Snowdon Deli

I’ve been enjoying Snowdon Deli since I was a kid and now I bring my own kids. They have the best smoked meat in town, more moist than Scwartz’s and just as tasty and authentic. And this place is Montréal’s best kept secret for brunch — big portions, great pancakes, very reasonable prices, family friendly and no lineup!

Walked in and wondered if the median age was dead… a very old crowd, but then the menu is very old. Nice that they have tongue still available, but standard, not pickled. The smoked meat was acceptable but not special. The fries were well done and it was nice that they have diet Cherry and not just regular. Service was good.

I’ve tried many and Snowden is possibly the best deli in the world and easily the best value, on par, or better than any in New York or Baltimore. My only regret is that I did not buy more takeout — which made the trip well back to Washington, DC and I had no problems with the sometimes intrusive border inspectors. Great delis are an endangered species. Snowden has a rich and varied menu — more so than crosstown tourist favorite Schwartz’s (also an excellent deli). I ordered the smoked meat (less dry than Schwartz’s and a bit less spicy), corned beef, latkes and kasha kinishes. All were among the best I’ve ever had. Snowden is sort of hard to find, not downtown, but is about 3 blocks from the Snowden Metro stop. Everyone at Snowden was also very friendly to an USA resident who knows little French. I’ll be back the next time I’m in Montréal and next time I’ll take much more food home to the USA.

21 $ for a smoked meat sandwich with fries, dill and slaw, not even very good. Much better smoke meat in this town.

It’s ok just ok, Montréal is the kingdom of smoked meat and the kingdom is ruled by SCHWARTZ
What we tasted at Snowden deli is just whatever smoked meat had no flavour I don’t think I’ll go again.

I was in the neighborhood (going to my fav Vietnamese phở shop Sen Vang). I dropped in on a late Saturday afternoon for a take out sandwich and it was not busy. Staff was friendly and made the recommendation of a smoked meat sandwich. They asked me what cut I liked and I said for them to make the choice.
Sandwich was $ 9 cad which was fair. I got it on rye but you can get it in a bagel or other bread for an extra fee. Good sized portions. The taste of the sandwich was okay. It wasn’t warm or hot which is a negative. Also the cut he gave me was too tender and didn’t have that crusty taste to it.
Worth a try but not sure I will come back.

It’s a classic Montréal deli/​restaurant. Great smoked meat and tons of other stuff on the menu. These types of delis are few and far between. The fact that this place is still around is a testament to the quality of their food.

Tried the smoke meat very very very small sandwich and expensive… and taste wise nothing special. would not go again.

Meilleur smoked meat en ville! Lorsque tu sort de la tu te sens vraiment comme un américain!

Every time I am in the area I have to hit up Snowdon Deli. The food is extreme good and cheap!!! There is never a crowd and the service is very old school and friendly. It is good for both sit down and take away.
I would say the quality of meat is better than Schwartz but the quantity is not up there.

Oy vey! — have the kreplach soup and the gefilte fish platter. Almost as good as Bubbe’s.

As a native New Yorker, I have been to my fair share of Jewish delis. While I agree that there are some subtle differences between The pastrami that a nyc landmark like Katz is serving and the smoke meat in Montréal, for all intensive purposes they are the same thing.
With that being said, the smoked meat sandwiches BLOW AWAY ANY AND ALL NYC JEWISH DELI SANDWICHES!!! Large in stature and short on price, you would be hard pressed to find a better value!!!
While my last two trips to Montréal have only lasted a combined 6 days, I have some how managed to eat 5 smoked meats from the Snowden deli’nn
I would be remised not to mention the out of this world matzo ball soup or the show stopping Montréal staple of pountine.
In closing, this place is awesome. Great food, great décor and great service. If provided the opportunity, do not miss the chance to eat at this Montréal institution.

Aucune critique en français à propos de Snowdon Deli? Honte à nous les francos!
Je cherchais un resto à smoke-​meat dans le coin, et voilà que Unilocal m’indique cet endroit dont j’ignorais l’existence. Je peux y lire à son sujet beaucoup de critiques positives, toutes en anglais, et plusieurs photos de sandwich à l’aspect appétissant. Convaincu par les mots de mes confrères Unilocaleurs, j’entre donc dans ce resto situé sur le triste et délabré boulevard Decary.
J’ai opté pour le sandwich traditionnel (un choix qui né se retrouve qu’ici) et qui signifie une viande plus épicée qu’à l’habitude. Je n’ai pas regretté mon choix. Le gout d’épice était franchement plus prononcé sans être trop fort ou dérangeant. Les tranches étaient tendres et juteuses, sans ces morceaux de gras blanc que l’on retrouvent souvent dans d’autres resto. En bref, mon sandwich était parfait et gouteux comme je l’aime.
L’ambiance? Il s’agit du seul point négatif. Néons blafards, décor défraichi, clientèle locale qui vous met un peu mal à l’aise (genre groupe de p’tit vieux qui se tait et vous dévisage à votre arrivée). Comme pour bien des restos Deli de Montréal, le décor et l’ambiance générale laissent quelque peu à désirer. Le service est rapide, mais sans trop de sourire.
En bref, Deli Snowdon est encore un resto qui offre un bien meilleur sandwich que Schwartz’s. Je le dirais donc encore: éviter les files interminables de ce resto sur St-​Laurent qui se prétend «incontournable» et venez ici. Votre expérience smoke-​meat sera franchement meilleure.

This is a busy, local deli in the Snowden section of Montréal. Typical deli layout with a counter for takeout and smallish tables. We wanted to have the Montréal smoked meat experience so we ordered the smoked meat platter to share. There was a huge platter of sliced smoked meat, which looks like a combination of corn beef and pastrami, and tastes a little like both, but milder. It came with a mound of fresh french fries, not the usual frozen and fried kind we get in the US. We also ordered the matzoh ball soup, which was outstanding. The food was delicious. The atmosphere meh. Glad we went and would definitely return. I might add that parking was a bit of a challenge.

The service was really good and the staff was very friendly. I was a little disappointed in my «club sandwich». I was essentially a turkey sandwich with an extra slice of bread. The cheesecake was delicious though!

Still the best! Visited Snowdon over Passover (they were open for takeout only), and what a great experience! I ordered some smoked meat to take home and they sliced it right in front of me, even gave us some to taste while we waited! We also got some side dishes, matzo ball soup and they even had matzo rolls to make a sandwich on! Everything was perfect, I can’t say a bad word! Long live Snowdon Deli!

I came in for a smoked meat sandwich, medium fat, traditional style («more spice, more flavour»). An increase in the price of brisket has sent Schwartz’s sandwich price from $ 5-​ish to over $ 9 in the last few years, but Snowdon’s was around $ 7. It was wonderful, as always. Snowdon’s fat spectrum maxes out at medium, so while I do like the fatty option available at Schwartz’s, I think that both places should share the «best smoked meat» crown.
This visit, I noticed a plate of smoked meat arriving at the table next to me as I bit into my sandwich. The slices were lightly marbled with fat, glistening, sumptuous, bulging, and I found myself wondering if I too should have ordered the plate — the better to apply the smoked meat directly to my mouth, with no bread intermediary.
I was floored when the customer complained bitterly about the meat, describing it to the waitress as carelessly sliced and «prepared as if it was dog food». The waitress and another staff member were unflappable, replacing the plate with more uniform slices and explaining simply that if something was not right, they would fix it. No one in any line of work deserves that treatment; I’m not sure what we’ve all done to earn their tolerance or their beautiful food. But it’s there, and you should go eat it if you’re the meat-​eating kind, and please be nice — it doesn’t get any better than this.

Typical dinner experience with somewhat friendly staff where they haven’t updated or renovated and never will.
They do have excellent smoked meat which is because rare these days. Based on food only it gets 4 stars but I have mixed feelings about atmosphere
I can’t help to wonder if they will survive forever with good smoked meat and resistance to any change

Better than Schwartz’s? Close. I went with the medium fat, old fashioned smoked meat sandwich. It was juicy, tender, and packed with flavors. Something that all good smoked meat should be like.
What I also love about this place are the historical achivements framed on the wall. It really does give it some sort of magical charm which is translated to its staff because my waitress was the kindest person ever.
If you don’t want to wait in queue for a huge lineup at Schwartz’s then Snowden Deli is a solid alternative.

I have to admit i don’t think I really like Montréal smoked meat so take this review with a grain of salt. I’ve had some Montréal smoked meat twice before but all I presumably wrong places (once in Vancouver over poutine, once at a fast food joint in a mall in Quebec City).
My SO’s car got rear ended while driving from Quebec City so we stayed an additional night in Montréal when we intended to go to Maine. We decided we ought to try a proper Montréal smoked meat sandwich but no way in hell was I going to wait in –19 degree weather for Schwartz’s (not to mention I tend to avoid cliched tourist trap restaurants) so I did a little googling for what would be a good alternative. I found many comments about this being as good if not better than Schwartz’s so we headed out here for our last meal in Montréal for the time being.
I ordered a regular (less peppery) smoked meat sandwich, medium fat on rye, with a side of fries and some coffee. The SO ordered his «old-​fashioned» but otherwise the same and with a matzo ball soup instead.
The coffee was fantastic– this is great deli coffee and they’re generous with refills. We don’t have weak brown water coffee where the refills come only with the check. This ain’t no Stumptown roasters but might I say this is a damn fine cup of coffee.
The matzo ball soup– not so much. It was literally a mushy bland matzo ball in a pool of neon yellow chicken broth made from bouillon. Avoid at all costs, it tastes like a ramen seasoning packet.
Now for the sandwich– it’s pretty good! The meat is piled high and served hit which is fantastic for a cold winter day. Unfortunately I don’t think I’m sold on Montréal smoked meat. It was like a blander version of pastrami. It doesn’t have then complexity and smoke of pastrami, not to mention I wasn’t a fan of the bread. I like my rye to taste very much like rye and peppered with seeds. Good bread on a sandwich is half of the sandwich battle in my book.
Now my favorite part is this whole meal was the fries! One thing I love about Canadians is that they know fries– no shoestring crap, no nasty inedible chalk coating, amazing crisp yet tender golden brown fries. Amazing. The perfect texture.
I’d return for some fries and coffee in a heart beat (and excellent service!) but I wouldn’t be sad if this is my last MTL smoked meat sandwich ever. Maybe it’s the greasy patriotic American inside of me but I’d choose pastrami over MTL smoked meat any day of the week.

Today, Bry and I got:
2 smoked meats on Rye, 1 fries, 1 pickles and it came to under 20 $
we got a free pepperoni rolled in some fluffy bread while we waited.
It’s an awesome Jewish deli/​restaurant and it’s literally one of the best meals I will remember Montréal by if not the best. Fast, simple, awesome and service isn’t even a question it’s a standard of excellence.
Bry and I walked back to where we were staying. I had some wine with my meal and shabam! we had to go to sleep. The food was outstanding! It was comforting in the most innate form. We’re going back and you need to go here ASAP.

Great authentic Jewish food.
I really loved the matzo ball soup and the bagel with lox. They are open early for people who want an early breakfast.
The staff are friendly and bring everything quickly. I noticed they also had a take out counter for people who are in a rush and need to take food to go. Yum! :)