10 Best Montreal Bars, Faves of Summer 2020

While bars and restos are facing difficult times due to Covid-19 with regulations, shut downs, closures, and even the recent bar-related-outbreaks. We can safely enjoy their ambiance in photos and add them to our visit-soon lists or VISIT CAREFULLY. As a rule, all bar & resto staff should have masks. If you are not convinced that even a home-made mask helps in halting the spread, this fascinating Schlieren footage will blow you away, pun intended ;)  While visors are better than nothing, medical experts feel that they seem to protect wearer vs customer… more Here. 

Gokudo

No need for exotic travel plans.  Enter Gokudo, Montreal’s refined, hidden Japanese bar serving up cocktail recipes straight out of Tokyo. The stylish restaurant & bar also offers traditional snacks & rice bowls pair up with your craft cocktails. But the level of thought and preparation for Gokudo’s colourful drinks is far from obvious using as few ingredients as possible, stirred with refined technique. Each cocktail uses at least one Japanese ingredient — think nori syrup, shiso leaves, or melon liqueur Midori — and an entire section of the menu is devoted to sake.

“ In Canada, if we read a cocktail menu, we’d be more impressed by reading the cocktail that has the most ingredients,” Levy explains. “In Japan, the emphasis is really on the product and the technique more than the number of ingredients that we’re going to put into it.”

Cheers: Gempei cocktail with Scorpion Reposado mezcal, midori, shiso, agave syrup, lime and lillet

Address: 630 Rue Cathcart, Montréal, QC H3B 3C4

VINVINVIN

The triad « vinvinvin » (winewinewine) refers to its trio of experts involved in the project: : Marina De Figueiredo (Candide), Antonin Laporte (Isle de Garde) et Nikolas Da Fonseca (Le Mousso). Three, trio, triad is also an initiative involving the intermediaries: the production team, its wine producers and the aficionados of exquisite wines, consuming them.

Cheers: A Margarita juiced with house Oleo Saccharum

Address: 1290 Rue Beaubien E, Montréal, QC H2S 1P9

Le Majestique

If you’re looking for a “kitschy” decor at its best look no further thanks to Thomas Csano’s design. The 60 seater could be Ali Baba’s cave, filled with numerous mismatching objects blending marvelously. The unique decor sets this spot apart from the rest where you feel right at home.

Aside for being renowned for its natural wines menu list and savoury cocktails  it has also earned a reputation as one of the best oyster bars in town where the oysters they serve are meticulously selected by the very knowledgeable Max Ruiz Lang (Choice Harbour, Loïc). Unlike larger oyster bars, Max will look further afield, if necessary, to choose only the best oysters.

Cheers: The Piscine, made with sparkling wine, Aperol and Angostura

Address: 4105 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2W 1Y7

STILLIFE

What distinguished Stillife from other bars is its approach to minimizing waste. Its aim is to focus on using more seasonal products in its cocktails in future.

“It started as an idea to do more of an apertivo style amaro and vermouth focused cocktail bar,” co-owner Andrew Whibley says. But with room for 125 people, it’ll also offer a robust beer and wine program, as well as light, booze-friendly bites like charcuterie and cheese options.”

Cheers: The Celine Dijon, a tomato-cordial-based mix of sherry, rose, vermouth and tinctures of lavender and mustard seed

Address: THROUGH THE ALLEY, 640 Saint-Paul St W Suite 10, Montreal, Quebec H3C 1L9

Le Royal

Found in the heart of the Plateau-Mont-Royal, Le ROYAL invites you to enjoy our cocktails made with passion by our mixologists, as well as our selection of sparkling wines and champagnes in a hushed and a refined decor.

This place has earned its stripes for fancy cocktails. Their entire took the time to assemble a curated cocktail menu orchestrated by Manu Ruiz, Lori Chiaradia et Philippe Castonguay. They also have a wide array of red and white wines, including 30 or so sparkling ones sold by the bottle.  And for nibbles, the bar will be serving variety of bar bites in an elegant, dimly lit room with a speakeasy vibe and music.

Cheers: The 400 Dieux Lapins, a mix of mescal with Quebecois bitters (l’Amermelade) served in a cocoa powder-coated coupe

Address: 1232 Mont-Royal Ave E, Montreal, Quebec H2J 1Y1

Milky Way

Walking into Milky Way, you are immediately transported to another universe… in the true sense of the word! The stairwell is designed to resemble a cosmos, and you will be amazed by the abundance of twinkling stars in the space. The interior of the bar was designed by the Gauley Brothers renown for their signature taste for design and concept.

It will be hard to believe you’re not having drinks in a big city like New York, because the atmosphere is so fabulously inspired. And the selection definitely out there… a plethora of Innovative cocktails that blend into the trendy haunt of colorful lighting and stylish furnishings.

Cheers: Ballin’ in Paris, with Pierre Ferrand Ambre Champagne Cognac and garnished with a fake 500 pound note

Address: 1886 Centre St, Montreal, Quebec H3K 1H9

The Coldroom

“Ring the doorbell and within a minute you are greeted by a member of the world-class staff who escorts you downstairs into a dimly lit bar, decorated to perfection. No glitz and glamour, no ostentatious garnishes. Simply some of the best cocktails in Canada.” says Spencer Gooderham, Canadian Whisky Ambassador.

The mysterious basement cocktail bar, formerly a industrial cold room has been transformed into an intimate cocktail lounge. The decor is minimal, yet the room’s original steel beams and brick walls—dating back to 1877—provide inimitable character and charm.

The bartender is the boss. Play nice and you’re in for a wild ride of creative, surprising cocktails made to your specifications. Bartenders Daniel Boulianne and Pierre-Hughes Marois create simple yet compelling original libations that mimic the bar’s surroundings.

Cheers: The Black Bear Road, a Manhattan with Buffalo Trace Bourbon, lillet, Laphroaig, honey and cocoa

Address: Saint-Vincent St, Montréal, QC H2Y 1G8

The Cloakroom

Maison Cloakroom bar is a very chic and most comfortable ‘speakeasy’ that opened in 2016 in Montreal’s faded grandeur of the Golden Square Mile. Stylish speakeasy-style bar featuring specialty cocktails in a cozy, dimly lit space.

Conceived in Montreal in 2015, the Cloakroom Bar has since carved a niche in crafted cocktails – pairing fine spirits with the expertise of award winning bartenders to facilitate an experience that stimulates the senses and transcends the norm. With a range of fine spirits, liqueurs, house made tinctures, champagnes and fresh produce, the Cloakroom Bar extracts the essence of traditional cocktail making and infuses it with a modern relevance. Drinks are made to order, informed by the tastes of an individual, ice is made and carved in house to ensure it remains crystal clear and devoid of impurities – reflecting a story of artisanship where every process and every ingredient remain purposeful and pure.

Cheers: A Negroni made with vintage Campari from the 1950s

Address: 2175 Rue de la Montagne #100, Montréal, QC H3G 1Z8

El Pequeño

Nestled into a quiet corner on a cobblestone Old Montreal street the last thing you would expect to land on is a Havana-via-Miami subterranean speakeasy. True to its name it holds max 10 people – 11 with the chatty bartender serving up craft cocktails & Cuban bites on offer in this tiny, charming outpost boasting an ornate glass chandelier, white marble tops and behing the bar, dozens of Caribbean rums!

Cheers: A Mucho Autentico mojito boosted with mint syrup

Address: 401a R. Saint-Vincent, Montréal, QC H2Y 3A4

Atwater Cocktail Club

Buzzing, speakeasy-style cocktail bar with late hours in a stylish French brasserie. The Atwater Cocktail Club is exceptional not just because of the delicious and creative cocktails but also for its originality, the glamorous decor and excellent menu.

Among the multitude of drinks to choose from, there are 10 signature cocktails from Christophe Beaudoin. They’ve clearly enjoyed naming the cocktails – Atwater Melon, Truffle Maker – are just two of the more whimsical titles. It’s nice to be served generous cocktails like these, in addition to being very good and delicious. If you prefer beer (about 10 different selections) or wine, these are available as well.

Top selection: Black Gotham, a kegged cocktail combined with bourbon liqueurs and bitters

Address: 512 Atwater Ave, Montreal, Quebec H4C 2G