11 Traditional Quebec Foods You Absolutely Have to Try

Steeped in French culture dating back four centuries, it comes as no surprise that there are so many delicious Quebec foods to try.

The cuisine in this charming Canadian province is not only influenced by its history, but by its weather. Those cold snowy winters call for some hearty Quebec food after a day of wandering the cobblestone streets in old Quebec City or Montreal. No need for calorie counting in this climate!

Whether you prefer sweet or savoury, you’ll find it on Quebec’s thriving culinary scene.

Here is a list of some traditional Quebec dishes you have to try and the best restaurants in Quebec City and Montreal to have each one.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Poutine
2. Tourtière
3. Montreal Smoked Meat (viande fumée)
4. Maple Baked Beans (fèves au lard)
5. Pea soup (soupe aux pois)
6. Hot Chocolate (chocolat chaud)
7. Tarte au sucre
8. Pouding chômeur
9. Montreal-style Bagels
10. Maple Taffy (tire sur la neige)
11. French-Canadian Crêpes
Sample Quebec Food on a Food Tour

1. Poutine

Probably the most famous Quebec food, poutine consists of fries, gravy and cheese curds. You won’t find this delicacy in the health food stores.

Indeed, the word, “poutine” is Quebec slang for a “mess”.

Poutine is such a popular Canadian food that there are festivals celebrating it and trendy gourmet variations to try, in addition to it being available at fast food chains all over the area.

It’s a matter of taste, but some of the best poutine in old Quebec City can be found at the fast food chain Chez Ashton. Snack Bar Saint-Jean and the Le Chic Shack are also good options.

For a more gourmet experience, look for poutine with foie gras at Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal. Because fat is tasty.

Locations:
Chez Ashton:  54 Palace Coast in old Quebec City, but there are a number of locations
Snack Bar Saint-Jean:  780, rue St-Jean, Quebec City
Le Chic Shack: 15 Fort St, Quebec City
Au Pied de Cochon:  536 Avenue Duluth E, Montreal

2. Tourtière

Tourtière is a traditional meat pie, usually filled with seasoned and minced beef or pork, or game meats. You’ll find different recipes in different families and areas, but you can always expect warm, comforting meat wrapped in a pastry crust.

Tourtière is often eaten for breakfast or brunch in Quebec, and is also a traditional part of local Quebec Christmas festivities.

You can find them at grocery stores across the province. A great one to check out is J.A. Moisan in Quebec City, established in 1871 and now considered to be the oldest grocery store in North America. It’s a fun place to browse a wide array of authentic Quebec foods.

One of the best restaurants in Quebec City to sample tortière is Aux Anciens Canadiens, which specializes in serving delicious old-fashioned Quebec cuisine.

Locations:
J.A. Moisan: 695 rue Saint-Jean, Quebec City
Aux Anciens Canadiens: 34, rue Saint-Louis, Quebec City

3. Montreal Smoked Meat (viande fumée)

Montreal smoked meat is a kosher-style cured and smoked beef brisket; it’s basically Montreal’s version of pastrami or corned-beef.

Its specific origins are hazy, but the dish comes from Montreal’s traditional Jewish delicatessens of the early 1900s.

While Montrealers will all have their favourites, the most popular spot is Schwartz’s Deli. Schwartz’s has been serving smoked meat sandwiches since 1928, and hasn’t really changed much. Some things don’t need fixing. It’s a tradition.

Location –  Schwartz’s Deli:  3895 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal

4. Maple Baked Beans (fèves au lard)

It should come as no surprise that in Quebec, baked beans are seasoned with maple syrup. What might surprise you is that this hearty Quebec dish is often served at breakfast. It might sound odd, but I think the sweetness in the slow cooked beans works wonders with bland eggs.

Fèves au lard means “beans with fat”, with the fat element coming from salted pork or a ham hock. The idea was to provide a hearty, high-fat breakfast for lumberjacks and hunters before their day of work.

Maple baked beans are commonly served as part of a sugar shack feast in the spring. In Montreal, a great place to have them is the long-time all-day breafast spot, La Binerie Mont-Royal (literally, “The Beanery). In Quebec City, enjoy this classic comfort food at brunch at Restaurant La Bûche, which serves traditional Quebecois food.

Locations:
La Binerie Mont-Royal, 4167 St. Denis Street, Montreal
Restaurant La Bûche, 49, rue Saint-Louis, Quebec City

Check these links to find sugar shacks near each city:
Sugar shacks near Quebec City
Sugar shacks in and around Montreal

If you’re not driving, you can also book this transfer from Quebec City to a sugar shack on nearby Ille d’Orleans. Note that this only runs during the maple syrup season (generally March to early April)

5. Pea Soup (soupe aux pois)

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more traditional Quebecois food than pea soup. When Samuel de Champlain discovered “New France” 400 years ago, his ships were stocked with dried beans and salted meats, all of the ingredients for pea soup. It’s often called “habitant pea soup”, named after Canada’s first settlers, or habitants, from France.

Nowadays, this stick-to-your-ribs soup is made from split peas, salt pork and vegetables, and is simmered until it is hearty and rich.

In Quebec homes, it’s often served with bread for dinner on Fridays. In restaurants, you’ll find it on the menu as a starter or as a main course.

Pea soup is also part of the sugar shack experience, and you can enjoy a special version, enhanced with bits of bacon, foie gras and aged cheddar cheese, at a sugar shack near Montreal called La Cabane d’à côté (Note, you need reservations.)

In Quebec City, the traditional restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens is a good place for a classic pea soup.

Locations:
La Cabane d’à côté, 3595 Montée Robillard, St-Benoît de Mirabel
Aux Anciens Canadiiens, 34 Rue Saint Louis, Quebec City

6. Hot Chocolate (chocolat chaud)

While hot chocolate may be a ubiquitous treat across the world, the weather in Quebec makes it especially appropriate, and many Quebec restaurants have created some truly special takes on this delicious drink.

Hot chocolate at the Café-Bar Artefact in Quebec City’s Auberge Saint-Antoine should really be added to those lists of things you have to do before you die. It is a sublime experience. Made with chocolate from Tanzania with 75% cacao, it’s like drinking a rich and robustly flavoured chocolate bar.

Another spot to indulge is Chocolaterie Érico in Quebec City, where you can order from the hot chocolate menu.

Locations:
Café-Bar Artefact: 8 rue Saint Antoine, Quebec City
Chocolaterie Érico: 634, rue Saint-Jean, Quebec City

7. Tarte au sucre

Tarte au sucre, or sugar pie, is a must-have in Quebec. Similar to the treats of the same name in northern France, the Quebecois version is all about the maple syrup, instead of simple sugar.

It’s basically maple syrup in pie-form. Sometimes cream is added, because it’s a well-known fact that food with more calories is tastier.

One of the best spots for traditional sugar pie, or “tarte au sucre”, is Cochon Dingue (Crazy Pig) at 46 boul. Champlain, Old Quebec City.

8. Pouding chômeur

If you like the idea of maple syrup with cake, you should try pouding chômeur.

It translates to “unemployment pudding”, which may not sound very appetizing, but believe me, it’s fantastic. The name came about during the Depression because the dessert is made from inexpensive ingredients that most families would have on hand.

Essentially, it’s a white cake with copious quantities of maple syrup. Very mouth-watering.

The best restaurant to get it is Bistro Sous le Fort at 48 Sous-le-fort in Old Quebec City.

9. Montreal-style Bagels

This is another Quebec food originating in early 20th century Jewish delicatessens in Montreal. The Montreal-style bagel is smaller and denser than its New York counterpart, and made in a wood-fired oven.

Fresh out of the oven, hot and steaming, they really hit the spot on a winter day.

There are two main rivals in Montreal’s bagel business. The photo above is from St-Viateur Bagel. The other option is Fairmount Bagel. Be sure to comparison shop and try them both, so you really get an idea for this Montreal specialty.

Locations:
St-Viateur Bagel: 263 St-Viateur O., Montreal
Fairmount Bagel: 74 Fairmount West Montreal

10. Maple Taffy (tire sur la neige)

Quebec is renowned the world over for its maple syrup. A traditional Canadian springtime treat is maple taffy, or “tire sur la neige”.

Usually served at sugar shacks as part of end-of-winter celebrations, the taffy is formed by pouring hot, boiled maple sap directly onto fresh snow. This results in a soft maple taffy that you have to eat right away.

For the best maple everything, go where the syrup is produced in rural Quebec. Here’s a list of sugar shacks for your maple pleasure.

You may also want to check out Délices Érable & Cie, a boutique shop for maple products in Montreal (84, St-Paul Street East).

11. French-Canadian Crêpes

Crêpes are very thin pancakes made from wheat or buckwheat flour. While generally considered a French food, French-Canadian crêpes are slightly different. Canadian crêpes are slightly thicker than French crêpes, and also tend to have slightly crispy edges.

They may be prepared folded in quarters or rolled. Either way, it’s a delectable delivery system for maple syrup.

Some fantastic restaurants to find Canadian crêpes are Chez Muffy (10 rue St. Antoine) one of the top restaurants in Quebec City, or at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello, the world’s largest log cabin.

(Note the Fairmont Chateau Montebello is 1.5 hours drive from Montreal at 392 Notre Dame, Montebello, Quebec. Check pricing & availability to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello)

Sample Quebec cuisine on a food tour

If you want to sample a little of everything, a food tour is a great way to do it.

In Quebec City, you can taste the flavours of Quebec at five different locations in a 2.5 hour walking tour.

In Montreal, you can take a 3-hour walking tour to try 6 of the city’s most famous dishes in the Mile End area, which is known to have some of the best restaurants and bakeries.

In both cases, local guides will give you advice about the best hidden foodie gems in the city.

Book your food tour in Quebec City here.
Book the Montreal Historical Food tour here.

 

As you can tell, traditional Quebec food is hearty, warming, and filling, drawing equally from local resources and climate as well as cultural influences from our French colonial history and other European roots.

Quebec’s traditional foods are a treat. Which one are you most looking forward to trying?

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For more travel information on Quebec, see:

A Sweet Escape to a Sugar Shack in Canada

10 Surprising Maple Treats That Will Leave You Wanting More

Where to Stay in Quebec City – The Best Hotels by Neighbourhood + Map

12 Ways to Enjoy the Old World Charm of Quebec City

A Holiday Spa Break in the World’s Largest Log Cabin