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.
Mentioned in
A curated list of the best wine bars in Montreal
From loud to laid-back to low-key, these are the spots with superb selections where you can easily grab a chair and glass (or bottle).
Buy-right. Shop local. Support small business. Choose from a hand-picked selection of prints from local photographers, makers and artisans.
Want to know what’s happening in Montreal?
We curate local content into a weekly news bulletin so you can find out what’s going on around town in one place. Sign up to stay informed.