Whisky Cafe?

[Aurore1]

We are looking for something interesting for the Formula 1 weekend and are wondering if this place is worth visiting? Any opinions - good or bad?
Thanks in advance for your help!

[Aurore1]

Here's the follow up to our Grand Prix adventure. To avoid getting caught up in possible kerfuffles, we decided to stick close to our hotel as much as we could. We had a lovely dinner at the Dominion Square Tavern on Friday night - super service, excellent food, and just a nice place to sit. This was followed by another nice dinner at Devi on Crescent Street (inside, away from the party insanity!). Again, great food and friendly service. We were a bit disappointed with our dinner at Au Pied De Cochon on Sunday - I think they were maybe having an off night, because the service was not up to their usual high standards. As for the bar, we ended up at Les Voyageurs in our hotel (the Queen Elizabeth). The service was outstanding, the chairs were very comfortable, and the martinis were fabulous.
Thanks again to all of you for your help - we had a great time and hope to come again next year.

[estilker]

Thanks for posting back!

[Aurore1]

Thank you all very much for your comments. We're going to give it a try. Of course, it all depends on how difficult it is to navigate the city given the protests and such. Wish us luck!

[Fintastic]

Once you get out of the hell that is Jean Drapeau you won't have any navigation problems unless you're planning to drive. In no uncertain terms I suggest that you park the car and not touch it again until you're headed home - this is true any weekend in Montreal, but especially this one. Whisky Bar is an ugly six minute walk from Rosemont metro.

[Aurore1]

Thanks for the tip. We are coming by train, and will have transit passes for the weekend, so we plan to use the subway as much as possible.

[Mr F]

Six minutes is a bit optimistic for the walk from Rosemont metro, but it is indeed an ugly walk along a sidewalk on what is basically a long overpass, or picking your way through pedestrian-unfriendly streets in its shadow.

Laurier station is more than twice as far (almost a full mile), but personally I would walk from there instead. Go via St-Laurent, not the default route suggested by Google Maps. Not the prettiest stretch of St-Laurent, but unlike the Rosemont route there are a few points of interest (shops, bars, restaurants, galleries...). http://goo.gl/maps/H9fU

[estilker]

It is is ugly and also beautiful if you like that sort of gritty city stuff. I rather enjoy walking on the overpass. Most locals cross on foot over the train tracks (not recommended and illegal).
There' s stairs down from the overpass straight to St Laurent. It is very safe by all means. Alternatively you can take the 161 bus from Rosemont metra that will take you to the other side of the overpass, get off at the first stop after the overpass and backtrack a bit to St Laurent. But honestly it's totally fine.

[Mr F]

Yes, it's safe and there are some interesting views from the overpass. It's also noisy and, if sunny, completely unshaded. Though I guess those aren't issues for most F1 fans. ;)

And while Whisky Café wouldn't be my first choice, if the OP is set on going there it's not terribly far from the relatively small Grand Prix street party in Little Italy (above St-Zotique). (Anyone who wants to go straight to Little Italy should go to Beaubien or Jean-Talon metro.)

There is sometimes a bit of decent street food during street events in Little Italy, but generally the offerings are disappointing IMO. Most likely you'll see restaurants with temporarily expanded patios.

[vermontreal]

Or, you could go to the Outremont station on Van Horne and walk down to Bernard, then over to the Whisky Cafe...Bernard's a decently interesting street.

[InterFoodie]

I dont think the trip out to Wiskey Cafe is worth it unless you are looking to also enjoy a cigar.
There are much finer locations more central for a drink.

My personal fav is the St James Hotel lounge or Phillips Lounge

http://www.hotellestjames.com/
http://www.phillipslounge.com/en

[estilker]

Yeah, I agree that Whiskey Cafe really is nothing special. I also recommend Domion Square Tavern downtown for a charming place for a drink.

[Aurore1]

Thanks again for all the help - you provide such a treasure trove of great information. It probably does make more sense to stay a bit closer to our hotel, so the lounges mentioned by InterFoodie sound pretty good. I'd already hoped to try the Dominion Square Tavern for dinner (we found about Whiskey Cafe on their website), so that will probably be a good starting point.

[Aurore1]

We are looking for a quiet place with great scotch and comfortable chairs. After sitting in those dreadful grandstands, we're going to need it! We certainly don't have anything like that here in Ottawa, so it will be nice to experience something a bit different. We'll probably get dinner somewhere else - I'm thinking this sounds like a nice place for a nightcap or before dinner drinks.

[Maximilien]

should be ok; it is far enough from the downtown F1 parties. you might have to call them to see if they take reservation (of somekind) just to be on the safe side.

I was a bit "too fast" about saying there the food nearby (see j_do's post),

[j_do]

the chairs in the smoking area are super comfortable, the regular bar area chairs are standard? You can reserve I believe but I've only ever reserved a table in cigar lounge. If you bring your own cigar there's a 10$ cutting fee.

[j_do]

good for cigars and extensive whisky list..

it actually is close to decent food in mile end. lawrence, magpie, milos, cava, kaza maza, kem coba ice cream, bagels etc etc

[catroast]

you don't need to take a taxi either. It is a 10-15 min walk from Mont-Royal and St-Laurent. There are also two frequent buses, the 80 and 55. It is a 'handsome' bar but not too lively. It is certainly worth your time to visit the mile end neighbourhood and some of Montreal's best restaurants are nearby.

[Maximilien]

What are you looking for exactly ?

The only thing worth at the Whisky Café would be the big selection of whisky.

It's no really, really close to any good food (IMO); you'd have to take a taxi to get in and out.

M.