordered by three famous Montreal streets. In the North-South axis, Outremont is pretty much delineated by Bernard to the North (although purist would say that Van Horne or the railroad is the true border), and Laurier to the South - both these avenues are local favorites for specialized shops, boutiques, cafes and good restaurants. In the East-West axis, Outremont' eastern limit is Du Parc Avenue, which also marks the beginning of the Mile-End (the western part of Outremont is really just houses and parks). Historically, Outremont was where the French-speaking elites of Montreal would usually live, in large houses and mansions. The English-speaking elites were primarily in Westmount, across town. Nowadays, while it remains a primarily French speaking neighbourhood (don't panic, everyone speaks English as well :-)), Outremont is home to - and visited by - a much broader spectrum of multilingual Montrealers from all ethnic origins and confessions.  In addition to its French-speaking majority, close to 25% of its inhabitants are members of our Hasidic community - around the end of WWII, Du Parc avenue and the few streets East and West thereof were essentially home to most of Montreal's Jewish community (for example, the Rialto theatre on Du Parc - now a general concert venue - was a Jewish cinema in the 50s). The contributions of this community to the area are still very much present, including in the form of specialized shops, Kosher shops, Montreal's bagel tradition, synagogues and so forth.

In the heart of the original St-Viateur Bagel shop!

The Mile-End is a rectangular neighbourhood bordered by Du Parc on the West side, St-Laurent Street (or the Main) on the East side, Mont-Royal Avenue on the South side, and Van Horne Avenue on the North Side. With Griffintown, the Mile-End is undoubtedly one of the most vibrant districts in the city. In addition to its rich multi-ethnic fabric and abundance of trendy boutiques, shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, the Mile-End is the cradle of Montreal's "Indy" sound on the international music scene. Since the late 80s, the Mile-End is recognized by the likes of Spin and Rolling Stones as the main hub of Canada's alternative music scene. Artists such as Arcade Fire (I bumped into Win Butler last year on St-Viateur street!), Jean Leloup, Milk & Bone, Bran Van 3000, Malajube, Wolf Parade, Grimes, Mac De Marco, Braids and Ariane Moffatt came out of and/or live in the Mile-End or the area. Leonard Cohen had a house in the Mile-End for a long time and many of his songs are about the neighbourhood as well – in fact, he owned an apartment on Vallières Street in Little Portugal just a few blocks south of the Mile-End until he died last year.  Writer Mordecai Richler also grew up here in the 30s et 40s (at 5257 St-Urbain). Many of his books take place in the Mile-End, including one of his most famous novel, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz - the diner in this 1959 novel, Wilensky’s (corner of Fairmont and Clark), is still open and is a must).

Two people mourn Leonard Cohen in front of his Vallières Street Appartment in late fall 2016.

Start this stroll in front of the Saint-Viateur d’Outremont church, on Laurier Street, corner of De L'Epée ($12 cab from downtown; or walking from the mountain via C?te Sainte-Catherine). Then, follow the path in the picture below (walk East on Laurier, then North on St-Laurent, West on St-Viateur, etc.), which will eventually lead you in the earth of Outremont on Bernard a few hours later, via the Mile-End, just in time for an apéro or diner. For the latter, there are several good addresses in Outremont and the Mile-End, and I have highlighted several in the picture and list below, but if you’re curious, my favorite place to eat in Montreal is in Outremont. It's Damas, a fabulous Syrian restaurant - make sure you have a reservation if you want to go ...

Syrian restaurant, Damas, one of Montreal’s best table …

In closing, here’s a Rufus Wainwright quote from a couple of years back, where he discussed his youth in Montreal - he doesn't say, but based on the quote and from what I know, he must have been thinking about a mix of the Mile-End, Outremont, the Plateau, the Main and NDG when he said:

“I moved from New York to Montreal when I was three and didn’t return to the U.S. until I was twenty-three, so I lived in Quebec for most of my formative years. Montreal has always had a tremendous bohemian culture, but when I was a kid the city was economically run-down and desolate—a bit of a no-man’s-land. Hardly anyone was working, living was cheap; there was nothing to do but create. At the time, I was surrounded by incredible influences: Leonard Cohen was around, and of course my mother, Kate McGarrigle, is a singer. During those years this close-knit community planted the seeds for what has since become one of the hippest and most vibrant cities in the world, especially when it comes to songwriting and music. I feel very lucky to have grown up in Montreal. I went to a French school, and the European education meant that I was distanced from American culture without being too far away. I often compare the city to Berlin, in the sense that it’s divided—there’s a French side and an English side. This mix of traditions adds so much richness and diversity. In Montreal there’s an amazing artistic frisson that just permeates the sidewalks.”

Enjoy!

Good addresses you'll cross on your path (in the order you'll see these if you follow the suggested directions – See the numbers on the red path above on the map). Start at the corner of Laurier and De L'Epée:

1.    Leméac, 1045 Laurier Ouest (French bistro)

2.    Juliette & Chocolat, 377 Laurier Ouest (Cafe/boutique)

3.    Wilfrid sur Laurier, 222 Laurier Ouest (French bistro/cafe)

4.    Mandy’s, 201 Laurier Ouest (Salad bistro)

5.    Greasy Spoon, 160 Laurier Ouest (Market cuisine)

6.    Juni, 156 Laurier Ouest (sushi & sashimi)

7.    Gattuso, 154 Laurier Ouest (Cheese)

8.    Les Touilleurs, 152 Laurier Ouest (Cooking accessories)

9.    La Chronique, 104 Laurier Ouest (Market kitchen)

10.  Chao Phraya, 50 Avenue Laurier Ouest (Thai restaurant)

11.  Dieu du Ciel, 29 Avenue Laurier Ouest (microbrewery)

12.  H?tel Herman, 5171 St-Laurent (wine bar)

13.  Dépanneur AS, 5191 St-Laurent (convenience store with the largest beer selection in Mtl)

14.  Fabergé Restaurant, 25 Fairmount Ouest (breakfast)

15.  Wilensky’s, 34 Fairmount Ouest (famous diner)

16.  Lawrence, 5201 boulevard St-Laurent (Market kitchen)

17.  Boucherie Lawrence, 5237 St-Laurent (Butcher's)

18.  Sel Gras, 5245 St-Laurent (Gastro pub)

19.  Burger de Ville, 5282 St-Laurent (Custom burgers)

20.  Cycles Gervais Rioux, 5365 St-Laurent (Bike manufacturer - supplies Tour de France Astana Team)

21.  Ma?s, 5439 St-Laurent (Mexican resto-bar)

22.  Bar Waverly, 5550 St-Laurent (neighbourhood cocktail bar)

23.  Comptoir 21, 21 St-Viateur Ouest (fish’n’chips)

24.  Le Mile End, 100 St-Viateur Ouest (Portuguese B.B.Q.)

25.  Farine, 102 St-Viateur Ouest (bakery)

26.  Café Olimpico, 124 St-Viateur Ouest (Italian cafe)

27.  St-Viateur Bagel, 158 St-Viateur Ouest (Famous Montreal bagels)

28.  Serrano BBQ, 161 St-Viateur Ouest (Portuguese B.B.Q.)

29.  Les Deux Singes de Montarvie, 176 St-Viateur Ouest (bistro)

30.  David’s Tea, 257A St-Viateur Ouest

31.  St-Viateur Bagel, 263 St-Viateur Ouest (Famous Montreal bagels)

32.  Théatre Rialto, 5723 Du Parc (Historic neighbourhood theatre)

33.  Poissonnerie nouveau Falero, 5726A Du Parc (Fresh fish and seafood)

34.  Le Pier 66, 361 Bernard Ouest (Seafood restaurant)(now closed)

35.  Lester’s Deli, 1057 Bernard Ouest (one of the best smoked meat in Mtl - better than Schwartz')

36.  Yannick Fromagerie d’Exception, 1218 Bernard Ouest (Cheese)

37.  Pizzeria 900, 1248 Bernard Ouest (Neapolitan Pizza)

38.  Théatre Outremont, 1248 Avenue Bernard (neighbourhood theatre)

39.  Brasserie Bernard, 1249 Bernard Ouest (French brasserie)

40.  Les Enfants Terribles Brasserie, 1257 Bernard Ouest (bistro)

41.  Le Bilboquet, 1311 Bernard Ouest (Handmade ice cream)

Other good addresses in Outremont/Mile-End that are not directly on the path or are out of the map:

42.  La panthère verte, 160 St-Viateur Est (vegan)

43.  Beautys, 93 Avenue Mont-Royal Ouest (famous diner)

44.  Cocoa Local, 4807 Du Parc (best home made cup cakes and key lime pie)

45.  Faros, 362 Fairmount Ouest (Fish/Greek)

46.  Milos, 5357 Du Parc (one of the best fish/Greek restaurant in Mtl)

47.  La Petite Adresse, 5365 Du Parc (bistro)

48.  Damas, 1201 Avenue Van Horne (Syrian fine dining - Montreal's best)

49.  Mamie Clafoutis (bakery)

50.  Provisions, 1268 Avenue Van Horne (bistro)

51.  Cycles Régis, 1150 Avenue Van Horne (bikes)