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MTL.
Oct 12 — 15
Corner storefront of Wilensky's Light Lunch on Avenue Fairmount in Mile End, with green trim, a red brick facade, hand-lettered yellow window signs and two bicycles at the curb

Counter / Mile End

Wilensky's Light Lunch

BALONEY, SINCE 1932

A 1932 Mile End lunch counter still run by the Wilensky family, built around one grilled salami-and-baloney sandwich.

From home
12 min drive
5.34 km. Walk 69 min
Spend
$$$$
est. $7-15 per person
Our dates
Open Tue-Thu. closed Mon
Give it 20-30 min
Menu

Photo: Shawn in Montreal at English Wikipedia, Public domain

The verdict

Go. This is a ten-minute, under-$10 history lesson: a fountain soda and the Special, pressed hot with mustard and never cut. Order two if you are hungry, add a cherry-cola and a sour pickle. It is cash or Interac, the room is small, and it will not work on Monday Thanksgiving, so slot it Tue to Thu.

  • Open since 1932 and still run by the Wilensky family (official site, Tastet)
  • The Special is one of Montréal's signature cheap lunches
  • Fits easily into a Mile End bagel and coffee wander

Order this

Tap the circle to want it. Tap again once it's eaten.

Wilensky's Light Lunch, the short list

  • Must order

    Wilensky Special

    $5.21

    All-beef salami and all-beef bologna with mustard, grilled on a roll.

    The reason the place exists, made since 1932 per the official menu.

    On their menu: Wilensky's official website. Swiss or cheddar $5.86. Plus taxes. Official menu image is undated; Tastet (2021) quoted $4.17, so prices have moved.

  • Must order

    Cherry-cola (fountain)

    $2.21

    Old-fashioned soda fountain drink; many flavours.

    Cherry-cola is on the official fountain list; RestoMontreal reviewers mention the sodas often.

    On their menu: Wilensky's official website. Regular; large $4.21.

  • Hot dog (top or bottom)

    $3.99

    All-beef hot dog served open-face on an onion roll top or plain bottom.

    The other house specialty, called tops and bottoms.

    On their menu: Wilensky's official website. With swiss or cheddar $4.64.

  • Chopped egg sandwich

    $4.75

    Cold chopped egg sandwich.

    The non-meat option on a short menu.

    On their menu: Wilensky's official website. With swiss or cheddar $5.19.

  • Half-sour pickle

    $1.49

    Side pickle.

    Reviewers mention the half-sours; sour pickle also $1.49.

    On their menu: Wilensky's official website

Menus change. Prices are from the posted menu, before tax and tip.

What people actually say

Recurring themes, not cherry-picked quotes.

Love

  • The Special is the draw
  • Long family continuity since 1932
  • Fountain sodas, cherry-cola especially, and the pickles (RestoMontreal review keywords)
  • Very low prices

Know before you go

  • Small space; takeout available on every item
  • Cash or Interac only; sandwich not customizable
  • Closed Sunday and Monday, so NOT open Thanksgiving Monday Oct 12
  • Open Tue-Thu Oct 13-15, 10am-4pm
  • Cash or Interac only per the official menu; small room (RestoMontreal and reviewers describe few seats)
  • Sandwich always comes with mustard and is not cut (Tastet)

Dishes that keep coming up

Wilensky Special, Cherry-cola, Half-sour pickle, Hot dog

Room
Old-school lunch counter with a soda fountain.
Service
Fast counter service; rules are firm (Tastet notes the no-exceptions approach).
Value
Exceptional: a sandwich and a soda for well under $10.

Synthesized from the Tastet profile (updated Dec 2021) and RestoMontreal review keywords; Roadfood and platform reviews were not re-verified and are not relied on.

Vibe check

old school/family run/casual/low key

Best fora cheap lunch, food history, a quick stop between Mile End bagels and coffee

How much we'll spend

$$$$Est. $7-15 / person

Wilensky Special $5.21 plus regular fountain soda $2.21 = about $7.42; with a second item or pickle roughly $15. Plus taxes. Official menu image is undated.

Our estimate from posted prices, CAD, before tax and tip. Québec purchases carry the 5% federal GST plus the 9.975% Québec Sales Tax (QST, TVQ in French): 14.975% combined on taxable items. Tourisme Montréal: it is customary to tip restaurant servers, taxi drivers and hairdressers 15% of the bill, before taxes. Bellhops, porters and doormen generally get at least $2 per bag or service; coffee and food counters often have a tip cup by the register.

On our dates

Tue-Sat 10am-4pm; closed Sun and Mon

  1. Mon 12Closed
  2. Tue 13Open10am to 4pm
  3. Wed 14Open10am to 4pm
  4. Thu 15Open10am to 4pm

Thanksgiving MondayOfficial hours page states closed every Sunday and Monday (standing statement), so Monday Oct 12, 2026 is closed. Thanksgiving is not separately listed.

Full week
MonClosed
Tue10am to 4pm
Wed10am to 4pm
Thu10am to 4pm
Fri10am to 4pm
Sat10am to 4pm
SunClosed

Official hours page also lists closures on Dec 25 2025, Jan 1 2026, Feb 16-28 2026, Jun 24, Jul 1, Sep 12-18 2026, Dec 25 2026, Jan 1 2027. Oct 13-15 are not listed as closures. Site says check back for changes. Some aggregators show different weekday hours (e.g. Mon-Fri 9am); the official page governs.

Hours from the venue's own listing, checked Oct 8, 2026.

Make a night of it

Dinner, drinks, late night. Real walking times between.

  1. DinnerWilensky's Light LunchBaloney, since 1932

  2. 7 min walk (0.48 km)

    DrinksLe Rodman Bar FestifDinner first, dancing later

  3. 3 min walk (0.21 km)

    Late nightCafé OlimpicoThe espresso institution

Pair it with

  • St-Viateur Bagel, a short walk away in Mile End, for a bagel to go
  • Fairmount Bagel, on the same street, for the other classic bagel shop
  • Cafe Olimpico on Rue St-Viateur for an espresso after

Where

34 Avenue Fairmount Ouest, Montréal, QC H2T 2M1

69 min walk (5.11 km) / 12 min drive, no traffic / 30 min by bike

From 216 Rue Young. Routes from OpenStreetMap data; transit times are in the maps app.

Show on our map wilenskys.com Call

No reservation system found; counter service. All menu items available for takeout (official menu).

While you're there

1 min walk from here

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5 min walk from here

The receipt

Where every fact on this page comes from.

Fact-checkedResearched and independently re-checked Oct 8, 2026, 3 details corrected. Confidence: medium.

Details to confirm

  • Official menu image is undated; confirm prices by phone
  • Official site is served over a broken HTTPS certificate and old HTTP pages; fine but verify hours by phone at 514-271-0247
  • No closure/rebrand news search could be completed for 2025-2026; confirm by phone at 514-271-0247
  • Seating capacity unconfirmed
  1. OfficialWilensky's official website: Store hours and welcome pageaccessed 2026-10-08
  2. CommunityRestoMontreal: Wilensky listing with recent reviewsaccessed 2026-10-08
  3. EditorialTastet: Wilensky: A timeless and successful classicaccessed 2026-10-08
  4. OfficialWilensky's official website: Our Menu (image)accessed 2026-10-08