Bon Délire
4855 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest | 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.
Bar à Flot
4857 Avenue Parc | Website
The latest wine bar to open from a crack team that also calls Montréal’s lauded Buvette chez Simone home, it’s a fresh place to enjoy new angles of wine curation. Focusing on small producers with all manner of biodynamic and natural options from Europe and Québec, they also offer a small cocktail list and small seasonal menu of bites to round the whole experience out.
Double’s Late Night
5171 Avenue 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.
Hang Bar
686 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest | 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 Rue Atateken | 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 Rue Saint-Paul Est | 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 Boulevard Saint-Laurent | 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.
Emmanuelle
2 Rue Sainte-Catherine Est | Website
This upstairs nightlife lounge with a four-season terrasse above downtown Montréal’s Red Light District not only sports one of the most sleekly designed interiors thanks to Zebulon Perron, but its drinks are top-tier: The bar director Dimitry Saint-Louis focuses the cocktail list on premium spirits mixed with seasonal ingredients on a menu that keeps you guessing. If you’re hungry, don’t go elsewhere—this place doubles down with great dishes to eat as well.
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.
Name’s On The Way
500 Rue Rachel Est | Website
What’s the bar called? Maybe they’ll name it eventually—the focus here isn’t so much on the name as it is on their selections of wine, signature cocktails that play on classics, and bottle service for when you really want to celebrate something. Set in the Plateau, this socialable spot is an easygoing place to either drop in for a drink and snack or stay until last call. Don’t miss out on their martini lounge offering on Thursdays.
Système MTL
7119 Rue St-Hubert | Website
Separated into two spaces, one for partying and another for drinking and dining, Le Système is a finely balanced operation that’s inspired by the heyday of Studio 54. As the walls’ lines of vanity light flash to the beat, all kinds of bottles of wine and signature beverages are served up, as well as few zero-proof options. This place has one of the most robust programs when it comes to music right now, with different DJs spinning every night of the week.
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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