Nothing says French like cheese. Montreal has a wine and cheese culture unlike any other city in Canada, and as such, there are ample amounts of cheese shops, or as the Quebecois call them, Fromageries, across the city. To help guide you to the best ones for when you’re hosting your next vin et fromage, we’ve picked some of our favourites to share with you…
La Foumagerie – 4906 Sherbrooke West
Staying true to their name (combining French words for “fool” and “cheesemonger”), this cheese shop is slightly crazed. On top of a wide array of cheeses to choose from, they also sell sandwiches organized by cheese theme. For example, “Stilton” group includes a roast beef Stilton and celery remoulade sandwich as well as a turkey Stilton and cucumber pickle sandwich (yum). The shop also sells other specialty items like artisanal vinegars, caviars, and exotic olive oils.
La Fromagerie Atwater – 134 Atwater
Whenever we talk about the best places to buy food products in Montreal, we always find ourselves back at the Atwater Market. La Fromagerie Atwater, located in the market of the same name, boasts 850 cheeses stocked by owner Gilles Jourdenias. A vast amount of these cheeses are by Quebec cheese-makers, and Gilles and his team seem to know all of them personally and are always ready to make suggestions and point you in the direction of their favourite finds.
La Maison du Cheddar – 1311 Van Horne
Outrement is famous for its restaurants and specialty food stores. It is no shock that one of our fave cheese shops in town happens to be an Outrement hot spot when it comes to fromage. Owner Jean-Pierre Gariepy and his partner Dominique Cormier endeavor to bring the best of Quebec cheeses to Montreal and usually stock about 300 different varieties. The selection is much broader than the cheddar that gives the store its name. Having said that, Cormier particularly loves introducing customers to what she calls the Brittany tradition of poking a small cube of cheddar on a toothpick and dipping it into hot, strong coffee just as it starts to melt.
Image courtesy stock.xchang.