Montage

For years, this place was the Ambassador Bar. I remember coming here for gigs where the performers would crowd onto stairs to play and we would awkwardly squish into the other side to see them. These days Montage Bar appears to have the formula worked out a little better — when I went there on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, an awesome performer who worked with loops, a guitar and a saxophone was propped up near the bar and playing to the people inside and out. This is a much better set up! The drinks at Montage are great and the wines are cheap, particularly given the quality of the stuff they have there. I think having two staff members there on a Sunday afternoon was a little excessive, but by perhaps the place fills out quite a lot and I was there on a slower day.

The first time I went to Montage I admit I had already had a bit to drink. But even this experience was a good one. Having only opened in the last 6 months or so, Montage is slowly becoming a bit of a local hot spot.
Deep red velvet chairs, ornate iron gates, dim lighting — the atmosphere of Montage is quite intimate and while it could be a bit threatening it is the exact opposite. In the afternoon sun it’s the perfect place to sit outside and enjoy a cold drink with friends, or alternately enjoy a few shots and vodka and limes after dark.
The staff are funny and friendly and make you feel right at home. When my boyfriend and I first went there, despite being inebriated to begin with, the staff were good sports and put up with our jokes and terrible dancing and even helped call us a cab.
Though not a great venue if you’re in the mood to dance as it’s quite small, Montage is an ideal place to meet friends for a few drinks before heading to town.

There seems to be some sort of unwritten rule that there can only be one decent bar in Pt. Chev at one time; maybe one day the suburb will bust out and there will be two. Hopefully that won’t all be too much for the locals. In the meantime, Montage is it. It’s good here: pretty relaxed and unpretentious, with friendly service. My only grumpiness comes from them taking away the couches they used to have tucked around the corner.
It gets reasonably busy here on the weekends so arrive early if you want to be guaranteed a seat. They also make a mean cocktail, and a fine toasted sandwich. What else do you need in a bar?

Montage is so cool! They’ve definitely upped the Point Chev coolness by a fair few points. The first thing that catches your eye is their awesome sign. It’s really chic and stands out from the rest of the run down shops.
We came here after going out to dinner at the nearby ‘Ragu’ and the place was raging! I guess there’s not much else around Point Chev so the locals are loving it. And we loved it too! It had such a great atmosphere, really made you want to stay out all night haha.
Inside it’s a dark but not gloomy environment. There’s a huge bar and a few seats dotted around the outside. I love that they have lots of quirky décor around and lots of things to look at.
They even serve cocktails in metal milk bottles! How awesome is that.

I’ve been here a couple times now and I’ve really enjoyed it. The first time I came here was just to meet up for a drink with my friend after I came back from a trip overseas, and instead of just having a glass of wine like I usually would, I ended up trying all these different cocktails that were so delicious if I wasn’t driving I would stayed there and drank until the cows came home. We had this passionfruit daquiri thing that had a soaked orange slice in it, and they were served in these really cool, old fashioned glasses. The bar’s décor is cool as well, it is definitely trying to appeal to a certain type of patron. The staff are young and seem to really enjoy their jobs, and they knew a lot about the drinks they were offering. Possibly a bit out of place in Pt Chev, but that’s what I liked about it.