Bar Mamie feels like stepping into your Northern French grandmother’s kitchen for an evening of exceptional wine and charcuterie. Found near Little Italy, this neighbourhood gem offers a comforting yet contemporary take on French culinary traditions, all inspired by owner Max Rosselin’s upbringing in a small French village.

The heart of Bar Mamie lies in its simplicity and conviviality. Generous boards of house-made charcuterie, perfectly paired cheeses, and nostalgic small plates like raclette and rillette take centre stage. The fare is unpretentious, relying on quality, seasonal ingredients to evoke the comforting warmth of home-cooked meals.

True to its name, Bar Mamie has a strong focus on wine, breaking down barriers with its approachable “à la verse” concept: drink more, pay less. With an ever-changing chalkboard menu of reds, whites, rosés, and skin-contact wines, alongside a secret list of rare finds for connoisseurs, there’s something for everyone.

The cozy interior, decorated with vintage touches and personal mementos from Max’s late grandmother, radiates charm, while the sunny summer terrace offers a prime spot to soak in the buzz of the area.

Opened in 2020, Verdun Beach quickly became a neighborhood favorite. Embracing the concept of a guinguette—a lively, casual bar with a focus on good food and drink—this spot promises a vibrant atmosphere where you can drink, eat, and dance.

Founders Charles Garant, Marc Frandon, and Philippe Jacquelin transformed the former Balconville location into a space with vintage '70s charm. The wine list, curated by Frandon, features over 100 natural wines from 30 independent winemakers. Complemented by craft beers, house cocktails, and a fresh, seasonal menu that rotates dishes regularly, Verdun Beach offers an escape in the heart of Verdun.

Located in Montreal's Mile End, Le Plongeoir is a dive-inspired wine bar created by Antoine Denis, Frédéric Létourneau-Archambault, and John Hale, this 35-seat establishment blends a casual, back alley vibe with a focus on high-quality, affordable natural wines. The décor features lime-washed walls, dark green trim, and a classic billiards table illuminated by a stained-glass lamp, evoking a laid-back European feel.

Le Plongeoir aims to demystify wine drinking, offering a welcoming space where patrons can enjoy a glass or bottle without pretension. The wine list emphasizes French natural wines from lesser-known producers. Complementing the wine is a simple tapas menu featuring charcuterie, cheese, and cold plates. The concept is simple: great wine in a relaxed, unpretentious setting.

Vinvinvin, a vibrant wine bar in La Petite-Patrie, opened in 2019, offers a playful yet sophisticated experience. Located in the former Brutus space on Beaubien Street East, this Nordic-inspired bar features an eclectic design with colorful tones and a central bar. Helmed by Marina De Figueiredo, Antonin Laporte, and Nikolas Da Fonseca, vinvinvin focuses on central and northern European wines, categorized by palate with unique labels like "punk" and "émotion." Complemented by a selection of local beers and small, shareable plates, vinvinvin is a delightful spot for wine enthusiasts seeking a fresh spots for even fresher wines.

Vin Papillon opened in 2013 as the quieter, greener offshoot of Joe Beef and Liverpool House, but over time it’s become something else entirely—less of a satellite, more of a touchstone. Originally conceived as a tribute to sommelier Vanya Filipovic and chef Marc-Olivier Frappier, the restaurant built its reputation on playful, vegetable-forward dishes and a wine list that championed natural producers long before it was fashionable. It’s where smoked carrot éclairs and ham with brown butter–drizzled cheddar became cult classics, and where a who’s-who of Montreal’s new culinary wave—Jessica Noël, Gab Drapeau, Alex Landry—cut their teeth.

Today, Vin Papillon is helmed by Fred Morin and chef de cuisine Alan Stewart, with wines now curated by Max Campbell of Deux Caves. The room remains intimate and unflashy, with white brick walls and a signature painting of an ocean liner—painted by Fred himself—looming over the open kitchen. The menu is short, seasonal, and slyly inventive, veering from wood-fired maitake to escargot atop escargot. It’s still walk-in only, still open at 3pm, and still one of the most quietly magnetic places to drink and eat in Montreal.

Opened in January 2020 on Notre-Dame Boulevard West, Stem Bar is a stylish, modern venue created by the owners of September Surf Café. Designed by Ravi Handa, the decor blends sobriety with vintage touches, offering a relaxed ambiance. The space seats 57, with a dedicated bar area for those waiting for a table. Its chef’s seasonal menu focuses on fresh, shareable plates, providing a delightful culinary experience. The drink menu, regularly updated, features small independent wine producers and local breweries. Stem Bar is a charming place to unwind and enjoy exceptional food and drink in Little Burgundy.

La Buvette Chez Simone, set on Parc Avenue since 2008, is a beloved spot for Montrealers seeking tasty, well-priced wine and simple snacks. Opened by Éric Bélanger, Michel Bergeron, Fabien Lacaille, Gabrielle Bélanger, and Simone Chevalot, it offers a laid-back yet attentive atmosphere. Designed by Zébulon Perron, the space features warm wood tones and an inviting ambiance. Known for its excellent wine selection, charcuterie, and cheese plates, La Buvette Chez Simone is perfect for casual evenings or celebratory gatherings. Its vibrant, convivial environment makes it a staple in the Mile-End neighborhood, ideal for relaxing or enjoying a night out with friends. Don't miss its little sister, Bar à Flot, a stone’s throw away.

Rouge Gorge’s been a cherished wine bar in the Plateau since 2015 because it offers a cozy haven for drinks and bites. Named after a Parisian tavern from the film Children of Paradise, its decor by Zébulon Perron blends industrialism with intimacy, while its wine selection of French bottles alongside global varieties complements seasonal bites including fresh oysters, pasta, and grilled seafood. Whether dining on its terrasse in the summer or drinking in their intimate bar downstairs, Rouge Gorge is where patrons savor good booze and food, making it an essential destination for bar enthusiasts.

Tucked between Petite-Patrie and Little Italy, Buvette Pompette doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel—it just rolls with the Iberian way of doing things. That means affordable wine, small plates meant for sharing, and a room full of regulars who didn’t plan on staying late but did anyway. Opened in late 2022 by a nine-person crew led by Federico Rivas (Bar Chez Baptiste) and importer David Ward, the idea was simple: recreate the feel of a true Spanish neighbourhood counter. Mission accomplished.

The menu stays casual—chorizo braised in cider, fried calamari, patatas bravas, charcuterie and cheese boards—all priced between $5 and $12. Food runs until close, and you’re greeted with a free bowl of olives the moment your glass hits the table. Weekly wine arrivals keep things fresh, cocktails are easygoing, and there’s zero pretense about any of it. No reservations, no pressure. Just a solid spot to get a little pompette.

Tucked away off Parc Avenue in Mile Ex, Bar Cicchetti brings Venetian charm to Montreal with its focus on cicchetti—small, delightful Venetian snacks—and a curated selection of wines, including macerated vintages. Opened by Elyse Leclerc, Gabriel Lavallée, and Mathieu Delisle, the bar offers a cozy, low-lit atmosphere with a design by architects Julia Manasas and Maxime Lefebvre. Enjoy a vibrant terrace in warmer months and a menu of fresh, seasonal bites on the cheap. With a mix of organic and biodynamic wines, creative cocktails, and a welcoming ambiance, Bar Cicchetti is perfect for a relaxed evening of drinks and snacks.

With the arrival of Bar à Flot, Mile End gained a new destination for curated wines that showcase small producers alongside seasonal small plates that elevate snacking. The brainchild of the team behind Buvette chez Simone, this intimate bar on Avenue du Parc offers expertly was spearheaded by sommelier Florence Pelland-Goyer and her partners.

Inside, the bar’s inviting design and white terrace set the stage for relaxed evenings. The drinks menu is concise yet thoughtful, showcasing house cocktails and a curated lists—great for casual drinks, celebratory toasts, or upbeat nights out.

BarBara in Saint-Henri is a multipurpose spot that doesn’t miss a beat. Opened in 2021, this Italian-inspired wine bar and dispensa leans into versatility with its hybrid café, grocery counter, and restaurant concept. The menu revolves around fresh pasta, focaccia, and Italian comfort fare, while the dispensa shelves are stocked with homemade sauces, preserves, and signature coffee to fuel your culinary experiments at home.

Inside, the space balances boho charm with a contemporary edge, thanks to the Gauley Brothers and Jean-François Gervais’ design. The vibe shifts effortlessly from laptop-friendly mornings to lively wine-fuelled evenings, with a curated cellar featuring small producers from Italy and Quebec. While the prices stay approachable, the quality never wavers. Whether you’re snagging a zeppoli to go or diving into lumache at a sidewalk table, BarBara proves that laid-back doesn’t mean uninspired. This is Saint-Henri’s new go-to for all things Italian.

Polari is a garage-turned-wine-bar that ditches the pretense. Located in Villeray, this eight-seat counter and handful of communal tables serve as both an intimate hideaway and an unplanned meeting spot for whoever happens to be passing through. Behind the project are three friends—wine industry vet Keaton Ritchie, designer Asa Perlman, and artist Émile Foucher—who built the place themselves, scouring yard sales and Facebook Marketplace for furniture and repurposing a bowling lane into a bar. The wine list leans natural, the snacks are pared-down but thoughtful (think: good tinned fish, Quebec charcuterie, Hof Kelsten bread), and the setup is as casual as it gets—order at the bar, open a tab, and let the night unfold. No over-explaining, no fluff. Just a solid bottle, a bit of food, and a space that feels like yours.

Supernat is the kind of spot that Hochelaga didn’t know it needed until it arrived. A café by day, a natural wine bar by night, and a neighbourhood hangout all the time, this Sainte-Catherine East joint is the brainchild of Paul Tran and Olivier Trudeau—two industry outsiders who decided to create the kind of place they wanted to spend time in. With its wabi-sabi aesthetic, communal vibe, and a prime perch next to Morgan Park, they’ve nailed it.

The menu revolves around Japanese sandos—soft Hokkaidō milk bread stacked with fillings like Peking duck and raclette or salmon sashimi with wasabi mayo—alongside a lineup of snacks that lean into Tran’s Vietnamese roots. The coffee program is serious, featuring a house blend from Zab Café and pour-overs showcasing rare beans. But it’s the seven lines of wine on tap that set Supernat apart, pouring natural whites, frizzantes, and ciders in glasses, magnums, and jeroboams for the truly committed.

Between the Drag & Bellinis brunches, alleyway performances, and a terrace built for slow afternoons, Supernat has carved out a space where great drinks, good food, and a little chaos mix perfectly.

The standalone wood-fired restaurant Hoogan & Beaufort has already made Angus Technopole a destination in Montreal, but with Annette, there’s a cherry on top when heading out east. It’s a plant-filled, wine-forward spot with live entertainment and a finessed menu where chef Marc-André Jetté can really shine, full of comparably smaller plates fed by the chef’s own butcher shop. That means you can expect dishes like boudin croquettes, beef tartare, sweetbreads, and lamb chops alongside lighter vegetarian dishes to round it all out.

Consider this the next-gen steakhouse of Montreal: With its in-house butchery, it’s an address in Outremont that flips the porterhouse-and-martinis formula on its head in the best of ways.

At its core, Provisions is a butcher shop with a sharp focus on quality and tradition, bringing a touch of nostalgia to every bite. This is where you’ll find sandwiches and burgers built from the ground up—starting with hyper-local, pasture-raised meats processed in-house. The challah bread, hand-cut brisket, and signature house-made sausages make their offerings anything but typical.

Known for its standout burgers, Provisions takes the smashburger approach, ensuring a caramelized crust on the outside and juicy perfection inside. The sandwiches—brisket, Cubano, turkey, or even halloumi—strike a balance between satisfying simplicity and thoughtfulness. It’s food that’s as good as it is honest.

Found behind the Italian destination restaurant Elena, Club Social P.S. is discreet yet vibrant addition to the Saint-Henri scene with a blend of coffee, wine, and bites. It's a chic yet casual spot where what’s culinary meets conviviality: Bright interiors adorned with canary yellow accents exude energy, while the lush terrasse is great for al fresco enjoyment. By day, savor Italian pastries, sandwiches and Roman al taglio pizza, while evenings out Elena's renowned pies with curated wines. Good for a quick bite, leisurely meal, or social gatherings.

Issan Wineroom on Laurier Street West brings a fresh concept to Montreal’s Thai dining scene, melding Chef Pamika Sukla’s deeply rooted Issan flavours with a curated, private-import wine list in a sleek wine bar format. This extension of the Pamika brand dials in on small plates and tapas, translating Thai classics into shareable bites like fiery Isan BBQ beef salad, velvety tom yum, and a standout shrimp choo chee in red curry. Chef Pamika stays true to her Issan roots, infusing local ingredients with rich, complex seasonings reminiscent of Thailand’s northern regions.

The atmosphere—an elegant, wood-and-brick blend inherited from the space’s former occupants—keeps the vibe upscale yet welcoming, with a neon-lit wine cellar setting the mood for the restaurant’s carefully selected vintages. In summer, diners can enjoy the city’s only Moo Kata (Thai BBQ) on the terrace, where the experience becomes an interactive journey of sizzling meats and aromatic dipping sauces.

Furco is one of those rare bars that nails the balance between design cred, downtown grit, and solid hospitality. Opened in 2012 in a former Canadian Fur Company warehouse just off rue Mayor, the space still carries the bones of its industrial past—concrete pillars, partial walls, and a dramatic garment-conveyor-style light fixture that draws your eye straight to the open kitchen. Co-designed by Zébulon Perron, it channels the vibe of a Berlin boîte without overplaying its hand.

The bar’s been busy since day one, thanks to a seasoned team behind projects like Buvette Chez Simone and Cicchetti. Weeknights draw an after-work crowd; weekends, it’s DJs and full houses. Chef Joëlle Trottier helped define the kitchen’s ethos early on: fresh, generous, unpretentious plates meant for sharing. Think oysters, house charcuterie, and seasonal small plates—kitchen’s open ‘til midnight. Wine’s private import, cocktails are serious, and the leafy terrasse in summer seals the deal. Downtown doesn’t always get it right. Furco does.

Monopole plays it quiet, but it doesn’t miss. Open since 2017 on the edge of Old Montréal and Griffintown in Cité Multimedia, this café-buvette hybrid was built by five industry pros—Gabriel Gallant, Daniel Alvarez, François Larose, Ngoc-An Trinh, and a silent partner—who saw a gap in a neighbourhood saturated with chains but starved for soul. The name, borrowed from a fictional wine bar in one of their favourite books, nods to both their geeky streak and Québec’s singular wine landscape.

By day, it’s a coffee stop with pastries from Hof Kelsten and beans from 49th Parallel. By night, it shifts into a low-key wine bar with a sharp, seasonal menu: lobster rolls, venison tartare, “potato of the day,” and late-night snacks like spicy popcorn and liver mousse. The wine list leans natural, with small-producer bottles starting at $35. It’s intimate, affordable, and unflashy in all the right ways—a place to talk, eat well, and drink better.

Lundis au soleil didn’t wait for ideal conditions to open—it launched during the first wave of pandemic restrictions, with takeout only and a whole lot of uncertainty. But the timing didn’t deter longtime friends Olivier Martinez, Karina Tétrault, and Charles Thibault, who pushed ahead with their vision of a neighbourhood spot that channels the easygoing charm of a European corner café.

Named after both a Spanish film (Lunes al sol) and a Claude François track, the place wears its influences proudly. The menu, shaped by chef Frédéric Bourgault, leans seasonal and unfussy—small plates built for lunch, apéro, or lingering dinners. The wine list is all private imports, mostly natural, and curated with care. The room itself, designed by Thibault, is warm and bright by day, glowing and convivial by night. It’s not trying to reinvent anything—just offering a little light, even on a Monday.

Buvette Beaubien is the kind of place that earns its regulars. Set on Beaubien Est, this neighbourhood spot feels more like a gathering place than a bar—a mix of unpretentious charm, thoughtful food, and a wine list that makes room for everyone. Behind it are Dominique Goupil, a former painter turned restaurateur, and Maxime Tremblay, whose easy energy anchors the room, joined by longtime friend Martin Lamirande.

The menu is built around share plates—charcuterie, cheeses, house spreads—and more composed dishes like roasted Arctic char, spicy shrimp with chorizo, or mushroom polenta. A prix fixe chef’s choice menu rounds it out at lunch and dinner. Wines skew natural, with generous by-the-glass options (yes, even at $10), and a retail corner lets you take bottles home.

The space includes a sunlit terrasse and a private dining room for up to 40, making it as suited to casual apéros as it is to group dinners. It’s local in the best sense: friendly, flexible, and made to be part of your routine.

Denise has worn a few hats since opening in 2018, but one thing hasn’t changed—it remains one of the most dependable, unpretentious wine bars in the city. A true buvette in Parc-Ex, it’s intimate without being insular: 30 or so seats around a lively bar, a few more on the terrasse when the sun’s out, and a regular crowd that clearly treats this place like a second home.

The kitchen changed hands in 2024, but the new team—Korlin Kaetzel and Julia Mallette—has kept the magic intact, just with a more personal twist. Their plates pull from Japan, Southeast Asia, and North Africa, guided by market finds and whatever they’re craving. It’s quietly ambitious cooking: crushed potatoes with seaweed hollandaise, raw beef with kefir and lemongrass, halibut dressed with elderflower capers and olives. Lydia Roussel runs the floor and the wine list with care and charm, spotlighting the Americas, Iberia, and a rotating board of low-intervention finds. Denise is still Denise—just a little sharper around the edges.

Les Cavistes has quietly become a cornerstone of Ahuntsic life. Originally launched on the Plateau in 2010, it found its footing—and stayed planted—on Fleury Ouest two years later, evolving from a passion project about private wine imports into a full-scale neighbourhood bistro. Today, it’s helmed by co-owners Maude Théroux-Séguin and Robert Herrera, with sommelier Louis-Jacques Bleau curating a wine list that’s democratic without sacrificing depth: classic appellations, natural wines, the occasional maceration, and a wide range of bottles under $40. Takeout wine is also on the table.

On the plate, French bistro staples anchor the menu—tartare, steak-frites, boudin noir—balanced by seasonal dishes and a blackboard rotating with fish, meat, and a daily special. Chef Joshua Gaulin leads the kitchen with just enough flair to keep regulars guessing. Inside, the space is modest and bright; in summer, the terrasse wraps around a sunny corner. Open seven days, Les Cavistes is less a secret than a sure thing.

L’idéal bar & contenu opened in late 2021 with a concept that feels tailor-made for the times: part natural wine bar, part event space, part podcast studio. The team behind it—Émilie Amyot, Fabrizia DiFruscia, Florence Gagnon, and others—have deep ties to Montreal’s nightlife, media, and music scenes, and it shows. What could’ve been just another pandemic pivot turned into something much more layered: a place where you can sip pét-nat, catch a live taping, and then dance until close.

The space, designed by Daniel Finkelstein, holds 250 people but still feels intimate thanks to cozy nooks and a soft industrial aesthetic. There’s also a separate, soundproofed studio in back—outfitted by Moog Audio—where the bar hosts live podcast recordings and private events.

Frédérique-Ann Brosseau (formerly of Manitoba) curates the wine list with a mix of classic bottles and easygoing natty pours, while the bar menu blends 90s nostalgia with microbrews and thoughtful cocktails. Chef Julia Giraud handles food that’s shareable, seasonal, and way better than it needs to be. Is it ideal? It's pretty close.