A Taste of History

Discover delicious gourmet food and drink in Québec, wherever ‘Bonjour’ takes you

Québec’s rich history, celebratory culture and gourmet food and beverage scene are unique in Canada, offering a wealth of locally-grown delights that will appeal to foodies and families looking for culinary adventures, beautiful landscapes and a wealth of outdoor activities.

Travellers can discover Terroir Restaurants that incorporate regional products in their menu items, and country-style dining where you can enjoy meals on a working farm while sampling food grown right on that land.

Whether you prefer fine dining, farm-fresh picnic fare or hand-crafted drinks such as maple whiskey, ice wine and artisanal beer, you will love eating and drinking in Québec. Here are some of the most delicious ways to see and enjoy the province.

Experience some must-try restaurants

Québec’s food culture originated with French settlers who cooked with local game, herbs, and vegetables, as well as English and Indigenous influences. Home-grown Québécois classic dishes developed since then such as tourtière (meat pie), pea soup, baked beans, sugar pie, fire-baked Montreal-style bagels – and, of course, poutine – remain very popular.

Québec chefs tap into a wealth of fresh, home-grown ingredients to create special culinary delights, ranging from game meats to foie gras. You’ll often find local chefs in conversation with their customers, as is the modern Québec tradition, and visitors seeking modern gastronomic delights will never run out of options here.

Taste the best Montreal chefs have to offer at renowned eateries including Joe Beef, which is known for scrumptious lobster spaghetti and Montreal smoked meat croquettes, Au Pied de Cochon, where you can taste fois gras poutine, rich onion soup or duck in a can, and L’Express, a classic French bistro that features house-made Toulouse sausage. Be sure to pick up hot bagels at St-Viateur Bagel to munch while sight-seeing.

In Québec City, duck into Bistro Le Sam, located in the most photographed castle, Fairmont Le Château Frontenac – where you can enjoy the view along with a delicious charcuterie board. More than 70,000 honey bees live in the rooftop hives, producing 650 pounds of honey served in the property’s restaurants. Sample some quintessential Québecois poutine loaded with curd cheese and gravy at Chez Ashton, but save room to try classic French fare at L’Échaudé in the city’s old port.

Visit some of the province’s public markets

Since most Québec farmers markets stay open year-round, you can pick up local, seasonal ingredients for an al fresco picnic lunch from dozens of bakers, fishmongers, market gardeners and cheesemakers on site.

There are many international treasures to be found in Québec’s farmers markets beyond produce. For example, at Montréal’s Jean-Talon Market – a fixture in Little Italy since 1933 – you will see kiosks offering freshly made baklava, crepes and Vietnamese spring rolls.

Taste and tour Québec’s craft micro-breweries, cider mills and distilleries

Home to 100 wineries, more than 150 microbreweries and ice cider – unique to the province thanks to our cold winters, which give apples a higher sugar concentration – there’s much to toast across Québec. Many specialty spirits such as black currant liqueur, maple syrup whiskey and artisanal gin are made here, too. The first beer in Canada was brewed in Québec City in 1668, and today, many locally crafted beers are made here.

Tourists are welcome to visit spots such as the Wabasso Distillery in the Mauricie region, Château de cartes vineyard and cider mill in the Eastern Townships, and tour eight breweries in the Chaudière-Appalaches area.

Sample some of the world’s finest cheese in the Eastern Townships

Early Québecois food traditions were also shaped by the colonists of New France, who brought their cheese-making skills with them. The first North American cheese-making school was founded in Saint-Denis-de-Kamouraska at the end of the 19thcentury and today, the province’s cheeses are world-famous. Artisanal cheesemakers across Québec have helped make this one of the fastest-growing sectors in the food industry.

One of the best ways to learn about and savour gourmet cheese is to head out on the Cheesemakers Circuit “Les Têtes Fromagères”, which features 15 stops in Québec’s Eastern Townships region. Follow the map, and you’ll meet the passionate makers behind raw milk, curd, sheep and goat cheese, and hear the stories behind how this delicacy is crafted.

Follow the ‘Flavour Trail’ in Charlevoix

Take a day trip to explore the gourmet wonders through the Charlevoix region, located about an hour east of Québec City. The area, which is famous for its beautiful rolling hills and mountains along the St. Lawrence River, attracts visitors eager to explore its agritourism and regional farm-to-table cuisine.

The Flavour Trail offers the chance to delight in gastronomic adventures and terroir products, such as organic meat, pickled mushrooms, award-winning cheeses and more. This self-guided driving tour takes visitors through farms and bistros where you can meet the producers and chefs responsible for delectable local dishes behind Charlevoix’s field to fork lifestyle.

Some of the spots to discover include Les Volières Baie-Saint-Paul, a family-run farm that houses thousands of quails, rabbits and ring-neck pheasants. Children will love the mini-farm and aviaries featuring more than 1,000 birds. At Fumoir St-Antoine, visitors can find artisan plank-smoked salmon and trout that’s been cold-smoked the traditional Amerindian way. Discover how three generations have prepared sausages and cured meats at Charcuterie Charlevoisienne and visit a family-run cheese shop and an economuseum showcasing artisanal cheeses at Laiterie Charlevoix. Then, quench your thirst by sipping some of the famous Dominus Vobiscum beer at Microbrasserie Charlevoix.

Eat and stay on a working farm or vineyard

Part of the joy when visiting Québec’s farms is meet growers, breeders and producers so you can find out how they work and thrive. From spring through fall, visitors can enjoy the foods and flavours of the countryside at the dozens of orchards, vineyards, sugar bushes and apiaries. Many offer the chance to pick your own produce, enjoy hearty sit-down meals and spend the night in cozy accommodations so you can get a true taste of farm life.

At Bergerie La Vielle Ferme in the Saguenay region, you’ll experience the beauty of the natural surroundings while sampling cold cuts, local cheeses and other terroir offerings. Visitors are encouraged to help feed and care for the animals onsite – including many sheep – pick plums, currants and other seasonal fruit, and then stay overnight in a spacious loft.

Or, take a romantic getaway near Sainte-Marie in the Chaudière-Appalaches area to explore the countryside, relax at the spa and stay at a working vineyard at La Cache à Maxime, either in a quiet cottage or a luxurious hotel suite. The vineyard makes a variety of red, white and rosé wines ready for tasting.