Cafeography
Terrasses · Montreal

Café terrasses in Montreal

Sidewalk tables on Saint-Denis and Saint-Viateur, market-square terrasses at Jean-Talon, April to November.

Photo: @coldbeer, Pexels License

A terrasse (outdoor seating, usually on the sidewalk) takes paperwork in Montreal. Any commercial terrace needs a permit authorizing café-terrasse use, and one on the sidewalk or the street also needs a seasonal permit to occupy public property; bars, restaurants, cafés, grocery stores and ice cream shops can all apply.1 Standards vary across the city’s 19 boroughs, so a rule on one street may not hold a few blocks away.1

Weather sets the outer limits. At the airport station the mean daily high is 11.3 °C in April, 19.4 °C in May and 26.7 °C in July, falling to 13.2 °C in October and 6.1 °C in November.3 Le Plateau-Mont-Royal has the most café terrasses, ahead of Mile End and Petite-Italie & La Petite-Patrie; between them those three neighborhoods hold more than half.

Local tip: Seasonal terrasses on the Plateau, in Ville-Marie and in Rosemont come down by November 15; in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, look for three-table pop-up terraces, which are allowed all year.2

Where these cafés are: Plateau-Mont-Royal (17), Mile End (13), Petite-Italie & La Petite-Patrie (11), Rosemont (7), Centre-ville (5), Griffintown & Petite-Bourgogne (3), Villeray & Parc-Extension (3), Hochelaga (2), Quartier Latin & Le Village (2), Côte-des-Neiges (1), Outremont (1), Saint-Henri (1).

At a glance

66Cafés listed
49With opening hours
05:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Les P'tits Enfants de Felice, from 05:00 (Daily 05:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Café la Ligne Verte, until 00:00 (Mon 09:00–23:00 · Tue–Wed 09:00–23:30 · Thu–Sat 09:00–00:00 · Sun 09:00–17:00).
  • Most listed streets: Rue Saint-Denis (8), Rue Beaubien Est (5), Rue Saint-Viateur Ouest (4).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (41%), indoor seating (26%), card payment (23%).
Petite-Italie & La Petite-Patrie

Café des Habitudes

  • 1104 Rue Saint-Zotique
  • Mon 08:00–21:00 · Tue–Wed 08:00–18:00 · Thu–Fri 08:00–19:00 · Sat 09:00–18:00 · Sun 09:00–21:00
  • +1-438-936-0959
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When terrasse season opens

On the Plateau, terraces on public property may be set up between April 15 and November 15.2 On busier commercial strips they can operate 07:00–23:00 from Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday; on quieter streets and residential extensions the limit is 07:00–22:00 every day.2

Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, the borough that takes in Little Italy and the Jean-Talon Market, uses the same April 15 to November 15 season, with hours of 07:00–23:00 from Sunday to Wednesday and until midnight from Thursday to Saturday.2 The downtown borough of Ville-Marie also allows terraces from April 15 to November 15.2

Three-table terrasses and pop-ups

Not every terrasse is a full sidewalk café. The Plateau allows a smaller version with no more than three tables and 12 chairs, where food is allowed but alcohol is not, and a shared terrace where alcohol comes only with a meal.2

Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie permits temporary pop-up terraces all year, limited to three tables and six movable chairs and open 07:00–23:00. The furniture has to be taken in every night, during snow removal and whenever abrasives are spread on the sidewalk.2

Rue Saint-Denis and the Plateau

Rue Saint-Denis has the Plateau’s longest run of café terraces. Café Le Club at 3801, La Chouette at 3864, Brûlerie St. Denis at 3967 and Péché at 3998 sit within a few blocks of each other; further north come Bulla Café at 4141, Lady Porcelaine at 4545, Café Montiran at 4597 and Myriade at 4627.

Avenue Duluth Est adds Chez José at 173 and La Maison Oflore at 511, which opens daily 08:00–19:00. Dispatch, at 4021 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, has outdoor seating and stays open until 17:00 every day, and Le Kiosque K serves from 08:00 to 18:00 on Square Saint-Louis.

Mile End, Beaubien and the Jean-Talon Market

In Mile End the terraces line two short streets. Rue Saint-Viateur Ouest has Goza at 80, Café Olimpico at 124, Café Club Social at 180 and Kouzina Niata at 221, and Rue Bernard Ouest has Localocal at 200 and Le Dépanneur Café at 206. Olimpico’s Saint-Viateur café opens daily from 06:00 to midnight.5

Further north, Place du Marché-du-Nord runs around the Jean-Talon Market, inaugurated in May 1933 as the Marché du Nord, renamed in 1983, and open year-round, Monday to Saturday 08:00–18:00 and Sunday until 17:00.4 Le Café du Marché at 236 has outdoor tables on the square. Rue Beaubien Est has its own string: Pista at 500, Café Coyote at 751, Café Chiado no 28 at 1404 and Café L’Etincelle at 1991.

Sources

  1. Commercial terraces, Ville de Montréal, accessed October 2026
  2. Build a commercial terrace on public property, Ville de Montréal, accessed October 2026
  3. Climate of Montreal, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Jean-Talon Market, Marchés publics de Montréal, accessed October 2026
  5. Locations, Café Olimpico, accessed October 2026
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By area: Centre-ville Quartier Latin & Le Village Griffintown & Petite-Bourgogne Saint-Henri Plateau-Mont-Royal Mile End Petite-Italie & La Petite-Patrie

FAQ

Terrasses in Montreal: questions

When is café terrasse season in Montreal?

In Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Ville-Marie and Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, seasonal terraces on public property run from April 15 to November 15. Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie also allows small pop-up terraces all year, with up to three tables and six chairs that must be taken in each night.

What time do café terrasses close on the Plateau in Montreal?

On busier commercial streets in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, terraces may operate from 07:00 to 23:00 Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. On quieter streets and residential extensions the limit is 07:00 to 22:00 every day.

Which Montreal streets have the most café terrasses?

Rue Saint-Denis on the Plateau has the longest run, from Café Le Club at 3801 to Myriade at 4627. In Mile End, Rue Saint-Viateur Ouest and Rue Bernard Ouest have terraces, and Place du Marché-du-Nord runs around the Jean-Talon Market, open year-round since 1933.

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