Spending five days (arriving the 25th of December) - what are your suggestions? We are a foodie family and are scouring all the usual websites, but I suspect that the knowledge on this forum will be equally if not more useful in creating an... eating agenda!

Would be helpful to know:
- what part of town you're staying in
- what is your intended mode of transportation (in other words will you have a car or prefer to uber / taxi to enjoy a drink with your meal)
- types of foods you'll be interested in
I travel to Montreal frequently and try to squeeze in a nice meal when my schedule allows, so may be able to offer some suggestions based on your responses to the above.

A search in this forum will reveal lots of restaurant recommendations, including some of mine...

I had a great meal at Damas last time I was there. https://www.restaurant-damas.com/. Not your typical Middle Eastern place. More upscale and really delicious. Estiatorio Milos is also really good, but very pricey. This location is the original, before they expanded to NYC, London, Vegas, etc.

On my day trips to Montreal, I usually go to Yokato Yokabai for some Tonkotsu Ramen.

A pretty good spot is Garde Manger, really pricey but it's a lot of fun. Mainly a sea food place but they have really good meat options. the waiter when I went was very friendly and welcoming. Really what you'd expect from a fancy restaurant like that.

I'll be headed to Montreal for 1.5 days in a couple months, glad I found this thread!

I'd be interested in some recommendations, mainly looking for a lunch place for each day plus dinner for one evening. I'm open to any type of food, but would at least like to try a smoked meat sandwich and Poutine.

If go to Schwartz's the take out line will probably be faster than dine in. Snowdon is a bit out of the downtown core but equally as good and no line.
https://restaurantmastard.com/en/ very good for dinner.

Last time I was in Montreal I found this very high end food court with excellent restaurants so if you are with someone who wants a different type of food it is ideal. It was downtown near McGill.

You mean Time Out Market. It's a good recommendation.

[MENTION=773978]miamiflyer8[/MENTION] La Banquise has the best poutine in town, and Schwartz's is the place to go for smoked meat. If you're looking for something nicer and can snag a reservation (you should start looking now), Au Pied de Cochon is good. Damas is a nice upscale Lebanese place.

Take out is always faster than dining in at Schwartz's, but it doesn't give you the full experience. Sitting down at the counter or possibly sharing a table with some strangers is part of the eccentricity of the place. Plus, there aren't that many good places nearby to sit down and eat it - it's a 10-minute walk to Square Saint-Louis or Parc Jeanne-Mance, by which time the meat and fries will definitely be getting cold.

I would suggest either going to Schwartz's and just planning to wait a bit in line, or going slightly off peak hours. An early lunch, mid-afternoon, later evening, usually little to no line (although late night can be busy with bar people looking for snacks on Thursday/Friday/Saturday nights).

In the warm season, I have enjoyed my smoked meat to go here more than once, and have enjoyed many envious looks from passers-by.

Where will you be staying at? Each neighborhood usually has their own very good restaurants, so no need to go across town for a restaurant if you have an equally good one next to you. The same can be said for poutine joints. Smoked meat restaurants, though, are usually around the core part of the city. Let me get back to you on smoked meat restaurants. My favourite place was La Main but it closed last summer.

And walk around the corner to St. Viateur Bagel - the best in the city:
https://www.timeout.com/montreal/res...ls-in-montreal

We just got back, really enjoyed Monarque, Restaurant BIS, and Le Pois Penche. Breakfast at Bar George was good along with Breakfast at Pub Burgandy Lion (went to watch premier league on Sat morning).