Bartenders Name 14 Restaurants That Serve Killer Cocktails

by Ian Harrison Oct 24, 2014, 1:10pm EDT

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Inside Dinette Triple Crown

| Randall Brodeur

by Ian Harrison Oct 24, 2014, 1:10pm EDT

As part of a comprehensive survey on a wide range of relevant topics, we asked bartenders from the best cocktail bars in Montreal to tell us which restaurants in the city had major cocktail bona fides. These 14 came up repeatedly.

Le Slang

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Thanks to bar vet Brynley Leach, N.D.G. now has cryo-cocktails and boozy sorbets. Beyond the wow factor drinks, however, the program at Le Slang is eclectic and well-curated.

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5669 Monkland Avenue, Montreal, QC H4A 1C7, Canada

(514) 600-1600

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Ludger

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This buvette has game in the kitchen thanks to chef Adam Aspelund and a full range of cocktails. A breath of fresh air for Saint-Henri.

4001 Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada

(438) 383-3229

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Tripes & Caviar

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Charismatic Tripes principal Jean-Michel Leblond has a strong cocktail background but the program at the Verdun restaurant is in the capable hands of Melanie Aumais (left). This is a restaurant at the cocktail vanguard.

3725 Wellington, Verdun, QC H4G 3M6, Canada

(514) 819-1789

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Dominion Square Tavern

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Alexandre Baldwin, the man who gave Montreal a cocktail bar (Baldwin Barmacie) a decade before the current surge, is a principal in this popular Downtown gastropub. So you know cocktails are a priority here.

1243 rue Metcalfe, Montreal, QC H3B 2V5, Canada

(514) 564-5056

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Maison Boulud - Ritz-Carlton

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Beverage-wise, wine director Isabel Bordeleau garners the lion's share of praise at Maison Boulud. But the best-kept secret at the soigné Ritz restaurant is the superb - but expensive - cocktail list.

1228 Rue Sherbrooke, Montreal, QC H3G 1H6, Canada

(514) 842-4224

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Barroco

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Cocktails have long been at the forefront of this popular Old Montreal restaurant in the old Cobalt Bar.

312 saint-paul, Montreal, QC, Canada

(514) 544-5800

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SAT FoodLab

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Food, wine and cocktail menus morph and evolve at the dynamic SAT FoodLab. Alexis Green handles the drinks.

1201, boul. Saint-Laurent / 3e étage, Montreal, QC H2X 2S6, Canada

(514) 844-2033

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Le Bremner

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Thierry Valiquette and Vito Ciocca keep cocktail lovers happy at this Old Montreal restaurant with chef Danny Smiles in the kitchen.

361, rue Saint-Paul Est, Montreal, QC, Canada

(514) 544-0446

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Bouillon Bilk

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Bouillon Bilk came off a hiatus last summer with a new look and cocktail focus.

1595, boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2X 2S9, Canada

(514) 845-1595

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Maïs

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Cocktail savant Dave Schmidt, a partner in bars like Datcha, Kabinet and Le Mal Nécessaire, is also a principal at this taco-centric den in Mile End, where the food demands you order Micheladas and Corpse Revivers.

5435, boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2T 1S5, Canada

(514) 507-7740

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Manitoba

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Progressive cocktails are an integral part of this Mile-Ex restaurant's "deluxe campfire" cuisine, with emphasis on wild, foraged ingredients.

271 Saint-Zotique O., Montreal, QC H2V 1A4, Canada

(514) 270-8000

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Dinette Triple Crown

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At Dinette Triple Crown, Nicole Turcotte's cocktail list is a worthy complement to Colin Perry's ode to soul food. It suddenly makes sense to order a Kentucky Mule with your meat and threes.

6704 rue Clark, Montreal, QC H2S 3E9, Canada

(514) 272-2617

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Salmigondis

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This shoo-in candidate for newcomer of 2014 prompted critic Lesley Chesterman to write: "There’s a definite haute-hipster feel to the place, which adds to the charm. And with hipsters, there usually comes a cocktail list: the one at Salmigondis is full of all sorts of chic libations."