Spade & Palacio Tours

We signed up for the Beyond the Market Tour and although we expected a group, we were lucky enough to be the only ones and ended up on a private tour with Danny. This was the highlight of our 3 days in Montréal as Danny provided the perfect introduction to local and current Montréal culture, neighborhood history, and food culture. The amount and variety of food and drink were perfect as we tried everything from El Salvadoran pupusas to gourmet charcuterie. Danny made restaurant recommendations and AnneMarie even made a reservation for us the next night at a restaurant where we had a fabulous meal. Would highly recommend Spade and Palacio for a food tour!

What a great way to visit and learn about a new city! We were in Montréal for the weekend and found Spade & Palacio’s website, and signed up for the «Beyond the Market» food tour. So much fun, so much delicious food. Absolutely loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat.

So glad I stumbled upon this tour online prior to visiting Montréal. We were running a few minutes late (missed the 1^st stop) and Ann-​Marie was nice enough to take our first «meal» to go for us… SO glad she did. the yummiest to-​go meal I’ve ever had :)
This tour was worth the money, as there were so many stops and each tasting was yummier than the one before it. I would definitely recommend trying it out! Highlights for us: pupusa, fried chicken, gelato in Marche Jean-​Talon, sausages (blood sausage. mm!).
To the tour owners: To make it better, I would choose a close-​by gastropub (in Little Italy area) & offer a flight or IPA option instead (but the deviled egg was delicious!)
Thanks again!

What a great way to spend an afternoon in Montréal. The choices of food stops were great and the potions were very generous. This was both our lunch and dinner. Wonderful, friendly guide who really knew the history of Montréal.

Ce tour nous fait déxouvrir des endroits qu’on aime revisiter et faire découvrir à d’autres.
Les guides sont super et on né sent pas rusher ou bousculer. On passé un très bon moment en ayant bien mangé et bien bu.
Je le recommande à tous, même si on vit à montréal.
Bravo!

Spade and Palacio Tours offered an amazing walking trip through some of the most interesting neighbourhoods in Montréal. For four hours our guides shared their knowledge about local food, street art and diverse history of the city of Montréal including:
How to make and eat pupusas.
The overlaying history of the Italian, Latino and Vietnamese immigration that settled down around Jean Talon market.
The story of the most popular market in North America (my personal rating) and some of its best stands
Where to find some of the best sausages and local beers in Montréal
More about beer, how it is brewed, why drinking in a brew pub is the best choice and you get to try yourself why the famous Québécois poutine is must have with it.
The history of Mile-​Ex and its adorable outdoor murals.
The science of coffee making and brewing
And some more about beer in industrial set up.
The Montréal park culture and why the parks are the best places to take your picnic basket filled with delicious fried chicken.
It’s not over yet, by the end of the tour you will be given a list of many more places you have to visit around.
Beware, portions are generous, don’t eat too much before the tour. It is a good walk, comfy shoes and bottle of water in the summer will do well.
Must try walking tour of the Jean Talon market area!

Ann-​Marie and Danny run a solid tour of March Jean-​Talon and area in 6 stops. A very clever, curious story of the Barrio Latino and the different Latin immigrants that come from there. Then onto the Marche with some more in depth explanation of some of the producers that specialize in their trade. Onto the next stop was a store that specializes in Lac Brome Duck and sausages. Then onward to a Brasserie for some deep explanation of why micro brasserie beer should not get you as sick as mainstream mass market beer. Then it’s off to a very up and coming coffee roaster serving up some Joe that’s completely different in taste to the normal medium– dark roast we sip in Montréal and Canada. Finishing off with some fried chicken, collard greens and hush puppies should put you well onto your way into nap mode. The tour is just shy of 3 hrs so come prepared with an empty stomach.
Bring some comfortable shoes it’s good exercise. If you are mobility challenged ask ahead if they can accommodate you.
Looking forward to see if they come up with some different other food tour options. Montréal is a city that has so many different up and coming cultural, food and drink options. Let’s see what these two can come up with!
Thanks, it was a blast!

What a great experience learning about the mile-​ex/​little Italy neighbourhood! The walking tour was both informative (providing us with the history of the neighbourhoods and information about the food) as well as delicious! We got to sample everything from pupusa and artisanal sausages to beer and coffees. Even as a born and raised Montrealer, I got to discover new eateries and learn a little more about my city. The guides were great and perfect hosts during our tour!

These guys are fantastic! The places they took us to on their walking tour were one-​of-​a-​kind and the food was amazing. But more than that, I loved discovering the culture and history around Mile-​Ex when we detoured off the beaten path to look at the area’s architecture and street art. These guys’ knowledge of the neighborhood and its establishments was in-​depth and impressive, which makes them that much more awesome. This was the best walking tour I have ever been on anywhere, and by the end, I wanted to make both of these two be friends with me. I am so glad that at the end of the tour, they hand out their ‘cheat sheet’ that lists the places we visited as well as other cool places to visit in the area. You can bet that I will be going to every single one of the other places they recommend.

Holy smokes… these guys know their stuff!
I thought this was going to be a quick food crawl, but it turned out to be a historical tour of Parc/​Mile-​Ex with six itis-​inducing stops in between.
We started at Los Planes for Pupusas — an El Salavadorian delight, reminiscent of a flat arepa.
Next, we strolled over to Marché Jean-​Talon where we got a quick history and were pointed towards some of the market’s top shops. After a few minutes shopping for produce, we headed upstairs and indulged in some maple smoked salmon. Danny wasn’t satisfied with the quantity of maple, so he pulled out a secret bottle from his jacket pocket and doused the plate in syrupy goodness.
From there, we stopped for a quick sausage/​rilletes combo at Canards Lac Brome. Their beer selection is off the chain. Buy some while you’re there (you’ll get a 10% discount).
What next??? Oh yeah! Harricana brew pub for beerS and poutine. Then Dispatch for some of the best coffee this city has to offer.
To finish things off, we strolled over to Dinette Triple Crown for their famous fried chicken, hush puppies and collard greens.
I’m done right now. So happy that my home is a downhill bike ride away or I’d be sleeping in a park right now.