If Montreal today is considered one of the hubs of coolness, design innovation, fashion and dining – and, on TikTok, we’ve heard it said that Montrealers are the sexiest urbanites in North America – it’s largely thanks to the influence of the city’s coolest neighborhood: Mile End.
It is, incidentally, the city’s most pluralistic neighborhood in terms of immigration since the 19th century, and it’s a creative neighborhood in every sense of the word; the construction of Mile End’s identity – which sometimes resembles a village more than a big-city neighborhood – is in constant evolution.
This is the neighborhood of Montreal’s best-dressed designers and fashion people , of thrift stores, of Montreal institutions with merchandise you can wear without irony, of bagels, of Ubisoft, of pink foam on top of matcha at Café Alphabet, of new restaurants where you can wait in line without being a baboon…
Mile End: a brief history
Mile End is often referred to as a no-man’s-land , because of its unclassifiable position on the Montréal neighbourhood map, and its location between the French-speaking Plateau Mont-Royal and the English-speaking Outremont district.
Every language is spoken in Mile End; successive waves of immigration have formed a plural, multicultural community.
First, Franco-Catholic artisans, then Yiddish Jews from Eastern Europe, Italians, Greeks, Portuguese… And now, many foreign students, creators in search of inspiration and the world’s best programmers come to work at Ubisoft.
In the early 19th century, Mile End was a predominantly agricultural area on the outskirts of the Montreal city core. With the first waves of immigration, the neighborhood became industrial (a pattern seen in some of Montreal’s coolest neighborhoods today), then when the textile industry declined, was taken over by bohemian creatives in the 20th century and became the heart of Montreal’s alternative culture.
The best of Mile End
The cool thing about Mile End is that the neighborhood is constantly evolving, so we can only give our favorite addresses through the prism of the moment and our latest stroll through the neighborhood.
The iconic
Let’s start with the iconic, the emblematic and the most serious: bagels. There’s a huge Ashkenazi and Yiddish Jewish community in the neighborhood, and Mile End bagels are the best in the city (and, according to some, the world).
Two manufacturers share the glory and cause arguments that can shatter friendships. It’s Montreal’s most famous rivalry: Fairmount Bagels on one side, Bagels Saint-Viateur on the other…
Where? 74 Fairmount West
When? Open 24 hours a day
Where? 263 Saint-Viateur Street West
When? daily, 6am to midnight
We continue with one of our favorite Montreal museums: the Montreal Jewish Museum. It’s a place forexhibitions, workshops, music and community – and the building’s architecture alone is worth a visit.
For nerds who want a guided tour of the neighborhood, we recommend the walking tours organized by the museum (in French and English).
Where? check online before you visit!
at 4129 St-Laurent (H. Fisher & Fils)
at 5220 St-Laurent (temporarily closed)
When? check online before visiting!
And right next door is one of our favorite independent cinemas in the city, Cinéma Moderne. It’s a committed cinema with plenty of screenings of social documentaries and independent films (and sometimes classics), and a very cool café-bar inside.
Where? 5150 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
When? For screening times, click here!
Restaurants and cafés
For lovers of coffee culture, there’s Café Olimpico .
We’ve heard it’s the best coffee in Montreal, and Café Olimpico is definitely an institution-a family-run café founded in 1970 by Rocco Furfaro, an Italian immigrant with a single coffee machine and a craving for a classic Italian espresso unavailable in the city.
Espresso, cappuccino, café crema, latte… and biscotti, Italian filled croissants and caffe freddo, otherwise found only in Italy.
Where? 124 rue Saint-Viateur West
When? daily, 6 a.m. to midnight
Our new favorite trendy restaurant (because we have to pick one) is Molenne.
Molenne is seafood, perfect meat (the lamb brick is a religious experience) and the best dry martini in town…
Where? 5309 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
When? For opening hours and online reservations, click here!
For a bite to eat, we go to Onigiri Shop, which opened in the neighborhood not so long ago. Onigiri, filled rice triangles surrounded by seaweed, are excellent, really inexpensive, prepared à la commange and perfect to eat just warm…
Where? 102 rue Saint-Viateur Ouest
When? 11am to 9pm Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm Sunday to Tuesday
For ice cream, there’s the iconic Kem Coba.
Not as flashy as Iconoglace, but just as beloved, for its soft-serve ice creams in twist with good flavors in old-fashioned cones.
Everyone whispers about it to me, for fear that the line will be too long this summer if we talk about it too much… But it’s a false secret, and those who know will be there!
Where? 60 Fairmount Avenue West
When? Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.
For an old-fashioned lunch, go to Wilensky’s.
The sodas are hand-mixed, and the lunch specials are immortalized in Duddy Kravitz ‘s 1974 film Apprenticeship .
Moe Wilensky opened the restaurant in 1932, and it has been an icon of the Mile End Jewish community ever since.
Where? 34 Fairmount West
When? Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Shopping
If you want to shop Quebecois like the coolest Montrealers on the net, go to Maguire.
The shoes are designed by two sisters in Montreal, in the same building as the Mile End storefront . As well as being local and emblematic of the city, they’re made from the highest quality leather, and are as soft as butter (we have three pairs).
Where? 5365 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
When? 11am to 7pm Thursday and Friday, 11am to 6pm Monday to Wednesday, 11am to 5pm weekends
For perfumery pros and those with a bit of a mystique, drop in at Parfumerie Lvnea.
Natural perfumes, essential oils, incense… organic, organic and connected to mother earth in luxury. This is the place to find your next signature scent.
Where? 108-160 rue Saint-Viateur Ouest
When? Closed Mondays, open weekends 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
For vintage and curated , we go to Annex Vintage.
Montreal is the vintage temple of the East Coast, and Mile End – obviously – is home to excellent thrift shops, thrifts and vintages. Annex is the most curated.
Decor and dishes by Canadian artists, key rings that change from labubu to personalize our bags, and even super-cute leash-collar sets for our most fashionable dogs.
Where? 5364 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
When? Open weekends, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Enjoy your stroll through Mile End!