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The Big Montreal Samosa Map

Your guide on this city's best Indian pastry pockets

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Oh, samosas. So cheap, so delicious. So, portable, so reliable. So ubiquitous in Montreal, for some reason.

Walking down Sainte Catherine Street, you’re there in heated cubes by depanneur doors, glowing like golden beacons in the long winter night. High school memories carry your scents, as clubs hawked you as some kind of Civic Organizing for Dummies®, raising funds for "humanitarian" trips to South America. The lofty halls of Montreal’s universities ring with your name as associations sell you as lures for student-politicking.

Brokers and construction workers grab you on breaks. Your crumbs line the carpets of countless commuting cars. You are the great culinary equalizer of this city. You have saturated the market. You are the iPhone of triangular pastries. The Corolla of potato-filled pockets. The corner dep of deep-fried food.

Maybe it’s because you’re so handy. Maybe it’s because you’re so reasonably priced, in a city with six universities, twelve colleges, and tens of thousands of indebted students attending each of them. Can we ever know, or does it even matter? You’re here, and we’re happy.

We Montrealers may disagree on where to find the best version of you, the most authentic version of you, the most spicy or crunchy or equilateral version of you. But we only fight because we love you.

Anyway, here are some of the most reliable places where you can be found and eaten. Here are some places to fight about you.

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Maison de Samosa Express

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“Variety is the spice of life” is something people say. “Variety is the adjective for Maison Samosa Express” is something people should say. Between veggie, chicken, beef, lamb, and spinach-cheese samosas, this pared-down restaurant near Vanier College is a place to try the different tastes that samosas have when one puts different stuff inside them. If ever you get sick of the classic potato innards, that is.
Carl Bindman
Whether or not you know of the unassuming restaurant near Namur metro, you’ve probably had a Pushap samosa. It’s the central hub of samosa distribution wheel reaching to bake sales, fundraisers, and campuses all across the city. These are as close to being The Montreal Samosa as any samosa can be, and with damn good reason.
Carl Bindman

Maison India

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As one of a trifecta of classic Indian restaurants along Sherbrooke St. in N.D.G., Maison India has the traditionals done traditionally, and the samosas are no exception. They’re no exception in the most pleasant sense, that is: this is the standard samosa, assuming the standard is high.

Palais d'Ajit

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The samosas at Palais D’Ajit come sprinkled with a spicy, salty, masala, like fresh snow on Christmas morning. Fittingly, these samosas are a gift: with crispy, spiced crust and a light, almost-fluffy filling, D’Ajit’s double-samosa dish is delightful.
Carl Bindman

Thali Cuisine Indienne

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The samosas take after the restaurant at Thali—they’re small and they’re loud. Packed with flavour and carrying a fair bit of kick with the accompanying chutney, the samosas come in two varieties: Lamb and veggie. One isn’t enough to satisfy, but it’s fine, since you’ll want to try the rest of the menu anyway.
Carl Bindman

Restaurant Biryani

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In this sub-Concordian spot, the samosas are big, chunky, and wholesome. For a dollar each, with a selection of spicy or sweet sauces, two of these veggie-filled monsters is more than enough for a meal on the go. Wallets and stomachs will leave heavy and happy.
Carl Bindman
For the upscale samosa lover, the samosas at Le Taj are a more luxurious option than the other more fast-food street-style samosas on this list. Delicate crust, gentle spicing, arranged sauces and toppings — it’s fancy. It’s a fancy samosa. Who would’ve thought?

Namaste

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This cash-only McGill Ghetto hideaway is bright and intimate. Really intimate, as in there are only three tables. The samosas are on the doughier side, with a welcoming spice, and kind of cozy—if a triangular pastry can be called cozy.
Carl Bindman

Bombay Mahal Express

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The house samosas at this St. Laurent joint are unique: flat and crunchy on the outside, kind of chewy on the inside, they toe the line between empanada and samosa — although they’re firmly on the spicy samosa side, including sauce. Filled with classic potatoes or a spinach-paneer mix, try both and see how it goes.
Carl Bindman

La Maison Samosa

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With one table and an accompanying chair, La Maison Samosa is not the place to seek an luxuriant dining experience. But for an in-and-out pastry craving, the fully-stuffed samosas on offer are perfect for munching on the way to wherever from this tiny Mont-Royal boutique.
Carl Bindman

Maison de Samosa Express

“Variety is the spice of life” is something people say. “Variety is the adjective for Maison Samosa Express” is something people should say. Between veggie, chicken, beef, lamb, and spinach-cheese samosas, this pared-down restaurant near Vanier College is a place to try the different tastes that samosas have when one puts different stuff inside them. If ever you get sick of the classic potato innards, that is.
Carl Bindman

Pushap

Whether or not you know of the unassuming restaurant near Namur metro, you’ve probably had a Pushap samosa. It’s the central hub of samosa distribution wheel reaching to bake sales, fundraisers, and campuses all across the city. These are as close to being The Montreal Samosa as any samosa can be, and with damn good reason.
Carl Bindman

Maison India

As one of a trifecta of classic Indian restaurants along Sherbrooke St. in N.D.G., Maison India has the traditionals done traditionally, and the samosas are no exception. They’re no exception in the most pleasant sense, that is: this is the standard samosa, assuming the standard is high.

Palais d'Ajit

The samosas at Palais D’Ajit come sprinkled with a spicy, salty, masala, like fresh snow on Christmas morning. Fittingly, these samosas are a gift: with crispy, spiced crust and a light, almost-fluffy filling, D’Ajit’s double-samosa dish is delightful.
Carl Bindman

Thali Cuisine Indienne

The samosas take after the restaurant at Thali—they’re small and they’re loud. Packed with flavour and carrying a fair bit of kick with the accompanying chutney, the samosas come in two varieties: Lamb and veggie. One isn’t enough to satisfy, but it’s fine, since you’ll want to try the rest of the menu anyway.
Carl Bindman

Restaurant Biryani

In this sub-Concordian spot, the samosas are big, chunky, and wholesome. For a dollar each, with a selection of spicy or sweet sauces, two of these veggie-filled monsters is more than enough for a meal on the go. Wallets and stomachs will leave heavy and happy.
Carl Bindman

Le Taj

For the upscale samosa lover, the samosas at Le Taj are a more luxurious option than the other more fast-food street-style samosas on this list. Delicate crust, gentle spicing, arranged sauces and toppings — it’s fancy. It’s a fancy samosa. Who would’ve thought?

Namaste

This cash-only McGill Ghetto hideaway is bright and intimate. Really intimate, as in there are only three tables. The samosas are on the doughier side, with a welcoming spice, and kind of cozy—if a triangular pastry can be called cozy.
Carl Bindman

Bombay Mahal Express

The house samosas at this St. Laurent joint are unique: flat and crunchy on the outside, kind of chewy on the inside, they toe the line between empanada and samosa — although they’re firmly on the spicy samosa side, including sauce. Filled with classic potatoes or a spinach-paneer mix, try both and see how it goes.
Carl Bindman

La Maison Samosa

With one table and an accompanying chair, La Maison Samosa is not the place to seek an luxuriant dining experience. But for an in-and-out pastry craving, the fully-stuffed samosas on offer are perfect for munching on the way to wherever from this tiny Mont-Royal boutique.
Carl Bindman