Smoked Meat Heaven at Schwartz's

Here's the storefront of where to dine-in!

Since we aborted our day trip to Quebec City earlier than we expected, we decided some delicious compensation was in order. We came back to Montreal, parked our car and then took the metro to Schwartz's Deli.

We got there just after 5pm and while there were other tourists milling around, we discovered there were two storefronts, one for takeout only, and the other to dine in. We went into the latter, and one of the servers instructed us to find our own seats and lo and behold -- three seats right at the counter.

The interior has hardly changed in decades

The place still has its old diner vibes. On one side are framed pictures and old newspaper articles. There are pictures of Celine Dion and it jokingly says she's in the back. It turns out she and her husband Rene Angelil have shares in the current ownership.

The paper placemat says diners are in the company of such celebrities as Jean Chretien, Burt Lancaster, Nana Mouskouri, Ken Dryden, Jerry Lewis and Guy Lafleur...

Behind the counter are back-lit signs of the menu, refrigerators holding drinks, and lots of seasonings for sale in case you were interested in attempting to make smoked meat at home.

While the staff overall are nice, they are a bit rough around the edges, seeing so many tourists come through their doors everyday. It must be so tiring having to say takeaway is next door, or next door is dine-in... the signage in front is not clear. 

A smoked meat sandwich with coleslaw

Nevertheless, we had the enviable task of figuring out what to order. The smoked meat sandwich of course. What about Schwartz's poutine? We had to try poutine anyway. For vegetables we decided on coleslaw and a dill pickle.

Minutes after we ordered, our plates of food arrived soon after. First was the plate of coleslaw and a big fat dill pickle. The coleslaw is made from shaved cabbage, a few specks of carrot, seasoned with vinegar for a tangy taste, but not sour at all. 

Not long after the smoked meat sandwich arrived (medium fat), on rye bread with yellow mustard. The smoked meat was finely shaved, piled high and still hot. Our first bite into it was heavenly, the sandwich focused on the smoked meat that had been cured for at least 10 days and had a rounded peppery flavour that wasn't too spicy, more seasoned. Absolutely delicious. And the coleslaw cut through the fattiness of the sandwich.

Poutine topped with bits of smoked meat

The Schwartz poutine was a huge portion of French fries, melted cheese curds, gravy and topped with shavings of smoked meat. Wow this was quite the meal in itself, but very good to share. The cheese curds were stringy rather than squeaky, but the combination was fantastic. Who knew poutine needed shaved smoked meat on top?

As we ate, we watched one of the staff open a giant steel container in front of us and stab a giant piece of smoked meat and lift it out, then closed the lid. Then he added more water to continue to steam the rest of the meat inside.  

We pretty much polished everything in under an hour and walked out around $75 lighter, but also very happily sated from visiting this institution that's been around since 1928. Obviously they're doing something right to last 98 years!

Schwartz's Deli

3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard

514 842 4813