Schwartz's Deli - Sandwiches - Steaks

I once bet a friend from Mexico who was a devout fan of New York delis that if he did not think this was the World's best smoked meat (don't call it Pastrami) I would pay for his whole trip to Montreal. I won the bet and this is an absolute must if you are ever in Montreal

The quality of the food was disappointing, lacking in flavor. The restaurant itself was extremely cramped and overcrowded. I'm perplexed as to why this type of cuisine is popular.

Over rated.had the original smoked meat sandwich to go (it was small for the price - bread size was about 3.5" x 4") and a can of Cotts soda was over $19.

Smoked meat was awesome, not dry but melts in your mouth - def worth the hype! I also ordered the poutine and cherry pop soda)

Rien de bien fameux. Plutôt déçu du sandwich, je m'attendais à quelque chose de différent. Il s'agit de deux tranches de pain de mie qui entoure la viande. Personnellement, la vitrine ne me donnait pas non plus forcément envie.
Bref, pas obligatoire de manger ce plat pour ma part.

J'ai aimé l'ambiance. Un lieu iconique. Je m'attendais à autre chose au niveau du sandwich. C'était bon mais sans plus pour moi. Il faut dire que je ne suis pas fan de viande. Première fois que je mangeais du smocked meat. Je ne m'attendais pas à ce goût. Le personnel était sympathique, moins pour la dame à la caisse en revanche. Nous y sommes allés un dimanche soir de janvier vers 18h. Il y avait du monde à l'extérieur en train de faire la queue. Nous y sommes allés vers 19h-20h et nous n'avons pas attendus.

Never fails. Some would call it overrated but they don't know what they're talking about:) a true classic and the real proper pickles!

What can one say about an iconic location like Schwartz’s. It looks as it’s done for decades, smells like it’s done for decades, and I wouldn’t change a thing!

We walked from our hotel is in 35 minutes then proceeded to wait in a rather sizeable line for another 30 minutes. It was worth every minute. My wife and I shared a smoked meat sandwich on rye with mustard a plate of coleslaw, fries, and a pickle because you have to have “the pickle”! The menu is simple. It doesn’t contain different types of sandwiches or soups or anything else in other delis. It’s brisket, smoked meat, steak and variants on those items. The coffee was also excellent. The service was stupendous with positive energy and original uniforms for those wandering the restaurant, new T-shirts for the team behind the counter where we sat quite happily.

If you go to Montreal and like meet then Schwartz‘s is a “must go to” restaurant!

Tastes good but you have to queue for 1 to 1.5 hours. Better use the left entrance for take away and eat standing in the back in 15 minutes.

I went because it was recommended to me as the best place to eat smoked meat. It's not bad, but I didn't find it exquisite.

Très déçue! Très petite salle à manger faite sur le long. Le sandwich smoked meat n'était pas vraiment à mon goût, peut-être était ce à cause que j'ai pris la viande sans gras.le service était bien par contre, le jeune homme était très gentil. Mon souper m'a coûté 27$ avec pourboire pour un sandwich smoked meat, un frite ainsi qu'un sprite en cannette, j'ai trouvé ça très cher.

Sandwich was good, not great. Pretty basic sandwich, consisting of bread, a bit of mustard and smoked meat. Expensive for what you get. I've definitely had better for cheaper. Bit of a tourist trap.

I have been coming here since I was a kid with my parents. But its just not the same anymore. The restaurant is filthy and I found it smelled. The soft drinks were warm and no ice. And the sandwich itself was just OK. Sad to say Smoke meat Petes is far better these days. I won't be coming back here for a while.

We've been before but this time was even better. We didn't have to wait in a line and the service was quick and easy! The food is delicious, I really don't need to comment on it.

We were so lucky on the Tuesday night, there was NO LINE by the door. Good food. A must come place of you visit Montreal.

Worth the line up.
We waited about 20mins before we got seated. Seems like table of 2 turn over way faster. There was 3 groups of 4 in front of us and we got seated before them. It was prime lunch time.
Menu is small, staff were really casual and friendly. Got asked if I wanted lean or medium smoked meat. I went with medium and it definitely wasn't overly fatty, could of had a little more fat in my opinion.
I'd go back again.

Tourist trap. One of these places Montrealers brag so they can have an identity. Tables are old and not clean, very cramped, noisy. The smoked meat is average, you get better at some properly managed La Belle Province. Long lines of fouled tourists. There's also nothing attractive about the place itself, really not. The smoked meat they also sell packaged in groceries is horrible, all gummy. Avoid

Went to Schwartz’s deli after being told about it countless times by friends, coworkers etc. So on my first trip to montreal wales to schwartz which is easily identifiable by the line of people outaide waiting to get it. Fortunately i was alone and they had an opening at the counter. As soon as you enter, the smell of the delicious smoked meat hit you and its like being in heavens kitchen if thats a thing. I ordered the smoked meat sandwich with a pickle, a poutine and the black cherry soda that was recommended.
The sight of the sandwich was overwhelming and it was delicious as wel along with the pickle. As for the poutine, i dont think i can eat one ever again in Ontario. It was something else. Cant wait to go back to montreal just so i can try Schwartz again

One of my favourite places for smoked meat but you have to be a meat lover to enjoy this! Very well known in montreal!

The meat is fatty, but not juicy enough. Not enough mustard on the sandwich. The fries in the poutine are some of the worst I’ve ever had. Clearly this place is a tourist trap and I’m never eating here again.

Excellent smoked meat sandwich.great service. Love this place.there's not a line up for nothing. Worth the wait.

The meat and sandwich more than live up to the hype. Got take-out, service was super quick and you can tell the people working there have been doing it for years, perfecting their craft. Will definitely come agaib

If you are ever in Montreal, this place is a must go and see, one of the most delicious old restaurants you will experience but be aware of long waiting lines sometime they get very long just to get in, I liked how they kept everything from the past as if you enter a different time era, check their wall of fame.
Also you can buy their spices to try at home.

Stopped into Schwartz to pick up some smoked meat to bring back to NB for some friends. The meat was cut so thin you could almost see through it, such a disappointment.

Can’t visit Montreal without visiting the iconic Schwartz’s Deli. We got there right at noon and there was a decent lineup already building. We waited about 15 minutes and we were transported back in time.

Not by the smoked meat.well almost but the decor looks like it hadn’t changed since they opened. We started off with their poutine which was AMAZING! Just the right balance of richness and saltiness from the gravy with the gooey cheese curds. Of course, the fries were pipin’ hot, crispy and potatoey.

Then the main course, their smoked meat sandwich. A massive portion of their smoked meat which was perfectly sliced with a healthy slab of mustard on top of a smallish slice of bread. I’m good with that because the ratio felt like 3: 1 meat. It was beautifully smoked and I would have liked a touch more salt. I just added more mustard instead. Their recommendation is to enjoy it with Cott Black Cherry soda. Surprisingly, the sweet and tartness pairs very well!

If you visit Montreal, you need to come here. Definitely worth the wait!

Came here with a group of 5 in August and everyone loved it! J'ai mangé une viande fumée avec un cornichon (a smoked meat sandwich with a pickle). It was delicious! The meat was tender and juicy. Definitely only get the smoked meat sandwich if you have to choose one since they make it fresh everyday!

Had a great roast beef sandwich here, however the “whole chicken” entree was a bit dry and with all being the details just shared it was feeling a bit overpriced; however i would still go back, the meat was absolutely amazing!

After all the hype about Schwartz's deli, I was disappointed. The sandwich is small and really oily. I made a point of detouring to buy a sandwich after hearing so much about this place.

Lieu à découvrir. De passage durant un séjour à Montréal. J'y retournerai lors d'un nouveau voyage.

Not much to say about this restaurant that hasnt already been said. Probably come here more often than id like to admit. The sandwhiches are amazing and so is the house mustard which I buy for my apartment. Getting lunch here never gets old. Worth the line

Amazing Food. Staff need to get more better at customer Service losing it respect for Customers⁰

Very disappointed with the quality of meat
Cut was too thick, hard and chewy peaces
Fries were too oily, not worth the visit, became too commercial

For almost a year my regular friday night meal was a smoked meat sandwhich from here. God are they good.

Delicious smoked meat sandwich that had just the right amount of flavour and leaves you wanting more. I opted for takeout as I did not fancy waiting an hour in line. It tasted just as good at the airbnb.

En 2018.bientôt 2019 pas d'interac encore à la caisse, il faudrait arriver avec l'argent comptant (cash) ou retirer de l'argent dans un guichet express à l'interieur moyennant des frais de 2.00$. Caissière insolente, Sinon le reste est ok

I mean the sandwiches were nice but really overpriced for the size we got. I preferred Firehouse Subs. Just as tasty.if not more.and much bigger portions for the money.

Schwartz's is a smoked meat deli in Montreal. They are famous for their hot smoked meat sandwich and smoked meat by the pound, which has been compared to pastrami in NY.

There were two lines for Schwartz's. One for take out and one for sit in to dine. We opted for the take out, since that line was much shorter (and involved an indoor wait).

We ordered 1.5 pounds of the smoked meat and one smoked meat sandwich. The hot smoked meat sandwich was good. The pastrami was crumbly, slightly juicy, somewhat fatty, had some mustard and in between two slices of white bread. The pastrami was definitely drier than Katz or Pastrami Queen in NY. The sandwich is also smaller.

The box of smoked meat was not so great. There were slices of smoked meat congealed in the box. It tasted like smoked corned beef, it was sinewy and chewy and not melt in your mouth.

I brought my family from out of town to try this famous place. The waiter was really nice. The place looked so dirty and two of us got sooo sick after eating there. Disgusting. We paid 20$ per person for a sandwich, a pickle and a poutine we shared (that was also Gross). We could not order the meat plate to share amongst many people because they charged extra "to share"! Why do they have a plate to share and then charge extra? Honestly worst experience. I don't know how that place is still running. The only star they get is for the waiter.

Went twice in two days it was so good. The brisket was smoked beautifully and any fat just melted in your mouth. Went to Montreal on New Year's Eve and Day and was bummed that most restaurants were closed for the Holiday but Schwartz came through. Take out line moves quickly if you don't feel like waiting outside.

Great place for smoked meat. We waited about 15 minutes at lunch for a table and it was worth every second. Great food, simple presentation and friendly service. It’s an institution for a reason.

Un lieux culte à Montréal que le monde visite pour prendre des photos plus que pour manger.
Service pas vraiment à la hauteur mais ça reste extrêmement bon.

Waiters treated customers differently. I heard the waiter asked the table behind us 3 times”hows everything” and nothing for us. Also, they accept cash only.

Good. If passing through a must stop to get the local smoked meat - like pastrami or corned beef. There is a long line so go to the takeout they even have seats there.

Arrived the shop at around 8: 30 pm, there was a short queue. The staff explained clearly to me that he had to pack the begals in a paper bag due to they were freshly baked and hot. He worked efficiently.
I chose the one with white sesames, they smell so good, at low price. When you eat them, the taste was wonderful. The texture was so good that if you compared with those bought from other bakery, most of them were hard that you have difficulty to bite into it!

We had smoked meat sandwich, french fries and coleslaw. Smoked meat was DELICIOUS- soft, juicy and just the right proportion of spices used. Service was quick but the place is little cramped.
Overall great food and good service.

An all-time Montreal classic! Last time I got a full-fat sandwich and it was delicious. Always get a pickle with your sandwich! Their fries are just okay, but they really do tie the experience together in a nice way. I'll try their coleslaw next time.

We came all the way from Toronto & decided to try this place. I shared the smoked meat sandwich and the smoked meat poutine with my fiancé. It was pretty damn good! I even bought a frozen pack back to Toronto

Au début petite appréhension sur le temps d'attente au vue de la file dehors.et finalement vu qu'on était deux nous sommes passés rapidement. Accueil très chaleureux. Service rapide et repas très bon. Je recommande ce lieu.

Meat was a bit dry overall. We went during late afternoon and didn't have to queue. Would have been better to eat at the takeaway next door. Portions of coleslaw or pepper given was way too small in the sit -down restaurant. Takeaway portions are better.

Waiters were slow and treated customers differently

This shop pays a tough tribute to its success. Huuuuge Line-ups at anytime of the day, whatever the weather. The service is average and sometimes not nice. The sanwiches are good, although quite expensive considering the size. It definitely will not be enough as a full meal. It is a must-see if coming to Montreal, but not a place to come back on a regular basis