The 11 Best Bars in Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve

Le Trèfle is Hochelaga’s resident Irish pub, with wood floors and walls, a copper-surfaced bar, and a rustic feel that imparts warmth throughout the whole tavern. Leaning into its roots, the bar has an extensive whisky program, offering Irish ferments alongside a selection of Scotch single malts and international whiskeys. On the beer side are more than 100 beers across 32 rotating draft lines. Head over for a pint or two, sports, and a menu of hearty Irish and Québécois pub classics, including poutine, nachos, and fish & chips.

Copilote emerged from the renowned Hochelaga restaurant Hélicoptère as a 25-seat space with its own menu of bites and drinks, with the same emphasis on seasonality and neighbourhood charm. Its signature cocktails are playful and inventive, with ingredients like brown butter, black garlic, croissant, bacon, and thyme. And while cocktails are the primary focus, a rotating selection of over 150 wines is also available. For food, there’s a regularly shifting menu of plates that incorporate fresh, local ingredients, with dishes like fried mushroom baos, beef tartare, and tomato tart.

Éléonore’s drink menu is, at its core, one you might find at a French bistro. Cognac, Ricard, absinthe, and a wine list stacked with Bordeaux, Loire, and Languedoc bottles are among the highlights, as are cocktails that borrow from gin-forward and whiskey traditions. The small, French-inspired buvette is well-suited for dates and dinners with friends who like to share, lending an upscale atmosphere that still feels welcoming. While it serves a succinct, two-beer selection from WILLS, it’s more the spot for someone looking to sip on a proper glass of wine, rather than a pint.

Annette bar à vin might be just outside the limits of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, but we thought it was worth including nonetheless, for its close proximity, outstanding wine list, curated by Hugo Duchesne, and seasonal tapas-style dishes. Of course, at the heart of this spot is the wine selection, with a strong emphasis on French classics, while also pulling in some Spanish and Portuguese bottles. But the cocktails aren’t left by the wayside, as Annette pours out gin-forward and citrus-bright drinks, concoctions assembled with French flavours like pastis and elderflower, and mocktails that receive the same care.

L’Espace Public is a microbrewery and cultural venue that brews its own beers on-site. Sours and fruited styles are its specialty, served alongside a rotating cast of Quebec microbrewery selections, plus a small lineup of spirits and wines with an emphasis on local producers. Dark, a little worn in, and with a window overlooking the facility where each beer is carefully fermented, it’s been a neighbourhood fixture since opening in 2010 and maintains that reputation to this day.

At Supernat, coffee runs the show by day, with a house blend from Zab Café, while evenings shift to a lineup of natural wines on tap. While it’s a natural wine bar in name, Supernat’s drink menu is much more than that, with an extensive spirit list and cocktail program that embraces the kitchen’s Vietnamese and pan-Asian influences, featuring drinks like the “Xanthia Verde” (pandan, Chartreuse, gin) and “Mekong Whisper” (rum, mango, chipotle). The food also takes inspiration from Vietnamese flavours by way of owner Paul Tran’s family recipes, with dishes like papaya salad and Peking duck-filled milk-bread sandos.

At Avant-Garde, classic styles get a European edge, with a Dortmunder export, a Munich dunkel, and a French pilsner, while the list’s more experimental side pushes into barrel-aged territory, sours, and even triple IPA. It’s a taproom that’s designed for tasting a range of flavours, rather than settling on one pint, with a room equally suited for sampling. The open, industrial space provides plenty of space for groups and long stays, and a summertime patio invites you to turn a quick flight into a full afternoon.

Mutoïde is an industrial-style microbrewery with a steady playlist of heavy metal playing in the background and a range of house-brewed styles. A chalkboard menu lists the beers on tap, including lagers, IPAs, stouts, and the occasional oddball like a grisette, pints of which can be enjoyed in its indoor space or on its wooden patio out back during the warmer months.

L’Adversaire is a neighbourhood go-to for nights where you want something more interactive than a standard round of drinks. Shelves lining the space hold a sprawling collection of games, which you can play over a pint, and staff will walk you through the rules if you’ve chosen something new. The drink menu is more playful than you might expect from a themed bar, with rotating taps that lean heavily on Quebec microbreweries and a cocktail list that caters more to easy drinking than craft sensibilities. A selection of sangrias, slushies, shooters, and zero-proof options rounds it out.

Maison Close, named after Montreal’s former red-light district, is an intimate, European-style wine bar on Promenade Ontario where the wine list moves between classic, well-known bottles and more experimental natural picks. Orange and skin-contact wines from Slovakia to South Africa, whites and reds from France, a lineup of classic cocktails, and a handful of beers on tap complete the drinks menu. The kitchen serves Italian-Montreal fare, including pasta, fish, meat, and vegetable plates designed for sharing, and a low-lit space with rock music echoing in the background gives the room a moody feel.

Plainly, Bar de la Salle is just a dive bar. A straightforward neighbourhood tavern with a pool table and cheap pints—the kind of place that wears its longevity like a badge of honour. Regulars outnumber newcomers most nights, and a jukebox with rock songs sets the mood. If Hochelaga’s newer wine bars and buvettes represent where the neighbourhood is headed, Bar de la Salle effortlessly preserves its past.