Although I’ve touted the things to do, ways to get around and places to stay in Québec City, I want to jump on the cuisine bandwagon that my good friend Marilee has been focused on (see here and here). The food in Québec can easily be overshadowed by the city’s visual splendor and I want to make sure you have some places in mind to grab a spectacular souper the next time you visit our friends north of the border.
Since I grew up just 20 minutes from the Québec/New York border, I had some French-Canadian experiences growing up. One of the most delicious memories I have of Québec’s direct influence on my life was the first time I ever ate poutine. Poutine is a sumptous combination of French fries, cheese and gravy that will tickle your tastebuds, so long as it doesn’t stop your heart first. While poutine originated in Québec, and it was named the 10th greatest Canadian invention of all time(!), it has spread throughout all of Canada and can now be ordered everywhere from a local greasy spoon to street vendors to chains like McDonald’s and Burger King.
Although you can get poutine almost anywhere in Québec, because it’s where it comes from, it’s hard (not impossible, though) to get a bad order of it. Here are two of our favorite places to get it:
- Ashton (website is in French) – a regional chain in Québec that specializes in poutine (and you’ll pay a little extra for it – $6-$9 per poutine); if you’re in Old Québec, here’s where to find them
- 54, Côte du Palais | Phone: 418.692.3055
- One of our favorites here is La Galvaude, which has no cheese but has chicken and peas mixed in with the fries and gravy (of course, you can get this with cheese, just ask for La Galvaude avec fromage)
- Buffet de l’antiquare (Facebook link) – they make their own great poutine and it’s a bit on the cheaper side ($5-$6)
- 95 Rue St. Paul Est | 418.692.2661
Poutine not right for your palate? No worries. It’s not all poutine all the time around here (unfortunately for me). If you’re looking for something a little more, well, sophisticated, Le Clocher Penché (website is in French) is one of the best restaurants in Québec. They do modern Québecois food and use fresh produce from the farmers’ market directly across the street. It has…wait a second, that last sentence just hit me and I can’t stop thinking about this place now. Hold on. Ok. I’m back. Where was I? Oh, yes, it has a Sunday breakfast that would break your heart if you missed it and comes highly recommended from Québecois Untours staffperson Guy. It’s located at 203 St. Joseph; phone is 418.640.0597.
Sometimes, though, a nice pizza is in order. If you’re ok with reading a French menu (or if you’re on a Québec Untour and have our fabulous staffperson Guy there to help), Pizza Mag (website is in French) is the place to go. It’s at 363 Rue St-Paul; phone is 418.692.1910.
Tell us any great Québec restaurants we left out!