Habs game on TV + decent food?

[mtb]

Brasserie Brunoise used to be my go-to, but now I'm at a loss. Where can one go, preferably downtown, to watch the game and get some decent grub? I've had Burgundy Lion suggested to me... while passable (barely) in the food arena, are there even enough screens to ensure unobstructed viewing? Any suggestions heartily appreciated.

[Mr F]

Well, the decent food part seems pretty well covered. Now where do you get a decent Habs game on TV?

[Maximilien]

hahaha! do you have a time machine ? I suggest sometime in the 70s.

[mak2k]

lol.. well 70s is kind of far back.. i would say 80s

[Maximilien]

I'm certain Macaroni (on St-laurent corner Mont-Royal) show Habs games.

Last time I walked in front of it, they had huge screens showing poker games.... how chic is that....

[thomasein]

Not mentioned yet is Benelux, brasseriebenelux.com, at the corner of Jeanne Mance and Sherbrooke. I would classify their food as above average pub fair, decent sausages etc. However, their beers are some of the best in the city.

On hockey nights they play habs games on a large screen and attract a boisterous crowd of mostly students.

[Jewoppie]

Mozza Pizzeria Moderna. Amazing food, five big screens, beautiful resto. And they have a hockey special - Large Wood Fire Pizza and Large pitcher of Molson for $27 bucks. One catch. Its 15 mins from downtown, in Laval at Centropolis. But worth the 15 min drive.
www.restaurantmozza.com

[cherylmtl]

Not sure when you drove to Laval, or how quickly, but IMHO it usually takes well over 30 minutes from downtown, and more if traffic's bad.

[carswell]

And, of course, you all are assuming everyone has a car and is willing to enlarge their carbon footprint for an Italian pie...

By public transit at this time of day, the trip from downtown (using 2020 University as a starting point) takes about 50 minutes; involves one metro transfer, one bus transfer and a five-minute walk through the wilds of Stripmallia; and costs $5.35 one way.

Thanks, but I'll stick with biking to Bottega.

[Shattered]

Not to mention, who's doing the driving after that large pitcher?

[mtb]

Very true. We are all on foot from the Concordia ghetto/Chinatown II area... Incidentally, since westaust suggested 3 brasseurs, how's the one on Crescent? That street's typically not my scene but it is ideally located - ie: a hop skip and a jump from loading up on pre-game dumplings at Qing Hua. And Carswell, "stripmallia", best descriptor ever, I'm adopting it!

[westaust]

Just to make everything clear, i suggested Brasseurs de Montreal, not les 3 brasseurs.

[mtb]

My bad... reading too quickly and somehow saw a "3" in there. Thanks for the clarification.

[westaust]

Bofinger, at least the downtown branch, shows the habs game while offering good (while uneven for certain items) food

[westaust]

Another place i forgot is Les brasseurs de Montréal on Ottawa street offers great food, good beer and hockey with a projector on the wall.

I remember going there during last season and had a great time

[jarschef]

Not really a Habs watching atmosphere but Hoai Huong on Victoria has a plasma and they play the habs games when they are on. Despite the atmosphere, at least you get a delicious meal!

[mtb]

Really?! I knew they had a screen but never imagined they would show habs games. That would actually be great for tonight... the weather seems to demand a nice steaming bowl of soup and some tasty bbq porc with lots of fresh herbs. Thanks a lot for the heads up!

[FoodReader]

cafe via dante in little italy shows the games...

[Mr F]

Can't imagine anyone going to Via Dante specifically to watch the game unless it's been remade as a sports bar in the last couple of years. Never could figure out why they had a TV set at all, as it seemed so completely out of sync with the rest of the room.

[FoodReader]

can't imagine it? I've been there a bunch of times to eat gnocchi and watch the Habs. There's usually a couple of other hockey lovers in there. Once the rush is over, the owner and the guys in the kitchen hang out and watch third period action. It hasn't been remade as a sports bar, it's still one of the best italian joints in the city, and if you couldn't for the life of you figure out why they have a TV -- well, now you know... Imagine it!

[Mr F]

Well, OK. Glad to hear the food is still good (or returned to form -- for a while there were reports of slippage), but I do hope you're talking about weeknights. If it's quiet enough for the crew to watch the third period on a Saturday, that's not a good sign...

[Maximilien]

I tried "Taverne Bagg" (at the old bouchonné location) earlier this summer, and will see if I can try it again tomorrow evening for the game; they had only limited bar snacks, but maybe they expanded the menu a little bit.

[red sauce]

I recommend La Cabane (3872 St-Laurent/Napoléon). Unless it's changed in the past year, it definitely fits the bill ... good food, tv sets everywhere, cold beer, casual and relaxed atmosphere and, on game night at least, it's a busy place without being over-crowded. As long as your a Canadiens fan, you'll fit right in.
Cheers.

[mtb]

Thanks for the reco, I've never heard of La Cabane, I may very well check it out. And yes, I'll be decked out in my bleu-blanc-rouge best, so no worries there ;)

[Mr F]

I crossed La Cabane off my "decent food" list some time ago, so I'm curious to hear what it's like these days. It's basically pub grub with a still perceptible Portuguese heritage.

In that neck of the woods I'd choose the Copacabana, about a block north of Cabane. The TVs are kind of high up and there won't necessarily be a whole lot of people paying close attention to the game, but they do show the game and the food is very good.

The bar has a small kitchen that it rents out to a separate business, currently a nominally Indian outfit called Scratch Cuisine. It's really not much like any Indian food I've had elsewhere, whether old-school Canadianized Indian or Jean-Talon authentic, but it is tasty and inexpensive. And the yuca fries rock.

[Shattered]

Copa is better than Cabane for food, but it doesn't have a single big screen. Anyway, I better head out myself if I'm gonna get a seat for gametime...

[blehfu]

I was just about to suggest Copacabana as well. If memory serves me correctly, Scratch Kitchen is something that Nantha Kumar had his hands in back in the day, so you'll see lots of Indonesian and Malaysian influences in the food. Their platters are some of the most tasty curries I've had. A typical plate will have rice/pilaf, nicely grilled veg, a choucroute or cabbage salad, and the main curry/grilled shrimp/etc. I also recommend the yuca fries, though sometimes you can taste the freezer burn, unfortunately. They have specials from time to time; I still think back fondly about the time they served skate wing curry.

Scratch opens at 6pm, closes at 11pm, I think.

They have a large projection screen in the back behind the pool table, but I prefer the nicely sized HD they have in the middle of the bar. Not too crowded on a weeknight, but on weekends you can expect an influx of the student crowd, game or no game.

[Mr F]

Nantha Kumar used to rent that same space, but AFAIK there's no other connection with Scratch...

[mak2k]

i believe blehfu was refering to the restaurant "Scratch Kitchen" (http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVE...) not "le Scratch", the pool hall.

[SnackHappy]

Mr F and bleffu are both talking about the same place. Mr F never made a reference to Le Skratch.

[alixium]

I have not been, but Bar&Boeuf on McGill st. in Old Montreal has a television and plays the games. It was reviewed quite positively in last Saturday's La Presse, with one of the few negative points being the presence of said TV. It does not serve "bar" food, however...

[mak2k]

i personally like Station des sports due to the very cheap booze and decent pub food. Unfortunately, it's a very popular spot and you need to arrive 1 to 2 hours before the puck drops

[Shattered]

La Boite a Karaoke a couple doors down, lots of screens, oversize pitchers, and you can order from the same menu - they're owned by the same guy (Ste Catherine & du Fort).

[kpzoo]

My friends originally from the UK go to Burgundy Lion religiously to watch football - they love it. The screens in the picture I saw are very high up. And they like the food a lot too. Personally I've only had homemade chips (crisps) there and they were delicious, but I haven't had a full meal.

Why not try it once and see what you think?

[mtb]

Thanks for the reply. I've been to Burgundy Lion a couple of times and have found everything I've tried (curries, burger, even salad) to be paradoxically bland yet oversalted. However, if your friends go there religiously for footie then I'm sure the viewing setup will be more than adequate for our purposes. I'll go for the crisps too ;)

[kpzoo]

I hope it serves your purposes! I think my friends usually have a late breakfast while they watch, given the timing of the UK footie games, but hopefully you can find something decent in the evenings too... I hear the fish and chips are good.