I personally think this place is over rated! Yes it has history and is most definitely known worldwide and has been acquired by Celine Dion which could be appealing for some but still it's okay!
This review is not quite up-to-date since I am no longer a meat eater but I can still provide my honest opinion for those who want to go and get their Deli fix. Back in the days, I had personally tried tons of other smoked meats (in Europe & USA) and there was not 1 but few places that had better tasting smoked meat than Schwartz's.
One thing that upset me so much is that when I went, we weren't sure which combo option to go for so the waiter suggested the big plate version (so we could share he said). This option not only costed more than the original option we wanted but they ended up charging us 3$ more on the bill for sharing a plate?!? It was a bit sneaky, since no where on the menu was this mentioned, nor did he (the waiter) mention it and HE had suggested this plate so we could share. At the end, we could've each had what we wanted to begin which would've cost the same price as the 1 plate he had suggested with the extra fee's. Just for the lack of honesty, we never went back!
I wouldn't go anymore for obvious reasons but even if I was still eating meat I wouldn't go back.
Pro's:
- Well located in a happening spot of Montreal (Plateau)
- Probably an iconic diner spot to try on your Bucket List (Still over-rated)
Con's:
- Service seems dishonest, not a personal opinion but from what I read with other peoples reviews as well
- Not too many choices
- Very small sitting & borderline clean...