Restaurant: Schwartz’s Deli
Location: 3895 St-Laurent Boulevard, Montreal, QC H2W 1X9
Price Range: $$
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Opened since 1928, the beloved Schwartz’s has become a Montreal’s famous landmark for just one dish: Smoked Meat. Though over the years, I have heard that locals now go to other shops for their smoked meat fix, so Schwartz’s has now became more of a tourist-shop. Nonetheless, one cannot say they have been to Montreal without visiting the iconic deli, thus C (theSebie) and I decided to venture out here before our train back to Toronto.
Initially we thought that there might be a long line up despite how bad the weather was, but to our surprise, there was no one! Note that we arrived here around 5PM but the line up started around 6PM, and the deli does not take reservations either. The restaurant itself was small with outdated decors, however I believe it was intentional on the owner’s part for the deli to resemble a typical old school diner.
Although there were different choices on the menu, virtually everyone here (ourselves included) ordered that famous smoked meat with its signature blend of herbs and spices. One serving had at least 2 pounds of thick cut smoked meat and you can order your meat from lean to extra fat, however I heard the portion has gotten smaller over the years.
I honestly didn’t care for the rye bread as it was quite dry but the smoked meat … YUM! Since I ordered the meat medium, I got some of the buttery fat that literally melted in my mouth. That little zing from the mustard complimented perfectly with the fatty meat, but I wished there was more! Though I didn’t order any drink or sides, I heard the “supposed” smoked meat combo must also include a cherry coke soda and pickle so you guys should definitely order that!
I heard the service here isn’t the best here but our server was extremely nice and attentive! If the line up scares you, the deli has their own take-out shop next door and obviously the line up there move way faster. At the same time if you want to reminiscence the tasty smoked meat again, you can actually get a vacuumed sealed packaged with either sliced or whole smoked meat to take home!