Montreal is often regarded as an affordable city amongst the top urban cities in Canada. Rents are not that expensive, the food scene offers a vast range of prices and the entertainment wouldn’t eat so deep into your pockets like in other big cities in the country.
However, people who reside in Montreal always tend to complain about the cost of groceries, and big supermarkets like Metro or IGA are known to have intimidating prices, especially for students. However, have it in mind that the wide array of options for grocery shopping in Montreal is mind-blowing.
This is surely expected, especially owing to the cosmopolitan composition of the city. This city is full of people who love food and won’t mind showing off their skills, therefore be ready to be invited around for dinner regularly (and don’t be afraid to return the invitation).
Note that the quality of food available is without doubt one of the many advantages of moving to Montreal. Nonetheless, while localdépanneurs (corner stores) sell basic items such as tinned and frozen food, only a few sell fresh groceries. If you are looking for the best place for grocery shopping; here are the top grocery stores to consider.
Top Grocery Stores in Montreal
Adonis
This is genuinely one of the top choices to consider in Montreal. Boasting of a wide range of Middle Eastern, Lebanese and Mediterranean products, Adonis has something for everyone in Montreal, irrespective of their culinary allegiances.
Their branded products include bakery products, prepared foods (think dips, pickles, salads, vine leaves, and more), French and Middle Eastern sweets, Halal, and non-Halal meats, and organic, antibiotic-free fish. Adonis remains a wonderful place to stock up on baklava, cookies, and cakes.
Segal
According to reports, this is one of the most affordable grocery stores in Montreal. While it may be very easy to miss, as the name is not written outside, what this store may lack in sophistication and aesthetics, it makes up for in uniqueness and affordability.
You can find a wide array of fresh produce, with rows of frozen food, dairy, and more. In addition, the haphazard layout makes shopping at Segal’s an experience to always crave. They also don’t offer bags; therefore make sure to always bring your own.
IGA
A full-service province-wide chain, IGA has opened in multiple Montreal locations in recent years. This is another very peculiar grocery store in Montreal and they are renowned for offering grocery delivery service all over Quebec.
They boast of a minimum order value of $45 and their delivery fees will differ depending on the distance between your home and their nearest store. You can get excellent cheese, bread, and fresh meats here, with a huge frozen section usually found somewhere down the back.
Supermarché PA
According to reprints, P.A. offers some of the best shopping experience that is in line with bigger supermarkets, but they also boast of amazing prices that would leave you coming back. Take your time to check the “older fruits & vegetables” section as you can always find properly ripe goodies for a few cents. However, note that the store is always packed and congested from around 5 PM to 8pm.
Fruiterie Papaye et Mangue
With massive rows of fruits and veggies, Fruiterie Papaye et Mangue remains one of the best grocery stores to get your greens, fibers, and vitamins. Papaye et Mangue also features a selection of deli products and also some other staple products in case you need to get some essentials while shopping for fruits and veggies.
Raza Supermarket
Supermarche Raza is one of Montreal’s favorite local grocery stores. Easily found at the corner of Bélanger Street and Louis-Hébert Avenue in the east of Montreal, this well-known family shop has long been seeing to the varying needs of Montreal residents. They have always set themselves apart by only picking fresh, quality products. They also carry a vast selection of meats, fruits, vegetables that include organic and vegan products.
Metro
With numerous locations in the city, Metro remains one of the easiest-to-find grocery stores in Montreal. In their stores, you will always find a broad selection of local and imported beers, however, you will have to deal with not always finding everything on your shopping list.
Épicerie Mile-End
This is a top grocery store that strives to maintain the atmosphere and feel of a typical neighborhood mom-and-pop shop. You will always find a vast selection of fresh produce and they even have an outdoor display during the warmer months. It is very easy to find everything you need in this cool and well-located grocery store. Spices, local produce, an olive bar, and pretty much anything you need.
Le Pro
Properly situated on Villeray Street, Le Pro is renowned for its extraordinary quality food and amazing service. Have it in mind that their fruits, vegetables, and butchers are customers’ favorites. Boasting a wide array of fresh products, Le Pro always focuses on customer satisfaction. This is genuinely somewhere you will be happy you visited.
Marché Ariya
Note that this store stocks grains, beans, juices, teas, and beauty products from Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and the region.
However, a good number of visitors to this store come to check out their food counter, which is always fitted with reasonably-priced mouthwatering Afghani kebabs (on platters or in sandwiches), and to look through the window to the in-house bakery, making and dishing out Afghani naan bread covered in sesame and nigella seeds.
Eden Market
This grocery store is situated on Park Avenue and very close to the center of downtown Montreal. Established in 1982, Eden has for long catered to the needs of Montrealers with fresh, high-quality, organic produce. You can also find a vast selection of groceries, snacks, and ready-to-eat foods for all tastes.
This store is noted as one of the top grocers that always provide the experience of your small local shop with the convenience of being located in downtown Montreal. Eden Market goes a long way to support local farmers from the region, while also providing the freshest produce and meats.
Ghanacan
This is the right place to seek your West African spice mixes; from Nigerian pepper-soup spice to calabash nutmeg and suya—a blend of ginger, cayenne, and roasted peanut powder. Another reason to visit this grocery store is the butcher counter, with goat meat and hard chicken, a special muscular free-range bird. You can also find hair and beauty products like African Shea butter in this store.
Conserva
One of the best grocery stores to consider in Montreal, Conserva is located on a stretch of Saint-Hubert more renowned for its party dresses than pastries.
Owing to its high-quality local meats and cheeses, it is easy to sight chef-owners busy in the back making their own charcuterie, pasta, sauces, preserves, desserts, and dinner dishes for takeout. An encouraging amount of fresh veggies, bread from AutomneBoulangerie, and a well-curetted beer selection round out Conserva’s offerings.
Kim Phat
Boasting three megastores and a majority investment from IGA, this grocery store remains one of the leading Asian groceries on or off the island. Note that every store features its own Hong Kong-style bakery and barbecue stand, a live fish counter, and cuts of meat not generally offered in grocery chains.
You can also find fresh herbs like curry leaf, culantro (and cilantro), plus tofu—fried, fresh, and five-spiced—plus almost everything you need for a good dinner.
Marché Méli-Mélo
Another grocery store to look out for, Meli-Melo carries a wide range of Haitian spicy peanut butter, Dominican Republic oregano, fresh sour-sop, and homemade coconut macaroons.
Also do not forget to check out the home cooking in the back where they prepare dishes like griot (crispy pork shoulder marinated in citrus and habanero pepper), beef with okra, and goat. During weekends, you can find special freshly ground corn used to make maïsmoulin (corn grits), too.
La BaiadeiFormaggi
Well renowned as an Italian specialty shop, they often carry just three key items: cheese, charcuterie, and pasta, with sweets, coffee, and sandwiches on the side. Have it in mind that you can easily get lost walking through (and tasting) their 300 kinds of cheese, from saffron and peppercorn pecorino to all kinds of Parmigiano-Reggiano and a 100-pound Auricchio provolone.
You can also find sliced to order or pre-packaged meats, perfect for snacking. Don’t forget to look into their lunchtime and takeout foods, including calzones, arancini, and milanesas.
Fruiterie Milano
According to reports, Milano has maintained a very good pace for 65 years and keeps inculcating new products as the storefront expands horizontally. Fruits and vegetables are mind-blowing, takeout meals and pasta are made in-store, the charcuterie is purely Italian, and the butchery comes with Quebec Wagyu beef.
Also check out their Olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and chocolates. They also carry assorted cleaning products and a soap section to soothe your needs.
La Vieille Europe
You will surely enjoy every moment because it is has proven over time to be the grocery store to beat in Montreal. Truth be told, their European and local cheese selection will surely wow you, and the charcuterie is astonishing, but the way they’ve arranged their hearty sandwiches while adding creativity with high-end cooking oils and upscale cocktail syrups will ensure you keep coming back.
Akhavan
Marché Akhavan is also another grocery store to consider for your shopping, whether for household staples or all things Iranian. They have nuts, dried fruit, and mounds of fresh herbs—essential to Persian food—coupled with spices, saffron, a huge variety of rice, and an unbelievable tea aisle. Akhavan’s food counter for grilled meat or some kibbeh with polo rice will leave you drooling.
Marché Kohinoor
For individuals who are quite eager to make their own tajine, Marché Kohinoor’s five halal supermarkets will get you fitted with every ingredient you need. Right from the natural clay vessel needed to cook it, the spices, grains, meat to make it delicious, and a carpet to sit on while you eat it.
Also note that their aisles are packed with fresh and frozen goods from North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Every of their shop varies in its offerings and will often depend on the clientele and neighborhood.
Costco
To shop with this store, note that you will need a Costco membership, but it pays itself off very quickly. A well-renowned warehouse that houses a vast range of day-to-day items you buy at the grocery store, well-experienced shoppers know to go for their very high-quality meats and produce, as well as toiletries in bulk.
This is also another good place to go if you’re looking to buy any household items or electrical goods. Many people don’t know this but Costco also has a delivery service for select grocery items. The Costco delivery service is only available in a few select stores so make sure to check that the one closest to you offers grocery delivery.
Marché Thurga
There is a vast range of products to find in this store. From small Indian eggplants to the long vegetable referred to as drumsticks—a vital ingredient in South Indian sambar—this family-owned business in Park Ex is the perfect store for Indian and Sri Lankan fresh and packaged ingredients.
You can also find heavy cans of mango pulp for making lassi just adjacent to the well-noted Haldiram-brand packaged snacks from India, very popular for munching on while watching a game of cricket in nearby Jarry Park.
Marché Bonanza
According to reports, this store used to be widespread across Montreal in the 90s with 8 locations across the city. However, currently, just one of the eight remains, and they have ensured that the one store remains very competitive. Nonetheless, just ensures to swing by if you are looking for some of the most affordable places to shop.
L’intermarché
Well noted as an urban supermarket, this store boasts of numerous locations east of Boulevard St-Laurent and towards the north of the Island of Montreal. This store carries most items you may need for a weekly shopping trip. Always remember to check your out for daily deals.
Marché Lobo
While Lobo remains a smaller but cheap grocery store without the biggest selection of products, you will always find more than enough for you to replenish your cupboards with products like pasta, beans, rice at super low prices. Also, note that you can find a great selection of middle-eastern products like hummus and marinated shish taouk.
Super C
This store is well renowned for selling a range of cheaper brands. Also, note that Super C is super popular among young families in the suburbs of Montreal. While the store does not have much of a presence closer to downtown Montreal, its one location in Saint-Henri is surely a place to visit.
Sammy Fruits
Sami Fruits has been seeing to the needs of the residents of Montreal with fresh produce at reasonable rates right from 1973, making it a name synonymous with cheap-yet-great groceries. With four well-noted store locations (Lasalle, St. Leonard, Ville Sainte Laurent, and DDO) and a warehouse in the west end of the city, Sami Fruits is a sure location to consider.
Épicerie LOCO
One thing you will enjoy about this store is the cozy feeling and the serve-yourself bins for grains, beans, oils, nuts, and snacks. In addition to all these, you will also find cloth bags for your baguette, zippered lined pouches for sandwiches, beeswax reusable wrap, natural soaps, and detergents in bulk, plus organic veggies, fair-trade coffee, and even feminine products.
It’s, without doubt, one of the most notable selections worth checking out to see how you can minimize your use of plastic and be kind to the planet.
Marchés Tau
Established in St-Denis in 1978, this company has grown into 6 health-focused stores offering organic vegetables, meats, grains, baby food, and even wines. Their major focus on beauty and health entails that they sell natural cosmetics and hair dyes, Bach Flower Remedies, Dr. Bronner’s soaps, and every form of natural vitamin supplements, powders, and bio-essentials to help you beautify your skin from the inside out.
Poissonnerie Fou des Îles
It is easy to see why this store strives to extensively promote their native Îles de la Madeleine heritage. With traditional music playing in the tiny blue-and-white kitchen and cooks busy making fish pies, it’s a unique feeling at this store.
You can easily find oysters, shrimp, scallops, and a vast range of selection of fish, with a commitment to stocking as much as possible from Ocean Wise, Fourchette Bleu, and Sea Choice suppliers, guaranteeing a sustainable and environmentally friendly choice.
Miyamoto Foods
Miyamoto has been in Westmount’s Victoria Village for almost 40 years. There’s maki for takeout and sushi-grade fish in the freezer, instant miso soup and golden curry packs, seaweed, Kewpie mayonnaise, fresh wasabi, and delicious crunchy snacks.
Miyamoto’s shows their homage to Japanese culture in beautiful Japanese knives, ikebana flower arrangement “frogs”, and heirloom-quality Iwachu cast-iron teapots.
Marché Oriental
With fresh noodles and tofu, a sparkling fish section, a butcher counter, and a vast range of herbs, leaves, fruits, and vegetables essential for Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese cooking, this is one of the best places to shop. You will also find breathtaking takeout options, from their barbecue stall to fresh spring rolls and coconut-tapioca desserts. Add to that a myriad of frozen dumplings and rice cake options, and it’s a paradise for Korean food lovers.
Epicure Market
A place where you can easily find pickles, pirogies, and pastries, Epicure Market is renowned as a local European chain concentrating on Russian and Eastern European foods.
You can also find a smoked fish section with sturgeon, salmon, and whitefish, barrels of herring, and more varieties of kefir than you knew existed. Don’t even dare to forget the hot food and salad bar, with specialties like Russian Olivier salad and baked salmon, perfect and popular at lunchtime.
La Fooderie
Have it in mind that this kosher supermarket only carries food that meets Jewish dietary laws. Note that everything in the store, including household staple brands conversant with most shoppers, comes with Kosher certification.
Anyone with dietary requirements will enjoy the gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options sold here. You will also enjoy the smoked fish, kosher sushi, the takeout counter with prepared foods (schnitzel!), the top-class pickle collection, and the bakery section.
Marché Newon
You will have to visit the second floor of the Faubourg Ste-Catherine for downtown’s newest Asian and South Asian market. This grocery store carries a wide array of fruits, veggies, and a very deep freezer selection of seafood, dumplings, parathas, lumpia wrappers, and loads of ice cream. Also, note that it just launched a fish section where you can find fresh oysters and live lobsters.
La Pistacherie
Easily located north of the Metropolitan, this grocery store is well fitted with a long counter bursting with fresh raw and roasted almonds, peanuts, and cashews in every variation of salted, smoked, lemony, and barbecue flavors, plus sunflower seeds, pepitas, and in-house snack mixes.
Catering to the everyday needs of clients, La Pistacherie boasts of carefully selected spices, olive oils, pomegranate molasses, gift boxes with Middle Eastern sweets and nuts, and beautifully crafted backgammon boards.
Thai Hour
More popularly known as a Southeast Asian grocery store, it is also a very wonderful place to shop in the winter, especially when you’re craving delicious Asian soup because the store will, without doubt, have everything you need. In addition, Thai Hour boasts of a fair amount of specific ingredients you can barely find anywhere else. In addition, they are affordable and cheap.
Marché C&T
This is without doubt one of the largest Asian supermarkets in Quebec and the place is genuinely huge. In this store, you can find fresh produce, meat, fish, and frozen food sections, including food items from other cultural backgrounds. Aside from the vast range of products they carry, cheap and affordable prices make Marché C&T a solid grocery spot.