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Warm restaurant windows glowing on a snowy Montreal street at dusk, with distant walkers and iron staircases.
Restaurants

Top 10 New Restaurants, Cafés and Bars in Montreal: December 2026

6 min read

December in Montreal means early dark, slushy boots and a strong pull toward warm rooms. This year there are plenty of new ones. Since the spring, the city has gained a Mile End bistro with a serious wine cellar, a diner that ages its own poultry, a tiny Centre-Sud café that pours wine at night and a Filipino café in LaSalle where tips go to charity.

We picked these ten from places that opened in 2026 and that we could check on their own pages and in recent reviews this month. We looked for a clear point of view, a dish worth crossing town for and a room you’ll want to sit in when it’s minus 15 outside. Nobody paid to be here. Hours change around the holidays, so check before you go.

1 Bistrot à Franky

Pan-fried fish with lemon and a glass of white wine on a bistro table by a snowy night window.

Francis Blais spent years running Menu Extra pop-ups before opening his own room on Bernard Street, and the waiting shows. The menu keeps to French bistro classics: omelette, salmon with sorrel, sole meunière, chicken in vin jaune and a filet au poivre made with a bone-in cut aged two weeks and a cream sauce fermented in house. Zébulon Perron designed the room, with Xavier Dolan helping shape the brief. The cellar holds more than 800 wines. It’s a splurge, so save it for a December dinner you want to remember.

Where
112 Bernard St. W., Mile End
When
Open every day; opened October 2026
Good to know
Book on OpenTable; groups of 8 or more contact the restaurant directly

Official website bistrotafranky.com

2 Croquette

A burger and a martini on a wood-and-burgundy diner counter, snow falling past the window.

This Saint-Henri spot takes the Quebec diner and dresses it up: warm wood, burgundy banquettes, a counter facing the kitchen and a U-shaped bar. Chef Charles Dumais (Nolan, Toqué!) cooks the burger over coal and tops it with Charlevoix emmental and horseradish mayo. There’s also a bologna club, hot chicken, steak frites and beef tartare with marrow bone. The detail people talk about is the poultry aging room, visible from the dining room, where you can pick your bird before it’s cooked. Tastet puts dishes between $15 and $55, and a martini at $11.

Where
4001 Notre-Dame St. W., Saint-Henri
When
Wed to Sun, 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. (last order 10:15)
Good to know
Walk-ins welcome; brunch is listed as coming soon

Official website croquetterestaurant.com

3 Taverne Popina

Pork skewers grilling over charcoal in a warm tavern, a snowy street visible through the windows.

The team behind Buvette Beaubien opened this Duluth Street tavern on September 25, and it runs on fire and smoke. Chef William Mallette sends out charcoal-grilled pork belly skewers ($14), oxtail bitterballen ($13), a coal-grilled flatbread and a picanha ($36) for the table. Sommelière Alix Bourbonnais handles the wine. On weekends it opens at 10 a.m. for brunch, with shokupan French toast with maple ($18) and duck confit eggs Benedict ($24). Come in after a walk on Mount Royal and warm up by the grill.

Where
121 Duluth Ave. E., the Plateau
When
Tue to Thu 4 p.m. to midnight; Fri to Sun 10 a.m. to midnight
Brunch
Fri to Sun, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Good to know
The dining room is 18+ (bar permit)

Official website popina.ca

4 Riposte

Skewered olives and cured ham with red wine on a yellow bar counter, snow outside at night.

Riposte took over the former Nozy space on Notre-Dame and painted it butter yellow with red accents. Chef Matthew Finn, who grew up in Belfast and cooked in Berlin and Victoria, draws on the Roussillon, where Spain meets southwest France. Start at the bar with pintxos and serrano ham, then share the guanciale cocido (pork cheek with eggplant and figs) or the Berkshire pork chop platter with shishitos. The wine list leans toward Quebec, Spain and the Roussillon. It’s about a four-minute walk from Lionel-Groulx metro, handy on a cold night.

Where
3568 Notre-Dame St. W., Saint-Henri (Lionel-Groulx metro)
When
Mon and Thu to Sun, 6 to 11 p.m.; closed Tue and Wed
Good to know
Book on Resy; walk-ins welcome at the bar

Official website restaurantriposte.com

5 Éléphantine

An espresso and pastry on a small table in a tiny rough-walled café, snow on the sidewalk outside.

The name is a joke about size: this café on Larivière fits into a 540-square-foot former gym. Three women run it, MJ Déziel, Kellyane Pépin and Catherine Lamarre (who managed a café in Paris for four years). By day it’s espresso and pastries from Feuilleté. At night it turns into a buvette with natural-leaning wines and Mediterranean snacks, with focaccia, stracciatella and olives on the plan when Tastet visited. The evening service was still ramping up this fall, so check Instagram for wine nights before you make a special trip.

Where
2237 Larivière St., Centre-Sud
When
Café daily from 8 a.m.; evenings Thu to Sat (confirm on Instagram)
Good to know
Small room: about 25 seats

Official website instagram.com

6 Pub Gaijin

Dumplings in steamer baskets, seared beef and a cocktail on a dark pub bar under paper lanterns.

Pub Gaijin opened quietly on Rosemont Boulevard and held its official opening on November 5. The menu is short and built for sharing: beef or tuna tataki ($18), chicken or vegetable dumplings ($8), shrimp har gow and teriyaki wings. Signature cocktails are $14, and sake comes on request. There’s also a private room called Le Petit Secret hosts karaoke nights, shows and private events for up to 80 people, which makes it a good bet for an office holiday party. Fridays and Saturdays it stays open until 3 a.m.

Where
808 Rosemont Blvd., Rosemont
When
Tue to Thu 5 p.m. to midnight; Fri and Sat 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Price
Dumplings $8, tataki $18, cocktails $14

Official website pubgaijin.com

7 Osteria Berto

Ribbon pasta, small flatbreads with cured ham and red wine on a candlelit table, wooden casks behind.

Riccardo Bertolino ran the kitchen at Maison Boulud for eight years before opening this Villeray osteria in May with his wife, sommelier Isabel Bordeleau. Order the stracci alla finanziera (white ragù, maitake, sweetbreads) and the plate called “Un peu de chez moi”, with tigelle, prosciutto di Parma, gnocco fritto and stracchino. Look for the row of six small casks of traditional balsamic vinegar. The menu shifts a little every day. There’s also a private room for up to 12, good for a family dinner over the holidays.

Where
7331 Henri-Julien Ave., Villeray (corner of Castelnau)
When
Wed to Sun, 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Getting there
Free 4-hour parking at the Jean-Talon Market lot with the restaurant's coupon

Official website berto.restaurant

8 Bistrot Fortune

Raw fish in green herb sauce and braised meat in broth with star anise on a small bistro table.

Phong Thach first opened this Jean-Talon East space in 2007, and in April he reopened it as a 22-seat bistro mixing Quebec ingredients with Vietnamese and Southeast Asian roots. The house signature is hamachi crudo with a Thai-leaning aji verde. On a cold night, go for the osso buco braised with star anise and pho spices. Co-owner Carlos Ortiz runs the wine list. Air Canada named it one of 30 finalists for Best New Restaurants 2026; the Top 10 was due on November 16, after we checked, so look up the final ranking.

Where
2115 Jean-Talon St. E.
When
Tue to Sat, 5 to 10 p.m.
Good to know
Only 22 seats plus a few at the bar; book on Resy

Official website bistrotfortune.com

9 Pizzeria Crosta

Potato and pepperoni pizza slices on a counter by a steamy window, a snowy sidewalk outside at dusk.

On Saint-Viateur in the Mile End, three partners (Shawn Giannone, Andrew Hanna and chef Josh Michael) soft-opened this sourdough slice shop in June. Get the potato slice with crème fraîche, bacon jam and house ranch, or the pepperoni with hot honey. The ‘nduja comes as a whole pie only. Tastet listed slices at $5 to $6 and pies at $38 to $52 in June. Expect lines and few seats, so plan to eat standing or take a box to a friend’s place.

Where
56 Saint-Viateur St. W., Mile End
When
Closed Mondays; opens 11:30 a.m. (days vary by listing, check Instagram)
Price
Slices $5 to $6 (June 2026)

Official website instagram.com

10 Café 5thFloor

Purple cannelés, a bread-roll sandwich and a matcha drink on a café counter, snow outside.

This LaSalle café started as a micro-bakery in the owners’ fifth-floor apartment, which explains the name. Now it has a room on Dollard with board games and local art on the walls. Order a sando on house-baked pandesal, an ube cannelé or a coconut-pandan tartlet, and reviewers keep naming the ube matcha. Coffee comes from Café Buhay, a Filipino micro-roaster. The café doesn’t take tips and points anyone who wants to give toward Centraide. Healthcare workers get 10% off.

Where
1499 Dollard Ave., LaSalle
When
Wed to Sun from 9 a.m.; closed Mon and Tue (confirm on Instagram)
Good to know
No tipping; donations go to Centraide

Official website instagram.com

Opened somewhere new this year that we missed? Tell us. We check every pick again before the next list.

Checked on November 8, 2026. Details can change, so confirm on the official page before you go.

Questions people ask

What are the best new restaurants in Montreal right now?

Among the 2026 openings, Bistrot à Franky in Mile End, Croquette in Saint-Henri, Osteria Berto in Villeray and Bistrot Fortune on Jean-Talon East have drawn the most attention. Bistrot Fortune was named one of 30 finalists for Air Canada's Best New Restaurants 2026, with the Top 10 set to be revealed on November 16, 2026.

Which new Montreal restaurants are open on Mondays?

Bistrot à Franky on Bernard Street says it is open every day. Riposte in Saint-Henri serves dinner on Mondays from 6 to 11 p.m. (it closes Tuesdays and Wednesdays instead). Éléphantine in Centre-Sud opens as a café on Mondays from 8 a.m. Many other new spots close Mondays, so check hours first.

Do I need a reservation at Montreal's new restaurants?

For dinner at the smaller rooms, yes, book ahead. Bistrot à Franky and Osteria Berto take reservations on OpenTable, and Riposte and Bistrot Fortune use Resy. Croquette welcomes guests with or without a reservation, and Riposte keeps its bar for walk-ins. Pizzeria Crosta and Café 5thFloor are counter-style spots with no booking needed.

Sources

Images are AI illustrations, not photos of the places or people featured.

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