Among the more recent additions to Montreal’s Portuguese dining scene, Cantine Emilia made its debut back in 2018 with tasty chicken dishes and a design inspired by Portugal’s characteristic blue and white azulejo tiles. Now with seven outposts dotting the city, the restaurant has gained popularity for its creative twists, such as a chicken sandwich filled with cheese curds and popcorn chouriço with piri-piri mayo for dipping.

Diners looking for an easygoing, crowd-pleasing place to grab a meal with family and friends should consider heading to Imperio on Jarry East. The Portuguese grill prepares a variety of staples, including bitoque (a steak topped with a fried egg),  garlicky shrimp, and, of course, some mouth-watering piri-piri chicken. Though an excellent bet for sit-down meets, takeout and delivery (via Uber Eats) are also options.

Looking for some fuss-free takeout in Lasalle? This family-run spot, named after the picturesque city of Viana do Castelo in Northern Portugal, is a winner. In business since 2017, Viana’s menu features everything from the well-appreciated “family meal” (a whole chicken with a choice of two sides: rice, fries, or salad) to the “chicho,” a sandwich stacked with both chicken and chouriço.

The charcoal grill at Casa Alentejo gets put to good use with octopus, squid, sardines, bifana (pork cutlet), cod, and chicken all obtaining a nice char. Nestled into a small locale just south of Plaza St-Hubert, it’s been serving chicken — with a house sauce that strikes the perfect balance of heat and tang — to residents of La Petite-Patrie for years.

Chez Doval is a quintessential small neighbourhood gem. Opened in 1974, this ultra-cozy, home-style restaurant tucked behind the Plateau’s Parc du Portugal ticks off all the boxes when it comes to no-nonsense Portuguese cuisine. That includes some superb grilled sardines, thrifty carafes of house wine, and a mighty fine chicken.

This trailblazing restaurant on Rachel East has been cooking up one of the city’s most beloved renditions of piri-piri chicken for almost 30 years now. It was instrumental in propelling the dish to icon status, and despite recently changing ownership, remains a local favourite.

A Plateau landmark, Coco Rico is the city’s oldest Portuguese chicken purveyor, still going strong over a half-century after founder Francisco Pedro Castanheira jumpstarted the Montreal obsession. Here, amber-skinned chickens rotate whole in the front window (rather than split and grilled over charcoal as at most other spots), with oven-roasted potatoes serving as the perfect accompaniment.

Run by the same family behind nearby counter-service joint Coco Rico (also on the Main), Jano provides more of a homey, sit-down dining experience. It’s well-known for plating an exquisite bird, but if you want to diversify your protein, sardines, squid, rabbit, lamb chops, and spare ribs all get the charcoal grill treatment, too.

Locally-raised chicken bathed for 24 hours in piri-piri marinade is the selling point at this fast-casual haunt that opened downtown in 2016. When it comes to Portuguese food, the folks behind Campo rule Montreal’s Golden Square Mile, with a second location at Time Out Market, a nearby café and sandwich shop called Vasco da Gama, and upscale dinner destination Café Ferreira.

East-end Montrealers are well-served by Luso for all their charcoal-grilled chicken needs. Located on Bélanger East (in Saint-Léonard), it offers all the basics: chicken by the half or the whole, loaded into a crusty, sauce-soaking papo seco (sandwich roll), or served on top of a poutine.