Montréal en Lumière 2026 explores the city's culinary history

Montréal en Lumière is digging into the archives for its 2026 edition. Running February 27 to March 7, 2026 this year's festival is centring its gastronomic programming around a theme called "A Taste of History: 65 Years of Montreal's Gastronomy", a nostalgic look back at the dishes, trends, and moments that shaped how the city eats today.

The theme ties into the McCord Stewart Museum's current exhibition, On the Menu - Montreal: A Restaurant Story, which traces the evolution of the city's restaurant scene from the 1960s onward. Chefs participating in the festival's Air France Finest Tables—over 80 restaurants, including nine from the World's 50 Best Restaurants list and spots representing 25+ Michelin stars—will be revisiting Montreal's culinary past through menus that nod to iconic dishes, lost classics, and the moments that defined different eras of dining in the city.

It's a smart angle for a festival that's become known as Canada's largest food event and was recently crowned "Gastronomic Event of the Year" at the Lauriers de la Gastronomie Québécoise. Rather than just bringing in big-name international chefs (though there are 90+ visiting gastronomic artists this year), Montréal en Lumière is using its platform to spotlight the city's own food history passed down through generations of restaurant kitchens, retold in bar conversations, and debated over late-night meals.

A solid visiting chef roster

While the full list hasn't been released yet, the festival is pulling from nine restaurants ranked in the World's 50 Best Restaurants—a list that includes places like Disfrutar in Barcelona, Alchemist in Copenhagen, and Diverxo in Madrid. These are chefs working at the highest level of contemporary cuisine, and the festival pairs them with Montreal restaurants for collaborative dinners that blur the line between local and international. It's one of the few chances to see that kind of talent without booking a flight to Europe or spending a mortgage payment on a tasting menu abroad.

Beyond the high-end collaborations, the festival's Brunchs en Lumière return by popular demand—a more accessible way to experience the programming, especially if you're rolling out of Nuit Blanche and need something to soak up the night before. There's also an interactive map (presented in collaboration with Tastet) that lets you plot your own route through the participating restaurants, which now includes 29 new spots joining the lineup.

Notable collaborations include:

Rôtisserie La Lune × Riad Nasr (February 23) — Nasr is one half of the team behind Frenchette in NYC, a Michelin-starred bistro that's become one of the city's hardest reservations. Him pairing with Marc-Olivier Frappier at La Lune makes sense—both doing French bistro cooking with serious technique.
La Spada × Snowdon Deli (February 23–24) — Paul Michette and Hart Fishman are pairing up to celebrate Snowdon Deli's 80th anniversary with an Italo-Jewish menu that blends hand-cut smoked meat with carbonara, matzo balls with table-side brodo service. It's a collaboration that speaks directly to Montreal's culinary DNA.
Maison Boulud × Julien Royer (February 25) — Royer runs Odette in Singapore, ranked #18 on the World's 50 Best and holding three Michelin stars. Daniel Boulud hosting him is a serious get.
Toqué! × Johnny Chung (February 25) — Chung is the tasting menu king in Vegas, pairing with Normand Laprise at one of Montreal's most iconic fine dining spots.
Bar St-Denis × Martin Picard (February 25) — Two nights, two titans of Montreal cooking at David Gauthier's spot.
Hoogan et Beaufort × Jonny Lake (February 27) — Lake was head chef at The Fat Duck before opening Trivet in London. Pairing him with David Lepage's ingredient-driven approach should make for an interesting contrast.
Bistro La Franquette × Thomas Chisholm (February 28) — Chisholm runs Chocho in Paris and gained recognition after competing on Top Chef France. A French-American chef who trained under Atsushi Tanaka, he's known for blending his American, French, and Catalan roots.
Au Pied de Cochon × Zac Gannat (March 4) — Gannat is from Hank's Oyster Bar in D.C., which feels like an unexpected pairing with Martin Picard's foie gras temple, but that tension could be the point.

Outdoor programming returns

Quartier des Spectacles will be the site of our usual suspects: the Loto-Québec Skating Loop, the Village Gourmand under a heated big top, and the Intuit TurboTax Ferris wheel. New this year is a daily cooking competition at the Village Gourmand, plus theme days like a Cidre de glace du Québec celebration on March 6. If you need a break from the cold, Chez Canton—a pop-up fondue spot on the second floor of the Maison du Festival—is taking reservations through Libro.

The festival's music lineup includes Montreal premieres from Loud and Lou-Adriane Cassidy, plus sets from The Barr Brothers, Louis-Jean Cormier, and French DJ Perceval, who'll kick things off at the Rogers DJ Booth with what's been described as "Medieval techno."

The big one, though, is Nuit Blanche—the all-night festival highlight presented by National Bank—which takes over downtown on Saturday, February 28. Full programming for that gets announced in February.