The much anticipated Boucherie Lawrence just opened in the Mile-End 4 days ago and I’ve already been twice in as many days. Yes, it’s that good.

This neighbourhood butcher shop comes from the same people as Lawrence restaurant two doors down. The large lettering on the outside window and the small pig sign makes it hard to miss when you walk by it. Inside, the shop is airy with the meat counter at the back along with a large working area as well as a walk-in fridge filled with meat. There’s a bar counter with stools along the sunny front window as well as a large wooden table taking up most of the front of the space and at which one can eat. The whole ambiance is casual, hip and with a slight vintage accent, just like the one at Lawrence.

Boucherie Lawrence specializes in the sale of respectfully raised meat from small independent Quebec producers. They also offer a small sample of dairy products – eggs, milk, cream, butter and cheese – all carefully picked from small, local independent farms as well. They make their own charcuterie – including salumi, sausages and smoked meat and fish – as well as their own bread, yogurt and clotted cream (which I am very excited about since it is impossible to find clotted cream in Montreal!).

In the space of two days, I’ve managed to sample 4 different sandwiches (ham, porchetta, smoked merguez and roast beef), the delicious lemonade and ice tea, and a few of the dairy products that I brought home. The sandwiches are made using their homemade small bread loaves and are slathered with a generous amount of butter. The bread is topped with your choice of meat, sliced and weighed à la minute, dusted with cheese and sprinkled with a generous amount of sharp arugula leaves. They are then wrapped in butcher paper and are handed to you. Unwrapping the sandwich feels a little like unwrapping a Christmas gift and the first bite already had me hooked. The crispy yet soft bread, the smoothness and richness of the butter, the sharpness of the arugula and the cheese all contribute into making these sandwiches some of the best I’ve ever had. 

I realize that it’s only been four days. I realize that I have yet to taste the meat. This post is about those sandwiches, the kind you wake up the next day craving, or at least such was the case with me. I just ate one a few hours ago and I could easily go for another one now. You’ve been warned.

Boucherie Lawrence
5237 Saint-Laurent
514 277 8880

Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 9am – 7pm
Saturday – Sunday: 10am – 6pm