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LGBTQ+ Montreal Info

Looking for LGBTQ+ Businesses and Venues in Montreal?

Montreal has a thriving culture of LGBTQ+ Businesses and Venues. It is often called the Queer Capital of Canada. While many gay men's bars exist in "The Village" aka the Gay Village, LGBTQ+ spaces are spread around the city. 


A few Montreal food terms to know in advance:

  • "5 à 7" : literally translates to 5 to 7 and is our "happy hour" with drink discounts
  • "dep": corner store or bodega, short for "depanneur"
  • SAQ: liquor store. These government-owned shops are the only places you can buy bottles of liquor.
  • "toute garnie"/"all dressed": everything on it
  • "casse-croûtes": snack bars
  • "poutine": fries with gravy and cheese curds

Other Montreal restaurant and bar tips:

  • Quebec law mandates that restaurants offer you the ability to split the bill. It is common practice for each member of a party to pay separately.
  • Tipping is a common/expected practice. Quebec law mandates that credit card machines suggest tip amounts before tax.
  • Tax on prepared food and alcohol is 14.975%, so if you are wondering how much to tip, you can usually make it a bit more than the tax.
  • Typically credit card machines are brought to the table for you to tap or insert your card (you don't have the American practice of the waiter taking your card away from you and bringing a receipt back for you to sign). 
  • The legal drinking age is 18. 21 is the legal age for cannabis consumption (and it can be bought at the government SQDC).
  • Beer is usually served in glasses or pints. 

Bookstores

  • Librairie L'Euguélionne: Queer Feminist Bookstore, hosted Queers at the Table Book Launch [1426 Rue Beaudry]
  • Joie des Livres: queer-managed Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy, and Horror Bookstore (originated with queer-owned, but now closed, Saga Bookstore). It is also a cafe and bar.  [5163 St. Laurent]
  • Mes Pants de Queer, queer used books bookstore [2025 rue Parthenais, suite 241]
  • Pulp Bookstore, queer-owned and has a cafe [3952 Wellington St.]
  • Librairie Drawn & Quarterly has lots of queer books, graphic novels [176 Rue Bernard O] and hosted a Queers at the Table Event

Bakeries

  • Beigne Habitude: queer-owned donut shop [7035 Boul. Saint Laurent]
  • Sophie Sucrée: queer woman-owned vegan bakery and pastry shop  [3770 St Laurent Blvd]
  • Violet Bakehouse: queer woman-owned, special orders  [https://www.instagram.com/violetbakehouse/]

see also: Royal Ginette under cafés

Cafés

  • Cafe Dispatch, queer woman-owned (2 locations in Montreal: St. Laurent and McGill University)
  • Cafe La Graine Brûlée [921 St Catherine St E]
  • Cafe Reine Garćon, queer women-owned  [611 Av. Duluth E]
  • Cafe Nueva Era, queer women-owned (also a stationary store) [301 Rue Émery]
  • Cafe Velours [373 Villeray]
  • Low Life Roller Skate Shop Cafe, queer-women owned [2548 Rue Beaubien E]
  • Royale Ginette, lesboqueer/ queer-women owned [5800 Rue de Normanville]

See also: Joie des livres, Pulp Bookstore

Restaurants

  • Bernard Cabaret Gourmand, drag brunch and immersive queer dining [936 Rue St. Catherine Est]
  • Dep Le Pick Up [7032 Waverly St] 
  • Morena Mia Mtl, Mexican restaurant founded by a queer couple [959 Rene Levesque Est]
  • Restaurant Tendresse [1259 St Catherine St E]

Breweries

Brasserie Harricana, queer women-owned brewery [95 Rue Jean-Talon O]

Bars and Clubs

  • Aigle Noir, gay men's bar [1315 St Catherine St E]
  • Bar Exotica, gay men's bar [417 Rue Saint-Pierre]
  • Bar Le Ritz (hosts many queer events) [179 Rue Jean-Talon O]
  • Bar le Stud, gay men's bar [1812 St Catherine St E]
  • Bar Taboo, usually a gay-men-centered space but Sweet Like Honey, a sapphic event that highlights BIPOC talent often host their events here [1950 Boul. de Maisonneuve E ]
  • Cabaret Mado, famous drag performance bar [1115 St Catherine St E]
  • Campus Bar & Strip Club, gay men's bar [1111 St Catherine St E ]
  • Champs, lesbian-owned sports bar that hosts Dyke Nights and queer events [ 3956 St Laurent Blvd]
  • Club DD's, LGBTQ2IA+ bar at former site of Blue Dog (queer space) [3958 St-Laurent]
  • Club Unity, gay men's bar [1171 St Catherine St E ]
  • Complexe Sky, gay men's bar/ queer nightclub with multiple floors [1478 St Catherine St E]
  • Co-op Bar Milton Parc, cooperatively owned queer space [3714 Ave de Parc]
  • Notre Dame des Quilles, queer bar with events such as lesbian speed dating and a bowling alley [32 Rue Beaubien E]
  • La Sala Rossa, hosts many queer events [4848 St Laurent Blvd ]
  • Le Cocktail, gay men's bar [1669 St Catherine St E ]
  • Le Date, gay men's bar [1218 St Catherine St E ]
  • L'ideal Bar et Contenus, lesbian-owned bar [151 Ontario St E ]
  • Motel Motel, gay men's bar [1276 St Catherine St E ]
  • Normandie, gay men's bar [1295 Rue Atateken]
  • Renard Bar, gay men's bar [1272 St Catherine St E]
  • Stock Bar, gay men's bar/ nude dance club [171 St Catherine St E]
  • Turbo Haüs, punk venue that hosts queer events and daily 5 dollar 5 à 7 [2040 Saint Denis St]
  • VinVinVin, queer-women owned wine bar [1290 Beaubien Est]
  • Wiggle Room, burlesque cabaret [3874 St Laurent Blvd]

Farms

Ferme aux champs qui chants, queer and trans owned

Catering

YourTinyCatering, queer-owned: https://www.instagram.com/yourtinycatering?igsh=MTc5eDI0MzcwM3Uz

Parties/Pop-up Events



check out their instagrams to see up to date parties!
Also, https://www.instagram.com/queermtl/ has listings of daily queer events in Montreal.

Gyms

  • Black Flag Combat Club [1963 Rue Ontario East]
  • Juke Collective, lesbo-queer soccer pick up games
  • Le Garage, queer gym [1485 Rue Atatekan]
  • Pelea Bozing, queer boxing club [8400 boul. St-Laurent] 

Stores/ Shopping

See also Cafe Nueva Era (stationary shop with a cafe),  Low Life Roller Skate Shop (has a cafe),
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 If you are looking for the archived information about LGBTQ+ resources in Boston that we made for the 2024 conference, see: https://www.queerfoodconference.com/p/bostonbu-info.html