Why not go straight to the source to enjoy a myriad of bagel delights? In addition to their bakeries on St. Viateur, the company also has a number of sit-down cafés featuring their iconic bagels. The menu goes well beyond traditional bagel and lox platters, serving up a variety of bagel sandwiches from BLTs to smoked meat. (There’s other locations in NDG and in Dollard.)

Given Arts Café’s location (just down the street from Fairmount Bagel), it’s no surprise that their gravlax plate takes advantage of that. Served open-faced with a smear of lemon cream cheese, generous ribbons of house-cured trout gravlax, and a sprinkling of fried capers, the combination of toppings does justice to the bagel beneath.

For a quick café option, complete with coffee to-go, Café Névé’s smoked salmon bagel is a solid option. Housemade smoked salmon with all the fixings on top of a St. Viateur bagel is a great way to start the day off right.

As the name suggests, Bagel Etc. indeed offers quite the selection of bagel-centric dishes. Their take on huevos rancheros is made with bagels instead of tortillas, all of their Benedicts use bagels in place of English muffins, and their “Benny Goodman” takes advantage of the bagel hole as a nest for a soft cooked egg. Fairmount bagel is the bagel of choice here.

This spot on St. Laurent inside the Museum of Jewish Montreal is open for brunch Friday through Sunday, and thankfully, bagel boards grace the menu. They’re served with salmon, but the twist is that it’s cured with lapchang souchong tea for a smokier take on the classic bagel and lox.

This restaurant inside the newly-renovated Fairmont Queen Elizabeth is taking things a notch above the rest and making their own in-house, mini, Montreal bagels to accompany their daily breakfast buffet. The best part is that they’re part of a build-your-own bagel bar, complete with an array of toppings, from jams and jellies, to smoked salmon and other cured fish options.

It’s not just about the smoked meat at Snowdon Deli, this institution pays homage to the Montreal bagel as well. Bagel breakfast sandwiches are on the menu, as well as bagel and lox in either sandwich or platter format.

Arthurs in St. Henri does the bagel thing about as traditionally as possible, yet with impeccable execution. “The Classic” is a bagel adorned with house smoked salmon, cream cheese, pickled onions, capers, and dill. Simple and delicious.