A gourmet guide to exploring Québec’s regions through your taste buds

Abitibi-Témiscamingue is a region known for mining and forestry, but also for its gastronomy, which includes fresh walleye, bold cheeses and full-bodied beers. The region is vast, wild and authentic, and its local products reflect this perfectly.

Explore:

• Cheese shops: Le Fromage au Village with its artisanal cheeses made from milk sourced from local farms, La vache à Maillotte or Fromabitibi (in French only), which offers goat cheeses.
• Microbrasserie Le Prospecteur in Val-d’Or, which serves craft beers brewed on site and dishes featuring a variety of regional products, or Brio Microbrasseur in Rouyn-Noranda.
• Alpha-Tango Spirits to savour locally made spirits, including some hidden gems (like cattail!).
• Miellerie de la Grande Ourse, , which is also a meadery and artisanal distillery, La Cuverie, which opens its cellar for tours and tastings of sparkling honey wine, and Miel Abitémis, which produces a full range of honeys.
• To enjoy local specialties: Le Cachottier bistro, and L’Éden rouge, a vegetable farm that also features the Table Champêtre® gourmet dining room.
• Les Becs sucrés-salés, which showcases regional products—particularly berry jams—and Ferme Nordvie, which grows raspberries, rhubarb, and a wide variety of strawberries, and produces unique beverages, some of which are sparkling or alcoholic (or both!).

In the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, flavours are shaped by the wind, the tides and coastal traditions. Seafood and coastal delicacies reign supreme here: snow crab, smoked fish, eel, whelks, shrimp, mussels, green sea urchins, glasswort, sea spinach and more. You can also sample seal meat—a little-known delicacy deeply rooted in maritime history—and beautifully refined cheeses.

Enjoy local products:

• Fromagerie du Mouton Blanc in La Pocatière, Fromagerie des Basques in Trois-Pistoles, and Fromagerie Le Détour in Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac.
• Côté Est bistro in Kamouraska, a renowned restaurant that highlights regional ingredients, offering responsibly sourced and exquisitely prepared seal.
• Distinctive snack bars like Grand’Ourse and La Cantina, where traditional snack‑bar staples are reimagined and local seafood is celebrated.
• To drink: Microbrasserie Tête d’Allumette, which uses a unique wood-fired boiling process, Le Secret des Dieux or the Brasserie artisanale Le Bien, Le Malt.

💡Did you know? Eel fishing in the St. Lawrence River, particularly in the Kamouraska region, is an ancestral practice that was registered as intangible cultural heritage in 2018.

The Eastern Townships are a bit like Québec’s very own Tuscany: rolling hills, lush vineyards and artisanal cheesemakers. It’s worth taking your time. Here, meats and charcuterie take centre stage, with smoked trout and craft beers adding the final touch.

Savour:

• For wine buffs: Domaine des Côtes d’Ardoise and its organic wines, Vignoble de l’Orpailleur and its ÉCONOMUSÉE® showcasing the craft of Québec winegrowers, the multidisciplinary Vignoble du Ruisseau , home to a distillery, cider house, organic maple grove and sugar shack, or even Domaine ValBrome with its vineyards and apple and pear orchards.
• For true cider connoisseurs: Cidrerie Milton and its wide range of flavours is a must.
• For beer enthusiasts: Ferme Brasserie rurale, which grows its own grain and works with multiple local farmers to source fruit and botanicals.
• Are you crazy about cheese? Try the Bleu Bénédictin from Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, cheeses from Fromagerie La Station - ÉCONOMUSÉE® de la fromagerie fermière, and the Zéphyr from Fromagerie des Cantons.
• Canards du Lac Brome and Charcuterie Scotstown (in French only) are sure to delight meat lovers.
• The delicious smoked trout from Ferme piscicole Les Bobines.
• A few restaurants worth visiting that celebrate local ingredients, such as the Auberge Ayer’s Cliff, Le Hatley du Manoir Hovey (MICHELIN-starred), as well as Espace Old Mill, whose menu prominently features produce from its own vegetable garden.

There are many must-visit establishments in the Eastern Townships, let alone plenty of gourmet tours. These include the Route des Vins, the Relaxation and delights in the Eastern Townships itinerary, and the Circuit Les Têtes Fromagères.

The Centre-du-Québec region is a land of farmers. Here, you’ll find family-run farms, legendary cheesemakers, innovative cider houses, microbreweries that source locally, a thriving market garden industry and award-winning cheeses. But above all, here, the cranberry reigns supreme. It features in juice, jam, chocolate, beer and more.

Taste:

• The star attraction at Les Jardins VMO and the Centre d'interprétation de la canneberge in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, offering guided tours and tastings.
• Maple products: the region is home to many maple groves, including Aux Petits Plaisirs, which offers sweet treats year-round.
• Berries: Ferme Germain Desmarais - blueberry and strawberry farm or La p’tite virée, which offers U-pick blueberries as well as maple products and smoked duck.
• To drink: the Vignoble Le Fief de la Rivière in Bécancour, known for its Globul line of products, and the Vignoble Riparia, whose grape varieties include Vitis riparia, a vine native to Québec. The Ferme brassicole La Grange Pardue, Miellerie King - distillerie & hydromellerie, which produces its own alcohol from A to Z.
• Rose Drummond in Drummondville is a major producer of cut flowers and garden produce. And why not stop in at its café, the Rose Café, for a bite to eat!?
• Fromagerie du Presbytère, featuring exceptional cheeses Fromagerie Lemaire (in French only), for its poutine and cheese curds, and Fromagerie L’Ancêtre, which makes organic butter as well as cheese.
• Le Marché Godefroy or the Marché public Drummondville for great local products.

Charlevoix is a terroir shaped as if expressly to delight the senses. Nestled between the river and the mountains, you come here to eat, to drink and to take it all in. Renowned as an exceptional agricultural area, its Charlevoix lamb, cheeses, and gourmet routes make it well worth the trip.

Indulge:

• Livestock farms are abundant: Ferme Ambrosia, with its Muscovy ducks, Ferme Basque de Charlevoix, an artisanal duck farm whose products include foie gras, Les Volières de Baie-Saint-Paul, which raises guinea fowl, quail, pheasants and wild boar, and Les Viandes Bio de Charlevoix, which grows its own grain to feed its livestock.
• To drink: the Menaud distillery in Clermont, which showcases local products, Omerto - Le Domaine de la Vallée du Bras, which produces a tomato wine that’s one of a kind, Cidrerie et Vergers Pedneault, and Hydromel Charlevoix, which produces wines and spirits using honey from its own hives and local ingredients.
• Market gardening: Champignons Charlevoix, which grows oyster mushrooms in La Malbaie, Safran Nordique - ÉCONOMUSÉE® des safraniers, which specializes in the production of saffron, described as the oldest spice in the world, and Forêt gourmande / Coop de l’Arbre, which offers walking tours focused on agroforestry and gourmet forest products.
• Fromagerie Saint-Fidèle, a century-old business known for its fresh, daily made cheese curds and lactose-free Swiss cheese, and Famille Migneron, which offers fine artisan cheeses made from cow’s and sheep’s milk, wines produced from an organic Nordic vineyard, and spirits made from whey and grape pomace.

For a gourmet tour, take the Charlevoix Flavour Trail.

In the Chaudière-Appalaches region, maple is nothing short of a religion. It can be enjoyed as taffy, butter, in spirits and in marinades. Cider houses and cheesemakers round out the picture, with countless local farm products adding even more flavour.

Experience:

• Visiting the region’s sugar shacks is a must, especially L’Érablière du Cap and the Bistreau d’Érable, which offers a variety of experiences related to the world of maple.
• To drink: Le Ricaneux - ÉCONOMUSÉE® des vins de petits fruits, Domaine des Feux Follets and the Domaine Arvi for their wines. The La Contrebande microbrewery, with its menu inspired by local flavours, and Microbrasserie Frampton Brasse - ÉCONOMUSÉE® du brasseur. Otherwise, Le Somnambule, with its 15 or so varieties of cider.
• Camerises St-Philippe for U-pick berries and Les Bleuets du Vire-Crêpes, a master at turning blueberries into delights of every kind.
• Delicious cheeses are plentiful: Fromagerie Bergeron, Ferme Cassis et Mélisse - ÉCONOMUSÉE® de la fromagerie fermière : lait de chèvre and the Fromagerie de l'Île-aux-Grues.
• Le Canard Goulu in Saint-Apollinaire, a leader in the field.

The Côte-Nord region is home to snow crab, lobster, northern shrimp, scallops, sea urchins and clams. Here, the sea is everywhere, infusing both the scenery and the cuisine. And that’s not all, Nordic berries abound—including the cloudberry and lingonberry—along with forest and local products, such as Labrador tea and sweet gale, which are getting more and more attention.

Dive in:

• To explore new horizons: Ferme Manicouagan, which showcases the haskap, Trésors des Bois, which offers mushrooms, plants and berries foraged in the natural Côte-Nord environment, and Argousiers Nordiques for picking and tasting.
• The Chez Julie restaurant in Havre-Saint-Pierre, where you can enjoy the sea at its freshest, Bistro La Marée Haute in Baie-Comeau, with its magnificent view of the river, along with Café-bistro L’Échouerie in Natashquan. For its part, Chez Mathilde (in French only) features a gourmet menu showcasing the full culinary diversity of the Côte-Nord region.
• To drink: Microbrasserie St-Pancrace (the pub and the factory) in Baie-Comeau, inspired by the history of bootlegging in St-Pancrace Bay (be sure to try their crab-flavoured Bitter-style beer) and Distillerie Québec North Shore with its American mountain ash amaretto.
• Poissonnerie Soucy in Sept-Îles, or Pêcherie Manicouagan in Les Escoumins, a fish market and restaurant concept specializing in regional products.

Now let’s take to the famous Route 138 to continue this gourmet tour!

In both of these regions, food is closely tied to the land: game, fish, Nordic and Arctic berries, Labrador tea, Arctic char, muktuk (a traditional Inuit food made from frozen whale skin and blubber)...

Their cuisine is one of a kind! Community feasts and outfitters offer the chance to experience a deeply rooted gastronomy. First Nations and Inuit communities share their culinary traditions at gatherings and cultural events.

Where to explore: Discover the character of the Eeyou Istchee Baie-James and Nunavik regions.

The Gaspésie region is a salty poem, a true paradise for seafood lovers. Here, lobster reigns, northern shrimp are exquisitely tender and the smokehouses are legendary. But that doesn’t mean local products don’t get their share of the spotlight.

Treat your taste buds:

• For fresh fish and seafood: Poissonnerie du Pêcheur or Atkins et Frères. Keep in mind that for the best experience, timing matters. Lobster is harvested mainly in June, snow crab in May, northern shrimp from April to October and whelks from April to September.
• Fumoir Cascapédia, where you can discover smoked fish that melts in your mouth thanks to a traditional, artisanal, cold smoking process.
• La Maison du Pêcheur in Percé, which specializes in seafood, Capitaine Homard in Sainte-Flavie, and the Villa Estevan Lodge, whose cuisine showcases the plant collection of the Jardins de Métis as well as local producers. The Centre d’Art Marcel Gagnon restaurant which serves up traditional regional cuisine and also exhibits the works of six artists from the same family.
• Artisanal beverages: Pit Caribou, which serves high-quality Gaspesian beers made with local ingredients, or Distillerie des Marigots and its gin concocted with 14 local botanicals.
• Ferme Bourdages Tradition, which grows berries and offers a countryside experience.

The Islands are a world of their own. Here, you’ll savour smoked herring, Pied-de-Vent cheese and lobster that tastes of the sea like nowhere else. Thanks to its geographic isolation, this region has developed food and drink specialties found nowhere else and that are absolutely worth the trip.

Tasty highlights:

• Le Barbocheux and its “Bagosse,” a traditional fruit wine, and À l'abri de la Tempête, a microbrewery, housed in a former crab-processing plant, that crafts unique beers such as Cale sèche. Le Verger Poméloi, a distillery that handles the entire process from fruit growing to bottling.
• Restaurants that prepare and showcase local recipes and products: Gourmande de Nature, Café de la Grave, Café Les Araynes or Auberge La Salicorne.
• Seafood: lobster, snow crab, scallops, mussels, and wolffish abound! Les Cultures du Large and its aquaculture farm Interprétation de la pêche au homard, to learn more about lobster fishing and maybe even test your skill. Fumoir d’antan - Smokehouse ÉCONOMUSÉE® takes you back in time with its legendary traditional smoked herring.
• La Fromagerie du Pied-de-Vent - ÉCONOMUSÉE® de la fromageriea craft cheesemaker offering products made with Canada-bred cow’s milk.
• Sweet treats: molasses or cinnamon cookies, often found in local grocery stores.

Lanaudière, is known for its bountiful countryside: maple groves, cheesemakers, craft distilleries, and more. The region is also renowned for its locally raised meats, including bison, and artisanal pork products.

Truly irresistible:

• Fromagerie Champêtre (in French only), which relies primarily on locally sourced milk, or Fromagerie du Champ à la Meule.
• Artisanal beverages: Qui sème récolte!, orchard and cider house, Distillerie Grand Dérangement, certified organic, Vignoble Saint-Gabriel with its spectacular wine cellar and antique tractor museum, Vignoble Têtes au vent and its “free-evolving wines,” and the L’Albatros, brasserie artisanale and Ruisseau Noir microbreweries.
• La Terre des Bisons, a bison farm with a big game interpretation centre.
• Au Jardin des noix, a walnut orchard, La Belle Gousse, an agritourism business that grows garlic. Les Jardins Russell, which highlights, among other offerings, unique and heirloom vegetable varieties.
• Local specialties: honey from Miel Morand, a honey producer offering products inspired by the work of the bees, maple products, and sugar shacks open year-round, such as Au Sentier de l'Érable and Sucrerie du Rang Double(in French only), and lavender-based products from Jardins Arômes et Saveurs.

In the Laurentides region, the views are as delicious as the food. It’s a region that blends fine dining, the creativity of local artisans, and the calm of wide‑open spaces. Its terroir shines through a rich variety of forest products, cheeses, craft alcohols, berries, local meats and maple products—it’s a place where every bite carries a hint of the forest.

Check out:

• Maple delights: cabane à sucre Constantin or Cabane d'à côté—an experience in itself.
• Craft cheeses: the renowned OKA cheesemaker, Les Fromagiers de la Table Ronde, and Fromagerie Le P'tit Train du Nord (in French only).
• Apples and ciders: Distillerie Domaine Lafrance, which serves a selection of ciders and spirits produced entirely on site from fruit picked in the orchards and on the property, Labonté de la pomme - Orchard - Cider House & Apple Shack for its local ciders and farm-to-table formula.
• To drink: Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!, which spotlights local ingredients, and the Vignoble Rivière du Chêne, with its award-winning wines.
• Local wild products: Gourmet Sauvage showcases boreal gastronomy through the foraging of wild plants and mushrooms, Intermiel explains beekeeping, as does Miels d’Anicet, a beekeeping farm renowned for its terroir honeys. Or visit Les jardins des 5 sens, an agritourism farm that grows edible flowers.

To continue this epicurean adventure, the Laurentides regions is crisscrossed by the Chemin du Terroir, an official tourist route packed with delicious stops.

Laval is urban, diverse, and vibrant. A genuine cultural crossroads, offering world cuisines, local specialties, and markets where everything converges.

On the menu: 

• To drink: Château Taillefer Lafon, the first vineyard in Québec authorized to use the designation “Château” or Les Insulaires Microbrasseurs for a refreshing night out.
• Shopping: Public Market 440, a paradise for food lovers, created as a way to revive and honour old agricultural lands that had become infertile.
• Where to escape into nature: Ferme Marineau, for U-pick berries, and Ferme Chez Vaillancourt, a century-old institution that also offers U-pick vegetables.
• Fromagerie du Vieux-Saint-François, specializing in a variety of artisanal goat milk products.

The Mauricie region—where the forest says it all. Wild mushrooms, game, maple syrup, boreal spices: everything here whispers of moss, earth and sap. Microbreweries and distilleries abound, and each one tells a story.

Discover: 

• The Le Trou du Diable microbrewery in Shawinigan, with its bold, distinctive beers, or Le Temps d’une Pinte - Brasseur Bistronome for the full beer and food tourism experience. The Microbrasserie & Pub À la Fût in Saint-Tite, with its Western saloon vibe.
• Le Baluchon Éco-villégiature, featuring ingredients grown right on the restaurant’s own grounds.
• At the public markets (in French only), you’ll discover forest products that feel straight out of a culinary spellbook.
• Cabane à sucre Chez Dany in Trois-Rivières or Au-delà de l’Érable in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, both of which are open year-round.
• Alcohol and spirits: Mariana, an independent distillery that produces rum, gin, liqueurs, whiskey, beer brewed on site and local gourmet foods. Distillerie L&M for sampling Caribou des bois (a brandy, not a meat!) or Domaine Gélinas, a winery and distillery offering an agritourism experience.

Apples, cider, berries, wine: Montérégie is a land of plenty, a region that makes you want to eat, drink and linger. This region is one of Québec’s most generous sources of local bounty. It boasts an impressive array of products, many found only minutes apart.

Specialties:

• Apples and cider: Cidrerie Michel Jodoin (a classic!), Vergers Petit et Fils, for those who love both wine and cider Domaine Inselberg, for those who love both wine and cider. Domaine Labranche, where you’ll find an orchard, a vineyard, and a sugar shack all in one place.
• Wineries: Domaine Les Petits Cailloux, Domaine des salamandres and Vignoble Le Chat Botté, offering white, rosé, orange, red and sweet wines.
• Ferme Brasserie Schoune, a microbrewery that explores the history of beer, the different types of beer and brewing techniques.
• Craft cheeses: Fromagerie Ruban Bleu, which works with goat’s milk, or Fromagerie Le Métayer for its artisanal products made on site.
• Many farms offer produce from their vegetable gardens and berry fields, including Ferme Radicelle with its U-pick berries, such as ground cherries, Les Jardins de Ré-Gaia, an agritourism farm that sells vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants, and Ferme St-Ours with its sunflower oil. Ferme Les Petites Écores for its honey and U-pick sea buckthorn berries.
• L’Effet Bœuf, an agritourism farm open to everyone that specializes in beef production, La Vallée du Wapiti and its interpretation centre, Au gîte des oies and its intriguing goose pizza... for real!

To extend this getaway: The Cider Route, the Montérégie's Wine Route or the Circuit du Paysan. With the region’s many public markets (in French only) and farmers markets, you can discover countless products in a single outing.

Montréal is an international buffet. You can enjoy a bagel at dawn, smoked meat at noon, poutine at 3 a.m.—and every cuisine on the planet in between. The city is a culinary world unto itself, and its food scene is one of the most dynamic in North America.

Not to be missed:

• Fairmount Bagel or St-Viateur Bagel? It’s an endless debate (why not try both and add your own two cents!).
• Schwartz’s, the ultimate stop for smoked‑meat enthusiasts.
• La Banquise, a nighttime institution, open 24/7 and famous for its 30‑plus varieties of poutine.
• The Jean-Talon Market: in addition to the fruit, vegetable and flower stalls is an array of specialty shops featuring spices, oils, cheeses, meats, desserts and local products.
• Several well-known restaurants: Au Pied de Cochon and its hearty, comforting cuisine showcasing local ingredients. Olive + Gourmando, a rustic café with original recipes, Toqué!, which champions local artisans and producers.
• The ITHQ restaurant, where you can meet the chefs of tomorrow who showcase Québec’s terroir in modern, refined seasonal cuisine.

Want to try out several places at once? Take a gourmet tour! Several companies offer guided tours highlighting local cuisine or microbreweries, such as VDM Global DMC, Tours de la table and Les Tours Spade & Palacio.

The Outaouais is a region where cultures, flavours, and traditions blend seamlessly. Here, you can enjoy fine cheeses, delicate ciders, sun-kissed produce, specialty meats and honey products.

Food and drink: 

• Top spots for cheese: Fromagerie Montebello and La Trappe à fromage.
• Pâtisserie Kîsisam, inspired by its Indigenous roots, showcasing ingredients from the boreal forest. La Fille du Boulanger (in French only), which grows its own organic grains on its land.
• À la Dérive Brasserie Artisanale, which stands out for its top‑notch craft beers and a comfort‑food menu powered by local ingredients, Caméline, combining authentic Italian cuisine with the flavours of carefully sourced local products, and L’Orée du Bois, which blends French culinary classics with Québec’s hearty dishes.
• To drink: Microbrasserie 5^e Baron, or Verger Croque-Pomme and Verger Marleau, both of which offer cider and U-pick apples.
• Marché public Notre-Dame and Marché public du Vieux-Aylmer, both in Gatineau, or the Place du Marché Cooperative in Ripon, where you can meet local artisans and producers.
• Specialty meats: beef and lamb from Brylee Farm, and yak meat from Pure Conscience Farm.
• Honey products, jams and preserves: Miss Marmelades.

The Outaouais region offers several gourmet tours for foodies, including the Croquez l’Outaouais! routes.

The city of Québec area is the perfect meeting point between heritage and modern life. Here, eating poutine is like a rite of passage, but you’ll also discover inventive boreal cuisine, crafted by chefs who work the land’s ingredients with delicate mastery. It’s also a place to connect with First Nations cultures and enjoy their flavourful traditional dishes. And of course there’s a regional staple: the famous Neuville sweet corn.

Discover: 

• Chez Boulay - bistro boréal for northern cuisine with a Québec twist, Bistro Hortus for local and organic ingredients, the MICHELIN-starred Laurie Raphaël, which showcases the richness of the region’s terroir and our artisans’ expertise, and Restaurant Tanière³ or a blind tasting menu inspired by Québec’s history and specialties. Buffet de l’Antiquaire and Aux Anciens Canadiens, to experience Québec cuisine at its best.
• At the Grand marché de Québec, you can wander among cheeses, charcuterie and farm‑fresh produce—including the famous Neuville sweet corn, or visit the Ferme Langlois Chez Médé - ÉCONOMUSÉE® du maraîcher : maïs sucré de Neuville to learn more about this Québec treasure.
• La Traite, located within the Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations de Wendake, and Sagamité, where you can explore Indigenous culture through cuisine.
• To drink: La Souche Microbrasserie, Microbrasserie des Beaux Prés, Brasserie Artisanale La Korrigane which serves a scrumptious poutine), Microbrasserie de l’Île d’Orléans and Restaurant Pub Le Mitan, which honours the local flavours of Île d’Orléans, and Emporium Microbrasserie.

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean does everything generously (some say gigantically): from its landscapes to its people to its portions. Wild blueberries are everywhere, like a sweet nod to the boreal forest. And then there’s the tourtière, a true culinary icon. The cheeses also get people talking. And you’ll encounter lesser‑known treasures too, like the beloved 'gourgane' (broad bean).

Where to go to enjoy it all:

• La Bonne Cuisine (in French only) restaurant in Roberval for an authentic tourtière. In fact, their famous tourtière is so popular that many local grocery stores carry a tasty ready‑made version of it.
• La Cuisine in Chicoutimi, featuring boreal cuisine and local products, or Restaurant O’Batillage offering fine cuisine with a knockout panoramic view of the Fjord du Saguenay.
• Various country-style restaurants such as À l’Orée des Champs or Les Jardins de Sophie and its restaurant, Saint-Sapin.
• Cheeses: Fromagerie Perron (Saint-Prime), with its restaurant and shop, is a local institution known for its cheddar, or Fromagerie Boivin and its famous cheddar curds.
• The Chocolaterie des Pères de Mistassini for its artisanal chocolates, Délices du Lac-Saint-Jean - ÉCONOMUSÉE® de la confiturière : bleuet sauvage and Camerises Mistouk to learn more about the legendary blueberry and its cousin, the haskap.
• Microbreweries featuring northern-inspired products, such as the Brasserie coopérative La Chasse-Pinte and its bistro, which occasionally doubles as a performance venue, Bercée Microbrasserie, La Chouape Brewing Co. for a blueberry beer, or l’Usine LABrasserie (Voie Maltée), which promotes experimentation.
• Distillerie du fjord, which masterfully crafts spirits using the bounty of the boreal forest. Just like Domaine Le Cageot.
• Vergers de velours and its Nordic berry alcohols.