The Best New Cafés in Montreal [January 2026]

Fluffy’s is a café–bakery built around a simple premise: good coffee works best when it’s tied to community. The project comes from Jérôme and Eduardo, whose shared goal was to create a place that feels open, steady, and genuinely welcoming. Alongside the drinks, Fluffy’s focuses on 100% plant-based donuts made in-house.

The space is warm, modern without feeling detached, and designed to encourage lingering rather than turnover. Fluffy’s positions itself as a neighbourhood fixture in Verdun, built patiently with attention to how people actually gather, talk, and return.

Palmieri is a café shaped by Italian coffee culture without trying to recreate it wholesale. The project takes familiar references—espresso rituals, restrained sweetness, an emphasis on pause—and filters them through a Montreal lens that favours longevity over nostalgia. The space is warm and composed, with design cues that nod subtly to coastal Italy without tipping into theme.

The menu follows a similar logic. Coffee anchors the offering, supported by viennoiseries, pastries, and simple sandwiches that work equally well for a quick stop or an unhurried break. Palmieri positions itself less as a destination built around novelty and more as a place designed for repeat visits, where the experience improves through routine. It’s deliberate, calm, and quietly confident in what it sets out to do.

Les Joyeux Naufragés is the second café project from Manu André, also behind Le Loup Bleu on the Plateau. Opened at the corner of Rachel and des Érables, the café fills a stretch of the neighbourhood that long lacked an everyday, daytime address. From the outset, it’s been embraced by nearby school staff, parents, and locals looking for an affordable place to land in the morning or at lunch.

The menu keeps things practical and accessible, built around coffee, viennoiseries, sandwiches, grilled cheese, and simple plates like salads and grain bowls. The nautical theme reflects André’s long-standing passion for sailing, translated into a bright, sea-inspired interior designed by Nony Famili, with a mural by artist Aurore Danielou setting the tone. The result is casual, light-filled, and designed for repeat visits rather than spectacle.

Inside the towering Empire boutique on Berri Street, Maison BaultBerri brings together restaurateur Phil Grisé and chef-creator Laurent Dagenais for a café that blends casual dining with sharp design. The space—about forty seats, warm lighting, and an easy downtown rhythm—was designed by Daniel Finkelstein of Finkel' and named as a nod to the former Archambault store that once stood here. The menu covers everything from croissant-déjeuners and bagel gravlax to soups, salads, and tartines, all made daily with local ingredients.

Velora Café Pâtisserie operates on a simple premise: dessert first. Sort of.

The menu is anchored by a rotating selection of Tres Leches cakes—pistachio, saffron, coconut, dulce de leche—each prepared by hand and shaped by the owners’ culinary heritage. Alongside them are tiramisus, Persian pastries, and a small lineup of croissants and seasonal creations that lean toward rich, layered flavours. The café also serves breakfast plates, from pistachio French toast to fruit-forward yogurt bowls, plus a range of lattes, matchas, and milkshakes that mirror the kitchen’s interest in sweet, aromatic profiles.

Run by the crew behind Amerigo, Caffè Figata is a compact Italian café focused on straightforward, well-made classics. The menu sticks to espresso-based drinks, a few cold options, and a short rotation of sandwiches and pastries meant for quick stops rather than long stays. Its counter-service setup keeps things moving, and the offering leans into Italian daytime habits: a tight coffee lineup, biscotti, and a small “collazione” sandwich built on the balance of sweet and savoury.

Café Cin Cin is the Montreal outpost of Rocanini, a Vancouver-based roaster known for its methodical approach to coffee. The café occupies a generous, pared-back space designed for steady foot traffic, offering an atmosphere that suits both lingering and quick morning stops. The menu centres on espresso drinks, filter options, and a modest pastry selection, all built on Rocanini’s in-house roasting program.

Their beans reflect a blend of craft and technical rigour—the team treats roasting as equal parts sensory practice and controlled science. In addition to its café service, the company provides wholesale coffee, cupping sessions, and training on the operational side of preparation.

Café Nook is a Korean dessert café on the Plateau focused on comforting drinks and house-made sweets. The room is compact and deliberately warm, offering a quiet setting for short breaks or casual meetups. The menu highlights rolled cakes, mugwort injeolmi (Korean sweet rice cake), tiramisu, and seasonal variations, alongside a range of lattes and tea-based drinks that favour gentle flavours and a lightly experimental touch. Popular options include strawberry matcha and nutty milk-based beverages, as well as a small selection of gimbap for something savoury.

Nook’s approach is straightforward: a calm space with consistent desserts and a beverage menu that changes with the owner’s inspirations. It’s designed as a steady neighbourhood stop for anyone looking for a sweet break.

Flers Café is a Mont-Royal East coffee shop built around specialty coffee and a selection of pastries and viennoiseries made on-site. The menu covers the essentials—espresso-based drinks, matcha, chai, hot chocolate—alongside a cereal latte and rotating flans that reflect the owners’ interest in global desserts. The room keeps a relaxed, welcoming tone, making it suitable for both sit-down visits and quick takeaway orders. Open daily, the café also prepares celebration cakes and offers a small catering service by request. The emphasis is on simple, reliable offerings with ingredients sourced as locally as possible.

Hobea is a hybrid café and creative studio operating on a flexible, community-driven model. The street level functions as a relaxed café with espresso drinks and pastries, open Wednesday through Sunday. The lower level is a rentable studio designed for workshops, yoga sessions, intimate performances, pop-ups, and small markets. Groups can book the space for their own programming, while individuals often use the café area for studying, co-working, or casual meet-ups.

Hobea positions itself as an open, participatory environment where people can create, host, or simply pass through for a quiet coffee. Its calendar shifts with the interests of the neighbourhood, and the team encourages proposals from anyone looking for a venue. The result is a multipurpose space that blends hospitality with creative culture in a straightforward, accessible way.

Café Raphaël is a hybrid café and co-working space in Villeray. The interior mixes vintage décor with practical features: high-speed Wi-Fi, varied seating, natural light, and a small patio used as an informal extension of the workspace. Guests use the space for focused work sessions, remote meetings, or casual study hours, with the café counter offering a steady supply of espresso drinks and light snacks.

Unlike traditional co-working setups, Café Raphaël operates on a drop-in model without complex memberships, keeping the environment accessible and low-pressure. It’s a reliable community hub for freelancers, students, and neighbourhood regulars who want a comfortable place to work with good coffee close at hand.

FroidÔchaud Café is a crêperie and coffee counter on Saint-Denis offering a broad mix of sweet and savoury options. The menu ranges from Biscoff and tiramisu crêpes to versions built with mozzarella, akawi cheese, and house za’atar, reflecting influences from both French and Syrian cooking. Croffles, customizable juices, and seasonal drinks round out the selection, with coffee prepared by an owner known locally for their attention to technique.

The space is set up for both quick visits and longer study sessions, with enough seating and natural light to accommodate laptops and small groups. Open daily except Mondays, FroidÔchaud functions as a neighbourhood café with a focus on approachable comfort food and a wide variety of drinks. It’s a steady, accessible stop for crêpes, coffee, or a casual afternoon break.

Jumeler is the café project from the team behind Candeur, extending their bakery know-how into a space built for everyday use. True to its name—“to pair” or “to bring together”—the café is laid out with openness and light, making it as suited to conversation as it is to quiet work.

The menu keeps things focused: carefully pulled espresso drinks matched with pastries and viennoiseries from Candeur’s ovens. A slice of carrot cake has already become a calling card, though the rotation of baked goods means there’s always something new to try alongside a cortado or cappuccino. Spacious by downtown standards, Jumeler stands out less as a quick stop and more as a meeting ground, a place to linger a little longer than you meant to.

Café 2nd Gen started small, operating from a summer kiosk at Quartier Dix-30 before making its move into Griffintown. The new café keeps things pared down: a bright, minimalist space with plenty of room to linger, designed around drinks that lean on Vietnamese inspiration with playful twists. The menu runs from iced ube lattes and matcha Melona to knafeh coffee and matcha tiramisu, striking a balance between tradition and reinvention. It’s the kind of place where classics like Vietnamese iced coffee sit comfortably alongside seasonal experiments, and where the atmosphere encourages both quick grab-and-go orders and longer afternoons at a table. For regulars of Montreal’s café circuit, 2nd Gen adds something distinct: a new-generation take on Vietnamese flavours with the easygoing openness of a neighbourhood coffee shop.

Steps away from the REM station, this new café on Île-des-Sœurs pairs specialty coffee with a sharp focus on sandwiches and salads. The menu is built around balance: classic espresso, lattes, and iced coffee sit alongside a pistachio latte for something different, while the kitchen turns out a weekly rotation of artisan sandwiches. Options range from a chicken wrap with bacon and parmesan to a smoked meat burger with paprika rémoulade, and the lineup extends into a fully vegan section featuring seitan banh mi, tempeh burgers, and tandoori tofu. For lighter appetites, salads and sides like kale with feta, panzanella with roasted garlic vinaigrette, and Spanish rice with chorizo round things out. It’s a café designed with commuters in mind, but with enough variety to draw in locals looking for a reliable lunch or an easy coffee break.

Machu Picchu Café-Lounge brings a slice of Peru to Montréal with a menu that spans casual coffee shop fare and full plates steeped in tradition. Located on Plaza St-Hubert, it doubles as both café and bistro: mornings lean toward espresso, fresh juices, and buttery pastries, while afternoons and weekends expand into sandwiches, smoothies, and hearty platters like ceviche, lomo saltado, or arroz con pollo. The café balances the everyday ritual of coffee with a kitchen that takes its cues from Peruvian comfort food, from tamarind lemonade to plantain sides. Whether you’re after a quiet latte, a bagel with smoked salmon, or a full Machu Picchu “ronda” meant to be shared, the space offers a flexible setting that blends neighbourhood café culture with the culinary roots of its owners.

What started as a wholesale bakery supplying cafés across the city is now a quiet lunch stop on the banks of the Lachine Canal. Club Abierto opened its doors after two years behind the scenes, offering the same brioches and focaccias it once delivered—now filled with seasonal ingredients and served alongside house salads and filter coffee from Melk. The hours are short (weekday mornings through late afternoon), but the prep starts early, and everything is made on-site. It’s not a big room, and the mood matches: casual, steady, no pretense.

In a city full of third-wave cafés, Hectare takes a different route—one that runs through the Caribbean. Located on Notre-Dame in Old Montreal, this new spot centres its menu around beans sourced from across the Antilles: Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. The coffee is roasted locally but carries the imprint of the islands, with bold, low-acidity profiles and a focus on organic sourcing. Light snacks and tropical-inspired bites round out the offering, though the café’s strongest presence is in the cup. The space is compact and low-key, free of design gimmicks or lifestyle branding, but with a clear point of view.

Le Patio doesn’t try to reinvent the café—just to do it with a little more calm. Opened across from De L’Église metro in Verdun, the space is bright and low-key, shaped by terracotta tones, hanging plants, and sunlight that cuts clean through its front window. Beans come from Zab, Jungle, and Za & Klo, with a menu that sticks to the essentials: good espresso, specialty matcha, viennoiseries, and a few paninis and smoothies when you need something more. The front terrace fills early on warm days, but even indoors, the mood stays unhurried.

Green Drip is a rare meeting point between Vietnamese coffee culture and Japan’s matcha tradition—without falling into fusion clichés. The menu runs deep: banana bread matcha, ube lattes, strawberry milk tea, ca phe sua da, and salted cream-topped coffee all co-exist without crowding each other out. Most drinks lean sweet, but the execution is focused—whisked, poured, or steeped with care. There’s a compact terrace out front and a steady stream of Concordia students and downtown workers cycling through for something different from the usual espresso fare.

At the edge of a gym lobby in NDG, Rebl Café finds its footing somewhere between routine and reset. The beans are Colombian, roasted for punch, not polish, and the seasonal drinks—like a cherry vanilla matcha—stick around just long enough to matter. The space is minimal but not cold: vintage fight posters, soft natural light, a quiet undercurrent of ’90s hip-hop. It shares a name with the boxing studio next door, but it’s not just a pit stop between rounds. Regulars come for the caffeine, stay for the calm, and return because it’s consistent.

Mama C—named in tribute to Cristina, the mother of the restaurant’s four founders—was established on August 27, 2024 in Old Montreal's Hotel Nelligan. It offers a thoughtful approach to Greek cuisine with modern takes. The menu, crafted by chef Michalis Merzenis and chef Anastasios Roussis, draws inspiration from the freshness of the Greek islands and the warmth of the mainland, bringing together high-quality seafood, meats, and locally sourced ingredients.

With dishes like spanakopita salad and velvety tzatziki, the offerings reflect a deep respect for Greek culinary traditions while introducing contemporary techniques and flavors. The concept is rooted in sharing, making each meal a communal experience for some good ol' fashioned Mediterranean dining.

Just off Beaubien, Horizon Matcha Café adds a calm counterpoint to the usual café circuit. The focus here is Japanese tea—matcha, hōjicha, and other low-caffeine brews served hot or iced—but the menu extends well beyond that. There’s a short list of bánh mì sandwiches, with lemongrass chicken or marinated tofu and mushrooms, plus house-made pastries like rose macarons and strawberry muffins with cream cheese. The drinks lean earthy or floral, depending on your mood, and Vietnamese coffee is expected to join the lineup soon.