Here's my attempt to out-handbook the McGill student society handbook. This a pretty weirdly miscellaneous collection of shops, restaurants, bars, parks, churches, tourist traps, cultural meccas, and so forth. The only thing they have in common is I think they are cool, make use of them myself, and think you should too. I've got about sixty places on my list right now but it'll be a long time before they're all up here. Eventually I'll come up with a fancy layout in here but that'll be a while also. A métro map is available here for help with those coordinates.
BARS
Bar St-Laurent - This place is closing or may have closed already, which I suppose is a shame though I wasn't really a regular. In fact, I only went once, though it made enough of an influence to warrent special notice in the journal. For real old school punk I guess the choice is now Café Chaos on St-Denis, though I've never been. Jailhouse, the place across the street from me now, where apprently Rufus Wainwright and others got their starts, is moving there, though. I doubt they'll keep the fun picnic tables but oh well.... Upstairs at 3874, St-Laurent
St-Laurent
Bily Kün - This place is like five minutes away where I live now so I do go threre sometimes. I'm not a fan personally, though it's not wanting for devotées I guess (always very busy). It's kinda dress-to-impress and I usually don't; also drinks are watery and a bit pricy. Irregular service from stunning waitresses. On the plus side, it has the weirdest decor of anywhere on this list. Think ostriches. Think a lot of ostriches. 354, Mont-Royal est
Bifteck - That's French for "steak." Apparently it used to have a nautical decor inside but all that's left are some galley doors and lots of wood paneling. I love this place; two floors of good times. It's also about as cheap as it gets on St-Laurent, especially on off-nights like Tuesdays. The mixed drinks here can also be really strong, for an extra bargain. Lots of weird shots, like Juicy Pussy (Bailey's, amaretto, and pineapple juice). Good music. Free popcorn. Friendly staff. 3702, St-Laurent
Brewtopia - If you're a beer fan, this place is worth at least a pass through once. It's got great atmosphere and frequently cool live music (usually bluesy rock). They have about a million kinds of beer, including weird flavoured stuff like raspberry. Somewhere on Crescent
Café de Nuit - When the weather is nice (i.e., when school's finished and I'm in Pennsylvania) this is my favourite place to sit outside, gawk at people (like the CÉGEP kids lined up for a mile for Jean Leloup night at Café Campus next door), and toss back some beverages. You have to order food here, which is probably just as well. Basic mixed drinks here are two-for-one on Friday nights (maybe other times too, that's the only night I've ever been here). Inside isn't bad though it tends toward the jock side a bit (hockey nights are big here). Never enough waitresses but they are usually friendly and often attractive. 51, Prince Arthur est
Café Frappé - Decently fun place with yummy sangria. The upstairs courtyard is great when the weather is nice. It's pretty big so you can usually get in. 3900, St-Laurent
Cock'n'Bull - Cock'n'Bull is a Montréal institution par excellence. Although it's far as hell from campus and (especially) home, it's worth it in every way. Probably the weirdest crowd in the city: compulsive gamblers, unreformed communists, Australian tourists, Concordia professors on the prowl for, well, juicy pussy, and weird losers like us. The bouncer is the old woman who runs it with her husband. Run down and old. Monday night is crafts night where you get supplies to make sock puppets, noodle art, and the like for free. Downstairs at 1944, Ste-Catherine ouest
Hurley's - Hurley's is probably the most famous Irish bar in Montréal, and the first bar I ever went to here. It's kind of expensive but fun. Good music, friendly staff. They have all sorts of Irish food here, too, if you're into shepherd's pie and its ilk. Also, on January 25th, they make common cause with their fellow Celts across the North Channel and chum haggis and Scotch for Robbie Burns Day, which is a lot of fun. My friend Ben's roommate's boyfriend plays Celtic music here sometimes and is really good. 1225, Crescent
Mad Hatter - I went here a lot first year. It's downtown, though, so I never get to it anymore. Beer here is reasonable and the music isn't bad (lots of punk cover, sometimes even live). Thurs/Fri/Sat they have a thick neck bouncer and mandatory coat check in the winter, which sucks, as do most of the whiny condescending waitresses. Often cards. 1230, de Maisonneuve ouest
Miami - My favourite bar. The McGill handbook last year called it the scummiest bar in Montréal and this year they called it a front for Italian coke dealers. I'll grant them last year's slander but I have to draw the line at allegations of criminality. Miami is small and dark and dirty and filled with every type of weird crank you can imagine (including myself and friends), and is generally a bit rowdy. The pitchers are also more than at Bifteck across the street. Nonetheless it is brimming with je ne sais quoi and I advise you to check it out sometime with an open mind. The patio out back is actually nice in the summer. Weird music (occasional sing-alongs), often pro-wrestling or pornography on the TV. Great bathroom graffiti. Watch the stairs. Upstairs at 3601, St-Laurent
St-Sulpice - This is one of the biggest places I've ever seen in my life and it's still hard to get into. The building it is in used to be some rich fucker's mansion, so going there is like a huge party in some preppie kid's house while his parents are skiing in Aspen (Warren people might want to imagine the notorious Ignatius party from a few years back). It's expensive and noisy but one of the only places on my list with any kind of francophone presence at all. Fantastic patio . They do sometimes card here, which is another annoyance, though not a huge one. Something intensely weird happens to me everytime I come here, which I regard as a plus. Last time my friend Jessica brought, by accident, a ten year old fake ID with some woman from Kingston on it so, despite being legal, she couldn't get in and we had to go somewhere else. 1688, St-Denis
Sharx - Sharx is actually more of a pool hall than a bar, and until I realized (after three trips) that it also has bowling, I wasn't that interested in it (I hate pool). It has the coolest bowling alley in Montréal (well, at least better than Quilles International up the street from my apartment) with all the electronic wizardry you'd want (except it doesn't clock the speed of your rolls). Lots of TVs, great atmosphere (black lights!), and the coolest escalator in Montréal. 1606, Ste-Catherine ouest
Cafés
Café SinoNet - There aren't a lot of places in Chinatown open very late, unfortunately, but this café stays open at least to midnight almost every night. This is the only place in the city I know that has good bubble tea (in about twenty flavours) and there are a lot of snacks you can get too, like fried dumplings and soup. Very reasonable prices. This looks like a good place to study since they have big tables, Internet, and a photocopier, and indeed there are usually a lot of pretty attractive young Chinese there hitting the books. Atmosphereic music and board games available. Upstairs at 71, de la Gauchatière ouest
