1. The Sainte Catherine Zig Zag
Saint Catherine street, near Concordia, is one of the prime spots for pub crawling. But if you walk straight down Saint Catherine, you may be disappointed, because all the great spots are located on the cross streets of Crescent, Bishop and Mackay. The Zig Zag could probably even be extended to De la Montagne and Peel, but for your liver’s sake, we kept it "short". Luckily, there are so many bars in this small vicinity that this pub crawl could be conducted entirely on foot, so you and your buddies can literally stumble or crawl from spot to spot. This is a long one, with not much travel time in between so make sure to pace yourself and stay away from the shots!
1. Start the night at Station Des Sports
2. Pub Cock n’ Bull
3. Head to Fats for a game of pool
4. A tall boy at Andrews Pub
5. Start the Zig Zap at Pang Pang’sKaraoke and sing a quick tribute to Oasis
Enjoy a large selection of beers on tap at the mighty quartet of Bishops Pubs.
6. Fiddler’s Green
7. Irish Embassy
8. Grumpy’s
9. McKibbins Irish Pub
You might be crawling at this point but you’ve only got one more block to go!
10. Stumble into Ziggy’s for some old timey fun
11. The famous Sir Winston Churchill (Winnie’s)
12. Only the most valuable players make it to MVP
13. Irish pint at Hurley’s Irish Pub
14. Congratulations you’re at Madhatters, grab yourself a celebratory drink and fucking smile.
2. The 211
If you live in the West Island, you’ve probably done at least a variation of this pub crawl. There’s an impressive amount of bars along the Lakeshore and a bus that runs along it until past 1am, almost begging you to crawl it. If you’re a rookie, this probably seems awfully long (or awfully short if you’re Andre the Giant) so modify it as you please. In starts in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue runs all the way through the West Island and ends in Dorval, and then you can even hop back on the 211 and head downtown, if you’re still breathing of course.
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
1. Start the night off at Annies Sur Le Lac with some cheap pitchers
2. A Pint at Cunningham’s Irish Pub
3. Phoenix, the local dive bar, then hop on the 211
Beaconsfield
4. Hop off right in front of The Black Lion Pub, Beaconsfield’s premiere watering hole
Pointe-Claire
5. Pointe-Claire Village, it’s been called the downtown of the West Island. Hop off the 211 and first hit up Ye Olde Orchard
6. On to an MTL Blog dive bar inductee, Brasserie Le Village.
7. To Pioneer (formerly Clydes) and then it’s back to the 211 for one last ride.
Dorval
8. Hope off the bus at the corner of Dumont and Fenelon, walk back to the service road, and you’ll find Duffy’s, another premiere MTL Blog dive bar.
9. Walk down to Dorval Ave. and you’ll find Bar Satellite, one of the greatest places on earth.
10. Next, walk down Dorval and into Macallan’s Sports Bar, where you’ll usually find a bumping atmosphere, and if it’s a Monday or Saturday, all-you-can-drink for $20.
3. The Microbrew
Do you like beer? I mean, do you love beer? I’m not asking if you love getting drunk off beer, but do you enjoy the taste, the smell and the touch of a cold brew going down your throat? Cheap beers are so often used to get wasted, but there is an art to brewing a fine tasting beer, so ditch the Bud lights and Mooseheads for a night. This pub crawl will bring you to all the greatest place to get a fine craft beer, brewed right here in Montreal.
- Start off at Brutopia on Crescent, try the rasberry blonde
- Down the street, to Les 3 Brasseurs for their wide selection of cheap home-made beers
- Hop onto the Guy-Concordia Metro and get off at Place Des Arts, walk down Jeanne-Mance, turn right on Sherbrooke and you’ll find Benelux Brewpub, where you can chill with the McGill crowd over a pint of Lux or Cimonak.
- Back to Place Des Arts Metro, get off at Berri Uquam, walk down Saint-Catherine, up Saint-Denis and you’ll find yet another 3 Brasseurs, where you can revel in all the beers you missed at the last one.
- Walk literally across the street and find Le Saint-Bock, where they have up to 20 beers on tap!
- Keep walking up Saint-Denis and you’ll find L’Amere A Boire, where you can sample some of Montreal’s best craft lagers!
- Walk back down Saint-Denis, turn left on De Maisonneuve and you’ll find Le Cheval Blanc. At this point, you’ve hit your last microbrew, so you have a quick beer and keep moving on (you’re on Saint-Denis after all) or stay and keep enjoy some more of their highly-praised cream ale.
4. The Saint-Laurent Sprint
Saint-Laurent is a partyer’s paradise, with dozens of trendy bars and late night food, and the great thing about it is that it’s all on one street! No zig-zagging or busing required. It’s called the Saint-Laurent Sprint because you can literally sprint it, grabbing pints and shots as you go along, although we don’t recommend that unless puking your guts out is your goal for the night. As always, pace yourself, because pub crawls are a true test of endurance. And if clubbing is your thing, this crawl is a great predrink before you hit up one of Saint-Laurent’s club stinkers.
1. Start off at McKibbins Irish Pub
2. Fuel up with a $2 slice at Pizza Madonna
3. Lounge out with a drink and play some video games at Apt 200
4. Head over to Bar Bifteck for some cheap pounding
5. Ever watched skateboarding in a bar? Good, cause TRH Bar is next.
6. If you’re still hungry, you can dish out another toonie at Chez Mein on some peanut butter noodles.
7. Head up the stairs to Bar Korova
8. On to Blizzarts for some hip hop funkyness
9. The famous Blue Dog
10. Get your last few cheap pints at Barfly
11. Finish off with some good times at Divan Orange
5. 8 Days of Christmas
Once upon a time, a group of West Island legends embarked on an even more legendary pub crawl. It was Christmas Eve and they were gung-ho for a festive night. Story goes they blacked out by the third bar, but scholars maintain that this was exactly their route. Supposedly, after they disappeared into the jaws of the mighty Green Hornet, they were never seen again. Okay, I made that part up, but keep in mind this pub crawl is not for the faint of heart. The saving grace of this pub crawl is that it’s got a lot of walking so you may have a chance to sober up.
- Begin your evening, as always, at McKibbins Irish Pub
- Trek down Saint-Jean and grab a left on Hymus and you’ll find the legendary Bar Hymus
- Across the street to Brasserie Le Manoir, or as the vinkings call it, Manoir
- At this point, make your way all the down Saint-Jean to Topaze, or if you’re feeling lazy, you can hop on the 201. Keep in mind, Topaze is inside the Pointe-Claire plaza.
- Around the corner onto Donegani and you’ll enter Calistoga Pub and Grill
- At this point, you may very well be waddling, so make your way down Donegani into Valois village and rest your bones at Mayfair Taverne
- And on to Kelly’s, where you will find the moms and dad scene of Valois.
- Under the under-pass and you will enter the jaws of the Green Hornet.
All Maps by Paris Tsovras
