L'Barouf opened on Saint-Denis in 1993, founded by an Algerian immigrant and his Breton partner who had met in Montreal and decided to stay. More than three decades later, it remains one of the Plateau's most tenacious institutions: a loud, sociable bar with a Franco-European sensibility, a strong beer list anchored by Belgian-style options, and a long-standing reputation as the unofficial headquarters of French soccer supporters in the city. The 1998 World Cup final ran the place out of pastis and champagne and left three days of cleanup in its wake; the 2018 celebrations spilled onto Saint-Denis entirely. Despite a catastrophic fire in 2007 that destroyed the building and required a full reconstruction, and despite the Plateau's transformation from working-class neighbourhood to one of the most expensive addresses in the city, L'Barouf has outlasted most of what surrounded it.