Montreal: the foodie's bible for a weekender

Food innspired by the mountains of Syria and the sea of Lebanon. Brunch & lunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays only but you can enjoy dinner every night of the week. Find them on Instagram @hayat.montreal

Make sure you save room for coffee because next you're off to Crew Collective.  This cafe is the first place I saw an Australian style flat white for sale in Canada and the USA.  They make all their coffee using an expresso machine and they are heavenly. Situated in the Old Bank of Canada, the atmosphere here is unique.  Bring along the iPads for young and older kids so you that you can sit and enjoy the amazing architecture and enjoy your coffee while it's still hot.   Toilets available here!

Try their apple fritter! It's apple wrapped in dough, deep fried and then drowned in icing. Aaamazing!

Open for breakfast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, this place has a unique brunch offering. Their pancake stacks come with a boiled egg which has taken a maple syrup bath. Sounds weird? Tastes amazing! We had the pancakes with apple puree and cheddar. Weirdly wonderful!

Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, they are distinct from the NYC bagel being thinner and sweeter. La Fabrique de Bagel are some of the city's best! Our kids loved the yoghurt and fruit as well as the egg and ham bagels. There are no toilets at this location however it's is located right next a piece of the Berlin Wall which provides a nice history lesson for everyone

Montreal is famous for pastrami sandwiches, and Schwartz's Deli has been around for decades. This pastrami sandwich has to be one of the best I've ever eaten (up there with Katz Deli and Pastrami Queen in NYC). Try their Schwartz Poutine too which is poutine with pastrami. Deeeeeelicious!

Smaller, thinner, denser and sweeter than NYC bagels - you have got to try the Montreal style bagels. St Viateur is an institution well worth the trip.

24/7 poutine! What more can I say? You can even have it for breakfast!

Every Montreal local has a fond memory of this iconic venue. Try their hot dog and the orange julep (it's sweeeet).

They are featuring a 3 course meal for $35 showcasing a selection of classic Asian dishes from across Asia. Check out their menu online or on Instagram @eastmtl

Upscale Italian restaurant with BYO wine. We had the house-made burrata salad, octopus and salmon tartar. For the main we had Gameroni el pepe (prawn pasta). Don't miss dessert where the tiramisu and key lime pie are to die for. Free parking on site.

For those looking for drinks and a light dinner, then this is the perfect place. Try their tacos, nachos and gauc while your bartender whips up the most amazing cocktails. Check them out on Instagram @mariscosmtl There is a cool speakeasy downstairs called Clandestino (@clandestino_mtl).

Food innspired by the mountains of Syria and the sea of Lebanon. Brunch & lunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays only but you can enjoy dinner every night of the week. Find them on Instagram @hayat.montreal

I thought it was "fine" but everyone else though it was "great".  Not sure if I was just in a mood or I have higher standards.   The restaurant was fully booked on a Saturday evening so I'd recommend booking if you aren't eating early. I had the full rack of pork ribs, and the kids both had the half rack from the kids menu.  They smashed it! And then ate half of mine.  I felt that I had had better ribs.  They were perfectly cooked but the marinade was just not hitting the mark for me.  In saying that, their ribs are so popular you can buy them from supermarkets to cook at home. My husband tried the ribs and thought they were good, but again I've had better. I also ordered the steak tartare for an entree.  This was again yummy but I've had better.  I felt it needed more acidity from something like Worchester sauce.   Again hubby tasted it and though it was fine and it was fine, but it wasn't amazing (and this is a list for foodies right?) My husband had the steak and loved it as well as a giant preztel with cheese dipping sauce which he devoured (big preztel fan while I can tak them or leave them). In summary, if you're after ribs then this is an option, but moderate your expectations. Kid friendly with well priced kids menu, and they provided colouring for kids on arrival.

Is this the best ice cream you'll ever eat? This ice cream! Wow.   So first you choose your ice cream soft serve flavour.  Now don't get snobby about the fact it's a soft serve, it's worth it.  They have vanilla and chocolate from memory.   Then you need to choose your chocolate... They have milk and dark, salted caramel, butterscotch and maple. They dunk the soft serve into the chocolate several times and the layer of chocolate that hardens is so thick and incredible. We recommend getting the small unless you're making a meal of this, as the small is already twice the size of a McDonalds soft serve.  The large is ginormous!   Check out our Instagram to see us conquering the small (@kidsandcarryon). They also have a chocolate shop with everything you can think of in chocolate form.  This is a great place for gifts.