Sober travel in style in Montréal
With dry tripping topping travel trends, one thing is clear: you don’t need booze to have fun. More and more travellers are seeking booze-free experiences, and by the same token, restaurants and bars are expanding their menus into new and exciting non-alcoholic territory. Teetotallers, straight-edgers and designated drivers, this one’s for you.
What’s dry tripping?
The growing global trend of sober living — and travel — is an extension of the wellness trend. People are looking to preserve not only their mental health, but also their physical wellness wherever they might be in the world.
Dry tripping is the name the travel industry has given to people seeking out adventures when they travel that don’t centre around booze. That means eschewing the pub crawls, wine tastings and cocktail receptions — or does it? Not when the pubs, clubs and restaurants offer mouth-watering alternatives.
Montréal’s happening mocktail scene
The global shift towards non-alcoholic drink options is gaining momentum worldwide. In Montréal, that translates to cool new businesses opening up, such as Apéro à Zéro in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood: a liquor-free liquor store where all the wine, spirits and beer are alcohol-free and flavour-packed.
Montréal also has a beguiling crop of alcohol-free drink brands to its name, including 1642, which makes unique sodas created with natural sugars, spring water and flavours, Bec, makers of fresh, organic sodas sweetened with Québec maple syrup, and Zamalek: they make a zingy selection of hibiscus-based seltzers. Local distillery Romeo’s Gin also offers a tasty array of non-alcoholic gin-flavoured mocktails in attractive cans designed by local artists. Even the liquor board has a mocktail recipe section now.
Cheers to Montréal bars and restaurants!
Creativity is always in style in Montréal, and our food and drinks scene is keeping up with the sober living trend. Gone are the days of the Shirley Temple and the Virgin Caesar — because a glass of tomato juice just ain’t it! Here are some of our fave spots for alcohol-free offerings.
Cicchetti
Lovers of Italian open sandwiches and devilled eggs topped with caviar already enjoy this little bar tucked off Parc Avenue in Mile Ex. The tasteful list of mocktails and wide range of boutique non-alcoholic drinks are other reasons to go. Try the Fumigène: a refreshing booze-free margarita whose layered flavour features liquid smoke.
6703 Avenue du Parc
Atwater Cocktail Club
This good-time spot in Little Burgundy caters to sober living needs with a couple of stunning mocktails. Saddle up to the Atwater Cocktail Club’s bar and pick: maybe the Sober Island? Puncture this delight: non-alcoholic amaretto, lychee tea, blood orange, lemon and frothed up egg white.
512 Atwater Street
Time Out Market
Everyone’s favourite food court in the Eaton Centre has an ever growing menu of mocktails. Find your perfect meal du jour courtesy of some of Montréal’s best chefs, then pair it with a selection from one of the Time Out bars, whether it’s the sweet and snappy Éden Tropical (featuring the indulgent flavours of passion fruit and vanilla) or the fizzilicious Dolce Spritz.
705 Sainte-Catherine Street West
Notre Dame des Quilles
This Little Italy spot is a warm, homey hangout that comes with a couple of small-scale bowling aisles and some nice non-alcoholic drinks options. The menu includes a couple of Italian style soda flavours as well as a homemade lemonade and a spicy ginger beer that has a lasting, warming kick.
32 Rue Beaubien Est
Les Enfants Terribles
The Place Ville Marie location of the Les Enfants Terribles chain comes with such an extraordinary view that it will add oomph to any celebration, no booze necessary. Raise a glass to beautiful Montréal with something delicious from their mocktail selection. Maybe their Enfants Terribles Iced Tea? It’s a complex concoction made with Earl Grey, lavender, honey and lemon.
3 Place Ville Marie
Living Room
The stylish lobby bar at the Marriott W Hotel is a great place for an after-work drink or a pre-dinner drink before you head over the Tbsp. next door. Teetotallers will have three delicious non-alcoholic cocktails to choose from at Living Room, plus a wide selection of branded drinks. Try the Pesky Wabbit mocktail: carrot juice, chili syrup, lemon and ginger beer.
901 du Square-Victoria Street
Modavie
Live jazz, French fare and a delectable selection of mocktails made with fresh squeezed juices and herbs rather than syrups and flavourings: those are the makings of a good night out in Old Montréal. Peruse the Modavie drinks menu as you tap your foot to the live music. We recommend the Baby Swing, a delicious mix of coconut, pineapple, lime, mint and cucumber.
1 Saint-Paul Street West
Bar Bisou Bisou
Few bars offer a more creative and flavoursome range of non-alcoholic cocktails than Bar Bisou Bisou in Old Montréal, and that’s not to mention their nice selection of low-ABV drinks as well. In terms of 100% non-alcoholic, choose from the ever-changing selection of creative concoctions like the Paper Tiger: a savoury mix of Printemps by Montréal distillery Projet Pilote with celery, wormwood, peppercorn and sparkling water.
416 Saint Vincent Street
La Distillerie
This small chain of cocktail bars in Montréal has been ahead of the curve in its offering of alcohol-free tipples, which range from non-alcoholic prosecco or Guinness to the fun DIY Spritz for two, where they provide you with fizzy water and all the makings of a flavoursome mocktail designed to your taste. Lucky for you, there are multiple Distillerie locations to choose from.
300 Ontario Street East
Cloakroom
This petite award-winning cocktail bar in the glittering Golden Square Mile knows how to please its sophisticated clientele, and that includes providing a world of beguiling options for those looking to avoid alcohol. One of Cloakroom’s signature features is that they don’t have a menu, so it’s all a matter of conversation: tell them what you’re in the mood for, and they’ll make it, their way. With or without booze.
2175 de la Montagne Street
Buvette Pompette
Next time you’re in Rosemont stop into this hip tapas bar where the small sharing plates of ham croquetas, paella or tender octopus with crunchy potatoes, chorizo and chimichurri pair perfectly with the interesting mocktails options. From the refreshing grapefruit-forward Spritz Rouge to the pleasantly savoury Marie Cero, they’re as sophisticated as the eats.
414 Saint-Zotique Street East
Bar Furco
The mocktail list may be short at this fun downtown bar and restaurant, but with drinks this good that’s all you need. Try the delectable booze-free Amaretto, a snappy, balanced tart-meets-sweet mix of almond-flavoured, lemony delight complete with egg white froth. Or maybe the hot and spicy mix of zero-proof gin, basil, cucumber and jalapeño honey? It’s the perfect drink to clink glasses on their terrasse.
425 Mayor Street
Café Parvis
This popular café right next to Bar Furco is the perfect lunchtime (or break-time) refuge just slightly off the main buzz of downtown. Treat yourself to one of their stunning salads, yummy pizzas or ever-changing daily sandwich selection (did you catch the fried eggplant and veggie pâté focaccia?) with a mocktail, coffee, matcha latte or more. The mocktails include the Tiki Buck, a tropical concoction made from non-alcoholic rum, pineapple and punchy ginger beer.
433 Mayor Street
Henri Brasserie Française
Pair your brunch of truffled croque-madame with one of the mouthwatering mocktails options at this gorgeous restaurant within the tawny Birks Hotel. We recommend the Espresso Mocktini — a step above a regular iced coffee, dunno how they do it! — or the effervescent Ananas Fizz, mixing pineapple, lime and soda.
1240 Square Phillips Street
Milky Way
Climb the illuminated staircase to this lush, neon-lit hideaway above Fugazzi. Milky Way’s acclaimed drink program includes playful zero-proof creations like the apricot-rich Secret d’Abricot and One Last Drink, a complex mix of non-alcoholic amaro, cinnamon, walnut and chocolate.
1886 Centre Street
Le 4e Mur
This intimate Plateau speakeasy offers zero-proof versions of several signature cocktails. Highlights include the tropical, chili-spiked Happy Ending, the sweet-and-tart Passionata and the ginger-forward Data Mule, combining non-alcoholic tequila and whisky with orange, pistachio and lime.
2021 Saint-Denis Street
Crocodile
Hidden behind Alambika in Little Italy, Crocodile is an intimate 30-seat bar that combines warm lighting, comfortable armchairs and an easygoing mood. Its seasonal menu includes low-ABV and alcohol-free originals, plus adapted classics like a fiery Spicy Marg, made with a house-made piri-piri tincture.
10 Beaubien Street West
Le Roseline
This relaxed Mile End wine bar also gives non-drinkers plenty to explore. The Mule brings jalapeño heat to ginger beer, while the Paradoxe pairs grapefruit with rosemary and vanilla. The setting is polished enough for date night without ever feeling stuck-up.
5014 St. Lawrence Boulevard
Motel Ontario
This retro-modern Hochelaga favourite serves seasonal dishes and lively alcohol-free cocktails. The Berryto mixes zero-proof spiced rum with cranberry, lime and mint, while the gingery Tropic’Zen brings pineapple and non-alcoholic gin. Both pair nicely with Motel Ontario’s menu of shareable comfort foods.
3325 Ontario Street East
Isa Tousignant
Isa Tousignant is an editor and storyteller with a curiosity that runs deeper than most. She has chatted life philosophies with celebrity chefs, gemologists, arena rockers and furries. (All were transformative.) Her favourite things include discovering new flavours and celebrating the creativity that defines her hometown, Montréal.