Formerly a hub for Jewish immigrants and later creative types, Mile End has shifted plenty over the years, often to the dismay of whoever’s living there at the time. The biggest — and perhaps most controversial — shift came when gaming company Ubisoft moved into the neighbourhood in 1997, bringing with it a wave of tech workers spilling into the streets at lunch time.
You’ll still find world-famous bagel shops and resilient businesses defying the test of rampant real estate speculation, but an influx of trendy joints that can afford high rents have arrived en force, changing the face of the chameleon Mile End once more.
What that means for dining in the neighbourhood is that it’s a mixed bag — no cuisine really dominates; older institutions and small family-run spots coexist with some of the city’s finest restaurants, cool casual hang-outs, and slick takeout counters.
For the purposes of this map, we left out establishments that don’t really focus on full meals (such as coffee shops, the famed bagel producers, ultra popular ice creamery Kem Coba and bakeries like Hof Kelsten and Guillaume), although many of them can be found on Eater’s Mile End carb crawl.
Restaurants from Mont-Royal to Van Horne on the north-south side, and Hutchison to St-Denis on the east-west were all considered.
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