Le Roi du Smoked Meat

Le Roi du Smoked Meat on a friend’s recommendation, and overall, it was a mixed experience. The location is great — right on a busy corner and close to the metro, making it super convenient to get to. The diner-style interior is clean, well-lit, and welcoming, with friendly and attentive staff who made us feel comfortable right away. I ordered the smoked meat platter, and the meat itself was excellent. The texture was spot on, the seasoning was well-balanced, and the flavor was exactly what you’d hope for in a Montreal smoked meat experience. However, the portion and pricing left a lot to be desired. The platter included about the same amount of meat as a large sandwich, a modest serving of fries (maybe one potato’s worth), a small portion of shredded green cabbage as coleslaw, a single slice of pickle (not a whole one), and a few slices of bread. While everything tasted great, it didn’t feel like a $30 meal after tax and tip. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common issue with smoked meat spots in Montreal — delicious food but pricing that feels out of sync with what you actually get. If you’re craving top-quality smoked meat and don’t mind the splurge, this place delivers on flavor. But if value for money is a priority, you might walk away feeling a bit shortchanged.

The atmosphere is nice. I ordered the club roll combo with drink. The sandwich was delicious, good portion 😋 so was the fries and pickles. Very attentive and friendly service. Love it 😊

My second visit after a year. Still good and a go-to spot for me. I like their smoked meat sandwich and the Italian hamburger. Clean and nice service 👌

Visited that place to try their smoked meat sandwiches; it was a terrible decision!!! Went there on a Sunday night; the place was almost empty only few customers; yet I didn’t feel welcomed!!! I actually felt that I was looked down upon… I am really disappointed. The smoked meat sandwiches I order, it was served as cold!!!! I asked give me like full fat; it was fatty but just think what would be the taste if it’s a little warm or cold. Utterly disappointing experience.

Great place that has been around for a very long time. The food is always perfect, nice portions, very reasonable prices, good service and nice atmosphere. Highly recommend it if you haven't been there before.

I ordered through Skip!👌🏻Absolutely amazing smoked meat sandwich! Super flavorful, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. You can tell they know what they’re doing. ⭐️

Ate medium poutine Italian chicken. It was okayish nothing great. I was expecting this place to be a Québecois Poutinerie but it seems that's not the case. I thought it'd be an above average poutine but it was just average. The Italian poutine comes with the Italian marinara sauce+fries+cheese curds+chicken. The chicken was good but the poutine overall was not great. The service and atmosphere was good. They also have ice cream soda ie Crème de glace soda. I wanted to order it but I thought it'd be average as well so skipped

Smoked meat here is absolutely fantastic, one of the best places in Montreal to eat smoke meat no doubt. Portions were large and everything was extremely fresh. Sat upstairs and place was pretty busy but the food came rather quickly too. Only strange thing was the service - waitress (didn’t get her name) was asking some pretty personal questions during the meal. Was trying to enjoy my meal with my company but the waitress kept asking questions when I was clearly giving one word answers and just wanted to eat with my people. Would definitely go back, would just avoid her section.

ouvert depuis 1954, ce restaurant est une institution a Montreal. Mais je n'étais jamais allé. la gentille et efficace serveuse nous a propose le special. Sandwich a la viande fume avec frites et salade de choux et cornichon et ca incluait une boisson gazeuse. Tout était chaud et délicieux. Assoyez vous au comptoir ou est l'action. Un peu difficile de se stationner sur la plaza saint Hubert

On the outside, this place might look like a tourist trap, but locals and families coming here since 1954 will tell you there's a reason it's called the King of Smoked Meat! It's a family-owned institution that serves up warmth, tradition and is famous for pizza, smoked meat, seafood, grilled meats, salads, desserts, cheesecake, and more. Open late when most other places are closed, it's an unpretentious diner where my friends and I were glad to share some laughs, jokes with the waitstaff, and good food. We couldn't decide on what to order, so we defaulted to a poutine and a smoked meat platter with extra coleslaw. It felt like being in one of those late night diners with a large menu with lots of choices. The poutine didn't make the honour roll; it didn't fail, but I'd say it was decent and it passed. The smoked meat coming in as the valedictorian was not surprising since it's the namesake of the place. My friends prefer their smoked meat with a little bit of melt-in-your-mouth fat whereas I prefer it lean. Our waitress was kind enough to put both buttery, fatty and lean pieces on the platter so we were all happy. There was mustard ready to go at our booth table, we were ready to slather it on the rye bread. The smoked meat was warm, tender, tasty and delicious! The coleslaw also was good too with a good amount of sourness and garlic flavour. It's an alternative to Lester's, Snowdon Deli, or Schwartz's. I'd definitely return for the cozy ambiance and smoked meat.

This place should be called the King of Smoke and Mirrors. It's another one of many tourist traps that pollute Montreal with tacky fancy signs that scream come in because we clearly must be doing something right. They drew me in as I was starving and really didn't want to walk anywhere else because it was freezing and an odd hour of the day between brunch and dinner where other places were closed to prepare for the evening rushes. The food was so trash and I was starving so I thought it would make everything taste better but that did not enhance this meal at all. The only saving grace to this place is the fun older waitress. She gave the atmosphere upstairs that fun old-timers diner feel with her warm but blunt personality that I really appreciate. One of the stars in this review is for her. The other is for them being open when much of everything else in the immediate area was not.

Very tender, almost buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cuts of lean smoked meat awaits you at le Roi du Smoked Meat -which has reigned over plaza St-Hubert in Montréal for over 60 years. Many menu items, which can also include their signature meat, can be explored as well as wonderfully tasty side dishes.

You either love it or you hate it, there is no in between. The fact that i didn't get to take a picture of my smoked meat sandwich is proof that just the sight of it made me forget who i am. It was so good and delicious i immediately wanted another. The poutine was great, VERY saucey and cheesey as you can see in the photo. The slice of carrot cake caramel cheesecake is so perfect. I don't even know if it's made in house i just know it's perfect.

Ordered the Smoked meat all dressed pizza via Uber. The driver handed me the box and down it went, it was much heavier than I was expecting. Opened the box to find a well topped pizza, with smoked meat chopped up and cooked under the cheese ( most places just sprinkler it on top), I also liked the crust and found the smoked meat quite tasty. Not sure about the other things I read about this place but the pizza was good, not skimpy which I find many places give you and still have the nerve to charge full price for half the toppings, well not here. I had one slice and was surprised how stuffed if was. I would definately have the pizza again.

Excellent food. Outstanding smoked meat! Bravo!! This is a Montreal classic and they haven't lost their touch!

I went to le Roi du Smoked Meat restaurant for a smoked meat sandwich. Location Le Roi du Smoked Meat is located on St. Hubert street. It will be hard to get to unless you are in the area. There is a lot of construction in the area when I was there. Decor The decor is pretty old and tried looking. It is a diner that has been around for a long time and was opened in 1954. The restaurant was busy with a lot of clients. Service The waitress was very friendly even though I could not speak French. Food I ordered the medium smoked meat sandwich with fries and coleslaw. The sandwich was nothing special, but taste like any other smoked meat sandwich you get buy in Montreal.

The assiette de smoked meat is always tasty. This place is one of my smoked meat sandwich staples. And there's no line to get in! Note that their medium-fat sandwich corresponds to Schwartz's fat, and their lean to Schwartz's medium-fat. As for their fat one, I guess it corresponds to a heart attack. I really love the vintage banquettes and their non-ageist waitress line-up.

If I take time to write something, it's either so good or so bad. This place is bad, poutine is with frozen fries. I took bambino mini poutine drink trio, there's very little sauce in my little little poutine, I get up to ask if they can put just a little more sauce, wanted to chargE me an extra sauce. The pizza is not even good.

Smoke meat galore. You need to take the smoke meat sandwich. Order an extra pickle. Because pickles are great to cut the grease and spices. Yeah, don't take the extra lean. Medium is required to at least get some taste.

I had the smoked meat omelet and it was good. nothing mind blowing, but not bad either. Friendly staff! came here to eat before heading to the Grand prix. The service is pretty good and they have a takeout special for smoked meat, there's a small park behind the resto with picnic tables for a nice way to enjoy the summer. The place is not bad. they are open quite late so if you are in the neighborhood and have a smoked meat craving and can't wait, the place will do. no lineup or anything as the place is always empty I will be back again when I'm in Montreal!

They dare call themselves : the king of smoke meat. I went there a 11pm the staff was rude and impatient even tho there were no costumers. Asked for a small and a large smoke meat poutine with no utensils, got 2 large poutine with ustensiles. And honestly it was the most boring poutine the fries were greasy the grevy was soggy and the meat.. I could get better in the frozen section at maxi we ended throwing half our poutine never coming back again wast of money and time.

Pretty good food. Not as good as jarry smoked meat though. We took that family take out meal with a whole bread, 1 pound of meat, 2 sides. Very good value for the price. The meat was tasty and juicy. The macaroni salad and coleslaw were good also. Very typical deli joint.

We came by because Schwartz had no power when we got there and they had nothing cooked and ready to go, but you know? We were pleasantly surprised at how good the smoked meat sandwich was here! for 11.95 you get an awesome sandwich that rivals the size of Schwartz's sandwich and it's just as good (from my memories 2 years ago). You have a choice of fatty or lean cuts of "smoked meat" and you'll get fries and cole slaw. Fatty is the way to go though. So if you're looking to go off the beaten path for smoked meats, you can check this place out. Caveat though - they may only speak french soooo be patient. The person seating us was very nice and patient with out being able for us to speak french.

Delicious smoked meat sandwich, definitely the place to come and have the strongly suggested sandwich of Montreal, excellent customer service, gorgeous and kind people. AWESOME!

I mean, the decoration is cute I guess, it has that 50's feel. For a place that's supposed to be specializing in smoke meat, we found that the bacon pizza was way better than the smoke meat pizza. Don't get me wrong, the bacon pizza was amazing and the creaminess level of the cheese is unparalleled. It's really hard to find good pizza in Montreal, but this place's bacon pizza is definitely worth to try! Careful though, we were almost overcharged for the pizza and they rectified it but it's always a bummer when you feel like you have to be on guard and checking your bill, instead of just trusting a place to charge you the right price.

Short review: Smoked meat good. Poutine bad. Longer: Service was swift and as expected in a diner. The smoked meat sandwich was rich and juicy and wonderful. The poutine was boring. Bland gravy and fries that obviously came from the freezer. Stop in for a sandwich. Get your poutine somewhere else.

Wow the Spencer steak was incredible! The meat was very tender with delicious rich flavor. Great prices, great good, excellent service.

I love this place! The service is great and friendly. The food is served in a flash and is always hot and tasty. The smoked meat is excellent and it's my to-go place when I crave it. The restaurant have a vintage feel but it's spotless. Not the trendiest place, but always a good choice when you want something simple and good.

I can't believe people are griping about the service here, it's a freakin' diner not the Four Seasons. There's need to be some perspective of what type of restaurant you're reviewing. Having said that, I really enjoyed this place. It's a neat-o classic looking diner. Very, very clean with an 80s new wave, art deco appeal. We had soups and smoked meat sandwiches. Both absolutely fantastic. The smoked meat was simply and tender and delicious. I know my smoked meat sandwiches and this was a king among kings. Check it out.

I have been coming here for years now and I think the prices are getting ridiculous. When you constantly add a sticker to raise the price of an item because printing new menus take too long... Personally, if the keeps going up and the quality stays the same ( or the decor for that matter) I find enough is enough

They claim to have the best smoked meat in Montreal. Is that the case? After eating a metric ton of meat and sugar at Cabane à Sucre Au Pied de Cochon hours before, apparently it seemed like a good idea to eat a giant smoked meat sandwich before bed. I wasn't mad at it. Being a huge fan of pastrami, it was pretty similar to what you'll find at places like Katz's and 2nd Avenue Deli in New York City. A little less fatty, but a nice flavor and stacked quite high. Served to you in a diner atmosphere by women that probably went to elementary school with your grandma, it makes for a fun experience. As others have pointed out, skip the poutine.

Was craving for a smoke meat place... My boyfriend's father has been speaking to us about this place for a while now so we decided to finally try it. We went for the combo. One pound of smoked meat with 1 bread and choices of saladeor fries. For take out. The service was very fast and friendly.. we got out order in no time. Smoked meat was pretty good but not the best I have eaten. the salade was pretty good, but the fries were not good at all. Over all smoked meat was Okay but really not the best place in montreal

i had the Poutine with smoked meat on top - was ok... I was cold and hungry so it filled the spot at the time, but definitely have had better poutine! I kind of expected the meat to be dispersed through the gravy sauce - but it ended up to be the poutine/gravy/cheese on the bottom with a whole lot of chopped meat on top. Tasty, but could've done with better presentation. I think all up was around $10... Canadian food always seems more expensive! They're more famous for their smoked meat sandwiches- but I ran out of time to go back and try! Friendly service - there was no line and maybe an avenue from the Jean Talon station - so worth trying if you can't be bothered going to Schwartz's. But maybe not as much of an "atmosphere".

As long as you lower expectations, things should be fine. Old school diner with a varied menu, generous portions and pretty good prices. They used to stay open very late, but now it's until 2AM (I think) Hits: Chicken Souvlaki, pizza (thick toppings and lots of cheese), smoked meat (best in area, but not overall in mtl Misses: Lamb chops, T-Bone Steak The service is pretty good and they have a takeout special for smoked meat, there's a small park behind the resto with picnic tables for a nice way to enjoy the summer.

Tried the smoked meat and the poutine via delivery. The smoked meat was great and was in my opinion superior to Schwartz due to less fat (personal preference), though it was not as well seasoned which would possibly have made Schwartz' better had I ordered lean when I tried from them. Got the super i.e. double meat The poutine was the first one I have ever liked in my life. I never really understood why people were so in love with soggy fries with gravy and lumps of cheese until I ordered from here. The cheese was layered on top instead of dropped in in chunks and actually amazed me that I liked it since the other versions I have tried were not overly impressive. I now understand the hype! Delivery was painfully slow but saved me from having to drive so I will take the trade off. A must try for those who dont want to drive to Schwartz or endure the reported long lines.

The food was good, the place is open since the mid 1950's and it seems like time has stop there. The menu is an authentic Quebec dinner style with pies, soups that come with Premium Plus crackers, Jell-o, fast-food, grill. The beer pitcher costs less then 14,00$. They make their own smoked meat and pickles. You can buy smoked meat briskets to go. I was happy to find on the menu that they do beef liver and onions because it's not available in a lot of dinners in Montreal. I recommend also the smoked meat and you should ask if you can put your order on a "table d'hôte" they will do it. Then you'll get soup, main course, coffee and dessert.

Old rock hard re-cooked old french fries... Used to be a good spot, now they try to pass you junk. Service was great and to be fair she did offer to change them. Was the 3rd (and last) time in a row this happened to me so it's sadly Bye Bye! for me. Never will go there again...

Mellow Yellow Time Travel! So, Donovan's hit (Mellow Yellow) is playing in the background as my gaze turns from the red, vinyl booths to a killer king-sized smoked meat sandwich that came with pickle, cole slaw, and fries and ... WHOA! I time travel to the 70s! Flashback!!! The servers rock too! They don't get a five-star rating only because the fries were a bit on the limp side, as was the rye. Shame! The Roi Special with smoked meat (smoked-meat spaghetti at the next table ... or did I hallucinate that?) looked unbelievably good too! I'm looking forward to getting the Super Special on take-away very very soon!

Smoked meat sandwiches are lacklustre and the poutine is really something to avoid. The gravy is this gelatinous mess that has clumps in it, and the cheese "curds" are just chunks of mozzarella. My stomach is feeling rather ill just typing this - I definitely wouldn't be returning.

Most people will have you believe that the only smoked meat worth having in Montreal is from Schwartz's Deli, however in my neighborhood most people will gladly tell you that Le Roi Du Smoked Meat is as good if not better than Schwartz's. There is no line out the door, the service staff is not hurried and pressured because of a hungry mob outside smacking their chops and elbowing their way in and best of all the food is excellent. Although I always take our order to go, I rather like the classic 50's diner setting of the restaurant. I took my mother here and she offered to babysit two nights later solely in exchange for another Le Roi Du Smoked Meat sandwich. As she put it, she couldn't stop thinking about her first fabulous Le Roi Du Smoked Meat sandwich.

Another Montréal smoked meat institution. They have nothing on Shwartz and they don't brine their own brisket, but it's still a damn good smoked meat sammich with Cott cherry cola. Never had anything else on the menu. It's all about the brisket.

We stopped in for lunch today and the smoked meat sandwiches really hit the spot. It had an old time diner atmosphere, and the air conditioning was wonderful as it was quite hot. If in the neighbourhood again, I'd come back.

Literally the worst service I have ever had. We decided to mosey on over after the bar, yes it was late and yes we had been drinking but the waitress seemed drunker than we were.. She came back more than a few times to ask what we wanted and she couldn't even look straight ahead. The food was awful, the gravy on my poutine tasted old and the chicken burger was like a frozen Costco patty.. We were four and they brought our food out all at different times. If I could give 0 stars that's what it would have been.

If there was a zero star rating, that's what I would give this place. Seriously the worst service I've ever had, hands down. There was 4 of us, it was late at night mind you but we waited forever for our food. The waitress had to be reminded of our orders multiple times and our meals were all served at different times. The food was alright, nothing special but not horrible. What was really irritating was when we were almost finished, another couple of people came in that seemed to know the waitress and they were given bread and what not almost as soon as they got seated. We were given nothing while we waited probably over an hour altogether for our meals. Definitely NEVER going back. Do NOT recommend.

Every few years we head to Montreal and pray this little gem is open. Tender smoked meat sandwiches and delicious poutine, this place is outstanding. Old retro diner has been open for more than 50 years .. we take the metro across the city just to eat here and have always found a booth ready for us. Seriously good food!

It has the usual diner food. The food is good but a little pricey. Open late. Salads are good, sandwiches are good. Standard stuff.

I've had Schwartz's (tasty burnt ends, but overhyped) and Dunn's (good overall) on my previous visits to Montreal, and on this visit I planned to try The Main's offering, but while I was out walking/exploring the Petite Italie / Petite Patrie neighborhoods, a friendly local and I struck up a conversation and he strongly recommended the nearby Le Roi du Smoked Meat, so with lunchtime at hand I decided to give it a try. No line-up to get in (in contrast to Schwartz's), a full menu of good-looking food in addition to the signature meat, and it did not disappoint. I ordered it Medium as I tend to do upon first sampling of any Montreal smoked meat, and while it didn't have as many of those yummy "burnt ends" that Schwartz's usually provides, I found it overall to be a superior product. Sliced thick and properly, it was tasty and flavorful, and of course plentiful. My new local friend also strongly recommended their Smoked Meat Pizza...and for sure on my next visit I will have to return and try that. Take a trip off the beaten tourist path to this interesting neighborhood (Beaubien station on the Orange line) and discover this hidden gem, and then walk off your meal along Rue St. Hubert, a shopping strip where it extends for blocks and blocks and blocks covered by glass awnings. And/or: Visit Marche Jean-Talon, the huge outdoor/covered market, which is nearby.

This place is highly underrated... It is still the authentic diner you remember from your childhood. The place is a timeworn 1950s... probably because they've been sitting around since then while Schwartz and the like got all the love. I know it's weird... St. Hubert? Between the cheap wedding dresses? But yea. right there. They are GOOD. I dare you to do a blind taste test... For the price you get really good quality here. I alway get this "take home" deal of a lb of smoked meat, a loaf of rye bread and 2 sides for 18$... it always lasts a couple days between 2 or 3 of us. Wonderful staff!! Always kind, always laid back, and never fail to make a good impression with out of towners I bring. I have waited in lines forever at other places and have been much less impressed. The only problem with Le Roi is their sides are not too great. Even the half sours are kinda limp. Great smoked meat though!

I go to this place a couple times a year to exclusively eat their smoked meat. For my tastes, they offer better cuts and meat quality than the overhyped Schwartz and Dunns. My recommendation would be to go there only for the smoked meat; you won't be dissapointed.