Bar Dominion
1243 Metcalfe Street | Website
Paying homage to the previous tenant of its historic downtown address, Dominion Square Tavern, this cocktail-forward bar focuses on serving expertly crafted standards and their variations alongside a snackable seafood-heavy menu. Headed by the minds behind the Cloakroom Bar and the city’s new-wave steakhouse Provisions, this bar’s equal parts good for a luxuriant 5 à 7 as it is for long nights with friends and something to celebrate.
Bon Délire
4855 Notre-Dame Street West | Website
Blending the cocktail mastery found at their previous bars Atwater Cocktail Club and Milky Way Cocktail Bar with the atmosphere of an all-American destination dive, Bon Délire is the latest — and most unconventional — bar in Saint-Henri. Don’t let the fun of its front window resembling a pawn shop fool you, they’re making all kinds of signature cocktails in addition to classic boilermakers and frozen cocktails.
Magpie Magique
380 Gilford Street | Website
Inspired by time-honored hotel bars found around the world, this speakeasy-style establishment located through a backdoor behind an anonymous storefront, guests can be treated to sultry live jazz on calmer nights and more upbeat DJs on weekends. Focused on standard cocktails done well and a steady wine list with easy-to-drink options, its connection to the Magpie Pizzeria equips the spot with a range of inexpensive tapas and—of course—pizzas.
Double’s Late Night
5171 Avenue du Parc | Website
Often described as a ‘contemporary dive bar’, Double’s has all the trappings of a tavern or roadhouse you could find in the States — felted pool table, wall décor kitsch, checkered tile floors, and more — but sets itself apart with a superbly comforting menu by chef Danny Smiles. Pair that with a cold beer or classic cocktail, and you’ll soon find out why this honest and fun spot has garnered attention.
Jules Bar
4005 Notre-Dame Street West | Website
This new lounge bar in Saint-Henri’s equal parts evening comfort and late-night energy. Bearing the interior design of its address’s previous tenant, it’s been likened to paying a visit to Calvin Klein’s New York apartment with swanky features and refined menus of drinks and dishes to match. If you’re looking for creative mixology, you’re going to love drinking the signature creations from this spot.
Hang Bar
686 Notre-Dame Street West | Website
This new nightlife-forward spot in Old Montréal sets itself apart as the city’s first Vietnamese supper club. There’s a heavy focus on an upscaled version of the cuisine to enjoy in its beautiful interior, but a visit here isn’t complete with having a drink or three from its menu of signature cocktails that play on beachy classics, like pina coladas made with pandan or an espresso martini made with Vietnamese coffee.
Moqueur
1844 Atateken Street | Website
Inspired by everything that New Orleans has to offer in look, feel, and taste, Moqueur’s bar and restaurant is perfect for when you want to laissez les bon temps rouler: The signature cocktails capture different facets of the cuisine and culture while Louisianan classics are on offer, and there’s a bevy of po-boy sandwiches, baked oysters, beignets, and more to line your stomach in between them.
Tittle Tattle
22 Saint-Paul Street East | Website
As the first bar from Netflix Drink Master contestant Loyd Von Rose, you better believe that the cocktails here deliver. The menu changes often according to the mixologist’s whims, but they’ll generally fall under the umbrella of nostalgia, like milk punches that taste like peanut butter banana sandwiches or coupes full of cocktails that taste like a bowl of cornflakes. Don’t forget to leave a note in their hanging ornament that anonymously tells them your darkest secret.
Bar Bello
6740 Saint-Laurent Blvd. | Website
Styled as an old school Italian social club, this bar focuses on everything Italian cocktail culture has to offer. That means all the classics can be made to spec, from garibaldis and bellinis to spritzes and americanos, but there are also creative spins that turn dishes like caprese salad, tiramisu, and brown butter gnocchi with sage into liquids as well. Best of all, this place sports of a negroni vending machine where you can try up to nine variations.
Hiatus
1 Place Ville Marie (45th floor) | Website
No bar can hold a candle to the height of this new spot high above the clouds in downtown’s iconic tower of Place Ville Marie, where a sleek interior styled after a steamliner ship has guests cozy up to one another as they look out onto the city below. Specializing in standard and signature cocktails, a high-end wine list, and sake by the glass to go with a range of Japanese-French hybrid snacks culled from the kitchen in Hiatus’s restaurant above, it’s a unforgettable experience easily suitable for special occasions.
Muze Lounge & Terrasse
355 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West | Website
Billed as a year-round tropical oasis in the heart of downtown, the Muze Lounge & Terrasse on the 5th floor of the Honeyrose Hotel specializes in Californian cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere with the right drinks to match: Every coupe, stemmed goblet and rocks glass is full of concoctions that match the jungular atmosphere, exploring flavours from tiki and island cultures.
BABY – Far West
3002 Rue Saint-Antoine Ouest | Website
On one side on this downstairs bar in Saint-Henri, you’ll find a comforting yet sleek lounge dressed in smooth carpets and textures that serves classic and signature cocktails, all best enjoyed to whatever their DJ is playing. On the other? You’ll find another bar serving a unique cocktail tasting menu based on themes, served in an even more unqiuely designed setting akin to a dreamy forest.
Le Plongeoir
5350 Saint-Laurent Blvd. | Website
Sometimes referred to as a ‘wine dive bar’ in Montréal’s Mile End, this project’s similar to what you’d find on the streets of Lisbon or France, where people can gather to drink good wine for a good price as they chat or play a game of pool. What makes this place stand out is the level of quality they bring to the curation of their wine lists, bringing together options like little-known and natural producers of French wine. Had a glass too many? There are simple snacks as well.
© Montréal Marriott Château Champlain
Belvu
1050 De la Gauchetière Street West | Website
With its elevated streetside location that’s within walking distance of many of downtown’s best attractions, the Montreal Marriott Château Champlain’s new terrasse bar Belvu is a four-season, 200-seat spot that’s ready to proffer a good time at any time of year. That four-season feature applies to the drinks as well, serving drinks like hot toddies, cider, and Irish coffees in the winter and brighter, cooling signature cocktails in the summer.
Bar Bisou Bisou
416 Rue Saint-Vincent | Website
One of the newest bars from the minds behind places like the Cold Room and El Pequeño, this soul-sol, aperitif-forward spot was created to deliver the best that Mediterranean cocktail culture has to offer. That means drinks explore a myriad of flavours through a wide range of vermouths, ports, sherry, calvados, and more—aperitifs and digestifs organized according their ABV levels, served in a slick and bright environment.
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.
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