Swanky SpiritHouse Cocktail and Tapas Bar Now Open in Old Montreal

Montreal's surging cocktail scene has a new player with the arrival of SpiritHouse at 244 Saint-Jacques Ouest.

The cocktail, tapas bar and restaurant held a launch event yesterday and is now open Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Thursday and Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. and Saturday from 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.

General manager Chris Natale, bartender mentor par excellence, told Eater last month that SpiritHouse is "all about quality and innovation."

"The products and the presentation are high-quality. And it’s not just about cocktails but food too. Our [whisky, bourbon] flights are presented on a nice board with full portions. We plan to do bottled cocktails, which is an interesting trend right now."

Natale also spoke about the food menu.

I would characterize the food as secondary but definitely not overlooked. It is a bar. The food menu will be very similar to Toronto [think charcuterie plates, cheese plates] and will change every 6 months. The cocktails too. Spirit House Toronto will unveil a brand new cocktail menu in two to three weeks which we will use here in Montreal. The next cocktail menu in March will probably feature some of our ideas. In December we’re hosting the staff from Toronto to test new cocktails and food menu items. The best ones will go on the menu. It’ll be a kind of friendly competition between the two bars in both cities.

SpiritHouse staff includes Eater Bartender of the Year nominee Max Coubès and Frederique Leblanc (late of Datcha).

Alambika owner Jean-Sébastien Michel, as close an observer of the cocktail bar scene in Montreal as there is, writes that he "loved the place. Not too fancy, genuine, killer cocktails and spirits menu. They snatched the cream of the crop in terms of staff and management. Lovely, really."