walking tour of jewish montreal

Explore the diverse culture, food, and stories of Montreal’s Jewish community on our acclaimed tours of our city’s historic Jewish neighbourhoods led by our friendly museum researchers.

• Tickets for our food tour, Beyond the Bagel , can be booked up to 48 hours ahead of time.
• For all other walking tours w e recommend booking tickets at least 12 hours ahead of time in order to confirm with our guides. However, once a tour has other guests booked on it, additional tickets can be purchased online up to 1 hour before a tour start time.

TOUR PRICES

Walking tours, $23 ages 65+, $13 students, $13 ages 13–17, $8   ages 8–12, ages 0–7 are free.

Walking tours are 1.5–2 hours Prices do not incl. tax & are subject to FareHarbor fees

$90 AGES 65+

$79 students, $79 ages 13–17, $45   ages 6–12, ages 0–5 are free.

Food tours are 3.5–4 hours Prices do not incl. tax & are subject to FareHarbor fees

PRIVATE TOURS

You can pick from any of our acclaimed tours to book as a private experience.

Private tours are all led by a museum researcher who is there to answer all your questions, lead discussions, and bring Montreal’s Jewish history to life.

Private tour prices vary according to group size. 20 participants per guide maximum.

For rates and availabilities  contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which tour is the best, can i still book a tour if it is past the tour cutoff time, where do tours start.

• Making their Mark  and In the Shadow of the Mountain   meet outside of 3961 Boul. Saint-Laurent (intersection Napoleon).
• Rabbis, Writers and Radicals meets outside of 4129 Boul. Saint-Laurent (intersection Marie-Anne).
• Beyond the Bagel meets outside of 5723 Park Ave (intersection Bernard).

Where can I park?

Can i tip my tour guide, what is your tour cancellation policy.

• Tour ticket exchanges must be requested 48 hours in advance.
• Only cancellations made 24 hours in advance of walking tours will be refunded. For our Beyond the Bagel Food tour, o nly cancellations made 48 hours in advance will be refunded.
• Anyone who feels unwell or has cold or flu-like symptoms should not attend the tour and will be allowed to reschedule their tour for tickets purchased provided they contact the Museum at least 3 hours in advance of their tour. 
• In the event of severe weather conditions or in the presence of lightning, cancelled tours will be offered an exchange or refund.
• Please contact us at [email protected] for our private and group tours cancellation policy.

Why are there no tours available 2 months from now?

Can i combine tours or request custom tour routes, special stops on a tour, or a general tour of a district, are your tours suitable for young children and teenagers, do you offer car or bus tours.

"Great tour that pointed out the history of many buildings that we have passed many times, without realizing their significance. Our enthusiastic, knowledgeable and skillful guide provided an overview of the intellectual history of the Montreal Jewish community plus a lot more."

Review of: Rabbis, Writers and Radicals

"Fascinating, well-researched tour about the Bohemian and labour roots of Jewish Montreal. Recommended for people familiar and unfamiliar with Canadian Jewish history."

Review of: In the Shadow of the Mountain

"An excellent tour - informative and interesting, with a great guide. One of the definite highlights of my trip to Montreal, would absolutely recommend this to others."

Review of: Making Their Mark

"Great experience! This tour was very enjoyable, our tour guide was able to share so much knowledge and insight into the beginning origins of so many known Jewish foods in Montreal. Really loved this, would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys food and history!"

Review of: Beyond the Bagel

"Wonderful tour of the Peretz Shule with a lovely informed guide! Fascinating history. This is a terrific institution!"

Our building at 5220 St-Laurent is currently only open to the public during special events and exhibitions .

Our exhibition, BACK RIVER by Sonia Bazar, is now open to the publi c:

Thursdays: 2pm–7pm Fridays: 1pm–5pm Saturdays and Sundays: 11am–5pm

Suggested admission fee of $8

Museum of Jewish Montreal

Top ways to experience Museum of Jewish Montreal and nearby attractions

• Laurier • 10 min walk

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

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Museum of Jewish Montreal - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• Making Their Mark: Montreal Jewish History Walking Tour (From AU$34.30)
• Rabbis, Writers and Radicals: Montreal Jewish History Walking Tour (From AU$34.30)
• Beyond the Bagel: Montreal Jewish Food Walking Tour (From AU$126.77)
• In the Shadow of the Mountain: Montreal Jewish History Walking Tour (From AU$34.30)
• Montreal self-guided walking tour and scavenger hunt (From AU$58.16)
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Anya Kowalchuk

Anya Kowalchuk is a freelance writer based in Montréal. She received her BA in Art History from McGill University, and served as a food history tour guide at the Museum of Jewish Montréal from 2018-2020, where she continues to work as the Development and Community Engagement Coordinator. 

Discover Jewish food and culture in Montréal

This article was updated on July 3, 2023.

The Jewish community in Montréal has profoundly impacted the city’s literary, cultural and culinary inclinations. Some of the city’s most traditional Jewish dishes have percolated into mainstream tastes and have come to be seen as icons of Montréal’s food culture.

Montréal is known for a few quintessential dishes, and aside from poutine, bagels and smoked meat are unanimously at the top of every list. Both of these staples are perfect examples of the way Jewish food has not only integrated into the city’s popular culture, but become symbols of the city itself.  

A story of two bagels

Initially an everyday bread for Eastern Europeans, bagels were not seen as the specialty food they are today, but a low-cost way to stretch ingredients and feed families. Often housewives would make extra bagels for their children and husbands to sell on the street and as a means of subsidizing their incomes. There was also a superstition, due to the bagel’s round shape, that it could help ward off the evil eye, and thus became a talisman for protection.  

Montréal bagels differ from other varieties in texture and in taste. Due to their unique production process of boiling dough in honey water and baking in wood-fired ovens, Montréal’s bagels are markedly denser and sweeter. 

The two most popular bagel bakeries today are St-Viateur   and Fairmount Bagel . While the two are often viewed as competitors, with loyal patrons that pledge their allegiance to one over the other, the two stores have a common ancestry—the Montréal Bagel Bakery. Opened in 1919, this institution was the meeting place for Hyman Seligman and Isodore Shlafman, the future owners of St-Viateur Bagel and Fairmount Bagel respectively. Seligman and Shlafman went into business together, opening Fairmount Bagel in 1949. However, their partnership was short-lived and by 1953, Seligman opened St-Viateur Bagel just a few blocks away. 

Both bakeries are open 24/7, 365 days a year. The classic order at both of these establishments is a sesame bagel, and while other flavours are baked throughout the day, if you order sesame, it’s always guaranteed to be hot and fresh.  

Schwartz’s smoked meat palace

Schwartz’s is the unofficial godfather of all things smoked meat. While you can find smoked meat at several delis around the city, none rival the authentic pageantry of dinning at Schwartz’s.

First opened by Reuben Schwartz in 1928, Schwartz’s was one of the first delis to popularize the Romanian-style smoked meat that we know and love today. The end product is distinct from corned beef and pastrami because of its slow cooking process, which demands the brisket cut to be cured for 10 to 12 days in a spice mix, smoked for 8 to 9 hours, and then steamed for another 3 hours. The meat is then cut by hand, and served on rye, typically with a pickle and a Cott’s cherry cola. 

Schwartz’s has passed through many hands during its storied past, and even Céline Dion owns shares in the restaurant today.  

Wilensky’s special sandwich

Wilensky’s Light Lunch is another hallmark of Montréal’s Jewish cuisine. Born of the working conditions in the Mile End, Wilensky’s provided sustenance to the many employees working in textile factories that were located just south of where the deli stands today. These workers needed fast, filling and easily transportable fare, and so began the tradition of the Wilensky’s special. The special hasn’t changed since its inception and consists of beef bologna with mustard on a pressed roll.

If you do happen to visit, there are two important rules when ordering the special: it’s never to be cut in two, and never served without mustard. In the past patrons could pay 5 cents to have it without mustard (yes, you read that right), but in the name of tradition this policy has been done away with entirely.  

Cheskie’s heavenly bakery

Cheskie’s Heimishe Bakery is an essential business for Outremont’s Hasidic community. It was started by Cheskie Leibowitz in 2002 when he relocated to Montréal from Brooklyn to marry his wife and settle down. Leibowitz’s upbringing is evident in certain items on the menu, such as the black and white cookie, which can commonly be found in delis throughout New York. 

Be sure to try Cheskie’s Kokosh, a pastry similar to Babka that reflects the family’s Hungarian roots. Kokosh is denser than Babka due to its lack of proofing and rise-time, which leaves it flakier than its Polish counterpart. Here you can find kokosh filled with either the traditional poppyseed or chocolate.

Beauty’s bountiful brunch

Located between what was once the economic hub of the neighbourhood to its east, and the social and organizational hub to its west, Beauty’s  has been a central meeting point for residents of the Plateau for the better part of the last century.  

Founded in 1942 by newlyweds Hymie and Freda Skolnick, the diner was initially known as the Bancroft Snack Bar. Formerly a destination for gathering and sustenance to the neighbourhood’s working class, today the diner persists as one of the most popular brunch spots in the Plateau, amongst locals and tourists alike.  

Be sure to try the Beauty’s Special, a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato and thinly sliced red onion. Their giant salad topped with a scoop of chopped liver is also a delicious way to taste a Jewish classic.

Hof Kelsten’s next-level bakery

Opened in 2014 by Jeffery Finkelstein, Hof Kelsten is a bakery and lunch counter that’s indicative of Montréal’s “new Jewish food movement”. Finkelstein opened Hof Kelsten to reproduce the foods he grew up with, applying the techniques he picked up working in Michelin-star restaurants around the world.  

Here you can find a modern approach to the classics: borsch, brisket and rugelach to name a few. But you can also find more obscure dishes like the oft-forgotten bialy. Originating from Bialystok, Poland, this bread is a close relative of the bagel, sharing an approximate shape and dimension. Whereas the bagel is boiled and baked, the bialy is simply baked, and has a shallow divot instead of a hole, typically filled with some combination of garlic, onion and poppy seeds.

Sumac’s savoury kitchen

Located in Saint-Henri and opened in 2014 by restaurateur David Bloom and chef Rachel Zagury, Sumac’s  menu boasts a beautiful array of shawarmas, hummus and falafels with tell-tale signs of distinct Jewish influence.  

The spice mix za’atar, which adorns several dishes across the menu, originates from North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent, and exemplifies the long history of cross-pollination between Jewish and Arab cuisines.

For an authentic experience of Jewish Moroccan fare, be sure to try their Salade Cuite. Consisting of roasted red peppers and tomatoes, you’ll be hard pressed to find this dish at many other restaurants in the city.  

Montréal at its tastiest

The Jewish food available in Montréal does more than provide diversity to the palate of visitors and residents alike. It gives diners a delicious entry point into a rich local history of migration, adaptation and collaboration, of perseverance and triumph. These foods are, in other words, a taste of Jewish culture as well as an invitation into a world of cultural exploration and warm hospitality. Welcome to flavoursome Montréal!

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The best walking tours in Montreal for education and exploration

Whether you're a local or a tourist, get to know the 514 better than ever on foot with the best Montreal walking tours

While wandering around this city often reveals attractions  at every turn, sometimes the best way to truly understand Montreal—and all its inner workings—is to go with guided walking tours. Tour guides here undertake a rigorous training process before being certified, making Montreal one of only two places in North America that require such levels of expertise (the other being Quebec City ). With that said, the tours here will whisk you away on adventures in iconic Montreal food  and through neighbourhoods like Little Italy , Mile End , Old Montreal , Chinatown  and more. If you’re the kind of person who prefers a more self-guided experience, you’re better spending time in the best museums in Montreal  (but they, of course, have tours as well).

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Montreal

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The best Montreal walking tours

1.  Spade & Palacio: Beyond the Basilica

Spade & Palacio was founded by two local guides with the idea of promoting non-touristy tours to its diverse clientele. The 2.5-hour Beyond the Basilica walking tour, offered year-round, begins in Old Montreal  but quickly exits the touristy neighbourhood, passing through a section of the International Quarter, Chinatown , the Entertainment District, and eventually to a collection of street art, ending at a local coffee roastery on Saint-Laurent Boulevard right in the heart of the Plateau-Mont Royal district. A great option for a first-timer.

2.  Fitz & Follwell: Old Montreal

While Fitz & Follwell may be better known for its bike tours, their 3-hour walking tour of Old Montreal  is a great way to discover some hidden secrets about the beloved historic district. With a focus on the story of the city’s foundations and industrial past, as well as some important attractions  and architectural gems in the area, this tour also includes a visit to the majestic Notre-Dame Basilica.

3.  Spade & Palacio: Montreal Mural Art

As the first company to offer guided tours of Montreal’s street art scene, Spade & Palacio offers a 2-hour walking tour concentrated on the plethora of murals found in the Plateau-Mont-Royal district. This tour offers a unique approach to learning more about the artistic side of Montreal – including the annual Mural Festival and its lasting effect on the cultural development of this trendy borough.

4.  Local Montreal Food Tours: Mile End Food Tour

While the secret on Mile End  has long since been out, the ultra-trendy subsection of the Plateau continues to attract visitors with its impressive food and nightlife  scene. Local Montreal Food Tours prides itself on delivering a well-rounded tour of the area, including six food stops (and a 7th non-food stop) that showcases some local iconic Montreal food . The 3-hour tour also includes portions on the historical, architectural and cultural elements of the neighbourhood.

5.  Guidatour: Various tours available

With a handful of private walking tours available—everything from Old Montreal  and Chinatown  to Golden Square Mile and Little Italy —Guidatour has been around for 34 years and continues to be a popular choice for tourists seeking to discover various area of the city. It’s worth mentioning that their Montréal Ghosts thematic tour uncovers stories of Montreal’s dark and haunted past; as nice as Montrealers are known to be, they’ve got some seriously creepy history under their belts.

6.  Kaléïdoscope: Mosaïcs & Centre-Sud

Offering a variety of services to school groups, conference participants and the general public, Kaléïdoscope focuses primarily on a local Montreal audience with most of their tours are offered exclusively in French. The company added a new tour this year (with the help of a first-year guide) highlighting a series of handmade mosaics in the largely unknown Centre-Sud neighbourhood.

7.  Round Table Tours: Iconic Dishes: Jewish Montreal, The Original Tour

Founded by former chef and certified guide Mélissa Simard, Round Table Tours is a gastronomic tour company that explores Montreal’s neighbourhoods, cultures and food genres through eating and storytelling. Its Iconic Dishes: Jewish Montreal food tour is a 4-hour marathon of eating, walking, poetry reading and historical exploration of the Mile End  and the north end of the Plateau, an area where most Eastern European Jews settled at the turn of the 20 th century and left an indelible mark on the city.

8.  VDM Global: Flavours and Aromas of Old Montreal

For those looking to get past some of the architectural and historical details of Old Montreal  and scratch the surface of the best restaurants in Old Montreal  that make up its happening food scene, this 2.5-hour walking tour might be the best bet. This tour dives deep into the origins of the cuisine in Montreal, exploring French, British and international genres and their impact on the local culinary reputation here.

9.  Ça Roule: Architecture Tour

Launched at the beginning of the 2019 season, this new tour highlights some of the contrasting elements of Old Montreal ’s historic buildings to the latest trends in urban design and architecture. The 2-hour tour starts in the heart of the cobblestone quarter and extends out to the neighbouring district of Griffintown before ending at the very site of the city’s original foundations.

10.  Héritage Montréal: ArchitecTours

This non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the architectural, historic, natural and cultural heritage of Greater Montreal offers guided tours focused on how the city’s architecture and urban design have been influenced by industrialization, gentrification, or otherwise. Each year, Heritage Montreal releases a new program of 2-hour walking tours in both English and French, offered Saturday afternoons in August and September, rain or shine.

11.  Quartier des Spectacles: Free Walking Tour (June to October)

While the Quartier des Spectacles area has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last decade to act as the central stage for some of our major outdoor festivals , this area also holds the title as the former Red Light district of Montreal. This free walking tour offered by the area’s not-for-profit organization allows visitors and locals alike the chance to discover the role of the neighbourhood in past, present and future, including our connection to jazz, dance, and the undeniable artistic jouissance that remains omnipresent in the city.

12.  Habitat 67: Seasonal Tours

Designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie for Expo 67—still known as one of the world’s top five World’s Fairs of all time!—this architectural attraction  and housing complex was conceived as the development of the future, with each resident having access to natural light and greenspace. Access to the site, including a visit to the exterior of the architect’s former apartment, is limited to 90-minute private guided tours held in French and English from May to October.

More great things to explore in Montreal

The best Montreal attractions for tourists to see and locals to revisit

The best Montreal attractions reveal the city’s rich history and landmarks, all waiting to be (re)discovered.

The best museums in Montreal

Ponder fine art, explore historical crypts, go on walking tours and more at the most inspiring museums in the city.

The best things to do in Montreal with kids

Our top picks for the best things to do in Montreal with kids make sure you’ll be having just as much fun as they are.

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Making Their Mark: Montreal Jewish History Walking Tour

• Uncover stories of Montreal's Jewish history and heritage
• Stroll through the city streets hearing stories of its Jewish population
• Choose a morning or afternoon tour to suit your schedule
• Get insights into local culture and history from your guide
• See itinerary
• Local guide
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• 3961 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2W 1Y4, Canada We will meet you just in front of 3961 Boul. Saint-Laurent (intersection Napoleon). Please note that while we are running outdoor food and walking tours, the museum's interior space is currently closed.
• 3919 Rue Clark, Montréal, QC H2W 1W5, Canada Outside of 3919 Rue Clark (Intersection of Clark and Bagg)
• Wheelchair accessible
• Pushchair accessible
• Service animals allowed
• Near public transportation
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
• Tour begins outside of 3961 Boul. Saint-Laurent (intersection Napoleon)
• This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

Similar experiences

• You'll start at 3961 Boul. Saint-Laurent 3961 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2W 1Y4, Canada We will meet you just in front of 3961 Boul. Saint-Laurent (intersection Napoleon). Please note that while we are running outdoor food and walking tours, the museum's interior space is currently closed. See address & details
• 1 Museum of Jewish Montreal Stop: 10 minutes Please note that while we are running outdoor food and walking tours, the museum's interior space is currently closed. Read more Pass by Plateau Mont-Royal Saint Laurent Boulevard
• You'll end at 3919 Rue Clark 3919 Rue Clark, Montréal, QC H2W 1W5, Canada Outside of 3919 Rue Clark (Intersection of Clark and Bagg) See address & details

• paulo954 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Great Walking Tour Great tour. Guide was extremely knowledgeable, and gave us a fascinating view of Jewish History in Montreal. I would highly recommend this tour. Knowledge and some exercise all in one package. I would definitely take this tour again. Read more Written October 9, 2023
• rhonsac 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles Great tour if you can find it (don’t book through TripAdvisor) Great tour. We would go with 5-stars, but booking through TripAdvisor was a big mistake. We never received a departure point and held up the tour for 20 minutes. Fortunately, someone from the tour called looking for us and told us where to meet the group. Book directly from the Jewish Museum. The tour itself was lots of fun. Recommend skipping breakfast that day. We had food from 2 bakeries, 2 bagel places and a half sandwich of smoked meat from Schwartz’s. Definitely a great tour to take. Read more Written August 30, 2023
• Steve E 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Walk and eat! Come hungry! You get a lot of delicious food. Interesting and fun afternoon. Lots of Jewish history in Montreal. Read more Written August 27, 2023
• Bob S 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Urban immersion at its most delicious! Starting at the Rialto Theater, Samara expertly and professionally lead 12 of us through an up close and personal exploration of Montreal's Jewish history and culture, from the perspective of cuisine. From sweet baked goods like Cheese Crowns and Chocolate Babka, to the two premier examples of the legendary Montreal bagel, and finally to specialty sandwiches and smoked meat, this tour was an absolute delight! Paced perfectly, we walked, we learned and we snacked --- it was wonderful. Read more Written August 26, 2023
• Alan304 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Sarah the guide was very knowledgeable and patient The tour covers an interesting and little-known history. The buildings highlighted on the tour are supplemented with photos. Read more Written August 12, 2023
• CasaBallena 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Wonderful way to experience Montreal’s Jewish food culture! This is one great event ! Our guide was so knowledgeable- and shared her love of the city and Montreal’s rich Jewish food history with great enthusiasm! Come hungry- from babka to smoked meat, and everything in between- you’ll learn and eat a lot!! Thank you Molly! Read more Written August 12, 2023
• Consumerlady 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles A Little Walking/A Little Eating Had a great time and learned a lot about Montreal’s Jewish community through history and food. Our guide, Ashley, was well informed about the neighborhoods and their businesses and was a gracious host for our group at each of our stops. Read more Written August 8, 2023
• zeamoon888 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Wonderful! Do it :) We did a walking tour of Jewish Montreal and it was a wonderful way to learn and to meet other people interested in the topics. Our guide Claire was excellent, and somehow made it all feel like a walking party! Highly recommend! Read more Written August 8, 2023
• 488lindaf 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Please Improve This Tour Sad to say that this was possibly the worst food tour that I've ever been on. It was much too long, the guide read from a binder the entire time, and much of the food offered (as we mostly stood around on a sidewalk) was mediocre and packaged. Honestly, if they can't find or train engaging and knowlegable people to do this kind of work, they shouldn't be offering these tours. I felt like I wasted my time and money. I've been on many food tours and you typically stop at restaurants for bites and drinks, with commentary from the restaurant owners. And, the tour guide knows their stuff-that's a given. This was just ridiculous. Read more Written July 20, 2023
• CheetoandBuddy 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles A fun walking and eating tour. Lots of fun with Samira as our guide. She told us lots about the Jewish community and it’s history in Montreal. The food was terrific. Samira had it waiting for us, so no waiting in the long lines. It was nearly 4 hours with a small group of 5 people. We enjoyed it! Read more Written July 16, 2023
• 325stewarts 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Tasty tour of Jewish Montreal. Very enjoyable tour. Always like the group of attendees that share their stories and experiences. The content was as advertised. The guide should not read from the script. Her knowledge of the subject should allow for her to impart the important facts. I didn’t find the showing of pictures was necessary. Read more Written July 9, 2023
• sharongC2023GE 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Information and humour in just the right balance. Our tour guide Ms. Seal, was excellent with just the right balance of knowledge, humour and information to keep us interested the whole way through the tour. Would recommend to visitors of any age or religion, or none, as an insight into the history of one of the many immigrant groups that gave settled in Canada. Read more Written July 2, 2023
• Ariane R 0 contributions 2.0 of 5 bubbles Tour guide read word for word from a script The tour guide was a college student who read the entire tour off a script she carried with her. She didn’t know much beyond that script and mispronounced several Jewish words. For most of the stops, she went in and got the food for us, which we ate outside, sometimes in an alley next to smelly rotting garbage. The final stop was at a deli where we were each handed a sandwich, pickle, and can of soda, which we were expected to juggle and eat on a busy sidewalk. At only one stop were we allowed to go inside and sit down. I’ve been on better and more interesting food tours in other cities. Maybe save your money unless you have nothing else to do or just want to make a donation to the museum. Read more Written June 29, 2023
• travelizity 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Great insights from a local's perspective Hannah was very knowledgeable and had great knowledge of the area history and subject matter. We learned a ton of great facts on our walk, and visited a number of interesting sites that we would like to come back to. It was an incredibly useful addition to our time in the area and it is highly recommended. Read more Written May 28, 2023
• Eric M 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Excellent Tour Our tour guide, Hanna gave us an excellent tour! Very knowledgeable and informative. We highty recommend Hanna and this tour! Read more Written May 8, 2023

More to explore in Montreal

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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Making Their Mark: Montreal Jewish History Walking Tour provided by Museum of Jewish Montreal

Beyond the Bagel: A Jewish food walking tour

"I wanted the tour to be about more than food. I wanted to make it about the history of the people who make up Jewish food culture," says Kat Romanow at Cheskie's Bakery, one of the stops on her Montreal Jewish food tour.

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There are the stops you’d expect on a Jewish food history walking tour centred in Mile End and the Plateau, once heavily Jewish neighbourhoods: Wilensky’s luncheonette, home of the iconic Wilensky Special, Schwartz’s, of course — and the duelling bagel places, St-Viateur and Fairmount. Even people who know nothing else about Jewish food know bagels. And those stops are there — complete with food.

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But what is transcendent about Beyond the Bagel, a new tour researched and curated by Montreal Jewish food historian Kat Romanow, is that it also includes places you wouldn’t expect to find on it: places like the alleyway behind the the backyard of the St-Urbain St. triplex from which Esther Witenoff launched the Mrs. Whyte’s pickle company.

Beyond the Bagel: A Jewish food walking tour Back to video

As Romanow tells it, Esther talked her husband, Sam, into taking her pickles along on the bread deliveries he made by horse and buggy. At first he was reluctant: It was early in the 20th century and people made their own pickles back then; he didn’t think they’d buy someone else’s pickles. But he was wrong. The business grew and prospered.

Standing there in that alley munching on a Mrs. Whyte’s pickle handed to me by Romanow — there’s a lot of eating on this tour — as she recounted the story, I felt transported back in time. It was as if I could feel the shadows and hear the whispers of those who had once stood where we were standing now.

“There is so much history in this neighbourhood,” said Romanow, a knowledgeable and engaging guide and a Mile End resident. “You can almost see what it would have been like.” The tour, launched in June, is as good as it is due in large measure to how thoroughly she prepared for it.

Romanow, 30, has a master’s degree in food studies from Concordia University — her thesis was about the Mimouna, an end-of-Passover celebration by Moroccan Jews — and she spent the winter getting ready for the tour. She dug into the history of Jewish food in Mile End and the Plateau and interviewed all kinds of people, including Sharon Wilensky of Wilensky’s, which has been serving up the Wilensky Special since 1932, and Hymie Sckolnick of Beauty’s Luncheonette, another Montreal institution.

“I wanted the tour to be about more than food. I wanted to make it about the history of the people who make up Jewish food culture — and I wanted it to be a mix of then and now,” said Romanow. “I knew I wanted to be able to talk about the history of Jewish food in an accessible and fun way.”

Those who did not already know learn that Beauty’s, for instance, was known as the Bancroft Snack Bar when Sckolnick and his wife, Freda, then newlyweds, bought it in 1942 for $500: Beauty was Hymie’s bowling nickname. The family still owns the place, a third generation is at work and, at 94, Hymie is still working.

They learn that the Moishes, another Montreal institution, was known as the Romanian Paradise when Moishe Lighter won it from his boss in a poker game in 1938; the name was changed in 1940.

There’s a furniture store now at 4419 St-Laurent Blvd. But 98 years ago, Ida Roth Steinberg established the Steinberg grocery store at that address — and it was the beginning of what would grow into the largest supermarket chain in Quebec and, by carrying a variety of products under one roof, revolutionize the way people shopped.

“Faire son Steinberg” came to be synonymous with doing one’s grocery shopping, Romanow explains to people on the tour, which has 16 stops, can accommodate up to 12, lasts three-to-four hours and costs $75 – including the food. Most who have taken the tour until now are out-of-towners, but Romanow would love to see more locals.

Heading south from the former Steinberg store along “The Main,” as St-Laurent Blvd. or St-Lawrence, was known back in the day, the tour stops in front of storefronts that once housed thriving bakeries: Richstone’s, opened in 1900, and the St. Lawrence Bakery, opened 12 years later: Today Moog Audio is in its space.

If those two Jewish storefronts are but fragrant memories, there’s also a stop on the tour for the new kid on the block. Romanow refers to Hof Kelsten, located on St-Laurent Blvd. just north of Mont-Royal Ave., as “the newest Jewish bakery in Montreal.” Owner Jeff Finkelstein says his grandmother’s cooking and baking was a huge influence on him, Romanow tells the tours.

The rye bread in the baskets on the tables at Moishes is from Hof Kelsten, which also supplies bread to other high-end Montreal restaurants: Hof Kelsten is also the only place in Montreal you can get a proper bialy, Romanow said.

A bialy is a flat bread roll, topped with chopped onions, named for its city of origin, Bialystok, in Poland. And Hof Kelsten bakes the most incredible rugelach, which people on the tour also taste: Ashkenazi Jewish in pedigree, rugelach are small crescent-shaped pastries made by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling.

The Beyond the Bagel tour starts at Cheskie’s Heimishe Bakery, a 13-year-old establishment on Bernard St. just west of Parc Ave. known for its New York-style pastries. Owner Cheskie Lebowitz came to Montreal from New York for love: He is married to a Montrealer and both are Hasidic Jews. Hasidic Jews line up with non-Jews for sweets including Cheskie’s black-and-white cookies, the babka-like pastry known as kokosh, and the delicate cheese crowns.

Fifteen stops later, the tour winds up at Schwartz’s, where there is invariably a lineup. There are several tasting stops along the way — including one for bagels.

“I want people to taste the crust made by the wood-fired oven and the sweetness from the honey,” Romanow said: Montreal bagels are boiled in a honey-water mixture before they’re baked.

She buys what’s most recently out of the oven for them to taste — she wants them to taste the bagels when they’re hot — and she chooses either sesame or poppy seed. Like most people who know their territory and their topic well, Romanow is the first to concede that she can be a bit bossy. If people want to buy bagels for themselves, “I tell them, ‘You need to get sesame or poppy. You can’t get flavoured bagels.'”

AT A GLANCE

Beyond the Bagel , a Jewish food walking tour curated and given by Montreal Jewish food historian Kat Romanow, is a collaboration between the Museum of Jewish Montreal and the Wandering Chew ( wanderingchew.ca ), which organizes food events that celebrate the culture and history of Montreal’s diverse Jewish communities.

For more information, visit  imjm.ca/tours , call 514-317-6580 or email [email protected] .

Round Table Tours is operated by Mélissa Simard, a certified Montreal tour guide and a professional cook. ‘Round Table Tours includes walking tours of Jewish Montreal as well as walking tours of Chinatown, a Montreal food truck cycle tour as well as a tapas circuit. Corporate food events including group cooking team-building activities and food workshops.

For more information, visit  roundtablefoodtours.com , call 514-812-2003 or email [email protected] .

Fitz & Follwell  (115 Mont Royal Ave. W.) offers several walking tours, gives cycling tours, operates a bike shop and does urban snow tours in winter. Food walking tours include two segments of a Flavours of The Main tour: One covers Chinatown, the former Red Light district, the former Jewish district, and Little Portugal. The second heads north to Mile End and Little Italy and winds up at Jean Talon Market.

For more information, visit  fitzandfollwell.co/walking , or call 514-840-0739.

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April 09, 2024 Guides » Québec Guide

Montréal's Jewish Eateries Serve Classics From Around the World 

Published April 9, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. | Updated April 10, 2024 at 10:15 a.m.

• Melissa Pasanen
• A smoked meat sandwich at Snowdon Deli

Let's get this out of the way: I drove to Montréal to spend a day eating Jewish food but skipped the smoked meat.

Don't get me wrong: I love a heap of hand-sliced, fat-laced, dry-rubbed and lightly smoked brisket, sandwiched between rye with a slick of sharp mustard, as much as the next carnivore. But I've indulged before, and the hefty dish does not wedge easily into a packed itinerary.

That said, I do regret missing the smoked meat at Snowdon Deli, the sixth stop on my mid-March gastronomic expedition.

I was digging happily into a plate of chopped liver when a neighboring table received the "perfect" smoked meat order — in the words of my guide, Montréal Jewish food expert Kat Romanow. The 39-year-old former restaurant owner and cofounder of the nonprofit the Wandering Chew created the Beyond the Bagel food tour in 2015 for the Museum of Jewish Montréal, where she was then director of food programming.

The sandwich sprawled open on the plate, exposing pink slices of meat that looked so tender they were almost indecent. It was accompanied by a pickle, a heap of bronzed fries and a Cott black cherry soda. Along with those sides, the meat should be ordered hot and medium fat — "never lean," Romanow cautioned.

The order belonged to Geoffrey Boyer, 63, who said he comes to Snowdon about once a month for smoked meat. "I can taste it before I even get here," he said. "I'm Jewish. It's our soul food."

When Boyer learned that I was on a Jewish food tour of his native city, he listed some favorites, including Beauty's and Arthur's Nosh Bar, which he was pleased to hear we had already visited.

The Museum of Jewish Montréal's food walking tours resume on April 19. Ahead of that date, Romanow drove me to a broader selection of destinations. They included multigenerational landmarks serving recipes that immigrants from Eastern Europe and Germany popularized in North America, along with a couple where we sampled cuisine favored by Jews with Moroccan or Israeli roots.

Culinary traditions are fluid over time and geography, especially when there is a history of migration. While some foods, such as bagels and babka, are identified closely with Jewish culinary traditions, others we ate — schnitzel and falafel, for instance — are associated equally with non-Jews from the same parts of the world.

All of my grandparents were bagel-and-brisket New York City Jews whose families fled brutal pogroms in the western Russian empire at the turn of the 20th century. My maternal grandmother always kept beet borscht in her fridge for a quick nosh — Yiddish for a snack or light meal.

I'm more of a nosher than a fresser (big eater). But Montréal's Jewish food abundance might change that.

Note: All prices are listed in Canadian dollars. Passover (sundown on April 22 to sundown on April 30) may affect hours and offerings.

• Special bagel sandwich, Mish-Mash omelette and challah dog at Beauty's Luncheonette

We began in...

Le Plateau-Mont-Royal neighborhood at Beauty's Luncheonette (93 avenue Mont-Royal Ouest, 514-849-8883, Beautys Luncheonette on Facebook ), where we found co-owner Julie Sckolnick, 50, perched on a counter stool.

Sckolnick runs the business with her sister, Elana. Their grandparents, Hymie and Freda, met at 14 while working in the Ideal Dress factory around the corner. In 1942, the second-generation Eastern European Jews bought a snack bar at their current location and named it for Hymie's bowling prowess. "He bowled a beauty of a ball," Sckolnick explained.

Hymie worked at Beauty's until his death at age 96. Sckolnick described him as "everyone's zaide" (Yiddish for grandfather).

We ordered the signature Mish-Mash omelette ($20), a well-browned scramble loaded with sliced hot dogs, salami, green pepper and onions. Served with a side of home fries, the dish is attributed to Freda, who "invented everything and worked like a maniac," Sckolnick said.

Romanow also recommended the Beauty's special ($17), a sesame bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato and red onion. It was good but didn't strike me as special until Romanow explained that Montréal bagels are rarely eaten as sandwiches.

As a chaser, we couldn't resist the challah dog ($7), a hot dog encased in sesame-speckled dough. My boys would've loved it when they were kids.

Men with sidelocks in long black coats and black hats signaled we had arrived in Mile End, home to many Hasidic Jews and to St-Viateur Bagel and Fairmount Bagel . Seven Days covered the two iconic Jewish-founded bagel bakeries last year (see " Open Sésame ," June 21, 2023).

• Cheese crowns at Cheskie's Kosher Bakery

We were headed to Cheskie's Kosher Bakery (359 rue Bernard Ouest, 514-271-2253, closed Fridays at 3 p.m. and Saturdays), which Cheskie Lebowitz opened in 2002 after moving from Brooklyn to marry. The bakery replicates his family's in Borough Park, N.Y., but "has become a part of Montréal Jewish food culture," Romanow said.

As I snapped a phone shot of tricornered hamantaschen cookies (12 for $10.78), a customer joked, "Better to eat them than take photos of them."

Cheskie's is known for its Russian babka and kokosh, two yeasted, filled breads. The latter, like Lebowitz, is of Hungarian origin. Our piece of chocolate babka ($2.30) and small slice of poppy seed kokosh ($3.90) were so sweet and rich that a few bites sufficed, though I found myself nibbling kokosh throughout the day.

Cheese crowns, another Cheskie's signature, come in two sizes of bunched pastry cradling lightly sweetened farmer's cheese. I made short work of a small ($1.50), appreciating its flaky bite.

• Cottage cheese pancakes and McArthur chicken schnitzel at Arthur's Nosh Bar

A few blocks away, still in Mile End, we stepped back in time into Wilensky's Light Lunch (34 avenue Fairmount Ouest, 514-271-0247, wilenskys.com ). From the pressed-tin ceiling to butt-burnished wooden stools, little has changed since 1952, when the Russian Jewish immigrant family moved their 20-year-old cigar store, barbershop and no-frills lunch counter to its current spot.

Sharon Wilensky, 65, is the third generation in charge. Or, as she put it dryly, "I'm the 'tag, you're it' person."

Almost every customer orders the Wilensky special invented by Sharon's father, Moe. For $4.57, a hamburger bun is griddled around slices of beef bologna and beef salami laced with yellow mustard. Soft, salty bites paired well with a sour pickle (87 cents) and a cherry soda made with housemade syrup ($1.45).

"They're less sweet and less carbonated than regular [sodas]," Sharon said. "That's all I'm gonna tell you."

• Wilensky's Light Lunch

Our next stop, in the St. Henri neighborhood, felt like the antithesis of Wilensky's. The hip Arthur's Nosh Bar (4621 rue Notre-Dame Ouest, 514-757-5190, arthursmtl.com ) bills its menu as "reimagined Jewish fare" and almost always has a wait. Married chefs and co-owners Raegan Steinberg and Alex Cohen have cooked at some of Montréal's top restaurants, including Joe Beef and Liverpool House. Steinberg's family originated in Eastern Europe, Cohen's in Morocco.

Their breakfast and lunch restaurant, named for Steinberg's late father, significantly ups the nosh bar (sorry). We ordered the McArthur ($22), an impossibly crisp slab of chicken schnitzel sandwiched between buttery griddled challah and slathered with a Middle Eastern-influenced chile-and-herb skhug mayo.

I had to try the cottage cheese pancakes ($18), a childhood touchstone. They were incredible in a different way from my mother's: supremely fluffy and thick, with a browned, salt-flecked crust. She never served them with maple syrup, either.

• Prepared foods at La Marguerite

We ate with our eyes at La Marguerite in the Côte-St.-Luc area (6630 rue Côte St. Luc, 514-488-4111, lamarguerite.ca ) but picked up plenty for later. The retail arm of a kosher catering company is run by a second generation of Canadians with Moroccan Jewish heritage.

Romanow wrote her college thesis on Montréal's Moroccan Jewish community, who represent about 20 percent of the city's roughly 93,000 Jews. Most of them arrived during the late 1950s and early '60s, driven from their homeland by antisemitism and drawn by the promise of "the North American dream but in French," she said.

Two of La Marguerite's trio of sibling owners, Moshe, 49, and Maggy Chetrit, 45, said their family initially immigrated to Israel before coming to Montréal in 1977, where they opened the now-shuttered El Morocco restaurant.

Beautifully arranged cases held sweet and savory pastries, breads, and prepared foods, from couscous to fish with peppers and olives. Romanow bought her family dinner. I selected several salads and dips to bring home, including a tangy and intensely fruity tomato-and-bell pepper spread called taktouka, matboucha or salade cuite; and zaalouk, a cumin-accented eggplant, tomato and red pepper blend (both $6 per eight ounces).

A 10-minute drive back toward the city center brought us to the previously mentioned Snowdon Deli (5265 boulevard Décarie, 514-488-9129, snowdondeli.com ). The old-school spot is in the Côtes-des-Neiges neighborhood near the 110-year-old Jewish Public Library , which claims North America's largest circulating collection of Judaica.

Founded in 1946, the deli is now owned by a grandson of one of the original Jewish owners, along with the daughter of their longtime Greek Canadian business partner and her husband.

The large menu, ranging from whitefish salad to knishes, will feel familiar to fans of New York Jewish delis. In honor of my mother, I ordered the chopped liver ($11). An ice cream scoop-size ball of liver spread came with a pile of caramelized onions, soft rye bread, and a beside-the-point iceberg lettuce and tomato salad. The savory, iron-y chicken liver, lightened with hard-cooked egg and fried onions, pulled me into a memory vortex, as did the well-made borscht ($5), which evoked my grandmother.

New to me was karnatzel ($3.25), a soft Romanian-style pepperoni stick served with a slice of rye in which to wrap it with yellow mustard. But next time: smoked meat.

A short walk away, we popped into Fresser's (5737 boulevard Décarie, 514-739-4034) for a cheese bagel. Romanow described it as a uniquely Montréal Jewish food with a name no one can explain, since it neither looks nor tastes like a bagel.

The horseshoe-shaped pastry is sometimes made with strudel or phyllo dough, she said, but always filled with lightly sweetened farmer's cheese. The Fresser's version ($3.25) recalled the Cheskie's cheese crown, but with a flakier dough studded with chunky sugar crystals.

• A falafel pita at Falafel St. Jacques

As the day wound down, we headed west to Falafel St. Jacques in Lachine (345 rue St. Jacques, 514-595-7482, falafelstjacques.ca ). The small store was as overstuffed as its falafel pitas, crowded with cans of Israeli olives, rows of salads, and fresh-baked challah and apple cake. Manager Saleh Seh told us that he is Arab Israeli and was hired many years ago by owner Ronen Baruch, also from Israel but Jewish.

Too overstuffed ourselves to eat a meal, we nibbled on cumin-forward, herby falafel balls and watched several customers tuck into falafel pitas ($15.50) overflowing with pickled turnips, fermented mango amba sauce and tahini.

• Sabich pita and chicken shawarma plate at Sumac Restaurant

For falafel, Romanow also recommends two more Jewish-owned spots: Falafel Yoni ( falafelyoni.com ), with locations in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Verdun and (seasonally) Atwater Market; and Sumac Restaurant (3618 Notre Dame Ouest, 514-935-1444, sumacrestaurant.com ) in the St. Henri neighborhood near Atwater.

Since a previous visit to Sumac, I have dreamed of its sabich pita ($14), featuring fried eggplant, hard-cooked egg and pickles. Romanow especially likes the restaurant's salade cuite and carrots with preserved lemon (both $8/$12).

Such foods may not reflect my particular Jewish culinary roots, but they definitely feed my soul.

Correction, April 10, 2024: An earlier version of this story misidentified the origin of the karnatzel. It is Romanian.