The 25 Best Restaurants in Québec City

Like many recent success stories in the culinary world, Alentours is a sustainable, zero‑waste restaurant that serves exclusively local fare. All of its food waste is composted and all of the ingredients come from within a 150 km radius of the restaurant in Saint‑Sauveur, with the exception of salt and yeast. Chef Moroney, who trained at some of the world’s most celebrated restaurants—including Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Relæ—offers guests a blind tasting menu where everything is made from scratch using ingredients from the restaurant’s 70+ artisanal suppliers. Little wonder it serves some of the best food in Québec City. 

This little gem in Limoilou is beloved by omnivores and vegetarians alike. Known for sidelining the usual restaurant conventions, it garnered a nod for Best New Restaurant in Canada in 2019 from Air Canada’s EnRoute magazine. Arvi, which means “see you later” in Savoyard, offers an authentic, personal experience. The open‑plan kitchen breaks down barriers, inviting you to admire the work of the staff as they prepare, plate, and serve each dish. The thoughtful presentations and inventive flavour combinations have earned Arvi a well‑deserved reputation as one of the best places to eat in Québec City. Which is why to get a table, you’ll need to book when reservations open for the month and pay in advance. 

With its refined and minimalist take on contemporary Italian cuisine, Battuto is something of an anomaly in Québec City’s culinary landscape. The team, made of up chef Guillaume Saint‑Pierre, baker and pastry chef Paul Croteau, and sommelier Pascal Bussière, serves up classic Italian dishes with a new‑bistro twist and a loving dose of French inspiration. And like all good nonnas, the food fairies at Battuto make their own bread, pasta, and sauces daily. That and the attentive, impeccable service explain why Battuto was named Best New Restaurant in Canada in 2018 by Air Canada’s EnRoute Magazine. As one of the top restaurants in Québec City, it rarely has an empty table, so book as far ahead as you can. Reservations are hard to come by, but they’re definitely worth the wait!  

The culinary experience at Bistro hortus is one of sustainably sourced ingredients, all traceable from farm to plate. When in season, many even come from the garden and bee hives on the roof of the building. Every dish prepared by French chef Stéphane Roth is made using seasonal ingredients prepared on site, almost 90% of which are organic. For fresh local fare, this is definitely one of the best restaurants in Old Québec City. Favourites include the local fish dishes and the veggie‑chip nachos. 

Buvette Scott has the soul of an eccentric wine bar and a hipster charm that’s never out of place. After just a few minutes tucked into a corner or at the bar, you’ll feel right at home. It’s the perfect backdrop for the cooking of Chef Jean‑Philippe Lessard, which features a few very local, seasonal ingredients and a menu that’s always changing. Add to that the carefully curated wine list with numerous Québec specialties, the impeccable service, and the affordable prices, and you have one of the best local restaurants in Québec City. 

This French‑style bistro is an ode to Québec’s boreal forest, a place where chef Arnaud Marchand and his kitchen brigade turn out voluptuous sauces that seduce and surprise. Star ingredients of Chez Boulay – Bistro boréal include sea lion, beef gravlax, tuna from the Gaspé Peninsula, hazelnuts from Cap‑Tourmente, and cherries from Île d’Orléans. If you’re looking to eat at one of the best restaurants in Old Québec, this is it. 

The food at Chez Muffy is steeped in the local terroir and served in a historic location. Attached to Auberge Saint‑Antoine in Québec City’s Old Port, you’ll find the restaurant in a marine warehouse built in 1822. Inside, the colourful furniture and accessories are set off by rustic wood beams, offering a playful contrast that awakens the senses. In the kitchen, the artistry of French chef Arthur Muller plays off the bold flair of chef Alex Bouchard. Together, their cooking expresses Québec’s culinary soul in meals at once comforting and sophisticated, in what is hands‑down one of the best Québec City restaurants in the old city. 

To dine at the table of Chef Gabriel Molleur-Langevin is to discover the many facets of Québec’s culinary craftsmanship, all in a profoundly historical setting. With a menu featuring seafood from the St. Lawrence River and Gulf, meat and game from local farms, and fresh herbs grown on the roof of Château Frontenac, every dish at Champlain is a study in subtlety, refinement, and elegance. Chef Molleur-Langevin’s tasting menu is undoubtedly the best way to appreciate the Champlain’s excellence.

Rioux & Pettigrew is at one with its surroundings among the antique shops on Rue Saint‑Paul. Located in a former general store of the same name established in 1860, it features beautiful brick walls and creaking old wood floors, along with thoughtful touches like a beautiful old gramophone that make you feel like you’re in another century. Chef Dominique Jacques’s cuisine is everything that’s current and delicious—a must. The restaurant also does a very good brunch, and the housemade boudin is legendary. 

With a modern interior inspired by the building’s architectural heritage, Clocher Penché is like a fine Parisian brasserie tucked away in Saint‑Roch. Chef Mathieu Brisson serves up fresh market fare in seemingly simple dishes with fabulous depth. These are paired with head sommelier Marc Lamarre’s unique, exciting picks: rare, hard‑to‑come‑by wines that are always at the top of everyone’s list. Be sure to try their housemade faisselle, an unripened cheese that makes a perfect starter or dessert. 

If you’re in the mood for an international bistro experience, pick up a gourmet meal at this high‑end food court in Sainte-Foy’s QG complex. The exotic offerings will take you around the world, from Guadelope to Southeast Asia to Portugal, Italy, and Japan. You can also try creations by some of Québec’s top chefs, including Helena Loureiro and Laurent Godbout.  

If a Japanese brasserie and a cocktail bar had a lovechild in one of the Lower Town’s hippest hoods, that child would be Hono Izakaya. The restaurant’s light, airy interior makes gorgeous use of unfinished surfaces, wood, metal, and leather, for a new take on a tavern‑style restaurant. The menu pays tribute to the land of the rising sun, with flavours and textures that will whisk you away. Every charcoal‑grilled yakitori is an ode to Japan that simply must be shared among friends. Umami, anyone? 

Located right next door to sister restaurant Honō Izakaya, Honō Ramen is an ode to Japan’s most popular dish: ramen! Everything here is homemade—the noodles, broths, oils, and sauces—and sourced mainly from local farms. I love their premixed cocktails by mixologist Julien Vézina, one of the most talented in the province.  

Kebec Club Privé is inspired by the underground dining scenes of Chicago and New York. Chef owners Pier‑Olivier Pelletier and Cassandre Osterroth welcome guests to their chic commercial loft in Saint‑Roch, where they cook and serve sophisticated 10‑course meals on one big, long table. The delicious, inventive dishes shine a spotlight on local ingredients and draw their inspiration from Québec’s culinary roots. An innovative experience and some of the best food in Québec City. 
 
 

The Laurie Raphaël is one of Québec’s true culinary pioneers. Deftly led by the Gagnon-Vézina family, this fine‑dining institution has been one of the top restaurants in Québec City for 30 years. In the kitchen, chef Raphaël Vézina follows in the footsteps of his father, famous chef and author Daniel Vézina, as he bring out the best of the local terroir. The place to go when you’re in the mood for a refined, elegant meal. 

Chef Stéphane Modat uses bold methods and a refined sensibility to deliver a culinary coup d’éclat. The acclaimed, award‑winning chef’s new restaurant in Old Québec serves up edible works of art in an eclectic restaurant that soars above the usual fine‑dining conventions. The menu at Le Clan digs deep and travels far to serve you Québec’s tastiest morsels, from bread baked with Côte‑Nord seawater to Stimpson surf clams. A rising star among the best restaurants in Old Québec City. 

Légende is a gastronomic bistro by La Tanière—the restaurant group behind Tanière³ and Orygine—with the intriguing Elliot Beaudoin as its chef. The young kitchen virtuoso lets his love of the unusual lead him to new flavours found only in Québec, including herbs, roots, and leaves hand‑picked in the boreal forest. All of the ingredients are locally sourced, for a menu full of culinary adventure. 

Talented chef Sabrina Lemay brings all the colours of Québec’s biodiversity to the table, from land and from sea. She cooks with sustainable ingredients sourced largely from small local producers in a style that makes it easy to eat vegetarian, vegan, or gluten‑free and still win on beauty and taste. L’Orygine’s interior is filled with light and doused in shades of turquoise and warm sand. When the weather’s warm, the restaurant is also home to one of the city’s prettiest patios. 

This culinary hybrid combines cooking and local ingredients in a venue that’s as natural as chef owner Maude Desroches herself. The small space in Limoilou’s Maizerets neighbourhood carries fresh ingredients from local producers as well as prepared meals, and has a dining area where you can grab a simple, tasty bite for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Maude’s is a popular brunch spot and also a favourite for drinks after work thanks to the fine selection of Québec beer and private‑import wine. 

Cooked in a wood‑ or gas‑fired oven, Nina’s pizzas are steeped in a 4,000‑year‑old tradition: the art of the pizzaiolo. These masterful pies are made just as they should be, i.e., baked for 90 seconds and topped with ingredients hand‑picked by chef Véronique Schinck at the Saint‑Jean‑Baptiste location and by chef Alex Gallant at the Saint‑Roch location. For the full experience, get the burrata as an appetizer, order extra pancetta on your pizza, pair it with a glass of natural wine, and toast la bella vita at what is by far one of the best restaurants in Québec City for pizza.

This Lyon‑style bouchon with deep local roots should be on everyone’s list of where to eat in Québec City, with meals as copious as they are delicious. Power culinary couple Thanya Goyette and Louis Bouchard-Trudeau take a whole‑hog approach to cooking, turning out fantastic housemade charcuterie, terrines, rillettes, and pâtés, not to mention a boudin that was named one of the best in the world by Normandy’s famous brotherhood of boudin tasters, the Chevaliers du Goûte-Boudin de Mortagne-au-Perche. The prepared meals are also a must, as is the brunch. 

The chef owner of Poulet Portugais, Stoyan Napoleonov, is a Bulgarian who’s been in Québec for over 20 years. He also spent many years in Portugal with his wife Yuri, where they became fascinated by the local culinary culture. The couple sources their chickens from local farms and patiently roasts them over a wood charcoal fire, serving up birds that are everything a roast chicken should be: juicy and tender, with a crispy skin and just the right seasoning. This is one of the Québec City restaurants that delivers the best bang for your buck, and lets you bring your own wine to boot. Be sure to try the pico de gallo, a mouth‑watering salad served in an edible bowl. 

This deceptively modest offshoot of Buvette Scott has mastered the art of the apéro: that fabulous tradition of ending the day with a drink and a bite. Stop in for a Belgian beer with a side of Portuguese sardines, Montréal charcuterie, Québec cheese, and freshly baked crusty bread, and stay for awhile to sample chef Étienne McKinnon’s simple, delicious mains. Sardines is awash in Portugese easy living, with elegant, art-deco‑style wood furniture made by restaurant‑owner and woodworker Michel Rousseau.

Located in underground vaults that date back to 1686, Tanière³ treats you to an immersive culinary experience orchestrated by the young and highly talented chef François‑Emmanuel Nicol. Truly one of the top restaurants in Québec City, this culinary tour de force of contemporary Québec cuisine features sustainable ingredients and seasonal fare. Want to take your meal to the next level? Have a seat at the bar and order the tasting menu, served and presented by Nicol himself. 

Chef Alexandra Romero has turned a hole in the wall into one of the best places to eat in Québec City. Bringing her Mexican heritage to bear on local fare provides a welcome, colourful spin for this popular food movement. Verre Pickl’ is a place for surprising encounters both at and between tables, thanks to the cozy proximity of the guests. The wine menu is regularly updated and features a nice selection of natural wines. Reservations required.