St-Viateur Bagel has been baking wood-fired bagels at 263 avenue Saint-Viateur Ouest since 1957, and the recipe and method have not changed since. The bagels are hand-rolled, dipped in honey water, and baked in a wood-fired oven that runs around the clock. The result is denser, chewier, and slightly sweeter than New York bagels — a product of a completely different tradition.
The shop sells only bagels: sesame, poppy, or everything. You buy them by the half-dozen or dozen, still warm from the oven, and eat them as is or take them back to wherever you're staying. The ritual is to get there early, when the bagels come out fastest, drink coffee from a café on Saint-Viateur, and eat standing on the street. The rival Fairmount Bagel (74 avenue Fairmount Ouest, open 24 hours since 1919) is equally good, and the debate over which is better is one of Montreal's most entertaining ongoing arguments.