Best Christmas dinners in Montreal for the holiday season

Whether you want to get the fam together or make plans to throw the biggest holiday party your office has ever seen, the Market’s got just the thing: As of December 5, some of the best restaurants in the city under one roof will be adding dishes to their menus specifically designed for the holidays. From salmon nigiri at Blossom and pork and shrimp dumplings from Chanthy Yen to grilled octopus and mashed sweet potato from Americas BBQ, creste di gallo with duck ragout from Il Miglio and lamb bhuna from Le Taj, there’s a LOT to choose from. Plus, a kid's menu on weekends.

Camilo Lapointe Nascimento and Francis Blais’ hot-shot bring-home menus always deliver—literally and figuratively—when it comes to special times of the year, and this holiday season won’t be any different. Plates include beef wellington with tourtière stuffing and pig's trotter stew jus, potatoes and pickled beets, Queen Elizabeth cake, and more from December 15 to 17, 21 to 23, and 28 to 30. They’re also hosting their new Table Cachée dinners as well, an exclusive menu with a dozen courses to match the wines in their cellar, all enjoyed alongside as many as 20 guests at their intimate table.

If you still want to stay in but don’t want to cook, no problem: Hoogan et Beaufort chef Marc-André Jetté’s fully online butcher shop may be a result of the pandemic, but it’s still going strong and it’s become the perfect source of at-home menus that are easy to whip up. Available from December 5 to 20, everything from deer pies to stuffed turkey ballotines and filet mignon roasts are on the menu.

Over at this resident restaurant of the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, they’re doing a full range of Christmas Eve and Christmas day meals, including both brunch, high tea and dinner for the latter. When it comes to dinner, expect a festive à la carte menu that’s available alongside wine pairings, as well as the addition of special holiday dishes.

Looking for something both inexpensive and festive? The table d’hôte menus at this Old Montreal steakhouse will provide for $66 a head, starting with dishes like crab cakes or onion soup, mains of filet mignon, mis-glazed black cod and more, and topped with one of three desserts like tiramisu. They’ve also got a special holiday cocktail planned for an extra $15.

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Known for its exquisite BYOB experiences, Tandem’s chef Pascal Turgeon is cooking up a range of delicious turkeys for you to bring home—you just need to bake them in the oven. There’s traditional turkey, turkey with foie gras, foie gras torchon and black chokeberry confit, trays of tray of baby potatoes with butter and garlic, and more. They may not deliver, but once you pick it up and bring it one back for a bite, you’ll agree that it’s worth the effort.

Running from November 21 to January 7, this high flying restaurant inside Humaniti in downtown Montreal is doing sizeable group menus for a steal. The five-service option alone is only $75 a head for dishes like tartare and tataki, pappardelle with sweetbreads, duck breast and Romanesco, herbaceous risottos with Louis d’Or cheese, and bûche de noël for dessert. Those are just some highlights—there’s a lot more on the table if you want it.

It may not be an edible menu per se, and while there is some food available, those looking for supremely festive times might want to consider getting extra boozy at this all-holiday-season-long Christmas bar pop-up at 132 Bar Le Vintage running from November 22 to December 26. Hot and cold themed drinks, nice and naughty shots, beer, wine, and snacks like charcuterie boards and mac and cheese to help line your holly jolly stomach.

Available on December 24 and 25 from 5pm to 11pm, this Old Montreal restaurant’s doing a four-course table d’hôte menu that’s perfectly seasonal with plates of gravlax, sirloin, black cod, onion tarts, and bûche de noël. Tidy and effective, this one’s going for $95 and it’s especially great for those visiting from out of town and looking to nosh well.

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Who said that holiday and Christmas menus in Montreal need to be based around big hocks of meat? This Japanese restaurant on the edge of Old Montreal and Chinatown is serving up a tasting menu that plays with Euro classics like oysters Rockefeller, sushi and sashimi omakase plates, sea bream carpaccio with ponzu, iso gyuyaki and potato croquettes before a slice of lychee bûche de noël arrives.

Few restaurants in Montreal will get as Christmas-y as this one in Old Montreal, which puts Montrealers in direct contact with worn masonry walls, roaring fires, and good old fashioned and old timey Christmas vibes. Their $85-per-person menu includes plates like beef filets, osso buco, black truffle spaghetti, giant shrimp cocktails and other luxuries perfect for the occasion.

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None other than Martin Picard, Montreal’s mayor of gastronomic excess, would be better to order from when it comes to eating festively at home. Sure, there’s the restaurant, but why not cuddle up with their menu for two: Pumpkin soup with foie gras, garlic flower brioche, an authentic cipaille, a bûche de noël with dulce de leche, braised endives with celeriac purée and a whole lot more comes in a handy dandy basket.