Where to drink in Montréal now: 17 new bars
Montréal's new bars in 2026 are listening rooms, hotel hideaways, and neighbourhood pubs that keep the kitchen open past midnight. This year's openings span vinyl-driven cocktail bars, Lebanese caves à manger, Caribbean late-night kitchens and a billiards club tucked inside the Forum, all built as anchors for a complete night out. Some sit comfortably among the city's best cocktail bars and buvettes, while others double as outdoor patios when the weather cooperates. If you’re toasting something big or settling into a casual 5 à 7, start here.
1. Numéro
Alex Quinton wanted a martini he could get after a shift without queuing or shouting, so he built one with Marc Flynn and Félix Poirier, his partners from the late Entre-Deux. Kevin Botchar and Studio Kiff gave it its brutalist look: stainless steel, brown leather, bottles kept out of sight, and low lighting. Seating is mandatory and drinks arrive in under ten minutes, both by design. Martinis come poured tableside from frozen glasses that get swapped halfway through, though a Labatt 50 can be also found on the same bar. Spanish bar snacks run as late as the drinks.
6382 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
2. Sample
Beneath the Arcadia Hotel Boutique in an 1863 greystone, Sample is the first bar from The Coldroom and El Pequeño crew where the music outranks the drinks. A McIntosh MC275 amplifier and studio-grade acoustics anchor the room, and a 150-record collection curated by Montréal artist SIMBO runs to soul, jazz, funk, and disco. Cocktails come batched and bottled for speed, with zero-proof options and Danish smørrebrød on rye rounding out a deliberately short list. Keeping your phone away is encouraged, but not enforced.
101 De la Commune Street West
3. Pub Prince
Suwu's old corner at Prince-Arthur has been rebuilt by Renaud Lambert and Peter Mant as an argument that the strip needs somewhere to go to rather than another club. Ivy Studio went full tavern: glossy purple walls, lacquered panelling, foot rails at the bar, a pool table in back. Pierre Morneau, who cooked at Cadet and Miracolo, calls the menu a high-end Applebee's and means it kindly, from house pretzels and cheese sticks to a brisket-grind burger served medium rare. The kitchen runs to 1 a.m. and the 5 à 7 is daily.
3581 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
4. Beyt
Beyt means house in Arabic, and it’s fitting. Anthony Gebrayel and Angélique Custeau, both trained in sommellerie, run their Saint-Laurent cave à manger on the European model: drop in for a coffee, a glass, a plate, or a bottle to carry out. Custeau's list keeps moving, built on private imports and low-intervention bottles, some poured straight from the keg. Chef Mariane Boutet, formerly of Majestique, cooks toward Gebrayel's Lebanese roots with lamb chops in za'atar and stuffed eggplant on labneh. Gebrayel built the room himself, down to the arches and the glass-block bar.
4142 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
5. Freddi
Hôtel William Gray's take on the hotel bar sends a Japanese-leaning menu into a 50-seat room that opens onto the Living Room under the glass roof. Konstantin Chakhnov, who also runs Maggie Oakes next door and cooked at the Fat Duck, keeps the food precise: wagyu tartare with bone marrow and taro chips, miso-maple black cod, two temaki sets built for sharing. The cocktail list is organized around Japanese ideas like wabi-sabi and omotenashi, which in practice means a martini finished with nori and blue cheese olives. Sake gets its own section on the wine list.
421 Saint-Vincent Street
6. 5 à Set
Best friends Maïté Gray-St-Gelais and Juliane Larin, who bonded over reggaetón, run 5 à Set as a nomadic listening series that sets up in cafés, bars, and hotels across the city to play a single landmark album start to finish. Past sessions span Al Green's Greatest Hits on vinyl at Cantinova, Rihanna's ANTI at Savsav, a Michael Jackson double bill, and a Beyoncé B'DAY anniversary night at the W. Everything runs in French and English, tickets stay cheap, and the popular nights sell out, so check the schedule before you make plans.
Various venues across Montréal
7. Le Rodman
The old Waverly space at Saint-Viateur has been taken over by Akim Acacia of Saint-Henri's Piklìz, who turned it into a Caribbean bar that gets steadily louder as the night goes. Maximilien Jean, late of the Cloakroom, built the drinks list around Haitian ingredients: a Mai Tai softened with kremas, a martini brined to taste of djondjon, a straight-ahead ti punch. Chef Lordna Christina's kitchen runs until 2 a.m., which is when the fritay platter of accras, griot, plantain and pikliz earns its keep. Afrobeats, kompa and hip-hop handle the rest.
5550 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
8. Lovebird
Down an alley behind Hôtel Nelligan, a small door opens into the stone vaults where Corner Collection has built a cocktail bar and music salon. Atelier Zébulon Perron's award-winning design leans full boudoir: mirrored walls, deep red upholstery, white birds and flowers worked into the tapestries. Live jazz, soul, and acoustic performances run three sets a night, led mostly by local musicians, with a performance fee of $20 or $25 depending on the day. Cocktails favour Québec spirits like Cirka and Menaud, and small plates run from smoked oysters and lobster rolls to a Siberian caviar service.
101 De la Capitale Street
9. Hiba Bar
Named for the Japanese cypress, a wood prized for lasting, and built by chef Jean-Sébastien Giguère of Le Coureur des Bois and Restaurant h3. On the second floor of the Humaniti Hotel Montreal, the 2,000-square-foot room runs to warm wood and low light. Head bartender Mickael Bouvier's list bridges Japanese precision and Montréal invention, from the Ginza Gold (honey gin, sake, Lillet, grilled sesame) to zero-proof builds like the Wabi-sabi, made with sushi rice syrup and green tea. Izakaya plates follow: gyu tataki, sake donburi, lobster maki. DJs take over Thursday through Saturday.
340 De la Gauchetière Street West, 2nd floor
10. Willie's Clubhouse
Four floors up inside the Forum, the team behind Montreal Bowling and Muni has turned a mothballed 3,000-square-foot space into a pool hall with no neon and no busted felt. Ivy Studio's brief was an old English clubhouse, which means classic 8-ball tables in the main room and a dim adjoining Dark Room where four dartboards sit under directed light and the soundtrack runs to jazz, soul, and New York rap. The bar keeps a dedicated martini section, a dirty Negroni built on olive-washed Tanqueray, and pub food simple enough to eat between shots.
2313 Sainte-Catherine Street West, 4th floor
11. Alfred Café Buvette
Whether you’re grabbing your morning coffee or unwinding with an evening cocktail, La Buvette du Dep truly captures the local vibe with its top-notch products. Nestled in the Plateau, it offers a fantastic selection of coffee, pastries, and groceries, with a standout array of drinks that showcase Québec spirits.
5125, Saint-Laurent Blvd.
12. Minnibar
Tongue Bui spent a decade building nightlife destinations like Stillife and Flyjin, then opened a café. Named for the hotel minibar, on the logic that it should carry a little of everything, it runs from 8 a.m. espresso to an 11 p.m. cocktail on a stretch of Mansfield that had nothing. The 35-seat room wraps ten bar seats around a wood-fired oven that hosts a weekly pizza omakase. Joshua Hornstein's cocktails lean functional, with spirulina and saffron in the mix, and caviar can be added to almost anything, fried chicken included.
750 Mansfield Street
13. Le Billy
Wellington Street's old Palco has been reborn as a bar and stage named for the late Billy Walsh, the community figure credited with much of the strip's current energy. Patrick Mainville and Hugues Gagnon kept the neighbourhood feel and put a stage in the middle of it, with an open call out to local musicians, singers, and comedians. The cocktail list has fun with the address: a Dragon de Verdun built on Jamaican and Rosemont coconut rums, a Welly Swing with hibiscus and sumac. Food runs to Berlin-style currywurst and mac and cheese with aged Bergeron cheddar.
4019 Wellington Street
14. Bar Edicola
Andreas Vecchio and his cousin Diego Lovino spent their childhood buying Italian magazines at the newsstand that once occupied this Cypress Street address. When the space came up for rent they took it over with Pablo Rojas, pooling the teams behind Bar Caffettiera, Cloakroom, and Provisions. The coffee comes with rules printed on the menu: no sizes, no Americanos, no syrups, no modifications. Evenings soften considerably, with an all-Italian wine list running from Sicilian nero d'Avola to Barolo, and plates built for sharing like fried artichokes with porcini mayo and aged pecorino sardo with honey. Lots of classic Italian cocktails on offer.
1111 Cypress Street
15. Bobby’s
Co-owners Dan Haber and Trevor Barnes have created a neighbourhood bar that feels instantly familiar: part 70s rec room, part no-frills tavern, with cold beer, classic cocktails, and salty snacks to match. Expect Pabst and Sapporo, not double IPAs; Negronis and Martinis, not $25 signatures. The back room has pool tables and skylights, the soundtrack skews comfort over cool, and the vibe hits that sweet spot between dive and hangout. It’s a tribute to Montréal’s lost bars over the years.
129 Beaubien Street Ouest
16. Bar Limone
Found beneath Siamo Noi, Bar Limone is a full-on tribute to Italian cocktail culture, with just enough cheek. The 34-seat lounge blends warm lighting, plush textures, and a drinks list that balances tradition with invention. Negronis are here, of course, but so are playful twists like the Golden Grove (lemon sorbet, basil vodka, prosecco) and desserts-in-a-glass like tiramisu-inspired cocktails. The vibe is low-lit, unrushed, and quietly confident—ideal for date nights, small groups, or a solo sip before heading back out.
5060 De la Côte-de-Liesse Road
17. NINI
Inside the Sofitel Montréal Golden Mile, NINI brings hotel bar elegance with a personality all its own. Named after 19th-century muse Nini Lopez, the space pairs rose-gold interiors and natural light with cocktails that are equal parts playful and precise. Expect low-ABV French classics, zero-proof spritzes, and house signatures like raspberry-rhubarb gin cocktails—plus a food menu from chef Olivier Perret that includes duck pâté en croûte and truffled club sandwiches.
1155 Sherbrooke Street West
JP Karwacki
JP Karwacki is a Montréal-based writer and journalist whose work has appeared in Time Magazine, the Montreal Gazette, National Post, Time Out, NUVO Magazine, and more. Having called the city home for over a decade and a half, he regularly focuses on spreading the good word about the amazing things to eat, drink and do in Montréal. One half raconteur and the other flâneur (with just a dash of boulevardier), when he wasn’t working on the frontlines of the city's restaurants and bars, he spent his time thinking about, reading about and writing about restaurants and bars.