This Limoilou favourite puts aside all conventions to fulfil its desire to highlight the human experience in food. Arvi — “goodbye” in Savoyard — has its kitchen front and centre in the dining room, with guests surrounding the staff at every step of the meal. While completing reservations online, you must choose (and pay for) your regular or vegetarian menu ahead of time.

Well-known chef Daniel Vezina and his family have opened a taqueria in Quebec’s Old Port. Located on the Saint-André pier, next to the Bassin Louise swimming area, the Vezina family serves tacos, ceviche, and quesadillas created exclusively from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Expect halibut, nordic shrimp, Wagyu beef, and wild mushrooms. Opening hours vary according to the weather — and also according to the traffic. Open until September 5.

Set in a former general store founded in 1860 of the same name, Rioux & Pettigrew is rooted in the history of Quebec City’s antique district of rue Saint-Paul. Once inside, the brick walls, crackling wood floors, and vintage gramophone make diners feel like they’re travelling in time, but chef Dominique Jacques brings a conversely modern take to the food. Brunch is a must, especially with a side of homemade boudin.

Quebec City’s only vegan restaurant, Le Don, is stylish, decorated with local artist Berko’s street-style graphics and chic, velvety banquettes. You won't miss the meat with chef Anne-Marie Grenier’s seasonally inspired dishes, heartwarming soups, and finger-licking desserts.

Known for its celebration of Japanese cuisine, the yakitori experts behind Honō Izakaya (also worth checking out) have expanded their delicious footprint with this ambitious ramen-centric restaurant: Honō Ramen. This cozy, stylish, quite elegant noodle joint specializes in ramen made with great attention: vegan noodles, in-house broths made from scratch and locally sourced vegetables. Opt for the tori paitan, with an especially rich and comforting chicken broth.

Celebrated by Baie-St-Paul locals, pastry artist Catherine Mera opened her first Quebec City location this spring. Her modern pastry creations are some of the most eye-pleasing and mouth-watering in Quebec City. Come summer, her delightful sorbets and gelati showcase plums, sour cherries, and haskap berries grown by local producers in Charlevoix.

La Korrigane brews some of Canada’s best artisanal beers, focusing on a single source: handpicked ingredients from Quebec’s boreal forests. Owner Catherine Dionne-Foster and head brewer Jean-Sebastien Côté create accessible beer styles that are unfiltered, unpasteurized and contain no chemicals, preservatives, or artificial flavours. The same can be said about their pub grub. A lovely, semi-enclaved summer garden terrace stands out amidst greyish Saint-Roch.

At Wong, the broths are made from scratch, dumplings are hand-crafted, and the rice is always stir-fried in a wok. But what truly makes this historic dining establishment stand out from the crowd is chef and owner Steven Wong’s ability to showcase his Asian roots with flair in dishes featuring unexpected ingredients like mussels and burrata. Among the staples is a generously flavoured beef and tomato sautée.

Taking up residence in underground vaults dating back to 1686, Tanière³ offers an immersive experience that puts forward a finessed take on Quebec’s culinary landscape. Choose a seat at the counter to participate in an intimate experience where young and talented chef François-Emmanuel Nicol and his team present and explain the creative process, inspirations, and techniques used in every dish. It’s a menu that reflects the seasons while highlighting Quebec’s history. Check out sibling establishments L’Orygine and Légende for more of the group’s signature fresh, local root-to-fruit approach.

This Parisian-inspired bistro is a favourite among locals, contributing significantly to making its neighbourhood, Saint-Roch, a key gourmet destination. Celebrated for its simple yet refined market cuisine, the restaurant has recently undergone a complete transformation, with modern decor inspired by natural colours in the forest and chef Mathieu Brisson’s cuisine. A carefully selected wine list by Marc Lamarre reflects the eclecticism of its neighbourhood, taking celebrated grape varieties or bold indigenous yeasts and skillfully pairing them with the chef’s creations. 

Walk into Tora-Ya, and you’ll be greeted with a loud and smiling ‘’irasshaimase,“ along with the tantalizing smell of slow-simmering broths cooked from chef and owner Miyano Sakai’s family recipes. To drink, there’s an impressive list of privately imported sakes, including organic options. This ramen is popular; waiting times can be long, especially in Quebec City’s colder months. No reservations, but every menu option is available for takeout.

Ninety seconds is all it takes to cook a pie in Nina’s 900-degree Fahrenheit wood-fired ovens tamed by owners Penelope Lachapelle and Lucie Nadeau, the undisputed queens of wood-fired Neapolitan pies in Quebec City. Crafted from fine ingredients selected by chef Veronique Schinck in Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Alex Gallant in Saint-Roch, their pizzas are simple and satisfying. But to truly understand the gift of Nina, go beyond pizza and indulge in burrata and any of their cocktails. Their two locations are very kid-friendly.

Handyman Jonathan Marcoux and baker François Borderon have joined forces to create a sandwich revolution in Saint-Sauveur. The Franky Johnny counter assembles generous and comforting creations stuffed with seasonal ingredients lathered in sexy, sexy sauces. Go for the classic that keeps regulars returning for more: pork belly in focaccia, with lightly fermented veggies in a zesty homestyle mayo. Don’t hesitate to pair it with the house kombucha.

Beloved chef Stephane Modat opened his dream restaurant during the pandemic, and it’s Le Clan. Set in a historical building, on a side street, in the heart of touristic Old Quebec, Modat feeds his guests food driven by his incomparable passion for Quebec’s terroir. Inspired by the food raised and gathered by his friends — whom he calls ‘’le clan’’ — he cooks free of all and any conventions. Orchestrating the wine menu and pairings is Pier-Alexis Soulière, dubbed Canada’s best sommelier in 2020.

Dining at Chez Tao! involves daring cocktails with ludicrous presentations and Asian-inspired street food. One of the few places in Quebec City where you can enjoy a late night — expect a festive ambience, incredible mocktails, and delicious vegan options.

Beloved veggie-centric Le Renard et La Chouette has moved to a new location in St-Sauveur, in the Hôtel du Nord building. In the process, chefs and owners Thanya Goyette and Louis Bouchard-Trudeau have tripled their creative space, brightened their dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows, installed a pizza oven, and impressively built an urban cheese factory next to their kitchen. Every week, the Laiterie Urbaine transforms milk sourced from a producer in the Beauce region into curds, cream cheese, aged logs, etc. The famous Alsatian-inspired flammkuchen is now a star on the menu, with (almost) every ingredient made in-house.

Festive and fun, Tumi’s cuisine transports you to the heart of the culinary traditions of Lima, Peru. This new spot in Saint-Sauveur opened in the former premises of the Renard and La Chouette and features an inviting yet intimate terrasse overlooking the park. Mom cooks the family’s recipes while her son proudly serves the food. Do not miss the traditional pisco sour accompanied by the trio de causa, an emblematic Peruvian recipe.

Battuto stands out in Quebec City’s landscape for its minimalist, refined approach to Italian cuisine. Owners Guillaume Saint-Pierre, Paul Croteau, and Pascal Bussières are a young, dynamic and modest group of friends taking a neo-bistro approach to classic, French-inspired Italian dishes. Like any good nonna, the Battuto team makes their bread, pasta, and sauces from scratch every day. Reservations are mandatory and hard to get, but drop-ins are welcome for their summer patio.

Opened in 2019 in the former Le Moine Échanson, a precursor to the natural wine movement in la Belle Province, Bleu Marine excels in wine pairings. But here, you first choose what you want to drink and then the kitchen will create a meal to enhance every sip — an audacious concept from owners Yann Barrette-Bouchard and Claudine Déry, trained sommeliers.

Simple and affordable, Buvette Scott is an underground wine bar with a neo-bistro soul serving wine by the glass and spinning vinyl all night. Located at the bottom of rue Scott, the delicious and affordable fare is inspired by local ingredients and is led by seasonal produce, so no dish stays on chef-owner Jean-Philippe Lessard’s menu for more than a week. Buvette Scott’s minuscule little brother, Sardines, is also worth checking out for its farmhouse cheese, canned sardines, and an atmosphere that embodies the easy-going Portuguese way of life.

Portuguese chicken cooked on the charcoal grill by chef and owner Stoyan Napoleonov. This Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood favourite offers one of the best time-quality-price ratios in Quebec City. A few tips: Order your chicken with the homemade piri-piri sauce on the side; that way, the skin gets extra crispy, and do both the Bulgarian-inspired coleslaw and the fries.

Small spaces often make for memorable experiences — Verre Pickl’ is a case in point. Sandwiches by day, French-Mexican bistro by night, this Maguire favourite brings a real savoir-faire to the table. Through a fixed menu, chef duo Alexandra Romero and Jerôme Gilpin offer a refined and elaborate experience that showcases Quebec products and Romero’s Mexican heritage. Their sandwiches benefit from the same attention to detail. The wine menu changes constantly, and reservations are mandatory.