Canada
Great lounge-cum-restaurant on the the trendy Saint-Laurent Boulevard, with good food and equally well-made drinks. I recommend the martinis. Perfect place to kick off the evening while waiting for the clubs to get started.
3515 St Laurent Blvd; tel: (514) 842 0220
This fairly average gay-bar in the heart of the (gay) village has a fantastic roof terrace that's open in the summer. The beautiful people that this place attracts can be found frolicking in the open air jacuzzis. I was there on a Sunday afternoon in June, the sun was hot and the sangria was flowing - great place to soak up the city's vibe.
1474 Rue St Catherine East;
tel:(514) 529 7482
This stretch of cobble stone street between St Laurent and Square Saint Louis is forbidden to cars. There are lots of outdoor restaurants, bars, cafes, and it's packed with people at night, especially in the summer. Square Saint Louis is a gem too.
Just find the intersection of Boulevard St Laurent and Rue Prince Arthur;
Metro: St Laurent
Bar with an open-air terrace upstairs. They brew their own decent beer and it's one of the more reasonably priced places on the Plateau.
9 Avenue Duluth East (by Rue St Laurent, with the entrance on Duluth East);
tel: (514) 849 7779;
english.montrealplus.ca/portal/profile.do?profileID=821123
Les Trois Brasseurs is a wonderful brew-pub with all the shiny copper brewing paraphenalia in situ. The interior is enormous as is the warm North American welcome. Lots of bar-stools lots of tables and chairs, good music and the custromers are chatty, not exhibiting the normal big city paranoia.
Apparently there are three such Trois Brasseurs so they are not exactly a chain. I discovered the bar in the depths of last winter, minus 20°. Talk about coming in from the cold! Anyway there were their own three draught beers on offer blonde-bitter, brune-mild and rousse-amber. I would have tasted the lot a few times each but my better half put the brakes on.
Women would be at ease on their own there as it is very cosmopolitan quite different than the average bloke's tavern.
Be warned the stools and seats are very comfortable...it is very hard to leave especially in January.
The old town. Just ask where.
Because it's the best and the coolest and the classiest local jazz club in Montréal. Good menu with great ambience; jazz is always good, and always full of locals. Generally a cover charge, depending on the band, so you'll be among the non-student scene of the city. Size is fairly small, so while it's great to have a conversation and be able to see the musicians' actual fingers play (and both of these at the same time), you will risk not getting a seat if you show up after 22h30.
1254 Mackay (cross Ste. Catherines ouest);
tel: (514) 931 6808
www.upstairsjazz.com
Casa del Popolo is the very best venue for new music, and a lovely place to have a beer and some veggie food in the afternoon. (Try the back garden.)
And Dante Hardware, on Rue Dante near Jean Talon Market, is something you'll only find in North America: a store that is half fine cookware, half hunting rifles! Not to be missed.
Casa del Popolo: 4873 Boulevard St-Laurent; tel: (514) 284 0122;
www.casadelpopolo.com;
Dante Hardware: 6851 St Dominique (on the corner of Rue Dante); tel: (514) 271 2057
Search Been there