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Where to Day Drink in Montreal

For when beer o’clock starts at noon

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Summer is terrasse season for Montrealers, and that means long hours of lounging with a cold beer, or evenings spent sipping a favourite cocktail on a shady rooftop or courtyard. While it’s a much more popular evening activity, there are also many options open during the hottest hours of the day.

Here are some good bets, all of which open at noon or earlier, weekdays or weekend — and they keep their long hours right through winter, too.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Broue Pub Brouhaha

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Cool and calm Rosemont brewpub Brouhaha features its own brews on tap alongside a range of other Quebec microbrews, with a selection that runs the gamut from fruity to spicy or hoppy, all served up alongside flatbread pizzas and other pub fare. A second location, further north in Ahuntsic, is also open all day long. —Tim Forster

Brasserie Harricana

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A snappy microbrewery and bar with rather eclectic décor and a wide range of offerings, Harricana is a delight. The beer list is innovative and appealing, including some truly wonderful ciders, alongside some classy pub food dishes, and the vibe is modern without sacrificing a laid-back, comfortable feel.

Vices & Versa

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With a Quebec beer list that fills an entire chalkboard, this Little Italy pub has friendly service that’s helpful for the indecisive, making it’s a great place to get better acquainted with local beers. The charcuterie board is mouthwateringly good, and only made better by the woody terrasse out back.

Bishop & Bagg

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There are a fair number of pubs to choose between during daytime hours in Montreal, but Mile End’s Bishop & Bagg delivers on atmosphere and conviviality. Alongside beers they provide a specialty tea cocktail, and a wide range of gins, a point of pride for the bar. The small summer terrasse makes for great people-watching on St-Viateur Street, too.

Siboire Brewpub

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A delightful brewpub on St-Laurent imported from Sherbrooke, Siboire offers delicious, rustic-leaning craft brews under industrial-chic ceilings or on a streetside terrasse. Luckily, it also offers flights of six small beer samples. The food is also solid, with the fish and chips especially recommended.

Dieu du Ciel

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One of the city’s longer-running craft brewers, Dieu du Ciel!’s exciting labels have made them recognizable on dépanneur shelves, but the brewpub is worth a visit too. The Mile End location boasts a summer terrasse, often packed with thirsty patrons, all served by knowledgeable staff.

Le Darling

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A fittingly-named café-bar gem that oozes vintage cosiness, and a touch of steampunk, Le Darling serves beer and cider on tap. in an interior fit for lounging elegantly while reciting Oscar Wilde witticisms, or just checking emails on a laptop. It also seems to be among the most Instagrammed spots in town, for what it’s worth.

Réservoir

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While it’s a prime brunch spot on the Plateau, Réservoir is primarily a brewpub — the beer options are the focus, ranging from Réservoir’s long-running cream ale to new additions like a wheat cherry brew. Since being taken over by the owners of now-closed, ever-beloved restaurant Hôtel Herman, Réservoir also serves a great range of wines, and next-level bar food.

As friendly as its bright blue exterior suggests, Else’s is a comfortable, fun spot for lunch and a drink. It’s a neighbourhood pub with a mix of regulars and newcomers, where a midday drink is encouraged and you’re likely to end up in conversation with the people around you.

With a swanky but chilled-out café, bar, and eatery that could easily make you forget that it’s technically on a university campus, Ginkgo is a recent addition to Montreal’s bar scene. The interior is sunny and whimsical, with hanging plants and patterns favouring birds and flowers. Dishes and drinks alike are colourful, artistic, and light, matching the tone of the surroundings and making the whole place feel like a tropical garden.

Taverne Gaspar

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Serving various Quebec beers and some creative cocktails, this Old Montreal watering hole opens seriously early (for breakfast, but nothing stopping you from grabbing a Caesar) and closes early, and embraces an warm tavern vibe both in décor and food. The patio looks out onto the well-trodden cobblestone streets, it’s good for visitors or people watching, and bonus: it boasts a rooftop terrace.

Terrasse Place D'Armes

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As a rooftop hotel bar in downtown Montreal, it’s got views and location on its side already, but it doesn’t fall down on the menu front. From the house specialty — a raspberry mojito — to the various charcuterie boards, it’s got food and drink covered. For extra summer refreshment, the weekend menu features an entire list of rosés in various forms — flat, sparkling, or in cocktails.

Terrasse Nelligan

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A hotel bar in Old Montreal, Terrasse Nelligan’s charm comes in part from its splendid view from the rooftop over the city. Famous for its clear sangria (made with white cranberry juice), Nelligan’s cocktail and wine menu is extensive and the lunch and dinner offerings are varied.

Moose Bawr

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One for more of a party crowd, the unpretentious, tongue-in-cheek, and deliberately rustic Moose Bawr pays tribute to Canadian stereotypes through food and drink. Along with the usual suspects (beers both domestic and imported), they have a generous list of sangrias, which are highly recommended for the daytime crowd. It’s a more rowdy spot, all but guaranteed to make a downtown day out a little wilder.

Terrasse St-Ambroise

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St-Ambroise’s brewery has made some staple Montreal beers over the years, and its patio lives up to the ubiquity of its products on corner store shelves, with views over the Lachine Canal in one direction, and into the brewery’s inner workings in the other. Branch out with a grapefruit or tangerine IPA, or stick to the reliably refreshing apricot wheat beer.

Broue Pub Brouhaha

Cool and calm Rosemont brewpub Brouhaha features its own brews on tap alongside a range of other Quebec microbrews, with a selection that runs the gamut from fruity to spicy or hoppy, all served up alongside flatbread pizzas and other pub fare. A second location, further north in Ahuntsic, is also open all day long. —Tim Forster

Brasserie Harricana

A snappy microbrewery and bar with rather eclectic décor and a wide range of offerings, Harricana is a delight. The beer list is innovative and appealing, including some truly wonderful ciders, alongside some classy pub food dishes, and the vibe is modern without sacrificing a laid-back, comfortable feel.

Vices & Versa

With a Quebec beer list that fills an entire chalkboard, this Little Italy pub has friendly service that’s helpful for the indecisive, making it’s a great place to get better acquainted with local beers. The charcuterie board is mouthwateringly good, and only made better by the woody terrasse out back.

Bishop & Bagg

There are a fair number of pubs to choose between during daytime hours in Montreal, but Mile End’s Bishop & Bagg delivers on atmosphere and conviviality. Alongside beers they provide a specialty tea cocktail, and a wide range of gins, a point of pride for the bar. The small summer terrasse makes for great people-watching on St-Viateur Street, too.

Siboire Brewpub

A delightful brewpub on St-Laurent imported from Sherbrooke, Siboire offers delicious, rustic-leaning craft brews under industrial-chic ceilings or on a streetside terrasse. Luckily, it also offers flights of six small beer samples. The food is also solid, with the fish and chips especially recommended.

Dieu du Ciel

One of the city’s longer-running craft brewers, Dieu du Ciel!’s exciting labels have made them recognizable on dépanneur shelves, but the brewpub is worth a visit too. The Mile End location boasts a summer terrasse, often packed with thirsty patrons, all served by knowledgeable staff.

Le Darling

A fittingly-named café-bar gem that oozes vintage cosiness, and a touch of steampunk, Le Darling serves beer and cider on tap. in an interior fit for lounging elegantly while reciting Oscar Wilde witticisms, or just checking emails on a laptop. It also seems to be among the most Instagrammed spots in town, for what it’s worth.

Réservoir

While it’s a prime brunch spot on the Plateau, Réservoir is primarily a brewpub — the beer options are the focus, ranging from Réservoir’s long-running cream ale to new additions like a wheat cherry brew. Since being taken over by the owners of now-closed, ever-beloved restaurant Hôtel Herman, Réservoir also serves a great range of wines, and next-level bar food.

Else's

As friendly as its bright blue exterior suggests, Else’s is a comfortable, fun spot for lunch and a drink. It’s a neighbourhood pub with a mix of regulars and newcomers, where a midday drink is encouraged and you’re likely to end up in conversation with the people around you.

Ginkgo

With a swanky but chilled-out café, bar, and eatery that could easily make you forget that it’s technically on a university campus, Ginkgo is a recent addition to Montreal’s bar scene. The interior is sunny and whimsical, with hanging plants and patterns favouring birds and flowers. Dishes and drinks alike are colourful, artistic, and light, matching the tone of the surroundings and making the whole place feel like a tropical garden.

Taverne Gaspar

Serving various Quebec beers and some creative cocktails, this Old Montreal watering hole opens seriously early (for breakfast, but nothing stopping you from grabbing a Caesar) and closes early, and embraces an warm tavern vibe both in décor and food. The patio looks out onto the well-trodden cobblestone streets, it’s good for visitors or people watching, and bonus: it boasts a rooftop terrace.

Terrasse Place D'Armes

As a rooftop hotel bar in downtown Montreal, it’s got views and location on its side already, but it doesn’t fall down on the menu front. From the house specialty — a raspberry mojito — to the various charcuterie boards, it’s got food and drink covered. For extra summer refreshment, the weekend menu features an entire list of rosés in various forms — flat, sparkling, or in cocktails.

Terrasse Nelligan

A hotel bar in Old Montreal, Terrasse Nelligan’s charm comes in part from its splendid view from the rooftop over the city. Famous for its clear sangria (made with white cranberry juice), Nelligan’s cocktail and wine menu is extensive and the lunch and dinner offerings are varied.

Moose Bawr

One for more of a party crowd, the unpretentious, tongue-in-cheek, and deliberately rustic Moose Bawr pays tribute to Canadian stereotypes through food and drink. Along with the usual suspects (beers both domestic and imported), they have a generous list of sangrias, which are highly recommended for the daytime crowd. It’s a more rowdy spot, all but guaranteed to make a downtown day out a little wilder.

Terrasse St-Ambroise

St-Ambroise’s brewery has made some staple Montreal beers over the years, and its patio lives up to the ubiquity of its products on corner store shelves, with views over the Lachine Canal in one direction, and into the brewery’s inner workings in the other. Branch out with a grapefruit or tangerine IPA, or stick to the reliably refreshing apricot wheat beer.