We plan finally to visit Montreal and Quebec city in this summer.

We are looking to try high end fine dining.
Celebrity chef restaurants are also something we would like to try.
Price is not an issue.

Any suggestions?

We know nothing about the dining options in Montreal.

Au Pied de Cochon.

http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/index_eng.html

La Queue de Cheval.

http://www.queuedecheval.com/

Unless noted otherwise, most of the restaurants below find their roots in French cuisine but include elements of the Quebec terroir

In Quebec City:
Le St-Amour
http://www.saint-amour.com/

Le Laurie Raphael (chef Daniel Vezina)
http://www.laurieraphael.com/

The Dining room at the Chateau Frontenac (chef Jean Soulard)
http://www.fairmont.com/frontenac/Ex...eanSoulard.htm

In Montreal
Le Local (chef Louis-Francois Marcotte)
http://www.resto-lelocal.com/

Liverpool House
http://joebeef.ca/

Versions and Chez l'�picier (chef Laurent Godbout)
http://www.version-restaurant.com/
http://www.chezlepicier.com/

Le Bonaparte (Traditional French)
http://www.bonaparte.ca/

Cafe Ferreira - Portugese/Great seafood
http://www.ferreiracafe.com/

Milos - Greek/Freshest fish around
http://www.milos.ca/

As mentionned, Au Pied de Cochon is another great destination. To be honest, unless you really are into steak, I wouldnt head to Queue de Cheval even though its pretty good. I just find Montreal has so much more to offer.

Some of these places also offer very nice prix fixe menus for lunch if you want to sample even more restaurants.

If you have preferences for other types of cuisine, let me know and I'll get you more suggestions.

Panache at Auberge St Antoine in Quebec. Great food, and a wonderful hotel too.

Thank you all for your hints.

Will post again after we try a couple of these.

Alright, I have to weigh in on this one with my "best of Montreal" post:

Restaurants in downtown tend towards the trendy and overpriced. If you want really good food, you'll have to venture out to my neck of the woods, the Plateau/Mile-End.

Some of my favourites in the moderate price range:

- Bouchonne, www.bouchonne.com, on Fairmount and Parc. Fantastic, my absolute favourite spot in the city. They just opened in December and I was one of their first customers. Reserve in advance because this tiny spot is getting very popular. The staff's super friendly, the food tasty, and meant to complement their wine cellar, all of which is available by the glass. If Steve's working, he'll take great care of you, and is always spot on with wine recommendations. Oh, and their cheese plate? *faints* SO GOOD.
- Milos, www.milos.ca, on Parc north of Fairmount. The famous Greek seafood restaurant. If you don't want to spend a fortune on dinner, take advantage of their fantastic lunch special, $22 for an appetizer, main course, and dessert. Well worth it!
- LeMeac, www.restaurantlemeac.com, on Laurier east of Parc. Go for the after 10 special, $22 for appetizer and main course, classic French bistro food.
- Au Cinquième Pêché, www.aucinquiemepeche.com on Mont-Royal and Henri Julien. It really lives up to its name, The Fifth Sin (gluttony). Fantastic food, great atmosphere. A hidden gem that doesn't get mentioned very often.

Then there are the big boys:
Au Pied de Cochon, www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca, on Duluth near St. Denis. This spot is world-famous for its massive portions of Quebec peasant food turned into an art form. Very friendly staff, and the foie gras menu is off the charts. Go hungry, and don't order too much: the portions are HUGE.

Le Club Chasse et Peche, www.leclubchasseetpeche.com, on St. Claude and St. Paul in the old port. This is the most unique high end restaurant in town, and I think beats both La Chronique and Toque in terms of creativity and bang for the buck. A little snooty, but great food. If you go, avoid their lacklustre desserts and try the cheese plate.

And while in my lovely city, you must head to Fairmount Bagels on Fairmount and St. Urbain. They're open 24 hours so if you head to any of the restaurants in my moderate range, you're within walking distance. Some prefer St. Viateur, but I'm a Fairmount fan all the way! Montrealers are very passionate about their bagels. Ask for a hot one, and eat it as you walk down Fairmount. The best! Plus you get to watch them hand rolling and baking the bagels in the wood fired oven, which is a treat in and of itself.

Another fun day activity is to take the metro to Jean-Talon and head to the market. It's on Jean Talon and Henri Julien, there are signs in the metro pointing the way. Walk along butcher's row and enjoy various grilled meats on sticks, hotdogs with kraut, and a bowl of gelato from Havre aux Glaces, all hand made ice creams, gelatos, and sorbets made in small batches with only the best ingredients. Browse spots like Chez Louis, the exclusive fruit and veggie shop with some of the funkiest ingredients you'll find, and wander the stalls where you'll find fresh local Quebec produce. August is a great time to check out the local products!

AVOID:

Queue de Cheval. Overpriced, desperately trying to be cool and failing.
Buona Notte and its compatriot Globe, unless you care more about how your waitress looks in her miniskirt than you do about how the food tastes.
Trois Brasseurs. Commercialized "brewpub". Average at best.

So our trip to Montreal and Quebec City has come to an end.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

In Montreal as recommeneded we went to Martin Picard's "Au Peid de Cochon", what a treat. Portion size was huge. I had the Bison rib which made me feel like Fred Flinstone and my wife had the lamb which both was perfectly cooked.

We had an array of appetizers, one which was amazing was the "lightly sauteed chantrelle mushrooms" and a fois gras appetizer. It was neat to see Martin Picard and his wife running around. It was a full restaurant and the atmosphere was casual enough to feel comfortable in shorts. An experience I will remember. Only one thing to be critical and it wasn't that bad, was the food service was slow. Appetizers came out fairly quickly but dinner was 25 -30 minutes later but the restaurant environment kept us entertained.

We also went to Toque. Had the tasting menue with wine pairing.
Some of the entries were fantastic, some were so so and the wine pairings were suspect (according to our non trained palete) That chunk of foie gras was sinfully, the amuse boche was an highlight for me. Corn foam that tasted just like buttered popcorn. However it was fairly expensive.

Montreal was a fantastic dining experience. Thank you all for your suggestions.

you are right

Had dinner there twice - the second time just to see if the first was a "bad night" for them. I have to tell you, I was not impressed. I travel heavily for business and have dined at every major franchise steakhouse in the US - Ruth's Chris, Capital Grille, Flemming's, etc. While similarly priced ,this place doesn't even come close in flavor.The menu at Queue de Cheval is formatted similar to many franchise steak houses in the US right down to the wedge salad. There are plenty of other wonderful restaurants in Montreal don't waste your money.