Quebec Food Guide: 25 Must-Try Dishes and Drinks

Discover 25 Quebec food favorites to eat in Montreal, Quebec City and the rest of the French Canadian province. Must-eat Quebecois foods include poutine, maple syrup and bagels. The desserts and drinks are great too!

Food travelers who journey to Quebec are in for a treat that goes beyond poutine and maple syrup.

Yes, eating poutine is a must in Quebec, whether you’re dining in the big city or chowing down at a casse-croûte (i.e., roadside stand). And, yes, maple syrup runs freely at both sugar shacks and cafés. But, with French influences and indigenous roots that date back centuries, the food culture in Quebec goes much deeper.

Fresh cheese and ice wine are just a couple of the artisan products available in Quebec’s massive food scene. Locals take pride in those products while simultaneously embracing the province’s boreal location. They forage in forests and serve meals using locally farmed ingredients. They also make some of the tastiest desserts in Canada.

You can eat poutine all over Canada, but there’s nothing like eating the squeaky dish in its home province of Quebec. This unique comfort food is practically impossible to resist with its mish-mash of French fries, cheese curds and savory brown gravy. When done right, it’s a dish where all the ingredients come together to create a dish that’s beefy, chewy and satisfying.

Poutine is easy to find all over Quebec. You can order it as a main dish, side dish or snack depending on your mood and appetite. We recommend trying several versions to find your favorite.

Pro Tip
Plan your visit during the first week of February if you want to experience La Poutine Week. Be sure to pack thermal underwear, a thick hat and heavy gloves since Quebec winters are notoriously cold.

It should be no surprise that you’ll find maple syrup (sirop d’érable in French) all over Quebec. After all, the province produces more than 70% of the sweet brown nectar. (Sorry, Vermont, you’re a distant number two.) You can buy maple syrup at markets and grocery stores. However, sugar shacks are the best places to experience age-old Quebecois maple culture.

It’s not that the maple syrup you buy at a sugar shack will taste better than the stuff you buy at a market or store. Rather, it’s the full experience that you’ll get. Our visit to Sucrerie de la Montagne included an educational tour, a ginormous lunch and live music. It was an immersive maple syrup experience that’s unique to Quebec.

Pro Tip
Take advantage of maple syrup that’s served with breakfast at Quebecois hotels. We recommend pouring it generously over your entire plate.

While maple syrup is great on its own, it’s even better when the sweet sap is transformed into a sweet treat. In Quebec, you can experience many maple treats including maple butter, maple candy, maple cookies, maple fudge, maple jelly, maple lollypops, maple popcorn, maple sugar and maple taffy. Whether you eat your maple sweet treat on the spot or take it home as an edible gift is up to you.

Don’t feel left out if you’re not a fan of sweet treats. Instead, buy a jar of maple mustard and pair the condiment with locally produced charcuterie.

Pro Tip
Order a shot of maple whiskey on the rocks if you’re a fan of both maple syrup and Canadian whiskey.

Popularized by Jewish immigrants from Eastern European countries like Poland, Montreal bagels are unique for their sweet flavor and crunchy texture. The sweetness comes from honey added to the water and the crunchiness from wood ovens used to bake the hand-rolled bagels.

These bagels are different from New York bagels. They’re smaller, less dense and, in turn, far less filling. The debate as to which North American city bakes the better bagel is ongoing. Sometimes, when it comes to Montreal bagels, we wonder whether we should spread cream cheese on top of the bagel without splitting it in two.

Pro Tip
Try a sesame bagel with a cream cheese schmear at either Fairmount Bagel or St-Viateur Bagel Shop in Montreal’s funky Mile End neighborhood to find out if you’re on team Montreal or team NYC.

Tourtière is another Quebec food favorite with faraway roots. In this case, despite the dish’s French name, those roots are likely British. Quebec was a British colony from 1763 to 1791.

Although the dish’s name sounds fancy, the tourtière is a humble meat pie. Most are filled with beef or pork but others are gussied up with proteins like venison and rabbit. Quebecois cooks occasionally add potatoes and/or veggies to the filling which h the dish into a meal.

Pro Tip
Visit Quebec in December if you want to eat tourtière at a holiday meal. Otherwise, you can eat the traditional Quebecois dish at a sugar shack or traditional Quebec City restaurants like Aux Anciens Canadiens or La Bûche.

The lobster roll wasn’t invented in Quebec but that doesn’t stop guédilles au homard from being one of the province’s most popular sandwiches. Perhaps this is because Quebec is near the Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) or perhaps Quebecois people simply like eating the sandwich fave.

Either way, eating a lobster roll is a must in Quebec. We accomplished this food goal at Chez Mag on Quebec City’s Île d’Orléans. Served on a split, sesame seed dotted brioche roll and jam-packed with big pieces of fresh New Brunswick lobster and tangy salad, that lobster roll made us forget about eating lobster rolls in New England.

Pro Tip
Pair your lobster roll with a side of poutine to create the ultimate Quebec fast food meal.

People have been eating pea soup in Quebec for centuries. But, to be clear, Quebecois soupe aux pois is different from America’s split pea soup. Its two main ingredients are yellow peas and salt pork (or bacon) though home cooks and restaurants often add herbs and chopped vegetables for extra flavor.

Consider yourself lucky if you have the opportunity to eat homemade pea soup at a private dinner. Your next best option is to slurp a bowl at a sugar shack or traditional restaurant.

Discover more great global soups.

Leave your impressions behind if you grew up eating canned baked beans in America. The same goes if you’re familiar with the Boston version that’s sweetened with molasses. Keeping to the theme, Quebec’s version, fèves au lard, stands out thanks to the sweet addition of maple syrup.

Salt pork (or bacon), molasses, chopped onion and other seasonings are also part of Quebec’s baked bean recipe. And, of course, beans (either white or navy) are the traditional dish’s main ingredient.

Pro Tip
Add a side of baked beans to your Quebec breakfast if you’re feeling extra hungry.

The pancake isn’t a traditional Quebec food that can be linked to the First Nations, French settlers or even British invaders. And, yet, pancakes are a breakfast favorite among both Quebecois locals and visitors to the province.

This popularity adds up since thick, absorbent pancakes are a wonderful partner for maple syrup. In fact, pancakes may be maple syrup’s best breakfast partner, though waffles (gaufres in French) are a close contender for that honor.

Pro Tip
Pour a generous amount of maple syrup whenever you eat pancakes in Quebec. The combination is decadently delicious.

Similar to pancakes, the waffle doesn’t have French Canadian roots. However, also like pancakes, waffles (i.e., gaufres) are a great vessel for Quebec’s liquid gold, i.e., maple syrup.

We encountered waffles at Quebec cafés, coffee shops and hotel breakfast buffets. Our favorite version at Quebec City’s Maude Épicerie was stuffed with cheese, apple slices and candied onion. Along with candied pecans and a slab of bacon, maple syrup provided that dish’s finishing touch.

Pro Tip
Add a splash of color by topping your Quebec waffles with berries. Depending on the season, options include blueberries, blackberries, huckleberries, raspberries and blackcurrants.

You may be thinking that Quebec doesn’t have any unique breakfast dishes besides, perhaps, its maple syrup baked beans. Savory meat spread called cretons proves otherwise.

Locals spread cretons on toast and we did the same whenever we encountered cretons at a Quebec breakfast. Our first thought was that the porky product reminded us of France’s rillettes. Our second thought was that it tasted great.

Pro Tip
Add cretons to your charcuterie board for an extra pop of flavor.

When we think about great charcuterie countries, we typically think about France, Germany and Italy. However, after tasting a variety of cured meats in Quebec, we may need to revise this list to include Canada.

Quebec’s artisan butchers create great meat products which you can buy at their shops and at local markets. Our favorites include a wide variety that includes hard salamis and soft pâtés.

Pro Tip
Don’t forget to include charcuterie in your picnic basket when you visit a Quebec winery.

Although cheese curds are a prominent poutine component, the squeaky cow’s milk product isn’t the only cheese to eat in Quebec – artisans produce hundreds of cow, buffalo, goat and sheep cheeses. Some of those cheeses are fresh. Some are firm. And some are covered in ash.

Quebec’s cheese culture is nothing new. Trappist monks first made Oka, a creamy washed-rind cheese, in Quebec more than a century ago. It’s just one of many worthwhile cheeses you can try at local dairies, markets and fromageries.

Pro Tip
Take a ride down Quebec’s cheese route if you’re a diehard cheesehead.

Similar to the bagel, smoked meat is a Quebec food favorite with roots in Eastern Europe – Jews brought the recipe when they immigrated from countries like Lithuania. And, while it’s similar to New York’s pastrami, Quebec’s viande fumée has a more peppery flavor.

You can and should try the province’s most famous smoked meat at Schwartz’s Deli in Montreal. Opened by Reuben Schwartz in 1928, the deli attracts crowds that queue for sandwiches seven days a week. Most dine in the restaurant while others take their meaty sandwiches away to nosh on later. Another great deli option is Snowdon Deli, also in Montreal.

Discover more great global sandwiches.

We’re intrigued by Quebec’s version of shepherd’s pie starting with its name – pâté Chinois After all, there’s absolutely nothing about the Quebecois dish that reminds us of Chinese food. Then there’s the way that the dish is constructed.

Quebecois shepherd’s pie has three layers – ground beef, creamy sweet corn and mashed potatoes. Some people eat the dish with ketchup but that condiment is entirely optional.

Pro Tip
Pickled vegetables pair well with pâté Chinois.

The French language isn’t the only thing that connects Quebec to France. Another is the crêpe, a pancake variation that’s typically associated with France’s Brittany region.

Eating crêpes requires a decision – sweet or savory. While we’re happy to go either way in France, sweet is our default choice in Quebec since that’s the version that pairs best with maple syrup. However, we won’t judge you if you take the savory route instead.

Pro Tip
You can scratch your crêpe itch at breakfast, lunch or dinner in Quebec. The dish is that versatile.

We love sugar pie as much as the Four Tops did. Yes – we get that their 1965 song wasn’t actually about Quebec’s tarte au sucre but that doesn’t lessen our affection for the sweet treat.

Essentially an open pie with a sweet, buttery filling, sugar pie isn’t unique to Quebec. Diners in Belgium, France and the American Midwest love eating sugar pie too. However, the addition of maple syrup transforms the global dessert into a Quebecois dessert.

Discover more great global desserts.

With a name that literally translates to unemployed man’s pudding, pouding chômeur is a classic Quebec dessert that’s made with ingredients (i.e., flour, butter, eggs, sugar, cream and maple syrup) found in a typical Quebec kitchen. Its roots date back to the Great Depression when the cabinets in many of those kitchens were relatively bare beyond those basics.

We’re partial to the pouding chômeur served at Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon but we doubt that there’s a bad version of the decadent dessert. If there is, we yet to taste it.

Pro Tip
Diabetics beware – the amount of maple syrup in the pouding chômeur recipe is gloriously excessive.

France’s food influence is evident in Quebec when it comes to pastries. This is especially the case in Montreal and Quebec City where the number of boulangeries and pâtisseries is impressive.i

We’re rarely disappointed by the pastries we eat in Quebec. Popular options include croissants, macarons and mille-feuille. Our recent favorites include chouquettes at Quebec City’s Pâtisserie Chouquette and choccotini brioche at Montreal’s Hof Kelsten.

Pro Tip
Don’t skip Quebec pastries that feature ingredients like rhubarb and strawberries. Both are prolific during the summer months.

Rhubarb and strawberries are just two of many fruits that appear on Quebec menus each summer – the province is a veritable treasure trove for people who like to eat with the seasons. Many of Quebec’s edible treasures, like apples and grapes, are cultivated while others are foraged in boreal forests.

We recommend sampling unusual fruits like blackcurrants, cloudberries, haskap and sea buckthorn when the opportunity arises. The province’s wild mushrooms are also great, especially when they’re served atop poutine.

Pro Tip
Skip fruit and focus on veggies if you travel to Quebec during the winter months. Top choices include beets, butternut squash and turnips.

Despite a hoppy history that goes back centuries, the beer scene in Quebec feels fresh thanks to a burgeoning crop of microbrewers. These relative newbies have shaken things up by introducing IPAs and sours to a repertoire originally influenced by Belgian, French and British beer traditions.

Although our favorite Quebec microbrewery, Unibroue, has been acquired by a global beer company based in Japan, other microbrewers are keeping things local. Prime examples are Brasserie Dunham and La Souche where you can pair brews with burgers and poutine.

Pro Tip
You can taste a lot of beers at the Mondial de la Bière if your visit coincides with the annual beer festival.

Once French settlers started growing apples in Quebec during the 17th century, it wasn’t long before they started producing cider from those apples. The hard apple drink was popular until Prohibition hit cider’s brakes in the early years of the 20th century. And, while that temperance movement only lasted for a decade, its impact on Quebec’s cider industry lingered much longer.

Today, cider is arguably the province’s signature drink. Producers like Michel Jodoin have raised the bar with a range of cider variations including a bubbly cider produced using French champagne techniques. However, ice wine, made from frozen apples, is the cider to drink in Quebec at the end of a meal.

Pro Tip
You can buy cider bottles at Quebec’s SAQ liquor stores unless you’d rather buy them directly from cider producers.

Despite its frigidly cold winters, Southern Quebec is an up-and-coming wine region with dozens of hardy wine varieties produced with hybrid grapes like Frontenac, Vidal and Seyval Blanc. Perhaps wine is so prevalent in the region because of the microclimate that’s impacted by the wide St. Lawrence River and the Appalachian Mountains. Or maybe Quebecois winemakers simply like a challenge.

We tasted red, white and rosé wines at vineyards in Quebec’s Eastern Townships and Montérégiennes as well as on Quebec City’s Île d’Orléans. We appreciate the winemakers’ efforts and look forward to watching their progress as Quebec’s nascent wine industry develops.

Pro Tip
Try Quebec’s ice wine if you’re a fan of dessert wine.

Adventurous wine drinkers will want to sip a glass of caribou in Quebec. The strong yet sweet drink combines red wine with liquor and maple syrup to create a sweet fortified beverage. Legend has it that caribou blood was an original ingredient but that’s certainly not the case today.

Locals drink chilled caribou during the summer and warm it up, similar to mulled wine, when it’s cold outside. The drink is especially popular during the annual Carnaval de Quebec each winter.

Pro Tip
Flavor your caribou with warming spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Crème de cassis arrived in Quebec more than a century after the blackcurrant beverage became a thing in Burgundy. Bernard Monna, an industrious French immigrant, gets much of the credit for introducing cassis to the province. Today, his multi-generational Cassis Monna & Filles produces 85,000 bottles of blackcurrant wine and crème de cassis each year.

For the uninitiated, crème de cassis is a sweet liqueur that’s made with blackcurrants, liquor and sugar. While some people sip the pleasantly potent liqueur as an aperitif, others mix crème de cassis with champagne to create sparkling Kir Royale cocktails.

Pro Tip
You can taste a variety of blackcurrant drinks including crème de cassis at Cassis Monna & Filles.

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