Robert G.
Yelp
This is the one ... the one on the Plateau! I got off the Metro at Mont-Royal to come here, a mere two or so blocks to the east. Saint-Viateur Bagel made for a really interesting experience and checked off a "to do" item from both my own list and that found in the top 10 or 20 lists for this city.
I had a bagel that was outfitted to become a sandwich, so to speak. This was later in the afternoon, so I don't remember if this was a late lunch, an early dinner, or neither. There was a little bit of a line.
The person at the cash register was very good natured. I wondered if, with the constant flow of customers, they could throw out some attitude. That was far from the case. The employees in the open bagel preparation area were also friendly, hamming it up a little bit as I took photos of their open kitchen concept.
The little sandwich, had with a cup of tea, was very good. I had picked a rosmarin (rosemary) bagel, given they did not have sun dried tomato, and this, too, is a flavor that has always been reliable to my palate.
Saint-Viateur Bagel is, as we used to say, a "trip." (I don't know if people still use this expression.) First, how can it not be a little quirky, being on the Plateau and next to or close to a new age shop? Second, eat in, and, if you sit toward the front, you can see what's going on both inside the restaurant and on quirky Ave. du Mont-Royal. Third, I read that there's a difference between a Montreal bagel and a New York bagel, but you can look that up because I forgot what it is. Fourth, there's supposedly a "rivalry" between this place and Fairmount Bagel, so try them both. Fifth and last, bring cash.
Inside Saint-Viateur Bagel, I was surrounded by tables with two "blonde" Japanese girls with green and blue contact lenses, a younger (Slavic looking) couple with a baby who were speaking another language, a young Afro-Canadian man with a laptop, a "man bun man" with his woman or female friend, and a few middle aged Francophone ladies taking photos of each other and the food. You wouldn't even see this in most major American cities! Like I said, eat in.
Again, it's close to the Mont-Royal Metro station. Finding parking might be a hassle. And, finally, STM bus 11 handily passes in front of the store, which is great because it goes up to enormous Parc Mont-Royal and then down into Cote-des-Neiges, U de M, the Oratory, and ends up by the Decarie Expressway. So, yes, you can buy bagels, or bagel sandwiches, and take them to the city's main park with its stupendous views using the 11!
