In Quebec, the arrival of spring is synonymous with sugaring-off time, that magical moment when the sap flows and the maple trees are transformed into a gourmet feast. Here are 15 suggestions for living and reliving this delicious time of year. Get your taste buds ready: the sugaring season promises to be full of discoveries! 🍁 🍽️
1. When apple meets maple
Labonté de la pomme
In Oka, the Cabane à Pommes à l’Érable is inviting gourmets to book now for an unforgettable spring experience. 😍 The Cabane Pommes à l’Érable offers four distinct formulas: a warm, rustic meal served indoors, a bistro counter with a winter terrace, a winter picnic and even a takeaway box lunch. Our culinary creations are a bold blend of maple and apple, available in traditional or gourmet menus to suit all tastes. On-site activities abound, including a snowshoe trail, a visit to the kettle, maple taffy, a gourmet shop and cider tasting.
2. Let the sugaring season begin!
Cabane à sucre Constantin
In Saint-Eustache, the Cabane à sucre Constantin kicks off its season on 14 February. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the emphasis is on tradition: come without reservation to enjoy an all-you-can-eat meal typical of the sugaring-off season. 🍽️ The Constantin family has been perpetuating maple syrup production know-how for several generations, and the quality of the dishes and friendly service are no exception. The hut also offers a range of fun activities to round off the experience, making it an unmissable place to mark the start of spring.
📍 Saint-Eustache (Laurentides)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
3. When tradition rhymes with refinement
Huit 100 Vingt
In Sainte-Marcelline-de-Kildare, from 1ᵉʳ March, you can sit down in front of the evaporator, in a bright room with a breathtaking view of the countryside. On the menu, a warm refinement around maple: quality pork, sweet and savoury sauces and original touches that enhance the whole. The experience is available from Thursday to Sunday and can be booked online from 1ᵉʳ February. Here you can savour not only the festive spirit of sugar time, but also inventive gastronomy that pays tribute to the sweetest of Quebec traditions. 🥰
📍 Sainte-Marcelline-de-Kildare (Lanaudière)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
4. A rustic chic experience
Bistreau d’érable
In the Chaudière-Appalaches region, Le Bistreau d’Érable charms with its family approach and organic certification. With its 25,000 taps, this cabin is part of the Réseau Économusée, promoting the maple syrup industry and its know-how. The rustic-chic dining room serves a traditional meal revisited with local products. A guided tour is included to discover the evaporator and the syrup-making process, while taffy on snow adds to the fun for young and old alike. Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from March 1 to March 27! 🔎
📍 Sainte-Lucie-de-Beauregard (Chaudière-Appalaches)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
5. Sugar brunch
Projet La Ruche
In Baie-des-Sables, two Sundays (2 and 9 March) promise to be gourmet affairs at Projet La Ruche, offering a sugar shack brunch from 9am to 2pm. The à la carte menu lets you put together a feast to suit your tastes, with taffy on snow if the weather permits. There’s something for everyone, from sweet treats to comfort food and a warm atmosphere. ☃️
📍Baie-des-Sables (Bas-Saint-Laurent)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
6. Two hours of maple bliss
Cabane à sucre La Martine
At La Martine from 8 march to 27 april, you can take your time to savour a menu divided into several courses for almost two hours of pure pleasure. The dishes, both traditional and revisited, are prepared entirely on the premises. After the tasting, taffy on snow is the order of the day, followed by a tour of the facilities and a guided tour of the maple grove to learn all about the secrets of maple water.
📍 Saint-Romain (Cantons-de-l’Est)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
7. The maple in all its forms
Érablière Aux Petits Plaisirs
In Warwick, Aux Petits Plaisirs is inviting gourmets to a feast in a country setting from 14 March to 30 April. The 50-seat venue offers a menu inspired by Grandma Moreau’s recipes and, on certain weekends, a menu revisited by a guest chef. Maple products are also available in processed products, gift boxes and even a range of skincare products. To extend the pleasure at home, you can choose from sugar shack meal boxes ready to share with the family.
📍 Warwick (Centre-du-Québec)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
8. The gourmet sugar shack
Restaurant Les Mal-Aimés
For two weekends, Les Mal-Aimés is transforming itself into a gourmet sugar shack. With their micro-grove of around forty taps, they produce enough syrup to create a special menu, served on Fridays 21 and 28 March, and Saturdays 22 and 29 March. The good news is that you can already reserve your place! ❣️
📍Cookshire-Eaton (Cantons-de-l’Est)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
9. Immersion on the farm
Le Mangeoir
In Montérégie, Le Mangeoir offers an immersive Table des Sucres surrounded by the tranquillity of the countryside and the proximity of animals to enjoy a menu concocted entirely with ingredients from their farm and local market gardeners. Here, everything is prepared on site, with love and respect for the land. Services are held on Saturdays and Sundays (lunch and dinner), from 22 March to 13 April, with a ‘bring your own wine’ option. An invitation for those wishing to rediscover the sugaring season with a menu revisited in an authentic spirit, to the sound of the surrounding nature. 🐄
10.Between tradition and elegance
Maison de Soma
Maison de Soma in Mont-Tremblant is announcing the return of its Sugar Menu in March and April. During the day (Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), a set menu at $75 will appeal to those looking for a reinvented maple brunch, while in the evening (Thursdays to Sundays, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.), a seasonal menu will vary the pleasures. With its elegant ambience and inventive cuisine, Maison de Soma is the ideal address for celebrating maple with a touch of refinement, without sacrificing any of the conviviality! 🤗
📍 Mont-Tremblant (Laurentides)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
11. Cheese and maple
Fromagerie L’Ancêtre
Fromagerie L’Ancêtre offers a wide range of maple products: syrups, sugars, butters and other gourmet treasures! Located in Bécancour, the company is renowned for its organic cheeses and offers the chance to add a sweet touch to your shopping. For even more pleasure, you can pair an aged cheese with a drizzle of maple syrup! 🧀
📍 Bécancour (Centre-du-Québec)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
12. Duck dinner
Le Canard Goulu
To recreate the cabin atmosphere at home, Le Canard Goulu offers delights based on duck and maple. From maple foie gras blocks and smoked duck breast to original recipes like pears stuffed with foie gras and caramelised walnuts, it’s all part of a meal worthy of the sugaring-off season, with a gastronomic twist. The Canard Goulu boutiques are brimming with sweet and savoury inspirations that will make your springtime tables shine, and you can also consult their ideas on their website to innovate in the kitchen! 🧑🍳
📍 Saint-Apollinaire (Chaudière-Appalaches)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
13. Maple blueberries
Les Délices du Lac-Saint-Jean
Wild blueberries and organic maple… that’s the combination offered by Les Délices du Lac Saint-Jean! This jam brings out the freshness of the fruit and the sweetness of the maple syrup, for a result that’s both delicious and healthy. 🫐 Ideal for the sugaring-off season, it goes equally well on toast or as an accompaniment to your favourite desserts. As a bonus, a percentage of sales is donated to the Club des petits déjeuners!
📍Albanel (Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean)
💻 Website | Instagram | Facebook
14. A sweet treat in Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Tourisme Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Tourisme Vaudreuil-Soulanges provides a wealth of information on the nine regional sugar shacks in the magnificent Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. From rustic charm to a more contemporary approach, there’s something for every taste, always with the pleasure of freshly-harvested sap. The Sucrerie de la Montagne (which offers a year-round sugar experience! 🤩 ) is a must-see, but the other maple groves are also well worth a visit.
📍 Vaudreuil-Soulanges
💻 Website
15. Sweet escapades in Centre-du-Québec
Tourisme Centre-du-Québec
Le Centre-du-Québec regorge d’érablières, parfaites pour célébrer le temps des sucres dans toute sa splendeur. La Cabane à Sucre chez Ti-Père, à Drummondville, accueille familles et groupes d’amis pour un généreux festin sucré – mariage, party ou simple pause après une virée en motoneige. Les plus curieux se tourneront vers l’Érablière Aux Petits Plaisirs, à Warwick, pour un repas de cabane à sucre traditionnel, des produits transformés artisanaux et même une gamme de soins à l’érable! Enfin, l’Érablière Prince, à Saint-Wenceslas, perpétue depuis 45 ans une tradition alliant repas copieux, tire sur neige et balades en traîneau. ❄️
Whether you opt for an all-you-can-eat meal in a family atmosphere, a gastronomic experience in a bucolic setting, or even home-cooked produce, you’ll always find the same common thread: a passion for local produce and the pleasure of getting together. So get your forks ready, and above all your appetite… Happy sweet season! 🍁
