Suddenly, it seems, bars disguised as restaurants are everywhere in Montreal. Buzzy, and for the most part casual, these 18 and over spots put as much emphasis on food as drink. Several employ decorated chefs, or enlist prominent ringers to compose seasonal menus. All are well-suited for date nights and low-key late-night dinners, with nary a kid in sight.
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This spacious Petite-Patrie bar opened in spring 2015 with a draft menu of house beers made in collaboration with Succursale and Mabrasserie co-op. Food-wise there are flatbreads, sandwiches, salads, and house-made party mixes.
Thanks to its interesting draft list and pub food done well, Isle de Garde is a new favourite among beer nerds and Petite-Patrie residents. Note that children are allowed before 4 p.m., and then it’s 18 and older until close.
Kitchen appointments like a wood-fired rotisserie make the inspired pub fare stand out at this Plateau tavern. Come for 5 à 7 specials, to watch the game, or to enjoy one of the city's best burgers, washed down with a couple pints.
Montreal beer bars have beefed up their food menus in recent years, and this Plateau alehouse, newly opened last fall, is further proof. Boswell's brand of pub grub includes half a dozen apps and mains, and a handful of sides.
Upscale British pub dishes are served in intimate environs on Saint-Viateur, and the interesting cocktail menu can hang with any other Mile End cocktail bar. Big on brunch, too.
The Baldwin Barmacie reboot, from the owners of Balsam Inn and Dominion Square Tavern, is a beaut of a bar. It features Éric Dupuis’s Portuguese-influenced menu (think inspired grilled cheese, clams, chorizo and baby squid), a cocktail program, and natural, organic wines.
This popular new Plateau wine bar from Laurent Farre and Alain Rochard serves — wait for it — small plates made with local, organic ingredients, and the occasional cassoulet for two (see photo). Chef Julien Rochard, Alain's son, makes a mean tartiflette and boudin parmentier. A notable success story in a neighbourhood where, of late, restaurants close more frequently than they open.
This beloved, perpetually-packed buvette nearly sets the standard for convivial wine bars. Nosh on tapas, cheeses, and charcuterie, and, come summer, enjoy that Park Avenue terrasse.
Too few places in this city offer decent cocktails and a gourmet foot-long hot dog until 2 a.m. Thankfully there’s Majestique, where weekend brunch is also 18 plus.
This wine bar tucked on tidy Mayor street is a favourite with the downtown 5 à 7 set, thanks to oysters, charcuterie, cheese, snacks, and a compact main dish menu.
This trendy downtown izakaya features signature cocktails, sake, and soju. Enjoy Japanese-style salads, soba noodles, gyozas, ramen, yakitori, and much more.
At Escondite, the squad behind Biiru gives you mojitos, micheladas, tequila cocktails, tacos, ceviche, and stunt comfort plates like the El General Chapo, a General Tao chicken riff with tamarind, agave, and guajillo chiles.
In the heart of downtown Montreal, come to Dominion Square for Old World tavern atmosphere, well-executed classic cocktails, and English pub meets French bistro dishes to match.
A solid spot for date drinks and nosh, including snacks like polenta fries and nuts, and more substantial fare. The bar itself is 18-plus, but young ’uns can sit outside on the terrasse in warmer months.
Located in the landmark Molson's Bank below music venue Turbo Haüs, Loïc pours interesting cocktails and wines (on Sundays, most notably), and serves refined bar eats.
Chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard has a bar permit for his widely praised prix fixe format Centre-Sud restaurant. “[M]y dinner was so stimulating but because I was just so thrilled to be eating seriously sophisticated food in Montreal again,” raved Lesley Chesterman in the Gazette. This April Le Mousso will open six days a week (save for Tuesdays), and pivot to a bar menu from 10:30 p.m. until 1 a.m., with à la carte plates under $15.
This spacious Petite-Patrie bar opened in spring 2015 with a draft menu of house beers made in collaboration with Succursale and Mabrasserie co-op. Food-wise there are flatbreads, sandwiches, salads, and house-made party mixes.
Thanks to its interesting draft list and pub food done well, Isle de Garde is a new favourite among beer nerds and Petite-Patrie residents. Note that children are allowed before 4 p.m., and then it’s 18 and older until close.
Kitchen appointments like a wood-fired rotisserie make the inspired pub fare stand out at this Plateau tavern. Come for 5 à 7 specials, to watch the game, or to enjoy one of the city's best burgers, washed down with a couple pints.
Montreal beer bars have beefed up their food menus in recent years, and this Plateau alehouse, newly opened last fall, is further proof. Boswell's brand of pub grub includes half a dozen apps and mains, and a handful of sides.
Upscale British pub dishes are served in intimate environs on Saint-Viateur, and the interesting cocktail menu can hang with any other Mile End cocktail bar. Big on brunch, too.
The Baldwin Barmacie reboot, from the owners of Balsam Inn and Dominion Square Tavern, is a beaut of a bar. It features Éric Dupuis’s Portuguese-influenced menu (think inspired grilled cheese, clams, chorizo and baby squid), a cocktail program, and natural, organic wines.
This popular new Plateau wine bar from Laurent Farre and Alain Rochard serves — wait for it — small plates made with local, organic ingredients, and the occasional cassoulet for two (see photo). Chef Julien Rochard, Alain's son, makes a mean tartiflette and boudin parmentier. A notable success story in a neighbourhood where, of late, restaurants close more frequently than they open.
This beloved, perpetually-packed buvette nearly sets the standard for convivial wine bars. Nosh on tapas, cheeses, and charcuterie, and, come summer, enjoy that Park Avenue terrasse.
Too few places in this city offer decent cocktails and a gourmet foot-long hot dog until 2 a.m. Thankfully there’s Majestique, where weekend brunch is also 18 plus.
This wine bar tucked on tidy Mayor street is a favourite with the downtown 5 à 7 set, thanks to oysters, charcuterie, cheese, snacks, and a compact main dish menu.
This trendy downtown izakaya features signature cocktails, sake, and soju. Enjoy Japanese-style salads, soba noodles, gyozas, ramen, yakitori, and much more.
At Escondite, the squad behind Biiru gives you mojitos, micheladas, tequila cocktails, tacos, ceviche, and stunt comfort plates like the El General Chapo, a General Tao chicken riff with tamarind, agave, and guajillo chiles.
In the heart of downtown Montreal, come to Dominion Square for Old World tavern atmosphere, well-executed classic cocktails, and English pub meets French bistro dishes to match.
A solid spot for date drinks and nosh, including snacks like polenta fries and nuts, and more substantial fare. The bar itself is 18-plus, but young ’uns can sit outside on the terrasse in warmer months.
Located in the landmark Molson's Bank below music venue Turbo Haüs, Loïc pours interesting cocktails and wines (on Sundays, most notably), and serves refined bar eats.
Chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard has a bar permit for his widely praised prix fixe format Centre-Sud restaurant. “[M]y dinner was so stimulating but because I was just so thrilled to be eating seriously sophisticated food in Montreal again,” raved Lesley Chesterman in the Gazette. This April Le Mousso will open six days a week (save for Tuesdays), and pivot to a bar menu from 10:30 p.m. until 1 a.m., with à la carte plates under $15.
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