Looks great!
Do you need to call for res. or is it walk-in?
I don’t know! This is new to me. Keep me informed if you go!
I did go and I’m sorry to report back that it’s all show. The bar itself is very cool and thoughtfully done; the bartenders don’t know what they’re doing. There’s no menu so drinks are made to order based on preference (i.e. spirit forward; bourbon; citrus and so on - very Tokyo “hip”) but the joke is that they can’t even get the basics right. When they say “bespoke” (an annoying word used in this context imo) what they really mean is “unfamiliar” with the assumption that people in Montreak who’d frequent their Golden Sq Mile speakeasy on De La Montagne below Sherbrooke W (across from Holts) probably have more money than sense. We took a friend who’s not well versed in mixed drinks and they made him a really shitty watered down Sazerac (with no twist) as if it were some kind of special concoction. I forget what I received but it was completely unbalanced. Their bar stock is kind of a joke too. The only gins they had were Bombay East and Hendricks. I tried to order a basic martini for my friend with Plymouth or even Beefeaters or Tanqueray… They suggested vodka, shaken. 
At this point I realized we were in the wrong place. I discussed proper martinis with the bartender (who only seemed interested in the Fleming Bond character- as mentioned, it’s all show) and I asked for a wet martini 4:1 stirred and I have to say that it was the most incompetent drink I’ve been served in a long time. I mean, what business do you really have running a speakeasy if you can’t mix the most basic drink in the world? I could have made a better martini using the airplane bottles on my flight from SFO with my eyes closed. We ran through about 5 drinks total (one was acceptable) and the bill was exorbitant. Hard to recommend this place for anything other than the atmosphere, unfortunately. It seems to be catered to psuedo sophisticates who’ve traveled enough to know what the Montreal bar scene lacks on only the most superficial level. That said, we enjoyed excellent drinks earlier in the night at Impasto and later in the week at Foxy, which has rocketed into my top 5 in the city!
Thanks for being the sacrificial lamb on this! I really appreciate it!
I remember being at drinkerie sainte-cunegonde on notre-dame for a friend’s birthday and seeing the bartender cut an old fashioned with soda. He must have seen my face because he quickly told me the client demanded it. On the other hand I remember a “off the menu short bourbon classic order special” we made at Big in Japan Bar a while ago and they were all on point (old fashioned, vieux carré, sazerac…)
To be honest I’m very suspicious of any bar near Crescent/De La Montagne/Bishop. The only half decent cocktail place I know of in that area is M sur McKay IMHO.
My worst Gin & Tonic (made with 7up no less! How can you mess up a Gin & Tonic?) was in the now dead Hotel de la Montagne’s rooftop bar.
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