Le Bar du Quartier Français
Late last month, as I wandered down to the CBC building for a radio interview on Spacing Montreal, I passed by this gem of unreconstructed kitsch on St. Hubert Street.
There are so many things I love about it. There’s the signs, which are tacky in the most timeless of ways. There’s the motorcycle parked out front, harking back to the days when biker gangs, not street gangs, claimed ownership of Montreal. There’s the name — Quartier Français — which, combined with the abundance of fleurs-de-lys, makes me think that a bloke would not be welcomed at this place. Finally, there are the “Bienvenue aux dames” signs, a reminder that it wasn’t so long ago that women were excluded from most taverns in Quebec.
Of course, my love of Le Bar du Quartier Français is strictly ironic: I doubt I would really enjoy drinking a pint of Coors Light (the availability of which is advertised on a poster inside) here. But I can admire it from afar, can’t I?
Montreal Apartments
Ben says:
excuse my English keyboard, but what does FUT mean?
October 16th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Desmond Bliek says:
It’s not such a bad place. I had a pint there a year or so ago when I was doing training for being a vote-counter in the area during the last federal election. The beer was a bit watery, but it had a nice local feeling about it. There are a few blocks there, to the east and west of Saint-Hubert between Sainte-Catherine and the Ville-Marie that are fairly intact yet largely forlorn: not part of the Village, but not Chinatown, and certainly not part of the quasi-gentrification along rues Anderson or Saint-Élisabeth, either.
October 16th, 2007 at 11:35 am
chambrun says:
FUT means barrel or cask. It means that you’ll get draught beer.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Patrick Donovan says:
It reminds me of my favourite Quebec City establishment - le Tonneau - whose signs are always sure to please.
If you’re a fan, this site lists other similar heritage wonders: http://www.ousortir.com/
October 16th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Francois says:
This place was closed in a hurry last weekend by the police. It had become a major drug and prostitution center for street gangs.
http://www.canoe.com/infos/societe/archives/2008/03/20080322-090001.html
March 25th, 2008 at 12:49 pm