Very wide variety of plants and prices! Many decorative plants as well as edible herbs and…read morevegetables. The staff was approachable and was able to give me detailed advice on how to keep my plants happy and healthy at home. I will definitely be returning to this location at Jean-Talon market! I would highly recommend a visit to Jean-Talon market; everyone can find a vendor that interests them here.

Great charcuterie selection. Only dissappointment was the merguez: not spicy enough…read more... Will return on next Montreal visit.

The House of Roast. Thought it was the house of pasta...but that was another business right down…read morethe road. Pretty much high end, speciality, gourmet, grocery store. Love everything about it. Was looking for highly seasoned, peppered or blackened turkey deli meat...but apparently, that is not a common food item in Montreal. Does anybody KNOW where???? I can find this?? Okay, back to the review... they have all types of meat, duck, pigeon, horse & cow meat. Yes... horse meat. HUGE massive selection of cheeses. Lots of unique spices. Looks like heaven to the Gourmand.

Oh I loved Le Vieille Europe when I was living in Montreal. Unfortunately, I was a poor and…read morestarving student at the time and so I wasn't able to shop there as much as I wanted to, lol. I would occasionally go there for their imported cookies (oh how I adored Anna's Almond Swedish Thins, lol) and exotic teas. And also for their cheeses and deli meats. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I love the smell of coffee and they have a good selection of coffee beans and a huge coffee grinder. The store has a very European feel to it, and very high prices. However, they carry products that are difficult to find elsewhere. Every time I go back to Montreal I like to pop in and poke around ;) My last visit was shortly before the Pandemic started. Looking forward to going back once this Pandemic is over.

Okay. When it comes to cities with great culinary traditions, somewhere in the back there…read morenaturally lies a bunch of places to promote, vend and educate on cuisine. Take New York for instance - if you want to know what we eat and how we came to eat them, you hit our bunch of ethnic markets and grab some finger foods. Wanna know how the Greek do their stuff? Hit Titan or Parrot Foods. Syrian? Sahadi or Souk el Shater. Chinese? Flushing. Korean? Same. Jewish style? Barney Greengrass and Avenue J in Brooklyn. In short, if you want something and is willing to travel the 5 boroughs and beyond, you'll be able to find it. When it comes to Montreal? You hit the Main. The Main is basically Boulevard St. Laurent between Sherbrooke and Jean-Talon, and the diversity of places informs you of its richeness of flavors. Want Hungarian and Askenazi jewish? Start at the Sherbrooke end. Portuguese? That's around Rue Rachel. Something more hipster friendly? That's St. Viateurs. How about Italian? That's closer to Marche Jean Talon. Interspersed between that range is a series of small shops that can cater to your specific needs. Marguez? There's a joint near that. Spanish cooking with a specific need for a paella (the pan for cooking a paella is itself called a paella), there's a place that sells it. A bit of a melange? That's what La Vielle Europe is for. So what makes La Vielle Europe such a good place to visit? Well, it might have to do with its blend of European charm and core Frenchness. When cultural anthropologists talk about food traditions they use the term foodways, which is the socioeconomic and cultural practices when it comes to food. When Quebec was a New French Signoralty hundreds of years ago, its culinary roots were preindustrial French. Then the Brits came in and injected its traditions, and throughout Montreal's history of expansion through immigration, new palates inform and expand upon these foodways, and there are still cultural and economic links back to France and other parts of Europe, and you see it in vivid display here. First, the cheese. The glorious cheese. One thing every visitor to Quebec learn quickly is the richness of the soil at "nos pays". They have great pasture, great dairy, and unlike the morons south of the border, they don't require their cheesemakers to pasteurize all their milk. As any American can attest, Quebec cheese is just better, creamier and more complex, and there is no better place to buy cheese than here. Have something in mind? Point and ask! They are not stingy with samples and will toss a few clues your way. The price is fairly decent as well, check out their discount section for some good stuff. Next, the baked goods. Yeah, they have bread, but they also have galettes, pasteis and will do you a sandwich. What kind of sandwich? They can do something classical like a jambon sandwich, or they can make you one of those gorgeous Portuguese sandwiches with their large eggy rolls. What about syrups and the beans? Yeah, for the coffee geeks out there, they have a massive selection of roasts and varietals, and the same goes for the au chocolat. Sure, they got coffee syrups to add that extra bit of salted caramel to your brew, but the payoff comes to your sodastream machine - The real charm comes from the availability of drinks syrups from France, the Teisseires and the Piquitos. Trust me, it's much better than the crap on offer in the US, and they last a long time. Honestly, with their large selection of sauces, candies, charcuterie and cooking oils, you cannot help but be impressed by both the breadth and depth of their selections. Want good eating? Visit old Europe. No availability on Air Transat? Bixi out to La Vielle Europe.

Helpful bilingual staff, selling pickling appliances and pickled food. They sold me two mason jars…read moreto keep costs low, but they also sell fancier stuff. They make their own lids for mason jars for pressure management.

I stopped by this wonderful bakery in a visit to Montreal! The staff there were so sweet and very…read morefriendly. They spoke both English and French. I had one of the best hot chocolate I'd had in quite a while. It was so deliciously creamy! I enjoyed the butter cookies and especially the brownies! I'd go back just for that hot chocolate lol! Delicious!

I love a good bakery! This was our favorite that we visited in Montreal. The flan croissant was my…read morefavorite of the items we bought. The maple pastry was very Canadian and sweet. They had a bunch of bagged cookies and sweets that would be great for presents for people.

A stop at Le Maître Olivier is a highlight of any trip to Jean-Talon Market. In fact it is often…read morethe reason why we go to the market in the first place. La Maître Olivier offers a terrific selection of olives and other complimentary products. Their specialty are the stuffed olives which are available in a wide assortment of flavours. The olives themselves are excellent and I really appreciate the fact that they are not too salty. You can really appreciate the flavour of both the olive and the stuffing. My favourites include roasted garlic, prosciutto and sundries tomatoes. You can buy the olives, or any of the items for that matter, in three sizes of containers. You can mix and match multiple flavours in one container, so don't mess around just go for a large one. You won't be disappointed.

This is one of my go to places in the market, I can't believe it's slipped through my Yelping…read morefingers for so long! If you are visiting the market this is a delicious option for lunch, it's just a tiny counter with a ton of homemade sausages but they are always grilling some of their best and you can get them loaded up with kraut and hot peppers and mustards and a lovely toasted bun to walk around with, or park yourself on a stoop or picnic bench in the sun to people watch and enjoy the many live musicians who busk here. If you are preparing a BBQ make this a stop for sure - these are exceptional big fat tasty sausages of all kinds and flavours. I like the jalapeno and cheese and the beer sausage and you know, pretty much all of them.

This is the best spot to get a filling sausage sandwich at the Jean Talon Market. You pay inside…read morethe little shop and they give you a ticket to take out to the guy or gal cooking and serving up the sausages. The bread is really a great piece of baguette and the sausages selection has several to choose from: swiss, knockwurst, semi-hot, jalapeno, and hot. There are a number of mustards and sauces, then the toppings include hot banana peppers, green olives, pickles, and sauerkraut. It costs $6 and is more than worth it. Inside the shop you'll find a number of their wonderful sausages for sale, some cold-cuts, patés and other items. We had the Maple and Bacon sausage tonight, and found it delicious, cooking it the way the helpful associate suggested. The maple flavor wasn't strong but you really got a hit of bacon, I was able to see the bacon as I was eating so they don't skimp!