These are the best pubs in Montreal right now

Opened in 2008, this isn’t the oldest establishment with skin in the pub game, but one visit to it and you’ll immediately know why the Burgundy Lion group has all but perfected this style of bar: Three floors high, equipped with an inner courtyard and a solarium for high tea in Montreal, football match screenings that position it as one of the best sports bars in Montreal and a massive whiskey selection alongside fresh pints and a solid English breakfast? How about events like cocktail competitions and fundraisers for local communities? Cheers, mate: This one’s our favourite in town right now for a classic pub experience with the right amount of bells and whistles.

One of Downtown Montreal’s legacy pubs, this Irish pub on the southern half of Crescent Street’s boozy strip is a focal point of good beers, good company and good times. Spaciously spread out across two floors, the upper floor’s where you grab drinks and chat while the lower one features regular nightly programming of folk artists, Irish musicians, open mics and more. The bars inside feature long lines of taps, but it’s all a no-fuss selection preferred by those who could care less for hoppy experimental IPAs brewed by mustachioed hipsters. This is chiefly a place for good, honest pub fun.

Ask an in-the-know Montrealer where to find a solid pub to just grab a cheap, fresh pint downtown and this is where you’ll likely be sent. It’s a purely Montreal affair; while they’ll pour a proper Guinness and gladly top up a platter of Jameson shots for you, there isn’t any Irish/Scottish/English kitschy bric-a-brac and there’s only a single TV that’s shoved into the corner. By Montreal and for Montreal, the focus here is on your company in the early afternoons and evening, and then maybe the live events, pub quizzes and more that will take over the stage at night.

The latest venture from the Burgundy Lion group, it just goes to show that their pubs are among the best in town. Some might’ve thought the high-class reputation of Old Montreal wouldn’t take to a pub, but did it ever: While it’s a proper tap house with a Victorian-style design, the bartenders sling mean shakers, the wine list—of all things!—is well-curated and the food far more than a greasy afterthought. Fresh Porchetta roast with your pint perhaps? Maybe a duck Bolognese poutine with an herbaceous gin and tonic? Boozy brunches on the weekends? Yes, yes and yes.

The second spot to come from the Burgundy Lion family, Bishop & Bagg gave the Mile End a fresh pub that featured a massive gin selection alongside some tasty menus you can’t find at the restaurant and bar group’s other locations. It can at times be a victim of its own popularity, with crowds from the nearby Ubisoft studios taking tables to scarf down kimchi hot dogs and pints at lunch and weekend nights replete with parties, but these aren’t bad things. This place gives the people what they want: A fresh-yet-proper feel to what a pub can be and doing a damn good job of it.

Breweries are among the best bar creators. When you live, eat, drink something like beer, it’s a no-brainer that you’re capable to creating to perfect place to drink it. We’re only docking marks here because their tap selection—while it is among the best beer in Montreal—is more or less focused on Pit Caribou getting high on its own supply. That said, this is still an undeniably sleek place with immaculate brews that opened in the Plateau in 2016 to a fanfare you could hear all the way from their birthplace of L’Anse-à-Beaufils.

With an establishment like this one, it just goes to show that a pub needn’t be an old, dark place full of worn wood and decades under its belt. It can be pretty, chic even, with high-brow mixology and artful plates of earl gray & juniper gravlax sharing the same space as pints of Guinness and silky cask ales à la original English public houses. Coming to you from Kevin Demers of the beloved Montreal speakeasy Coldroom and savvy chef about town Chanthy Yen, this is an accomplished addition to the pub scene.

The first vegan pub in the city, the Bowhead is both an educational experience in how much businesses can do to alter product choices in addition to serving up all the standard pub fare without shedding blood. Beer selections are good, cocktails are great and the food is even better—throw in its amazing location in the middle of the Main, and there are few reasons why you shouldn’t check this one out (and if you’re a diehard carnivore, just taste it and get back to us).

If you’re looking for a neighbourhood watering hole with all the right trimmings of a classic pub, this is where you go. It’s small, but that makes it intimate, employing a solid roster of bartenders that keep you good company in between serving every local writer, musician, lush and industry worker who rolls through for cold beers and warm whiskey. However, if you’re coming from outside NDG and aiming to make a night of it, the earlier you plant yourself on one the stools, the better.

A local pub known for a fine combination of the beers they brew in a perfectly pleasant pub experience, Brutopia’s location on the lower half of the Crescent Street’s bar strip might suggest it’s a just a student haunt for cheap drinks, but there’s more to it than that. The beer itself comes in a range of flavors comparable to an ice cream parlor (their Raspberry Blonde, Brit Tea or Bluet come to mind), the live music is well curated, and three terrasses with three separate bars are but some of the touches that make this a more than solid spot.

Serving its neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges since 2004, this place takes top marks for how it keeps its kegs fresh, serves up finger-licking specialties like a creamy stout mac’n’cheese, and has that wonderful, comforting pub feel alongside TVs in ever which direction to look to keep score on a Habs game between sips. Newcomers should note the vibes here are relaxed when it’s slow—sometimes really, really relaxed—so try to get on their wavelength instead of furiously posting one-star reviews online.

A Montreal-born chain of Scottish pubs with locations throughout the island, each address Orchard holds has garnered a loyal neighbourhood following. With drink specials on the reg, live music and a consistent friendly service, it’s an endearing and enduring business. Hit the downtown spot for game night shenanigans, the Plateau spot for all-night-every-night good times, the NDG spots for boozy brunches with breakfast poutines—whichever one you pick, there’ll be more than silver linings.

Located inside of an old iron works building in Griffintown by locks of the Lachine Canal, Lord William’s one of the newer names in town that’s proved to be more than a flash in the pan. Best way to experience is coming in the mornings for Caesars that lean extra—dressed with bacon, shrimps or huge hot peppers—before grabbing a brunch of fried chicken and pancakes with a Bailey’s custard, or just dipping into pints and cocktails on its secluded terrasse.

A Montreal-born chain of Irish pubs, it’s a local establishment that’s successfully spread its wings around town because it does just about everything you want in a modern-but-classic pub experience: Greasy carbs to snack on, pints on pints, live music every night of the week and prominent Irish pride that’s evidenced by things like a countdown to St Patrick’s Day on their website.

Billing itself as the city’s oldest Irish pub (which we’ve yet to confirm ourselves), this establishment smack in the middle of Downtown Montreal has all the trappings you’ll want, from beer to burgers and live music, with one exception: The selection of scotch here is massive. We haven’t gone comparing bottle counts with other bars in town, but however many they have, scotch aficionados alone have more than enough here to keep them coming back.

Among all of the Montreal bar maven Éric Le François’ achievements in town with various co-owners on various projects, Pub West Shefford is the most solid pub experience. Bringing the Bromont-based brewery to sudsy life as a popular bar for crowds of Plateau residents, the beer selection’s a solid Quebec product we’ll drink any day of the week. A lot of local musicians and comedians take the spotlight here, and extra points go to their vintage vinyl shop open during the day.

Cheap, good grub and frosty pints in a convenient location make this watering hole a reliable standby at just about any time of the week. Among every pub in Montreal—and trust us, there’s a lot of them—there so many that stumble in at least one ‘what makes a good bar’ category. This one easily hits a solid 6 or 7 out of 10 in every category at least, and often exceeds expectations.

The word’s long been out in town about this pub’s gorgeous terrasse. Despite its off-the-beaten-path location, so-so menu of takeout food served by a nearby restaurant (it’s as weird as it sounds for newcomers) and a small but sturdy selection of taps, no one can argue that this is by far one of the most beautiful places in town to drink during the hot summer months. While we might sound critical, really, do you want more than cheap pints and comforting surroundings in a pub? This one’s got both in spades.

This neighbourhood bar serving east enders first and foremost, it’s a bar we’ll end—or start—any night of the week at with its cheap ($3!) beers, cocktails, pitchers of ‘gria and a menu full-to-burst with damn fine burgers, poutines and more. You can easily rely on this address to provide a good time with its slew of events taking place throughout the week like live karaoke, local comedians, and naturally occurring parties on Fridays and Saturdays.

A tried and true classic Montreal pub, Ziggy’s almost feels out of its current time and space, located on the blockbuster bar side of Crescent Street. Go in, however, and you’re greeted by a personable bartender who keeps the taps flowing. Ask about the history while you’re there—the bar bears decades to a ‘if the walls could talk’ degree, said to be a choice watering hole for famous Montrealers like Mordecai Richler, Pierre Trudeau and Leonard Cohen through their friendships with the owner.