clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

19 Montreal Bars With Primo Eats

Just who serves the best bar food in this city anyway?

View as Map

Praise be the bar snack, the savoury and, often, salty finger food that staves off hunger. Often used as a substitute for a real dinner, it extends and complements drinking sessions and should be respected in its own right. From free popcorn on the house to dressed up takes on bar snack classics, and even some fine dining options these are the best bars in the city for snacking.

It bears mention that not all bar food is born equal, nor do they all inhabit the same plane of classiness (or price, for that matter). This map appreciates the bar snack's myriad varied formats, from Bifteck's free popcorn (likely served for the purpose of making customers really thirsty so they purchase more beer), or Snack 'n' Blues' free candy, through to charcuterie, cheese, and oyster plates at Pullman or tapas at Cordova.

Read More
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Le Blind Pig

Copy Link

Hochelaga’s American brewpub-inspired, bar de quartier has strong comfort snack game, from burgers to poutines.

This popular Petite-Patrie pub and beer bar serves up assorted finger foods, flatbreads, party mixes, and, des noix pimpés.

Isle de Garde

Copy Link

At this beer bar, pair Quebec craft beers with beer bar snacks like beef jerky, pork rillette and crisp Belgian-style frites.

Bar St-Denis

Copy Link

With two former Au Pied de Cochon chefs among its owners, it’s a no-brainer that the food at this new-ish Petite-Patrie haunt is good. Expect bar staples like beef bavette or a burger, but some dishes that draw on co-owner Emily Homsy’s Egyptian heritage too — all served with a very well-rounded bar program.

Vices & Versa

Copy Link

With an almost obscene number of beer lines hooked up to Quebec microbrews, Vices et Versa in Little Italy accompanies those with an extremely beer-appropriate set of bar snacks that are particularly appetizing in these winter climes: poutine with beer sauce, burgers, bacon mac and cheese, or just straight-up cheese and charcuterie.

Snack 'n' Blues

Copy Link

The most extensive free snack selection can be found at this beloved Mile End dive, with its table of gummies and sweets at the front and bowls of chips, pretzels and popcorn available from the bar.

Henrietta

Copy Link

In the Laurier Avenue space formerly inhabited by Baldwin Barmacie, Henrietta serves up small Portuguese bites featuring cured meats, seafood and cheese, in a classy space that has a touch of art déco, and a touch of upscale Euro-hotel to it.

Le Red Tiger

Copy Link

Cocktails and south-east Asian beers accompanied by innovative Vietnamese snacks at this Village bar. Spring rolls, sticky rice, shrimp and grilled beef all figure, and sometimes there's even balut, a semi-grown fertilized egg delicacy, if you're feeling adventurous.

Buvette Chez Simone

Copy Link

All bar snacks at this always-bustling Mile End wine bar are good, but the charcuterie, cheese plates and roast chicken stand out.

Réservoir

Copy Link

This Plateau brewpub has had no equal when it comes to bar food, ever since beloved neighbourhood restaurant Hôtel Herman (RIP) took over. Don’t expect nachos and pogos here: dishes like cucumbers with pepper yogurt and mint, or Nordic shrimp with radish and verbena, are refined and make for a harmonious pairing with their expertly curated list of beer offerings.

The piled-high nachos, shrimp tacos and sliders are always a favorite at this neighbourhood corner bar with a restaurant license (i.e. you must purchase food with your drinks — at least until the Quebec government changes that law).

Bar Bifteck

Copy Link

The free, super-salty popcorn at this St-Laurent sort-of dive can lead to perpetual rounds of cheap pitchers.

Google Street View

Pamplemousse

Copy Link

Beer bar Pamplemousse already excels at its drink offerings (which go well beyond a great beer selection), but chef Pelopieas Brisson-Tsavoussis’s food options shouldn’t be skipped — with touches of India and the Caribbean in options like jerk cauliflower and naan pizza, it’s innovative, yet still ideal for drinking.

Pullman

Copy Link

Snack on mini-bison burgers or cheddar and bacon gougères for savory bites or chocolate truffles for a sweeter tooth at this intimate, Anthony Bourdain-approved wine bar.

In the same vein of cheeseburger perfection as St-Henri’s Loïc, Montrealers can now get the one of the city’s favourite fast food burgers alongside a glass of natural wine, beer or a cocktail at this newly opened Old Montreal spot.

Burgundy Lion

Copy Link

Burgundy Lion has been pouring endless beers and doing British food but without the stodge for the Little Burgundy and Sud-Ouest crowds since well before hordes of restaurateurs invaded Notre-Dame West. Cod fish cakes, scotch eggs, and Brit staples like fish and chips and bangers and mash all figure royally on the menu.

Cordova

Copy Link

Get your fill of pan con tomate, jamón ibérico, preserved seafood and seasonal Spanish-inspired small plates — plus excellent coffee and cocktails — at this St-Henri gem.

Loïc may be a bar first and restaurant second, but you’d never know judging by the food. In addition to refined seasonal offerings — asparagus with burrata, aioli and lemon, scallops with Quebec peas and beurre blanc, cavatelli with ragu bianco, morels and parmesan — it also nails the ultimate bar menu staple with a perfect cheeseburger and crinkle-cut fries.

Bar Palco

Copy Link

One of the early settlers since Verdun lightened the laws which almost completely banned bars from the borough, it could seem dismissive to call Palco "the best" in the area, just because of the relative lack of competition. But Palco is indeed very good, with a menu that straddles light and heavy quite neatly, from a beet carpaccio to poutine with parsnip and sweet potato.

Le Blind Pig

Hochelaga’s American brewpub-inspired, bar de quartier has strong comfort snack game, from burgers to poutines.

Yïsst

This popular Petite-Patrie pub and beer bar serves up assorted finger foods, flatbreads, party mixes, and, des noix pimpés.

Isle de Garde

At this beer bar, pair Quebec craft beers with beer bar snacks like beef jerky, pork rillette and crisp Belgian-style frites.

Bar St-Denis

With two former Au Pied de Cochon chefs among its owners, it’s a no-brainer that the food at this new-ish Petite-Patrie haunt is good. Expect bar staples like beef bavette or a burger, but some dishes that draw on co-owner Emily Homsy’s Egyptian heritage too — all served with a very well-rounded bar program.

Vices & Versa

With an almost obscene number of beer lines hooked up to Quebec microbrews, Vices et Versa in Little Italy accompanies those with an extremely beer-appropriate set of bar snacks that are particularly appetizing in these winter climes: poutine with beer sauce, burgers, bacon mac and cheese, or just straight-up cheese and charcuterie.

Snack 'n' Blues

The most extensive free snack selection can be found at this beloved Mile End dive, with its table of gummies and sweets at the front and bowls of chips, pretzels and popcorn available from the bar.

Henrietta

In the Laurier Avenue space formerly inhabited by Baldwin Barmacie, Henrietta serves up small Portuguese bites featuring cured meats, seafood and cheese, in a classy space that has a touch of art déco, and a touch of upscale Euro-hotel to it.

Le Red Tiger

Cocktails and south-east Asian beers accompanied by innovative Vietnamese snacks at this Village bar. Spring rolls, sticky rice, shrimp and grilled beef all figure, and sometimes there's even balut, a semi-grown fertilized egg delicacy, if you're feeling adventurous.

Buvette Chez Simone

All bar snacks at this always-bustling Mile End wine bar are good, but the charcuterie, cheese plates and roast chicken stand out.

Réservoir

This Plateau brewpub has had no equal when it comes to bar food, ever since beloved neighbourhood restaurant Hôtel Herman (RIP) took over. Don’t expect nachos and pogos here: dishes like cucumbers with pepper yogurt and mint, or Nordic shrimp with radish and verbena, are refined and make for a harmonious pairing with their expertly curated list of beer offerings.

Else's

The piled-high nachos, shrimp tacos and sliders are always a favorite at this neighbourhood corner bar with a restaurant license (i.e. you must purchase food with your drinks — at least until the Quebec government changes that law).

Bar Bifteck

The free, super-salty popcorn at this St-Laurent sort-of dive can lead to perpetual rounds of cheap pitchers.

Google Street View

Pamplemousse

Beer bar Pamplemousse already excels at its drink offerings (which go well beyond a great beer selection), but chef Pelopieas Brisson-Tsavoussis’s food options shouldn’t be skipped — with touches of India and the Caribbean in options like jerk cauliflower and naan pizza, it’s innovative, yet still ideal for drinking.

Pullman

Snack on mini-bison burgers or cheddar and bacon gougères for savory bites or chocolate truffles for a sweeter tooth at this intimate, Anthony Bourdain-approved wine bar.

Unibar

In the same vein of cheeseburger perfection as St-Henri’s Loïc, Montrealers can now get the one of the city’s favourite fast food burgers alongside a glass of natural wine, beer or a cocktail at this newly opened Old Montreal spot.

Burgundy Lion

Burgundy Lion has been pouring endless beers and doing British food but without the stodge for the Little Burgundy and Sud-Ouest crowds since well before hordes of restaurateurs invaded Notre-Dame West. Cod fish cakes, scotch eggs, and Brit staples like fish and chips and bangers and mash all figure royally on the menu.

Cordova

Get your fill of pan con tomate, jamón ibérico, preserved seafood and seasonal Spanish-inspired small plates — plus excellent coffee and cocktails — at this St-Henri gem.

Loïc

Loïc may be a bar first and restaurant second, but you’d never know judging by the food. In addition to refined seasonal offerings — asparagus with burrata, aioli and lemon, scallops with Quebec peas and beurre blanc, cavatelli with ragu bianco, morels and parmesan — it also nails the ultimate bar menu staple with a perfect cheeseburger and crinkle-cut fries.

Bar Palco

One of the early settlers since Verdun lightened the laws which almost completely banned bars from the borough, it could seem dismissive to call Palco "the best" in the area, just because of the relative lack of competition. But Palco is indeed very good, with a menu that straddles light and heavy quite neatly, from a beet carpaccio to poutine with parsnip and sweet potato.