Fairmount Bagel

Verdict

Fairmount Bagel is the right call for anyone who wants to understand what makes Montreal bagels different from every other version of the form. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, costs almost nothing, and has earned back-to-back recognition on the Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America list — ranked #41 in 2024 and #60 in 2025. There is no booking required and no wrong time to show up. The question is not whether to go; it is when.

The Space

The physical setup at 74 Avenue Fairmount Ouest is deliberately minimal. The room is small and functional, organised around the wood-fired oven that dominates the production area. Seating is limited — this is a counter-and-takeout operation, not a dining room , so most visitors grab their order and eat standing, on the street, or take bags back to wherever they are staying in the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood. If you are expecting a sit-down experience, recalibrate: the draw here is the product and the process, not the room. The open baking setup means you can watch the bagels being shaped, loaded onto long wooden boards, and lowered into the oven, which gives the space more atmosphere than its size would suggest.

Lunch vs. Any Other Hour

Because Fairmount operates around the clock, the concept of lunch versus dinner carries less weight here than at almost any other restaurant in Montreal. That said, the experience does shift depending on when you arrive. Midday brings steady foot traffic and a reliable turnover of fresh bagels , you are rarely waiting long for a hot batch. Late night and early morning are when the visit tips into something more specific: a 2 a.m. bagel run after a night in the Mile End or Plateau is a legitimate Montreal ritual, and Fairmount is one of the few places in any city where that option exists at full quality. If you are choosing between a daytime visit and an evening one, evening wins on atmosphere and novelty. Daytime wins on convenience and the likelihood of having somewhere comfortable nearby to sit and eat. Either way, the bagel itself is the same.

What Makes It Worth the Stop

Montreal bagels are smaller, denser, and sweeter than New York-style bagels, hand-rolled and baked in a wood-fired oven rather than a conventional one. The result is a chewier crust and a more pronounced crust-to-crumb contrast. Fairmount has been producing them using this method for decades. The OAD Cheap Eats ranking , a list that covers the full breadth of North America , confirms that the quality holds up against serious peer scrutiny. A 4.6 Google rating across more than 5,600 reviews adds further weight. For context, if you are comparing bagel-specific destinations across North America, see also Apollo Bagels in New York City and El Bagel in Miami , both strong in their respective cities, but operating in a different style tradition.

Booking and Logistics

No reservation is needed or possible. Walk in at any hour. The line can stretch out the door on weekend mornings and during peak tourist season in summer, but it moves quickly. Cash is the safest payment assumption, though policies can change. Fairmount sits in the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood, well-served by transit and within walking distance of a dense concentration of other food stops. If you are building a Montreal food itinerary, pairing a Fairmount stop with dinner at Mastard or Alep covers a useful range of the city's eating without redundancy. For a broader view of where to eat across the city, see our full Montreal restaurants guide.

Practical Details

Pearl Picks Nearby

• Jérôme Ferrer - Europea , for a full tasting-menu evening at the other end of the price scale
• Sabayon , modern Montreal cooking worth knowing about
• Alma Montreal , a considered neighbourhood option in the same part of the city
• Mastard , good for dinner after a daytime Fairmount stop

If Montreal is part of a wider Canadian food trip, Tanière³ in Quebec City, Alo in Toronto, and Kissa Tanto in Vancouver are the reference points worth knowing in their respective cities. For everything else Montreal has to offer, explore our Montreal hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide.

FAQ

• Is lunch or dinner better at Fairmount Bagel? Neither has a structural edge , Fairmount is open 24 hours and the product is consistent throughout. That said, a late-night visit (midnight to 3 a.m.) offers something daytime cannot: a genuine sense of the place as a neighbourhood institution rather than a tourist stop. If you can only go once, go late evening or early morning for the full effect. Lunch is fine and convenient, but it is the least atmospheric window.
• What should I wear to Fairmount Bagel? Whatever you arrived in Montreal wearing. This is a counter-service bagel shop with no dress expectation of any kind. Jeans, a coat in winter, and comfortable shoes cover every scenario.
• How far ahead should I book Fairmount Bagel? No booking exists or is needed. Walk in at any hour. On weekend mornings in summer, expect a short queue outside , five to ten minutes is typical. The operation moves fast.
• Can I eat at the bar at Fairmount Bagel? There is no bar. Fairmount is a counter-service and takeout bakery. A small amount of standing space exists inside, but most people eat on the street or take their order elsewhere. If you want a sit-down meal in the same neighbourhood, Alma Montreal is a short walk away.
• What are alternatives to Fairmount Bagel in Montreal? The direct competitor is St-Viateur Bagel, a few blocks away on Saint-Viateur Street, which runs 24 hours and uses the same wood-fired method. The debate between the two is genuinely unresolved and worth experiencing firsthand. For a completely different eating style at a similar price point, Alep offers Syrian-Armenian cooking in the neighbourhood. If you are after a deli-style experience rather than a bakery, Schwartz's is the reference point on that side of Montreal's cheap-eats tradition.