Oh I loved Le Vieille Europe when I was living in Montreal. Unfortunately, I was a poor and…read morestarving student at the time and so I wasn't able to shop there as much as I wanted to, lol. I would occasionally go there for their imported cookies (oh how I adored Anna's Almond Swedish Thins, lol) and exotic teas. And also for their cheeses and deli meats. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I love the smell of coffee and they have a good selection of coffee beans and a huge coffee grinder. The store has a very European feel to it, and very high prices. However, they carry products that are difficult to find elsewhere. Every time I go back to Montreal I like to pop in and poke around ;) My last visit was shortly before the Pandemic started. Looking forward to going back once this Pandemic is over.

Okay. When it comes to cities with great culinary traditions, somewhere in the back there…read morenaturally lies a bunch of places to promote, vend and educate on cuisine. Take New York for instance - if you want to know what we eat and how we came to eat them, you hit our bunch of ethnic markets and grab some finger foods. Wanna know how the Greek do their stuff? Hit Titan or Parrot Foods. Syrian? Sahadi or Souk el Shater. Chinese? Flushing. Korean? Same. Jewish style? Barney Greengrass and Avenue J in Brooklyn. In short, if you want something and is willing to travel the 5 boroughs and beyond, you'll be able to find it. When it comes to Montreal? You hit the Main. The Main is basically Boulevard St. Laurent between Sherbrooke and Jean-Talon, and the diversity of places informs you of its richeness of flavors. Want Hungarian and Askenazi jewish? Start at the Sherbrooke end. Portuguese? That's around Rue Rachel. Something more hipster friendly? That's St. Viateurs. How about Italian? That's closer to Marche Jean Talon. Interspersed between that range is a series of small shops that can cater to your specific needs. Marguez? There's a joint near that. Spanish cooking with a specific need for a paella (the pan for cooking a paella is itself called a paella), there's a place that sells it. A bit of a melange? That's what La Vielle Europe is for. So what makes La Vielle Europe such a good place to visit? Well, it might have to do with its blend of European charm and core Frenchness. When cultural anthropologists talk about food traditions they use the term foodways, which is the socioeconomic and cultural practices when it comes to food. When Quebec was a New French Signoralty hundreds of years ago, its culinary roots were preindustrial French. Then the Brits came in and injected its traditions, and throughout Montreal's history of expansion through immigration, new palates inform and expand upon these foodways, and there are still cultural and economic links back to France and other parts of Europe, and you see it in vivid display here. First, the cheese. The glorious cheese. One thing every visitor to Quebec learn quickly is the richness of the soil at "nos pays". They have great pasture, great dairy, and unlike the morons south of the border, they don't require their cheesemakers to pasteurize all their milk. As any American can attest, Quebec cheese is just better, creamier and more complex, and there is no better place to buy cheese than here. Have something in mind? Point and ask! They are not stingy with samples and will toss a few clues your way. The price is fairly decent as well, check out their discount section for some good stuff. Next, the baked goods. Yeah, they have bread, but they also have galettes, pasteis and will do you a sandwich. What kind of sandwich? They can do something classical like a jambon sandwich, or they can make you one of those gorgeous Portuguese sandwiches with their large eggy rolls. What about syrups and the beans? Yeah, for the coffee geeks out there, they have a massive selection of roasts and varietals, and the same goes for the au chocolat. Sure, they got coffee syrups to add that extra bit of salted caramel to your brew, but the payoff comes to your sodastream machine - The real charm comes from the availability of drinks syrups from France, the Teisseires and the Piquitos. Trust me, it's much better than the crap on offer in the US, and they last a long time. Honestly, with their large selection of sauces, candies, charcuterie and cooking oils, you cannot help but be impressed by both the breadth and depth of their selections. Want good eating? Visit old Europe. No availability on Air Transat? Bixi out to La Vielle Europe.

Nice variety of food products in the edge of the market. Mostly items for charcuterie but also…read morelocal coffee and chocolates. Kind service. Average prices compared to other shops.

As soon as you walk in you smell cheesy goodness! Lots of great options of cheese and foodstuffs to…read morepair with cheese. Bring your own bag to hold your groceries. Checkout is easy & quick.

Great cheese, charcuterie and specialty store in Marche Atwater. The people working here were all…read morehappy, friendly and helpful. They had a great selection of things fit for delightful picnic...cheeses, olives, fruits, charcuterie and more.... You can also find lots of imported prepackaged and prepared foods in here. Just a nice place for a one stop shop for a nice upscale meal....

Excellent place! I ordered two goat cheeses (Crottin a Ma Maniere and Monsieur Emile) both were…read moreexceptional. I also grabbed a prepared rosti for later. Service was quick and friendly. I would definitely return here and recommend the checking out their huge selection of cheeeeeese.

We stumbled upon the market walking home, I didn't even realize it was a cheese market as it is…read morekind of hidden from the main Ontario street. Everyone was so friendly inside and gave us great recommendations on Quebec cheeses. Prices were great. We got a blue cheese and cheddar Quebec cheese that the lady recommended. We then got the most delicious poppy seed baguette in the market to pair with it. They don't sell wine here so we walked a block north down Ontario and found a liquor store and got a tasty but cheap bottle of wine for $13. I definitely recommended this cute market. It was pretty quiet inside so go give them some business! Located right next to the garden store on Ontario.

We were walking around at water market and discovered this cheese shop. They have so many different…read morecheeses and some of them only available through them... For example they have a sage cheddar which comes highly recommended! However they have this Dijon mustard imported from France called Fleur de Dijon... The best mustard ever. If you buy some of this mustard and bring it home and compare it to your Maillie mustard you will see it's pale in comparison. I highly recommend this place!

What is not to love? I stopped by to get a cup of coffee and pastry and I ended up with a croissant…read moreand a ham and cheese pastry. Both were delicious. Besides pastries, this place had loaves af bread and cakes. It is located in the RESO network close to the train station. There is plenty of seating adjacent to the bakery. The servers were very friendly and helpful. The following day, I was on a tour of Montreal of the Underground City and the tour guide pointed out this stall and said that it was owned and run by women.

We came across this pastry shop in the train station and couldn't resist trying a couple of their…read morebeautiful French pastries. The two we picked (pictured) were both delicious. One had a subtle lemon flavor, and the cream puff (choux) was filled with a whole hazelnut inside--a nice surprise that I loved. What stood out was that they weren't overly sweet, which made them even more enjoyable. Prices were reasonable at around $7 each, and they do accept credit cards. Service was a bit on the slow side since there was only one person working, but overall it was fine.

We dropped by Chez Potier to pick up some bouche de noels as well as some potential gifts. Walking…read morein, it's not a very large place, but it seems to have a variety of items from teas to cakes and pastries to fridged goods as well as wines etc. The cakes we did get were not too bad! I'm not sure how much they cost as I wasn't the one who purchased them but they were impressive. I would hope to try out their other pastries and other goods one day. But if you're looking for some food items to potentially gift of even try. Definitely a spot to check out.

The staff is super nice. A clean bakery with tasty pastries! Try the chocolates and croissants.read more

Can't complain. Good selection of just about everything. Purchased the pre-made…read morehamburgers...which are JUST meat... no fillers or seasonings. Pre-seasoned lamb, chicken & beef available too. Interesting place. Never seen butchers cutting whole carcasses in front of me before. Was always hidden from view. Looks like it's also a school for butchers "to be". Young, Fun, Happy employees all cutting carcasses together... joking around.. poking fun at each other.. I like the environment. Will go back.

Boucherie Lawrence is an homage back to old style butcher shops which were a common fabric of…read moreneighbourhood life 20-50 years ago. Nowadays these places (although some exist) have become more specialized and need to charge more money. This is due to the advent of mass grocery and Costco have taken over the lions share of the meat business. Offerings here are fresh cut (aged) meat. Loads of local bottled and canned products. A small selection of fresh dairy products and what I come for the cured saucisson. Last year I spent the month of June in France and developed a semi-addiction to cured saucisson. I'm not proud of it (hence my mom and doctor warn in moderation) but this is the best offering I have found in Quebec. Pork shop (available at your local IGA) does a fine version however it's just the bit more delicious here at Lawrence. Also purchased are bottles of St Leon maple syrup. $25 a big bottle is a bit steep but it makes a wonderful gift or delicious in the morning on your pancakes or toast. Being in the heart of the Plateau then can cater to those who are willing to pay a bit more. I believe the meat shop is connected to Lawrence restaurant a few doors down which does a dandy brunch.

A bad day along Saint-Laurent! I stepped into the joint only…read moreto be harassed by a man panhandling for money... INSIDE the store. What the??? Why would a business owner allow this? After brushing him aside, I looked at the wall of dried sausages hoping to spot my prize. I wanted to bring home a nice selection on the plane home to Vancouver. Wait! What the??? again. Staring back at me was a nice coating of blue mold around one of the ends of the sausages. Au Revoir!

Tiny meat store with a good assortment of eurostyle cured meats and sausages, along with some…read moreappropriate spices and canned and packaged foods. As others have said, they also make sandwiches to go, which one can choose to eat at their little parcel shelf next to the door. The appeal of this place for me, though, is the partially-smoked and cured pork shoulder rolls they keep in the small cold case along the back wall. They're not even labelled, so you may have to ask to be pointed at them. But do ask. One of those balls of meat, simmered in a cauldron of water for 150 minutes, yields both the most densely-flavored, tastiest cold pork you'll ever put on your sideboard, and a pot of truly magnificent stock for your next pea or white bean soup. They also sell a couple of different varieties of bacon, in slabs if you wish. And there is no question too stupid for the bright lady in the baseball hat behind the cash. This is another of those little places that makes cooking my way through a Montreal winter into something I almost look forward to in summer.

La Moutonniere is a small little creamery that offers semi-firm cheese made with a blend of cow…read more(Jersey cows) and ewe's (La Moutonniere's flock) milk. You can visit their creamery, but I had a chance to visit their Jean-Talon Market location - the cheese with the green label refers to the milk of the animals grazing in the mountain pastures during the growing season; the label that has a snow-covered landscape refers that the milk is from the animals that were fed on hay during the winter months. All the cheeses are aged for 2-4 months in the creamery's underground cave and comes with a natural rind; pressed cheeses, blue vein cheeses, fresh, cheeses, brined cheeses, soft rind cheeses, and even other dairy products (such as yogurts, sheep's milk, and cream) are offered. I thought the cheeses were rich and creamy with a subtle hint of acidity from the sheep's milk - they're pretty delicious, and I'm sure you'll be able to find a version that you'll like! If you're in the market to purchase some sheep, they also have ewes and rams for sale (Canadian Livestock Records Corporation-registered); they also have woollen knit socks, comforters, pillows, berets, and even raw fleece for customized spinning/dye-ing. +fromagerie located in the Jean-Talon market +cow & ewe's milk semi-firm cheeses :D +located across the gelato place

I'll come right out and admit that I am a transplant from Brooklyn and yes, I've probably brought a…read morelittle of the stereotypical neurosis and taste for fancy things from NYC along with me. Since arriving in Montréal, I've been on the hunt for some milk from grass-fed animals. Cows, goats, buffalo, sheep - just give me milk from some kind of ruminant that eats grass instead of grain. Thanks to La Moutonnière, I've found it. From professed 100% Happy Sheep, La Moutonnière makes and sells milk, butter, and several types of cultured cheeses and yogurts, all from grass-and-hay fed sheep on their farm in Quebec. I tried their dairy products for the first time this week and am very impressed. Of course it's a bit more expensive than your industrial Québon/Kraft Foods versions but you know what you're getting in this case. La Moutonnière also sells wool, soap, and very reasonably priced lamb meat (I'm guessing those particular lambs aren't 100% happy sheep). The staff are wonderful too - I asked for sheep butter today and was told they were out. About five minutes later, they sought me out in a completely different section of the market to let me know they'd located some butter for me. A great first impression. Find them at the southeast corner of the Marché Jean-Talon, just across from Qui Lait Cru.