Barfly

Cool spot. Quiet.

DIVE LOVE! We went here twice, because it felt like we lived there. Fantastic, friendly bunch of regulars and nice bartenders as well. One of the bartenders had a beautiful, friendly German Shepherd mix that was in the bar — for me, this makes it an automatic five stars.
Another of the regulars had dogs, which he brought in. TWO GERMAN SHEPHERDS (making a total of THREE! OMG!). I was in heaven. We had a blast here, having drinks, talking to people, petting dogs and playing pool.
Just fantastic.

If you like dive bars, you’ll love Barfly. If you don’t like dive bars… you should! I’ve been here when it’s packed to the gills with drunken socialites. I’ve been here to catch a show for an awesome indie band. I’ve been here when there’s just me, a pal, the bartender, the bartender’s pal and two German Shepherds. Because who doesn’t allow dogs in their bar? All I know is that whenever I go to Barfly, whether it’s crowded or empty, rock show or no rock show, dogs or no dogs, I have an awesome time. During my first visit I got super lost in the Habs memorabilia that covers the wall behind the bar. So many classic pieces that have been added throughout the years and not preserved or organized in any special way, but left out bare bones for appreciating fans of Les Glorieux. And appreciate I did. If you’ve never been to Barfly, go. Play pool, drink beers, pet dogs, watch a Habs game, whatever. Just go!

Sticky floors. Gram Parsons. Hockey games on a big TV. Sodas. Beers. Steamy windows in the winter time. Awesome ladies wearing all black and big floppy hats. Nice dudes in Canadiennes toques. The best.

I love dive bars and always try to find the diviest of spots while traveling. It’s always fun to compare them to my own favorites from home. After doing some research, Barfly seemed to be the winner. In our evening of revelry, we mentioned to a bartender that we were heading that way next. He immediately had a concerned look and told us to be very careful. He said that because we were foreign, we wouldn’t be welcome and it’s the type of place you can get your ass kicked or even stabbed. We pushed him further for intel and he backpedaled a bit stating that if we kept a low profile and didn’t piss anyone off, we could likely get out unscathed. A bit apprehensive, but even more curious than before, we trekked down to Barfly to see for ourselves.
As we walked in, no records stopped, no glaring looks, and definitely no weapons were brandished. We sat at the bar, ordered some beers, chatted with the clientele and at no moment ever got the vibe that we weren’t welcome. Plus, it rivaled some of the diviest places I’ve visited in the US. Thanks everyone at Barfly for not stabbing us!

I gotta say, it’s not much of a dive but maybe that’s cause I’m used to every spot in Baltimore and Philly being way dirtier and Montréal is a clean city – but the service here was friendly, and we had a blast over a couple days in July playing pool and throwing back some in between eating tons of food. Of course the punk soundtrack is great, and next time I’m around I want to stop back in for a live show.

Small dive bar with cheap drinks and free pool. If I lived in Montréal this place would be my second home.

We took a trip to Montréal earlier this year and wanted to find a «home base» for our trip. Barfly was conveniently located about a mile away from our Air BnB.
We went twice during our 4 day/​3 night trip. The music is solid. Courtney was our girl that night and she had the best hardcore/​metal sound track. We also attended for Bluegrass Night and that was a great time.
Tons of Habs memorabilia covering the bar. Strong drinks at a good price (compared to the restaurants we went to throughout the city.)
It’s a must-​visit next time we head to Montréal.
We had a bit of a hard time locating the bar. Keep an eye out for the pile of cigarettes along the sidewalk. That was our only sign that we had found the place.

Great little spot. Drinks are more than reasonably priced, staff is friendly and competent, atmosphere is pretty cool. I’m here with some friends from work and it’s a great way to end the week.

We came here for Sunday Bluegrass night (which didn’t really get going ’til 11pm) and really enjoyed it. Good beer, great music, pool table and a warm and grimy vibe — though at $ 6.25 a pint I’m not sure I’d call it a dive bar even if it looks the part. Anyway, well worth a visit — though watch your bag, my wife was pick-​pocketed to the tune of $ 100+ which blew.

THIS is my favorite bar in Montréal. Live music pretty much every night and can be anything from bluegrass, country, punk, hardcore, heavy metal \m/​. Bar staff are friendly and will be talkative if it isn’t too busy. Also dog friendly if not to crowded. Great spot to catch a last pint before closing time. Avoid if you don’t like fun.

if your looking for a total dive bar with super friendly service, and live music… this is it.
Ask for Amanda she’s an awesome bartender
We literally bought a 10lb brisket down the street and carved up sandwichs for the entire bar for dinner
enjoy.

Hands down, the dirtiest dive bar on the Plateau. This is a place you go to sit down, drink cheap pints, and chat with friends.
There’s a pool table, a bar, and maybe half a dozen tables. To frills whatsoever.
Unless there’s a show going on to attract new faces, the crowd is mostly regulars, and it doesn’t take more than a few visits to get friendly with them.
Sunday nights are Blue Grass nights, which are worth checking out if you have an inner hillbilly.

It ain’t bad but it ain’t good, either. Considering that most of the time there is a cover to pay when going in (to see bands perform), the beer is pretty expensive. If the cover’s $ 10 I don’t really want to pay $ 6.50 (not including tip) for a pint of low-​quality beer. Some might find that acceptable, but it just seems steep to me. If there weren’t a cover I wouldn’t even mention it, but beer is beer and bands are bands. One of them has to be cheap — both can’t be unreasonably priced, you know? At least by my standards.
The acoustics leave something to be desired — it’s what happens when a bar is much longer than it is wide, I guess. The bathrooms are right next to the stage too, making it difficult to go potty when there’s a big crowd watching the band.
Still, it’s a cozy little place and it’s probably where I’d go drink with my father if ever he got divorced or something to discuss where he’s moving to (if you exclude the bands playing). The shows are still entertaining and it’s cool that they host so many of them. If my friends’ bands continue to play here I will keep coming, but other than that, I don’t see why I’d keep coming back.

It is what it is and it’s awesome. Please don’t come here if you are not a dim and dirty dive bar lover of country, bluegrass, rockabilly, grit and gracious roadway charm. Stay away and leave this place and the good people who rock it in peace. Go find your bliss elsewhere baby, it’s ok!
I was here recently with a gal who used to frequent the joint often when she lived here over 4 years ago. The tough eyed woman behind the bar lit up, recognized her immediately, and picked up on talks like not a heart beat had gone by. Bottle service? Ah no. Soul service? Like none other.

dingy little place but the punk rock dive-​bar style really is something that I enjoy. The crowd matched up to the décor and the live music hit the spot. Washed my stress away with a few Ricards and friends.

Wandered into this place after shopping on St. Laurent.
Anyway, we NEEDED to be drinking in a bar for THE RAPTURE 2011, and we like random places.
Bar Fly looked like our cup of dive bar and we only had 10 minutes before, you know, THE RAPTURE.
Could not have picked a better place.
It was almost six when we wandered in we got our drinks and headed out back to the cementesque patio (which closes at 9:00pm btw)
About 15 peeps outside, sitting around drinking, chilling and smoking.
Some were complete characters.
Some were just (happily) drunk.
All were REALLY welcoming, friendly and interesting.
All seemed local.
As the night wore on more and more regulars showed up.
All equally cool.
BONUS: It was one of the regular’s birthdays and he BBQ’d a feast on the patio — it was his bday party, he’s a chef by trade– and he even invited us to eat. So NICE.
It was awesome!
We stayed until about, errr, 10:00.
By then it was super– packed anyway and we ready to move on. We had made some friends and went out dancing.
NOTES: Good music on the sound system, nice bartender. Definitely a dive joint (in the best sense of the phrase). We used cash and I would suggest you do too. Not even sure if they take cards.
All-​around great experience.

A solid dive bar in Montréal, with a dangerous couple steps up straight from the street. This little old building is original — you can tell from the exposed beams and the way the entire bar tilts straight down, but its original in other ways, too. A mixed-​age group of people, cheap beers on tap, good music on the juke and still the ocaissional punk show, this is everything a dive bar should be. Within two pints you can be sharing a table with an old guy who tells you stories about rock stars on Caribbean islands, his problems with faith, and hand-​draws you maps to Leonard Cohen’s bagel joint and the best vintage shops in town.

Best dive-​watering hole (without a patio). I don’t think beer is cheaper anywhere else on the main.
They still have tapes behind the bar and an excellent bluegrass night. There’s a live band crammed into the back nearly every night of the week and some of the best shows I have ever seen were in those ten sweaty feet of standing-​room-​only space.