There are probably few of the old-style Montreal taverns left. I am referring to the pre-microbrewery and pre-brasserie taverns where the big brewers, often Molson, supplied the draft. There was a relatively small bottled selection and the menu was restricted but good for students and those whose pocketbook was limited (pizza, burgers, spaghetti, french fries, etc.). Still, those who grew up with this type of beer pub had their favourites of the type. I used to like the place owned by the Pocket Rocket (Henri Richard bien sur!) which was on Pine Avenue I believe. Maybe it is still going strong, it did transfer well to the "brasserie" mode which came in in the late 1970's (upgraded decor, menu expanded, etc.) and was a jolly place for a hamburger steak and some draft beer.
I also liked a place on Peel just south of Ste-Catherine on the west side, it is still there operating in brasserie mode but some of the decor and fittings are just as I recall from 30 years ago. The name has changed but it still offers the feeling of the pre-brewpub and microbrew era places.
Other places I liked are long gone, gobbled up by the development south of McGill University and downtown in general.
And of course there was - and is - Magnan, on Saint-Patrick in the lower downtown. That place offers in the older rooms the true idea of the old Montreal tavern. You can get (as probably at most older-style places including those I mentioned) draft microbeer now, I had a great Ste-Ambroise there last year. The food at Magnan is particularly good.
So, DDC by all means but for those who might like to see what the atmosphere was like - or almost like - 30 and 40 years ago in a Montreal tavern, check out Magnan or another of the surviving old school tavern restaurants. You will eat well and there is no need to drink macro beer if you don't want to although for me it is part of the experience in those places.
Gary
Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.
We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Montreal - Dieu du Ciel and surrounding area
You can have some success on the side streets around DDC if you figure out the signs...we parked for free all weekend...
I'm sure there are a bunch of threads on here regarding Montreal places - I'll do a search and post here, maybe this can be moved to the local beer guide section?
L'Amere is always a solid choice and has been for years - V&V is relatively new in terms of great beer selection. It is encouraging to see that Montreal now has, in addition to fantastic brewpubs, a great beer bar as well!
I'm sure there are a bunch of threads on here regarding Montreal places - I'll do a search and post here, maybe this can be moved to the local beer guide section?
L'Amere is always a solid choice and has been for years - V&V is relatively new in terms of great beer selection. It is encouraging to see that Montreal now has, in addition to fantastic brewpubs, a great beer bar as well!
Never mind, there really has not been a good thread about Montreal that I saw (in a quick search) in the past 2 years.
Here is a great place to start:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/MetroList.asp?mid=86
Here is a great place to start:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/MetroList.asp?mid=86
-
irishkyle21
- Posts: 161
- Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:46 pm
- Location: Sudbury, On
-
irishkyle21
- Posts: 161
- Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:46 pm
- Location: Sudbury, On
I am just wrapping up my trip (last night in Quebec City), had a great time. We stayed on St-Hubert (downtown Montreal) which was a 5 min cab ride or a 10 min bus ride from Dieu Du Ciel. I can honestly say that it is the best brewpub I have been too so far. I couldn't believe how busy they were (it was jam packed both nights) not really ideal for me but the beers made up for it. They had a Mild on cask but I stuck with the bigger beers. The Peche Mortel was pretty much perfect, also had their Chaman (Imperial Pale Ale) it was delicious but I prefer the Hoppe from Souther Tier. The Vaisseaux Des Songes (IPA) was good but nothing compared to the Corne Du Diable, the Corpus Christi was great and the girlfriend enjoyed the Rosse D'Hibiscus and the cider (I cant remember the name of it).
I left my girlfriend inside to go for a lung candy and when I came back she was chatting it up with one of the brewers (Larry I believe) we talked beer for awhile. I only wish I could make it for their anniversary (11/09/08 but I think the big day is on the Saturday) from what he said they are going to have some pretty interesting beers.
I spent a good amount of time and money
at the Depaneur Rahman. Stopped in at Vice Verca, great service and tap selection (over 20 micros from Quebec). Had great food at Romados and Patati Patata.
We walked so much I think I might of lost weight (I doubt it after all the food and beer). The sights were great in Quebec City I did manage to stop in at La Barberie to have a few. I had their IPA and Stout Au Cafe they were good but I found them to be lacking in some areas. We did take a quick peek inside L'Inox but I was tired and there was not really anything that stood out on the menu (for me anyways).
Great food, beer, sights and a hell of a lot of walking. Well I am half asleep/half in the bag so its off to bed and then a long drive home tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for the tips.
I left my girlfriend inside to go for a lung candy and when I came back she was chatting it up with one of the brewers (Larry I believe) we talked beer for awhile. I only wish I could make it for their anniversary (11/09/08 but I think the big day is on the Saturday) from what he said they are going to have some pretty interesting beers.
I spent a good amount of time and money
at the Depaneur Rahman. Stopped in at Vice Verca, great service and tap selection (over 20 micros from Quebec). Had great food at Romados and Patati Patata.We walked so much I think I might of lost weight (I doubt it after all the food and beer). The sights were great in Quebec City I did manage to stop in at La Barberie to have a few. I had their IPA and Stout Au Cafe they were good but I found them to be lacking in some areas. We did take a quick peek inside L'Inox but I was tired and there was not really anything that stood out on the menu (for me anyways).
Great food, beer, sights and a hell of a lot of walking. Well I am half asleep/half in the bag so its off to bed and then a long drive home tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for the tips.
Yes, this the latest, beer pub or brewpub to become in Montréal it's Le Brouhaha located on Delormier and Descarrières, Descarrières is one street south of Rosemont, they offer 15 beers on tap from small quebec micros like Vices et Versa and also they have a display of 30 plus belgian bottle beers, you can find the Rochefort 6,8 ,10, Fantôme Pissenlit, Achel 
and much more, the prices are less per bottle of Le Saint-Bock, a very good place to be.
and much more, the prices are less per bottle of Le Saint-Bock, a very good place to be.Had another great weekend in Montreal, as usual. Thought I would post a couple of updates:
Made it up to the new brewpub Brouehaha as mentioned earlier. We walked up from DDC and it's definitely walkable although a bit cold this weekend. Took about half an hour along Laurier then up.
It's certainly a locals bar - there's not much else immediately around but it was welcoming inside. It's a large bar, with a open space with tables in the front (much like DDC) and a large back room. They have a couple of projectors and I believe show the Canadiens games whenever they are on.
Although it's called a brewpub, there was only one house beer available when we went (the Blanche Soleil). All of the other taps were various beers from Quebec micros - Ho.st., DDC, Trou du Diable, etc. About 16 beers on tap or so, a pretty diverse selection.
Overall a place I would go to again, but would walk when it's warmer!
http://www.brouepubbrouhaha.com/
Now a bit closer to DDC, we checked out a couple of places that are either new or we didn't know about them.
First was a new brewpub on Bernard Ouest (about 10 minute walk) called Helm.
Helm was an upscale looking bar, it reminded me a bit of College Street. But unlike College, the beer was good. They had 6 house beers - Blonde, Blanche, Rousse, American Pale Ale, Cream Ale and Stout. The beers were "easy drinking" (unlike some Quebec beers which can stray to the extremes) and it was a nice spot.
http://www.helm-mtl.ca/index.html
Lastly was a place literally right around the corner from DDC called Bond. As the name suggests, Bond is a bar dedicated to James Bond.
It's quite a funky place, not too big so it could probably get quite crowded on a busy night. There were Bond movie posters everywhere, and a LCD TV above the bar constantly showing Bond movies.
Certainly a theme bar could be a bit much, but I liked Bond and it didn't go too overboard. Now what also made it a good visit was that it had about 5-6 Hopfenstark beers on tap including a seasonal. Ho.st. beers are always good and it's great to find them so close to DDC.
http://bondloungegrill.com/
One more thing on the accommodation front. Certainly DDC is always my first choice, but we ran into a couple during the weekend who told us that Casa del Popolo (just down the street on St Laurent) was now renting rooms in their building.
Checking out their site, sure enough they do. And for rooms as low as $40/night (shared bathroom) to $60/night (private bath) that's definitely affordable. Worth checking out if DDC is booked as it's great to stay in the area rather than in the hotel district downtown IMO.
http://www.casadelpopolo.com/contents/hotel
Made it up to the new brewpub Brouehaha as mentioned earlier. We walked up from DDC and it's definitely walkable although a bit cold this weekend. Took about half an hour along Laurier then up.
It's certainly a locals bar - there's not much else immediately around but it was welcoming inside. It's a large bar, with a open space with tables in the front (much like DDC) and a large back room. They have a couple of projectors and I believe show the Canadiens games whenever they are on.
Although it's called a brewpub, there was only one house beer available when we went (the Blanche Soleil). All of the other taps were various beers from Quebec micros - Ho.st., DDC, Trou du Diable, etc. About 16 beers on tap or so, a pretty diverse selection.
Overall a place I would go to again, but would walk when it's warmer!
http://www.brouepubbrouhaha.com/
Now a bit closer to DDC, we checked out a couple of places that are either new or we didn't know about them.
First was a new brewpub on Bernard Ouest (about 10 minute walk) called Helm.
Helm was an upscale looking bar, it reminded me a bit of College Street. But unlike College, the beer was good. They had 6 house beers - Blonde, Blanche, Rousse, American Pale Ale, Cream Ale and Stout. The beers were "easy drinking" (unlike some Quebec beers which can stray to the extremes) and it was a nice spot.
http://www.helm-mtl.ca/index.html
Lastly was a place literally right around the corner from DDC called Bond. As the name suggests, Bond is a bar dedicated to James Bond.
It's quite a funky place, not too big so it could probably get quite crowded on a busy night. There were Bond movie posters everywhere, and a LCD TV above the bar constantly showing Bond movies.
Certainly a theme bar could be a bit much, but I liked Bond and it didn't go too overboard. Now what also made it a good visit was that it had about 5-6 Hopfenstark beers on tap including a seasonal. Ho.st. beers are always good and it's great to find them so close to DDC.
http://bondloungegrill.com/
One more thing on the accommodation front. Certainly DDC is always my first choice, but we ran into a couple during the weekend who told us that Casa del Popolo (just down the street on St Laurent) was now renting rooms in their building.
Checking out their site, sure enough they do. And for rooms as low as $40/night (shared bathroom) to $60/night (private bath) that's definitely affordable. Worth checking out if DDC is booked as it's great to stay in the area rather than in the hotel district downtown IMO.
http://www.casadelpopolo.com/contents/hotel
