Dic Ann’s is the iconic Montreal burger — founded in Montréal-Nord over a half century ago, the go-to menu item barely resembles a burger, with a thin patty and an almost chili-like sauce. It never really expanded beyond Montreal and its suburbs, but at a micro level remains a big fast food success story.

If Café Myriade brought good coffee to Montreal, Dispatch deserves credit for truly beefing up the city’s coffee cred. Dispatch’s upstart founder Chrissy Durcak started business as a coffee truck (which can still be spotted around town in warmer months), before getting into the roasting business on St-Zotique Street — not to mention locations on the Plateau and at McGill University.

Relative to some others on this map, the all-vegetarian Panthère Verte (Green Panther) keeps a relatively low profile: no stunts, little advertising, just solid falafels served up from six inner Montreal locations.

British food might not have the trendiest reputation, yet there’s still room for two fish and chip chains in this town. Comptoir 21 is the bigger of the two, balancing out classic cod (or calamari) and fries with a few non-British options like burgers.

Fairmount Bagel might be the longer-running purveyor of Montreal bagels, yet St-Viateur Bagel turned the circular dough-nuggets into a much bigger business. The Mile End icon now counts multiple production facilities and bakeries, and a handful of cafés serving up breakfasts which (surprise!) prominently feature bagels.

Possibly the biggest casual dining success story in recent years (at least in business terms) has been this wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzeria. Founded by pizzaiolo Alexandre Brunet alongside entrepreneur Dominic Bujold (see also: LOV, Sushi Shop), its chic debut earned a warm reception in Outremont in 2015, and the restaurant rapidly started slinging pies all around the island, and in Quebec City.

While its bloody caesars garnished with burgers, onion rings, and more may seem gimmicky, L’Gros Luxe’s comforting menus replete with burgers and mac and cheese have garnered it a loyal following. The affordable prices (helped along by menus that don’t go too heavy on meat) have also been a success, allowing founder Alex Bastide to grow L’Gros Luxe to Sherbrooke and Quebec City.

It’s a straightforward idea, well done: soft serve ice cream, dipped in melted toppings from chocolate to green tea flavour, with various extras sprinkled on top. Starting out with one location on Pins in 2014, La Diperie now has 21 spots in Greater Montreal, and was bought out by food giant MTY in late 2016.

An early adopter to the “drinks served in mason jars trend”, this bar’s three locations still draw line-ups after years in business, courtesy of a thorough, well-mixed cocktail list; it has also spawned some of the city’s best bartenders. La Distillerie hasn’t expanded in recent years, but that it’s still a veritable institution on the city’s cocktail scene.

Between Brit & Chips and his enduring Little Burgundy pub, the Burgundy Lion, it seems that owner Paul Desbaillets has a knack for successful business plans. With six types of fish all served in crispy batters with crunchy fries, and a few British-style meat pies, the success here is straightforward hearty dishes that go beyond the standard ubiquitous burgers-and-poutine comfort food elsewhere in the city.

Anthony Benda has been credited with bringing third wave coffee to Montreal via his Concordia University-adjacent café. While he may have moved onto less coffee-oriented projects, Myriade still holds a special spot on the city’s caffeine scene. (Fun fact: the Mile End “Myriade” on St-Viateur is no longer part of the Myriade family, but somewhat confusingly, retains that name.)

Sometimes known as Café Saint-Henri, this was one of the first third-wave cafés in the city to also take on roasting its own beans (something they source with ample care). At five locations and growing, founder JF Leduc has now turned his focus to a shiny new roasting facility which will be open to the public in Villeray; a jewel in the crown for this Sud-Ouest success.

While Montreal’s other more recent burger success story Uniburger keeps things simple, Notre-Boeuf-de-Grâce takes a different route, with a lengthy selection of loaded-up burgers and toppings that range from prosciutto to chimichurri and six types of cheese, and beef ground in-house each day.

It’s safe to say Montreal isn’t known as a Korean food hub, yet the success of this NDG restaurant proves there’s definitely an appetite for it. Korean fried chicken and bulgogi are the best-sellers, and have allowed the mini-chain to double in size in just 18 months, adding Ville-St-Laurent, Côte-des-Neiges, and Brossard locations. One of the older Mon Amis also specializes entirely in Korean barbecue.