Rouge Gorge’s Beer Bar is Back — And Other New Bars to Know

PLATEAU — Mont-Royal Avenue bar Le Terminal is open again, with a fully revamped interior to boot. The beer-focused neighbourhood spot has been closed for several weeks, but makes a hot comeback with a whopping 30 beer lines dedicated heavily to Quebec micro and craft brews — those include some breweries that are pretty darn tough to find on tap in this city, like Le Castor, Microbrasserie Charlevoix, and Brasserie Dunham. Le Terminal’s kitchen is also open again, doing mostly pub fare such as fish and chips, short ribs and a few less-pub-style bites like cod acras. Le Terminal is owned by Laurent Farre and Alain Rochard, who have become mini-magnates on the Plateau bar scene with three venues. For those keeping track, the duo have cornered the boozy holy trinity of beer (with Le Terminal), wine (Rouge Gorge) and cocktails (Le Royal), all of which are in close proximity to each other on the Mont Royal strip.

STATUS — Open 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday to Tuesday and 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday, at 1875 Mont-Royal E.

Le Terminal

CÔTE-DES-NEIGES — In other bar opening news, Côte-des-Neiges has an eminently affordable new watering hole named Zeppelin. It takes over the premises of the former Pizza Fiore on Lacombe Avenue and seems to be aimed at the student crowd from nearby Université de Montréal and business school HEC — it boasts a menu of pub food priced entirely at five dollars. That means standards like burgers, tacos, and poutine, but most notably wood-fired pizzas — probably the cheapest place in town to make such an offer (it’s possibly a vestige of the pizzeria that was the space’s former tenant). The $5 menu model is one that has been tested out with relative success elsewhere in the city, most notably at Rosemont’s Pot Masson — although Pot Masson now undercuts Zeppelin by a huge ten cents, with a $4.90 menu.

STATUS — Open 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. weekdays and 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, at 3518 Lacombe.

LATIN QUARTER — Also in student-friendly booze news is something for UQAM students and the general downtown crowd. A new café-bar named Ginkgo is open on Sainte-Catherine near St-Denis. While it’s technically on UQAM’s campus, the space is far removed from what the words “campus bar” might suggest: it’s bright, with a woody space featuring lots of plants. The drinking options are a mix — there’s student staples like Pabst, but also a raspberry take on a gin and tonic, and a few somewhat intriguing beer-based cocktails. Outside of imbibing hours, Ginkgo has a full breakfast menu and coffee options; there are also pub-style snacks on a menu put together by Saint-Hyacinthe catering operation Quinty’s Kitchen.

STATUS — Open from 7 a.m. daily until midnight (Monday to Wednesday), 3 a.m. (Thursday to Saturday) and 3 p.m. (Sunday).

Ginkgo

GRIFFINTOWN — A notable new wine-based business model has emerged on Guy Street in the form of private wine club Le Parloir. It’s billed as a private cellar, where members can “store, share, and consume [their] own wine”. Parloir isn’t really a wine supplier — rather, its members get temperature-controlled cellar spaces where they store their own wines. They can then drink them on-site in various members-only settings — it’s vaguely along the lines of private club Soho House, which is located in various larger cities around the globe. It’s also decidedly a Rich People Thing, with memberships starting at a casual $1400 and going up to $3500, before tax — those prices will get members cellar space through to December 2018.

STATUS — Le Parloir is open at 424 Guy, Local G05, but only for members.

• Soho House, Explained [E]
• New Rosemont Restaurant Pot Masson is Pun-tastic [EMTL]
• Le Terminal [Official]
• Zeppelin [Official]
• Ginkgo Café & Bar [Official]
• Le Parloir [Official]