An open secret that you might know about me is that I prefer and adore Montreal-style bagels over New York-style. This might be blasphemous since I am a native New Yorker. I enjoy Montreal-style bagels because it’s smaller in diameter and thickness so it’s not as doughy and heavy like its New York cousin. Also it’s more crisp crust ratio since there’s less bread.
I headed over to St Viateur Mont-Royal location since that was the closest to my hotel. (If you have time, I do suggest going to its flagship location on rue St-Viateur and it’s open 24 hours every day.) It was still very nice to see some bagels made fresh at this location even though the operation is smaller than its flagship.
This is one of the famous bagel bakeries in Montreal and currently owned by Joe Morena and his three sons Vincenzo, Nicolò, and Roberto. The staff have been hand-rolling bagels for over 25 years, and this brand has been around for over 60 years.
I had my cup of filtered coffee and watching its many patrons on an early Sunday morning to buy a few bags to go. There’s a sprinkling few like myself slowly getting into the groove of the day with a cup of coffee, a bagel platter and maybe reading the newspaper.
I had to take my bagels to go since I had to head off to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and other places I am scheduled to go. These bagels were delicious and err on the sweeter side than one might anticipate for a bagel. I love the chewy texture and the gentle crispness of its freshly baked crust.
If you read enough about Montreal’s bagel scene there is a rivalry so to speak between the two big brands, St Viateur vs Fairmount. There is a difference as I’ve eaten both places and essentially St Viateur’s is slightly sweeter than Fairmount and both create equally excellent Montreal-style bagels.
[alpine-phototile-for-flickr src=”set” uid=”26389565@N00″ sid=”72157709826383087″ imgl=”flickr” shuffle=”1″ style=”gallery” row=”4″ grwidth=”1200″ grheight=”800″ size=”640″ num=”30″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″]
Information:
St Viateur Bagels
Official Website
Mont Royal location visited
1127 av. Mont-Royal E.
Montréal, QC, H2J 1X9
Google Map
Phone: +1 514-528-6361
