Montréal recommendations

August 8, 2024

Montréal is full of incredible hidden gems. Everyone who lives in a place has to at some point make a guide to that place — so — here’s mine for Montréal. If you like this list or found it useful, please let me know what your favorite stops were… email me!

This list is organized first by neighborhoods with a density of activities & food, and then by specific categories of food and activity. ⭐️ icons are top picks, and include restaurants, neighborhoods, and storefronts. The photos are shamelessly borrowed from Tourism Montreal.

Note: I originally wrote this list in 2023 and have been sharing it and updating it over time. My website is a better place to keep track of it, and I’ll make updates to this list over time. Enjoy!

This list is very opinionated. Feel free to ignore me, do what makes you happy!

You should be able to command+f to find what you’re looking for.

Where to stay/general tips

• Find an AirBnB in the Plateau/Mile End area, bounded by Duluth street to the south, St Viateur street to the north, Parc ave to the west, and St. Denis street to the east. There are really nice hotels downtown, and in the Old Port – which are all nice if you’re not into AirBnB (fair!) but unfortunately there literally are no hotels in the “heart of the city”, i.e. the Plateau/Mile End.
• It’s pronounced “mUn-tree-all”, not “mOn-tree-all”.
• Montréal is fun all year round, but if you’re coming in the winter months (November - early April), come prepared: It can be very cold! Pack warm. For the summer, it’s beautiful and hot and quite magical.
• When in doubt, check Eater Montreal for food recommendations. 99% of the time they are right. Avoid other review sites like CultMtl, TimeOut, etc which have mid recommendations that are overly touristic. The “Eater 38” is very good. Unfortunately, Eater Montreal was recently defunded, so over the next year or two their recs may fall out of date. But for now they’re very relevant!
• Use Resy for booking restaurant reservations. It’s a great app and most higher-end restaurants here use it.

Getting around

• Walk! This is a walking city like few others. You can walk from one end of Montréal to the other in a day and see interesting things the entire time.
• The metro system is very good, reliable, and there are lots of stations in the downtown area. It’s not quite as precise as you want it but it’s great for getting from one end of the city to another.
  • Pick up a weekend metro pass or single pass, or buy an OPUS card and fill it with a few passes. It’s $3.50 per trip.
  • The bus system is also excellent! And quite reliable.
• I recommend using Transit App which is a great app for getting a travel itinerary using public transit in many cities, and in fact is a Montréal-based startup!
• Avoid Uber. It’s expensive and surge fares are brutal. Instead, use the taxis. You can call to have a taxi pick you up: (514) 725-9885. Wait time is usually <5 minutes, quicker than an Uber.
• Definitely, definitely take a cab to/from the airport. The price is capped by the city at ~$45, unlike Uber, and if you have an early flight you can call to reserve a cab using the number above. It works great! 

What to be wary of

Look, these aren’t all bad! Old Port is a must-stop if you’re in Montreal for the first time, and you’ll certainly enjoy yourself at any of these spots. The spots to avoid in Montreal still beat some of the best spots in other places 😉 Try to find some good spots in each neighborhood before you go!

• Schwartz’s: The famous smoked meat place. It’s not bad per se, but there’s always a crazy line and it’s just not good enough to warrant it. If you really, really need Montréal smoked meat (which is fun!) pick from The Main (literally across the street, not great, but it’s there if you feel tempted by the siren’s call of Schwartz’s) (update May 2023: RIP The Main 🥲) or ⭐️ Lester’s Deli in Outremont. If you want to go all the way with Jewish deli vibes, head further out for a stop at ⭐️ Snowden Deli and get yourself a gallon of matzoh ball soup along with the sandwich (don’t skip the latkes).
• Brunch places with lines: Just don’t! If you want to skip the line, show up to any brunch place at or before 10am. This city wakes up late. Waiting in line for eggs is for chumps.
• Poutine: Okay, I might get some flack for this one. Don’t get a random poutine from a random spot. It will make you feel sick. Do get poutine from a standout spot. The best two places in my opinion are within a few blocks of each other: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Romado’s and ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ma Poule Mouillée (both generally amazing Portugese rotisserie chicken joints who chop up their chicken into the poutine, it’s insane) and ⭐️⭐️ Patati Patata (who serve a “Patatine” which has mushrooms, peppers, and onions and is topped with an olive — and is just a classic joint, and perfect for late-night eats).
• Old Port: (Note: You should probably go here if you’ve never been to Montréal before). It’s pretty, cobblestone-y, it has European vibes. It’s also ridiculously touristic. I’m not a total hater: The archivectural juxtaposition of European-style and 70s concrete brutalism is quite novel, the view over the water is fun, and activities like skating, watching the ferris wheel, and camping for fireworks are cute, but it’s really not a neighborhood to go out of your way to. ⭐️⭐️ Cirque de Soleil is amazing and a must stop, and offers a fun walk along the pier before and after. Buy the cheapest tickets in the hours; it’s a small venue and every ticket (barring obscured views) will have a similar experience. 

• St Catherine Street: ⭐️⭐️ Place des Arts is a fun area to stop in, but be careful not to stray too far west on St Catherine. It’s mostly big box stores and malls. Go if you desperately need a Uniqlo stop.

• Fast food chains: Montreal has a tendency to put out of business chains that try to put up shop in local neighborhoods, like Starbucks, in favor of smaller shops, which is wonderful. You will be surprised by how few chain restaurants you see outside of the downtown core. Do not be tempted by the chains that have snuck in; for any McDonalds or A&W there is a much better Romados or Pizza Toni nearby that will satisfy the same cravings.

Activities & itineraries

Walkable streets/neighborhoods

When I’m touristing, I like to find a good street with plenty of shops to stop in. There are a many great walking streets in Montreal. I’m biased towards the Mile End!

• ⭐️ St Viateur/Bernard/Fairmount Streets: This is where I live! Three parallel streets in the Mile End, with the famous, eponymous bagel shops on St Viateur & Fairmount (stop at both and pick your favorite; Fairmount is open 24h a day so you can also go there after a night on the town for a late-night snack)
  • Bernard: Stop at Drawn and Quarterly (who publish amazing graphic novels), Dragon Flower Shop (look for bird cages),  Disques La Rama (best record store in town, with fabulous t shirts), and ⭐️ Bernie’s Beignets (for donuts), and ⭐️ Depanneur Cafe (usually has live music all day)
  • Viateur: Stop at S.W. Welch (used books), Olympico (famous “open da night” coffee shop with quite the scene outside), ⭐️ St. Viateur Bagels (must try, don’t try to cut them and make sandwiches or anything just rip and dip in the cream cheese), Kotn (high-end basics clothing shop, with dope linens and socks), and Aesop (the soap store… don’t buy anything but walk in and ask them for soap samples and they’ll let you wash your hands)
  • Fairmount: Stop at La Cordee (outdoor goods), ⭐️ Kem CoBa (superb ice cream. Don’t come on a weekend afternoon, come in the evening on a weekday, this place has a notorious line but it’s avoidable if you’re deliberate), Drogheria Fine ($5 gnocci served out of a shop window), Wilensky’s (a Bourdain pit stop which has been around, unchanged (for better or for worse) for upwards of 70 years), and ⭐️ Fairmount Bagels (the counterpart to Viateur… decide which is better).
• Wellington Street: On the other side of town in Verdun, but super accessible by metro. In the summer it’s closed to road traffic, and host to many fantastic restaurants: Les Street Monkeys, ⭐️ Bossa, Cafe Saint-Henri, Verdun Beach (it’s a restaurant, not a beach, serving modern French food), Lilly and Olly, Pavillion (coffee with a pretty full menu), and more.
  • TimeOut called Wellington “the coolest street in the world” in 2022 which is kinda insane since it’s not even the coolest street in Montreal. But it’s pretty cool, and definitely worth a visit.
• ⭐️⭐️ Chinatown: A must. So fun to stop by in the morning. Be sure to grab dim sum at ⭐️ Kim Fung, lunch or dinner at ⭐️ Dobe & Andy, steam buns at Bao Bao, dumplings at Sammi Soup and Dumpling, and book dinner at Fleurs & Cadeaux (with clubbing afterward at ⭐️⭐️ Sans Soleil).
• Jean Drapeau Parc: Take the Yellow Line out to Jean Drapeau Park, or rent a Bixi and bike over the bridge. The island is home to the Biosphere and the F1 venue, which is open to the public for biking. It’s quite fun to bike a lap or two around the track. It also plays host to music events like Osheaga (for one weekend a summer) and Piknik Electronique, which runs for most of the summer, if you’re looking for an outdoor music festival scene.

• ⭐️ Little Italy: Walkable from the Mile End in 10 minutes. Walking down St. Zotique street is full of fun. Be sure to stop at Sabor Latino or ⭐️⭐️ Pumpui (best Thai food in Montreal, and so fun to sit in and just chow down on chicken wings at), and be sure to walk through ⭐️⭐️Jean Talon market and taste all the veggies at the stalls
• Saint Henri/Notre Dame street: Home to the Joe Beef family of restaurants, right near ⭐️ Atwater Market, Tacos Frida, Corona Theater (a classic haunt), Arthur’s Nosh Bar (brunch and hearty eats), and plenty of shops to stop into.
• Mont Royal, Wellington, St Laurent, Bernard (Outremont side), and more streets are pedestrian traffic only for most of the summer. Really fun to walk down and grab street food from. You can also spot new murals from Mural Festival. (Spot also the Olympic Stadium throughout the walk!) Montréal has made a massive investment in pedestrian streets post-COVID – learn more about which streets are closed to vehicles here: https://montreal.ca/en/articles/pedestrian-streets-liven-city-summer-31971

Parks

Take an afternoon to laze in the sun. Bring takeout from a restaurant in the area.

• La Fontaine: Bring blankets and a frisbee. 
  • Stop at La Banquise (it is mid, honestly, but it is a novelty given they have like 40 poutines on their menu and a good patio) or Ma Poule Mouillée (Portugese rotisserie chicken).

• Mount Royal: Kinda touristic activity, but it is worth going on a walk up to the top of Mount Royal. It’s a gorgeous walk and the lookout point at the top is the highest point in the city, so you’re standing over all of downtown.
• Jean Mance: At the foot of Mount Royal. Volleyball, slacklining, tamtams (on sundays). It’s a vibe. Also stop by the volleyball courts and maybe try your hand at joining a game.
  • Pick up take-out at ⭐️⭐️ Sabor Latino and bring it to eat in the park. 
• Laurier: Great park in the gorgeous Laurier neighborhood. Big public pool. Be sure to walk alllll the way east down Laurier street before or after lazing in the park, which is a really wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Museums

• ⭐️⭐️ CCA (Canadian Centre of Architecture): Always has extensive and fun temporary exhibits. They hold the largest collection of Gordon Matta Clark works and literature in their permanent collection. It’s not a good walking neighborhood, but the space is gorgeous and the art and exhibitions are always fantastic.
• ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (with an asterisk) MAC (Musee D’Art Contemporain): This is my favorite museum in Montreal by miles — and possibly the best museum I’ve ever been to — however currently the main space is closed for renovations until like 2025 and they have this dinky little temporary space. Nonetheless it’s probably worth stopping by but don’t go out of your way to go to the temp. space unless you find the open exhibit particularly compelling.
• ⭐️ Biosphere: Designed by Buckminster Fuller. Pretty spectacular space. You can get there by the yellow line metro, so you might consider checking to see if Piknik Électronique is running the same weekend.

• Musée des Beaux-Arts: Always has some big-name exhibit going on. It’s usually pretty good. Though in my opinion the curation is often quite dry. But ignore me, make your own opinion. The permanent collection is great, the architecture and design of the space is fantastic, and you could easily spend 3-4 hours walking through the museum (prepare for fatigue). Stop at Thali nearby for Indian plates after thinking about the art for long enough to work up an appetite.
• McCord Museum: Smaller museum with emphasis on local works and photography.
• ⭐️⭐️ Biodome/Botannical Gardens/Insectarium: The insectarium is so cool. They have so many bugs. The biodome is also a ton of fun, and the botanical gardens in the summer are gorgeous. All are right nearby each other, and within walking distance to the Olympic Stadium which is a fun building to check out.

Other shops/activities

Make sure to stop at the shops listed in the neighborhoods section too, which aren’t re-listed here.

• ⭐️ Bota Bota/Scandinave: Two spas in the Old Port. They rock. Bota Bota is super extra and has great views outdoors (it’s literally on a boat). Scandinave takes the spa experience more seriously (you are not allowed to talk inside). You will become a new person upon walking out of either. 
• Eva B/Hadio/Marche Flo/Renaissance: Thrift shops around the city. Lots of goodies. Lots of flannels. ⭐️ Hadio is my favorite.
• Cafe Bloc/Shakti/Block Shop: Climbing gyms. There’s a massive climbing culture in Montreal — and Cafe Bloc is the cheapest way to get into a sauna. A ton of fun with friends and cheap to rent shoes! Cafe Bloc has the cheapest sauna in the city, and really fun outdoor bouldering on the roof of a building in central downtown.
• Empire Exchange: There are a bunch of these — consignment. Generally good wares.
• Affichiste: Poster store downtown.
• ⭐️ Fireworks: In the summer, Montreal hosts the largest fireworks festival in the world, with 30-minute shows at 10pm most Wednesdays and Saturdays. Check the schedule online and go set up camp on the Jacques Cartier bridge (which is closed to vehicles) to watch the show. You can see and hear the fireworks from most parts of the city.
• Rapala: Homemade stuffed animals and kids toys. They are ADORABLE. And all made in the back of the shop.

Restaurants 

(sections ordered by time of day when you might visit them)

Coffee tour

Montreal is heaven for coffee nerds. Just search for any of these in maps in the morning and pick the closest one. Don’t do the same one twice. Don’t drink any nasty AirBnB coffee while you’re here.

• Café Neve: Classic stop. A few locations.
• ⭐️ Café Eclair: Tucked away. Mind-blowing cappuccino.
• ⭐️ Café In Gamba: These folks hang their barrista awards on the wall. For good reason. Really fun space and delicious coffee.
• The Standard: A few locations around the city. Quite good.
• Pastel Rita: Super cute space.
• Cafe Saint-Henri: Cute spot. Locations all over. Local roaster.
• ⭐️ Zab: I love their drip roasts. Great iconography.
• Replika: Secretly a “third bagel shop” making their own bagels outside of Viateur/Fairmount. They also have dope coffee and a good mural outside. 
• Lilly and Olly: Great vibes, pastries, etc.
• Crew Cafe: Really, really beautiful space. In the first floor of an old bank. It’s not super special beyond the spectacle of it, but if you’re in the area, it’s worth a stop.

Bakeries

Croissants here are among the best in the world. Do not leave without trying from at least two bakeries.

• ⭐️⭐️ Kouing Amann: Absolutely cracked pastry shop. Old-school French and very well maintained. Get a slice of the eponymous pastry and a cappuccino.
• Guillaume: Great bakery, with yummy treats and good bread.
• Carlota: Mexican bakery in the Plateau. Delicious horchata. Stop by Morceau to look at restored furniture afterwards.
• Brioche à Tete: Absolutely insane croissants and specialty pastrys. Understated storefront. Really freakin’ good.
• ⭐️ Hof Kelsten: Best croissants in the city, probably. Really good baked goods.
• Cheskie’s: Deep in the Mile End, this is a Jewish bakery managed by the local Hasidic community. Their babka is crazy good. Be careful though because they’re closed on Saturday (Shabbas). 
• Bernie’s Beignets: Cake and dough style donuts. Bright pink exterior. Diner coffee. What more could you ask for?

  Brunch

  Avoid brunch places with perpetual lines and uninspiring menus, like Beauty’s, Fabergé, L’Avenue etc. They’re not bad, but aren’t particularly special either: It’s never worth standing in line for brunch. Montreal wakes up late: If you show up to any of these spots at or before 10a, you’ll be safe, but much later and you risk a line.

• ⭐️ Sparrow: They take reservations! If you show up around 10 you’ll get a table guaranteed, but don’t be late or no chance. While you’re there, be sure to go upstairs to look around the tea room, maybe one of the most beautiful spaces in the city.
• Bagels Etc.: A classic, with big old-school diner vibes. Eggs Benedict. This is where Leonard Cohen had breakfast most days (in fact, his old apartment is around the corner).
• Croissantarie Figaro: A true Parisian-style breakfast spot. Which is to say, it’s beautiful, it’s fun to sit in, you can imagine chain smoking cigarettes with your coffee on the patio (unfortunately illegal here in North America). The food is fine, but the vibes are wonderful if you’re craving something light and simple and want to take a moment to plan out a day. 
• Reservoir: A bar & microbrew by night, brunch by day. Surprisingly good menu and a really pretty space.
• Arthur’s Nosh Bar: Offers mouth-watering, heavy breakfast goods. Great instagram to follow. Though be careful, there’s usually a line.
• Butterblume: Beautiful open kitchen/dining room space. A bit more upscale. Next door, they have a wonderful shop selling simple groceries and other goods.
• ⭐️ Kim Fung: Dim sum. Buried in a funky mall in Chinatown. Save room after snagging dumplings and other goodies to stop by any of the bakeries on du Gaspesie street to grab steam buns, mochis, and more for desert. For the braver, head out to Brossard and visit Imperial Dim Sum. It’s better, but it’s a trek.

Casual lunch and dinner

There are also lunch/dinner recs above in the walking tour section.

• ⭐️ Romados: Crazy good Portugese chicken. Get their poutine or half chicken meal (or get a family meal, which easily feeds 4-5 people for $25).
• Patati Patata: Late night eats. Feels like you’re sitting in a train car. Excellent poutine and serves beer on tap.
• Chef Lee: Bao spot. So much selection. Share everything.
• Aunt Dai: Classic American Chinese and Chinese dishes, with emphasis on the original palette. Read their menu online, it rocks.
• ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pumpui: Mentioned above. Thai food. Must-stop. Get wings. Get the special. Get a pair of socks.
• Il Miglio: Small pasta place in the Mile End. Heavy, hearty, homemade.
• ⭐️⭐️ Dobe & Andy: Also mentioned above. Hong Kong bbq notable for their char sui, roast pork, and duck. Short menu of near-perfect dishes. A lot of Jackie Chan posters inside. 
• Yokato Yokabi: Pretty solid ramen place. Ramen is not Montréal’s forte unfortunately but this spot definitely scratches the itch.
• ⭐️ Provisions/Larry’s: Two different restaurants under different ownership, but they share a lot of similarities: Both double as butcher shops, and are high-end dineries by night, and cheap-o sandwich shops by day. Go for lunch to either, get yourself a ton of fries and a Cuban.
• Pizza Toni/ ⭐️⭐️ Pizza Bouquet: Montréal by-the-slice pizza is mid. But if you really need it, these are the best places serving New York/New Jersey style pies. Try ⭐️ Elena or Gemma if you’re in the mood for fancier Italian style per-person pizzas.
• ⭐️ Depanneur le Pick Up: Vegetarian. Light. Great walking area!
• Kalbi Korean BBQ: Fun for a group. Really cute interior decoration (it’s styled like a traditional Korean neighborhood). Really high quality meats. Get extra portions of the cheesy corn.
• Ganadara: Korean spot. Unmarked. Easy to find if you look for the line out the door…
• Dinette Triple Crown: Southern American style fried chicken, mashed potatoes, etc. If you go in the summer, they’ll give you a family-style takeout box complete with a picnic basket, blanket, and more to take to the nearby Little Italy park.
• ⭐️⭐️ Sabor Latino: Latin and South American goodness. Lots of emphasis on Columbian origins. Hot bar of good stuff: Fried plantains, sauces, vegetables, empanadas, massive portions of pork and chicken. You can get things like pupusas, tacos, or burritos too, but the “pick three” from the hot bar is the way to go.
• Lloydies: Carribean. Fantastic jerk chicken. Their oxtail is wild.
• Nouveau Palais: Sit-down spot in the Mile End. Good small sharing plates and plenty of good beer. This is the place to go if it’s late and you forgot to book dinner somewhere.

High-end dining (dinner)

Anticipate $100-$200 per person bills. Get lots of wine, mostly avoid cocktails (maybe a negroni). It is worth booking at least one of these places while you’re here, they’re amazing and would cost triple for the same or lower quality in most other cities. Book early using Resy.

• ⭐️ Salle Climatise: Veggie forward in Little Italy.
• ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Alma/Tinc Set: Spanish/European tapas. Alma is far and away my favorite spot in the city. Prepaid tasting menu, up to 4 at a table. So fkn good; it will blow your mind. Sibling restaurant Tinc Set next door is à la carte and also has a completely cracked menu and is much easier to get a table at. They share a kitchen. Wine list is exclusively from Catalonia.
• ⭐️ Joe Beef/Liverpool House/Vin Papillon: Sibling restaurants in Saint Henri. Notably attended at length by Bourdain, and have really, really, heavy and delicious Canadian meals. Meat forward (Vin Papillon has the same ownership, but is quite different from the other two with far more veg emphasis) and a fantastic traditional French wine list.
• ⭐️ Marconi: European style small plates. Light. Delicious. Great service and wine.
• ⭐️⭐️ Vin Mon Lapin: Recently rated one of the top 5 restaurants in Canada. This place is very funky, doing interesting work with summer ingredients. Amazing wine.
• Ile Flottante: Fully vegetarian. Tasting menu. Really fun dining experience with very innovative plating and ingredients. Gorgeous open kitchen.
• ⭐️⭐️⭐️Larry’s/Lawrence: Classic Canadian/European. Larry’s has a fixed menu and is on the cheaper side, no reservations, while Lawrence is a high-end wine bar with a tasting menu. This spot set the scene for dining in Montreal in the early 2010s.
• ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pichai: Cracked Thai food. If you come with 6+ people they will just bring you food until you roll out the door. Sibling restaurant of Pumpui.
• ⭐️ Fleurs & Cadeaux: Chinatown. Cute vibes. Sits above Sans Soleil, which I also highly recommend.
• Elena: Pizza/Italian. Great food, big space, wonderful service and wines. On the cheaper side of these recommendations.
• Montreal Plaza: Famous, and very, very good European classics. The whole 9-yards. Awesome service.
• Knuckles: Vegetarian. So much dairy. So good. This place is a hike to get out to but it’s a great spot and has a really special menu, with absurdly good pastas.

Ice cream, desert

Ice cream shops are only open for the summer and are closed for the winter, but we’ve got great selection.

• ⭐️ Ripple’s: Traditional ice cream. Keep an eye out for the little Ripple’s car. Their “chocolate 6x” is pretty insane. Great dairy free sorbets.
• ⭐️⭐️ Bernice: Really special bakery in the Saint Henry area. Awesome lil treats.
• ⭐️ Kem CoBa: Usually has a line out the door if you go on a weekend afternoon. So: Do not go on a weekend afternoon. The ice cream is amazing but the line is avoidable. Go around mid-day on a week day or in the early evening on a weekend. Get the swirl. The insider trick is that you actually can skip the entire line by going around and buying pints, and the getting spoons. Problem is you can’t get the swirl that way 🍦.
• Bo Bec: Ice cream in the Laurier area. Lots of toppings.
• Meu Meu: Custard ice cream. It’s so good, and very dense.
• Ca Lem: A few locations. Serves flavors like lichi, taro, and more. Very good dairy free options.
• Ol’ Sweet: This spot is definitely a novelty — they sell Belgian chimney cakes — but they’re quite fun to eat and full of nuts, chocolate, or whatever.

Bars

Quebec is well known for its brew scene. From cheap mass market beers like Boreale and St. Ambroise to microbrews like Dieu du Ciel and Reservoir, it’s all good. Don’t be afraid to grab some tall boys from a local depanneur before a night out, and be sure to buy local brews.

• Heniretta’s: Tucked on Laurier street, a little bar with lots of good cocktails and plenty of good eats like cheeeeesy popcorn. Upscale vibes.
• ⭐️ Reservoir: Microbrew with awesome, cheap beers and a good menu of small plates and nibbles. Note that it has very high ceilings and tends to be very loud, but it’s a great space and a ton of fun for an early night stopover.
• Suzanne: Across the street from Reservoir. More emphasis on cocktails.
• ⭐️ Casa del Popolo: One of my favorite dive bars. A subculture hotspot. Such cheap drinks. Usually very good music, they have a venue in the building with shows on weekends.
• Darling: Big space. Good vibes. Can get quite busy and there’s frequently a lineup on weekends. Great patio during the summer.
• Dieu du Ciel: Currently closed for renovations… I hope they’re open by this summer.
• Big in Japan/Cloakroom/Velvet: Speakeasies with a lot of charm and truly hidden entrances.
• Bishop & Bagg: Irish pub. It’s a gin bar! They have awesome selection and the vibes are low-stakes and rewarding.
• Sparrow: It’s great for brunch, it’s also great for beers and cocktails. They have $1.50 oyster happy hour.
• Loïc: Out in Saint Henri. Upscale cocktail bar.
• Labo Culinaire: The SAT’s rooftop bar. Large terasse overlooking the Quartier des Spaetacles. Good nibbles as well.

Music, venues

So much live music around here. Don’t be afraid to go to a show where you haven’t heard of the artists; these venues book the good stuff and worst case you have cheap beers. To scroll through every show scheduled in a given weekend, use Songkick. Most venues in Montreal are connected and it’s easy to see who’s playing when and where.

• ⭐️ L’escogriffe: Underground scene. Great bar for punk and rock.
• Turbo Haus: Suuuuper punk. Great bar. Great vibes. Amazing music.
• Quai des Brumes: Famous, long-time cafe and concert space. Always has good tunes.
• ⭐️ Casa del Popolo/Sala Rosa: Sibling venues across the street from one another. Check their website for what’s playing. Casa is an amazing dive bar as well, so go early and have a pint before the show.
• Diese Onze: Need a chill night? Go listen to jazz. Drink wine. Be calm.
• Upstairs: Another jazz bar. It’s located in the basement. Get it? Upstairs? But it’s downstairs? Ha ha.
• ⭐️⭐️ Fairmount Theater: One of my favorite spaces. Very intimate. More traditional concert space. Located above the best grocery store in Montréal, the PA. Grab some bagels from Fairmount Bagels after the show.
• Corona Theater: Smaller venue in Saint Henri. Older space. Stop at one of the Joe Beef restaurants next door for a glass of wine and desert after your show.
• Les Foufounes Électriques: Multi-story, long-time venue focusing on electronic music. Years ago I was here for a karaoke night and some guy was standing all alone in the dance floor doing 
• Bar le Ritz PDB: Up on Jean Talon street, this is a classic dive that tends to host excellent indie music acts. Don’t miss their dance nights.
• Picnik Électronique: An outdoor festival that runs all summer. Check their website for the ongoing lineup, and maybe try to tie in a visit to the Biosphere while you’re there — both are on Île Saint Hélène, accessible by the yellow line metro.

• Village au Pied-du-Courant: An open-air-pub with plenty of spots to stop for cocktails, snacks, and lots of live music. It’s located near the neighborhood of Hochelaga which is a spectacular area to walk around in.

Nightlife, clubs

Most bars and clubs close here at 3am, and usually showing up around 11p-12p is a safe bet (unless you want to beat the crowd and get the dance floor to yourself, or sit down for a cocktail beforehand). Raves and certain clubs run much later and you should show up around 1a-2a. Beyond the rave group chat, you can also use Resident Advisor to see what’s interesting. But the rave group chat has better recommendations.

• ⭐️⭐️ Stereo: Famous after-hours club. Opens at midnight. Don’t get there before 2am and buy tickets in advance. The sound system is modelled ofter Berghain in Berlin — the party runs until 10am or noon the next day.
• ⭐️⭐️ SAT (Société des Arts & Technologies): Usually has good stuff going on. Check their website for tickets. There’s a giant dome with projections upstairs (you can see it from outside) and a “club” type space downstairs. They also run a rooftop bar with great small plates on the third floor, and a cafe during the daytime.
• ⭐️⭐️ Systéme: Up north in Little Italy/Rosemont. Great small plates and cracked setlists for their DJ nights. Interestingly, a cashless bar. Check their instagram to see what’s playing.
• Datcha: Famous bar which set the stage for many other similar venues in Montreal. Tiny space so get there early and leave for the next thing as the crowd shows up. They have sister restaurant Kabinet next door which was recently renovated and is very good.
• ⭐️⭐️ Sans Soleil: Tucked in the basement of Fleurs & Cadeaux is fantastic vinyl nightclub Sans Soleil. Check their instagram for who’s playing. Grab a cocktail. Get cozy. Jam out.
  • In fact, book dinner at Fleurs & Cadeaux and then shuffle your way downstairs after putting back some small plates for dancing.

Hungry after your night out? Try ⭐️⭐️ Patati Patata, a train-car sized take-out spot in the Plateau which will happily serve you a fried egg on top of your poutine at 2:30AM, or ⭐️ Double’s, a recently opened dive bar serving treats like blooming onions (Dave Grohl is a fan). ⭐️ Nouveau Palais is also a standout open weekend nights until 3a, with a classic menu including chicken-and-waffles. ⭐️ Majestique further south offers foot-long hot dogs and has a wonderful cocktail menu, with the kitchen running until 3am (they offer the best fries in the city, in my opinion).