662553 Mon Oct 26 18:05:52 -0700 2009 6 22 Quebec (including Montreal) 0 5133147 I've been here a few years, but i still don't understand how the restaurant licensing system works. Say, Vietnamese restaurants. Some seem to serve beer and wine, some are bring your own wine (but is beer okay too?) and some don't allow you to bring anything. This seems to go with Indian, Greek etc. as well. For instance, can I bring my own beer to a hamburger joint that doesn't serve it and doesn't say it's BYOW? Just wondering how all this works. Mon Oct 26 18:05:52 -0700 2009 95350 tonbo0422 1 5133260 From my understanding - and I'm certainly no expert, so others may have a better explanation - in general either you can have a liquor license (one of several types), or you can have a BYOB license, or you can have no license to have alcohol in the establishment. > can I bring my own beer to a hamburger joint that doesn't serve it and doesn't say it's BYOW? No. They'd need a BYOB license. You can read more about the different classes of permits/licenses at the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, starting at (25): http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/P_9_1/P9_1_A.htm Mon Oct 26 18:48:12 -0700 2009 5133147 66614 kpzoo 1 5133319 A restaurant can have: - a licence to sell alcoholic beverages they've bought (all the bottles have to be bought through the SAQ's Restauration arm and be marked with a special sticker); or - a licence to serve wines, beers, etc. that patrons have brought; or - no licence. There's no overlap between the different categories: a licensed-to-sell resto can't legally serve wines brought by patrons (i.e. no corkage); a licensed-to-serve resto can't, say, offer a glass of Sauternes with a foie gras entrée (some BYOs exploit a tiny loophole by serving a "trou normand," usually a sherbet doused with spirits); an unlicensed resto can't allow patrons to drink alcoholic beverages period. Patrons of licensed-to-serve restos can theoretically bring wine (including fortified wines like port) and beer but not spirits. Though the law doesn't specifically allow them, cider, mead, sake, etc. are usually OK. However, licensed-to-serve restaurants can stipulate what their patrons can or can't bring; if a BYO wants to ban beer from its premises, it's entitled to do so. Mon Oct 26 19:08:51 -0700 2009 5133147 10520 carswell 2 5151192 And in addition are the nuances of the difference between a bar licence and a licence to serve. This is where the bureaucratic nature of this province gets ridiculous. For instance, on Monkland, Ye Olde Orchard, which has been open at least a decade, still can't get a bar licence, which means you have to either eat or get the pasta noodles with yout drink. Meanwhile, Cho'cola, a CUPCAKE store the other side of Marcil Ave. has the licence to serve you alcohol by itself. All this boils down to is the block that YOO is on. Since it shares the block with the Tavern, the Regie refuses to grant them a bar licence, (because Monkland Village is undoubtedly on the verge of becoming a neighborhood of drunks...yes, that sounds like the NDG crowd to me....) Mon Nov 02 22:37:22 -0800 2009 5133319 290885 berbatov 1 5133320 You legally cannot do that, but you could manage to brown-bag a beer (or put it in another container) to a burger place ... Mon Oct 26 19:09:07 -0700 2009 5133147 11828 Maximilien 2 5133368 I wonder if, say, a burger joint (unlicensed) would object to someone bringing in one of those thermos-type coffee mugs (filled with ????) Mon Oct 26 19:27:54 -0700 2009 5133320 95350 tonbo0422 3 5133435 Most would, I imagine. A thermos-type coffee mug would be pretty conspicuous on the table, would immediately arouse suspicions. And the restaurant would pay a hefty fine if you were caught (repeat offences involve heftier fines and possible loss of permit). Of course, some restaurants have been known to bend the rules for patrons they know and trust. If they're licensed to sell, they might agree to allow you to bring a special bottle, though they'd probably insist that it be served as if it came from their cellar and require that you take the empty bottle home with you. There used to be an unlicensed place that served wines that trusted patrons brought by transferring the contents to a teapot and providing cups and saucers, not wine glasses. Mon Oct 26 20:00:42 -0700 2009 5133368 10520 carswell