Barfly

Barfly is one of Montreal’s most authentic dive bars, a gritty gem tucked into the heart of the Plateau that pulses with character and charm. It’s the kind of place where musicians, artists, and industry folks gather after hours, swapping stories over pints of their crisp, in-house lager. The vibe is laid-back and unpretentious, making it easy to strike up a conversation with someone who just came off stage or out of the studio. The pool table is a central fixture—well-loved and always in use. Whether you're a seasoned player or just looking to kill time between rounds, it adds a communal feel to the space. The music is eclectic, the lighting is low, and the energy is always buzzing. One of Barfly’s quirks is its legendary bathroom walls, covered in layers of graffiti, stickers, and scribbled memories. It’s practically a rite of passage to leave your mark—just grab a Sharpie and add your voice to the collage of past patrons. Barfly isn’t trying to be fancy, and that’s exactly why it works. It’s raw, real, and reliably fun. If you’re looking for a place to drink, shoot pool, and meet Montreal’s creative crowd, Barfly delivers.

Pleasantly satisfied with the low amount of stabbing on this snowy September afternoon. Namaste. Party.

Favourite bar I visited in Montreal. Great staff/owner, excellent live music. Cannot wait to return! Cheers, Anthony!

Used to be my favorite bar, but I see that the blond bartender woman is rude with everyone else too. Well, she literally complained about the tip I gave, and the second time I went for a drink she forced me to tip more, otherwise no beer. Ain't cool. Especially since I'm a bartender as well. That's not how you treat guests 😬

I wish I could say everyone was rude and disrespectful being as it is a dive bar. But Edan was nice and made sure everyone felt welcome even at the shift change and with the “easy dj” which may not be everyone’s vibe for a dive bar. My only suggestion would be to play more dive bar music and less techno but that’s just me.

This is my favorite bar. It’s the CBGB’s of Montreal. Lots of great bands play there, it feels like home. Good place to have a drink and watch the Habs play and the bartenders are awesome people.

When we first went here on Saturday to watch the band ( me and my two brothers) for the most part it was nice! The young male bar tender was so polite he charge us the normal price listed on the menu. It was awesome to listen to the music. But after the older woman with the bob cut refused to sell us alcohol even though we only had two beers. Which hey you don't want to serve natives fine! We will leave even though we paid the door entre. Then we came back Sunday thinking it was a one off thing. But no the woman with the blonde hair any pony tail charged us more than what was listed. And when i got out second drinks I tipped her 25 of the 22 order. Which she seemed okay with. But then when I went to order 3 more Moosehead she charged me 25.50 snd then refused to give me our drinks if we did not.give her a tip. Which I paid cause she could just kick us out and take out money since she already took the 25.50 so I gave her a tip on that too! The bands where awesome and we tipped 30 dollars to the band who came on Sunday spring collections and the guy who said he came there for 20 or 28 years was awesome and greatful for the tip! He even chatted to us! Other locals left with out tipping as soon as he came around. So I really don't like how we were treated. Ibwill come here next year cause I come for f1 and already bought next year's tickets. Might give it another chance! But I found here people here really hate us. I truly thought montreal was awesome and so cool to go to..but everywhere we went. We were treated like criminals and we come from winnipeg! Native capital of the world! But I guess montreal truly takes the cake! Never in my life have I been treated so horrible by the citizens of a city! The bar maids take the cake though! I'm also part French too! So it really hurt to feel so horrible about existing.

Prices are right - free pool table. I saw a super amazing band play fun hard rock songs from the 80's and 90's. The band was called Soul n' Bones they totally rocked this place!

I visited in 2019 for a Van Hunt concert. The staff was AMAZING! I felt at home. We had hilariously candid conversations. We had our own sketch comedy show at the bar. We should have recorded it. Other patrons were laughing so hard and amazed by our improvisation. I really appreciate the care and diligence the staff put into making sure I was safe in Montreal especially since I was a solo female traveler. Parking was easier than other Montreal areas. I was able to dine at a restaurant prior to the show. The bar didn't have food service. I will definitely go back when I revisit Montreal. I felt safe.

Barfly is a really chill dive bar with a dark, dank interior - my kind of place! Tip: The ambiance here combines the best elements of a punk rock bar with a hockey bar The bartender when we visited was really friendly, and mixed some very tasty, strong drinks.  He also gave us some good recommendations for other bars to visit in the area :-)

I've wanted to check this out for awhile. It's a solid bar/tavern. Good bartender; I'm a Bukowski fan so the name BARFLY (title of a book), is very nice.

Five shot special. Five. Shot. Special. Five-shot-special! It's something stupid cheap, like $20 CAD for 5 shots of very acceptable whiskey or something. Honestly, I don't remember exactly, because of the five shot special. Great place to stop by for a five shot special with friends at any point in the night.

Pretention and trends stop dead at the door: Barfly is a neighborhood dive bar, nothing less and nothing more. Just about every inch of this tiny watering hole is covered in Habs stickers and memorabilia (complete with old school Guy Lafleur and Yvan Cournoyer figurines) and there's a small corner for local bands to provide the night's entertainment. There are a few beers on tap (Moosehead Lager, Boreale among them), a pool table and what no bar should be without: a bar dog. Be sure to say hi to Grappa.

DIVE LOVE! We went here twice, because it felt like we lived there. Fantastic, friendly bunch of regulars and nice bartenders as well. One of the bartenders had a beautiful, friendly German Shepherd mix that was in the bar - for me, this makes it an automatic five stars. Another of the regulars had dogs, which he brought in. TWO GERMAN SHEPHERDS (making a total of THREE! OMG!). I was in heaven. We had a blast here, having drinks, talking to people, petting dogs and playing pool. Just fantastic.

The bartender from NY is NOT nice. Doesn't give you benefit of the doubt for a minor mistake. We ended up switching our drink with another guest. The guest himself for super cool about it but she went super off on us! CASH ONLY

The female bartender working here is absolutely the rudest person I've ever dealt with. We literally downed our drinks and left to avoid dealing with her anymore. I'm in town from Toronto, and I'm ordering drinks, giving a 20 percent tip on each drink. On my second drink order, I get rudely called out and embarrassed by the bartender as she said my twenty percent tip was not large enough. I usually tip per drink and then tip at the end of the night. The blonde woman (wearing a RIP AALIYAH shirt twenty years too late) started yelling at me that I didn't know how Montreal worked. I've been to Montreal well over twenty times, and I've never had an issue with my tipping. This lady was rude, abrasive and borderline abusive to my wife and I and made us feel less than welcome Last time I came here (Last January), the service was amazing and the guy at the bar was a sweetheart. He reccomended us sites to see in Montreal, and we had a great time playing pool. I reccomended this bar to many others visiting the city. Until I get a response from the owners that the wench behind the bar has been fired, I will never return. The bar lost out on a lot of money because of one bartender and her absolute arrogance. Avoid at all costs.

I love dive bars and always try to find the diviest of spots while traveling. It's always fun to compare them to my own favorites from home. After doing some research, Barfly seemed to be the winner. In our evening of revelry, we mentioned to a bartender that we were heading that way next. He immediately had a concerned look and told us to be very careful. He said that because we were foreign, we wouldn't be welcome and it's the type of place you can get your ass kicked or even stabbed. We pushed him further for intel and he backpedaled a bit stating that if we kept a low profile and didn't piss anyone off, we could likely get out unscathed. A bit apprehensive, but even more curious than before, we trekked down to Barfly to see for ourselves. As we walked in, no records stopped, no glaring looks, and definitely no weapons were brandished. We sat at the bar, ordered some beers, chatted with the clientele and at no moment ever got the vibe that we weren't welcome. Plus, it rivaled some of the diviest places I've visited in the US. Thanks everyone at Barfly for not stabbing us!

I looked up for dives in Montreal and wound up here.. It was a slow weekday night. The bartender here was awesome... We talked about Music (I think he was wearing a Metalica Tshirt)... Also about my Road Trip amongst other things.. If you like dives, this is a good place to go in Montreal...

I can see why this is a dive place. Very local and quaint. Older bar but patrons were nice.

So at home? I go to dive bars. When I'm away? I like to see what other dive bars look like. Especially internationally. BarFly? You're a lovely dive. Outside on the back patio is probably the world's saddest looking koi pond. Like, I don't even understand. It looks like a slightly nicer version of a plastic kid's pool filled with water, a few lily pads and some koi. Like, if these kois were people, they'd be drinking at this bar. ANYWAYS. The bartender was rad and she was playing Nick Cave for everyone because she was excited about the show the next night. A random dog came in, which was adorable. Stickers adorned everything. Cheap drinks and a good happy hour. Whenever I am back in town, I will come back. Door is a little hard to find so make sure you write down the address!

Barfly was a home away from home. When I travel, I like to go to fancy places but I also like settling down to things that I know best - like dive bars. This is divey as you can get. Concert posters for venues you've never heard of. With band names you've never heard of. Stickers slapped on many surfaces. And you gotta walk down into this place that reminds you of a huge basement. Really dark, except for the ambient amber lighting. Small bathrooms that aren't in the best condition but hey, you gotta go if you gotta go. The guys working were super nice! They were amazingly easy to strike up a conversation with. And they initiated it. They paid great attention to us and we talked about life, work, etc. It was easy to talk to other patrons as well. Everyone was really non judgmental and easygoing. One of the best divey experiences I've had in a while. Also, they gave great suggestions for beers and ciders! Really delicious stuff here. Cheap drinks made it even better.

It is what it is and it's awesome. Please don't come here if you are not a dim and dirty dive bar lover of country, bluegrass, rockabilly, grit and gracious roadway charm. Stay away and leave this place and the good people who rock it in peace. Go find your bliss elsewhere baby, it's ok! I was here recently with a gal who used to frequent the joint often when she lived here over 4 years ago. The tough eyed woman behind the bar lit up, recognized her immediately, and picked up on talks like not a heart beat had gone by. Bottle service? Ah no. Soul service? Like none other.

Love this dive spot. Even in the afternoon when I came here, it was fun. Cheap drinks, bar tender was nice and easy to talk to. The mural outside is stunning and is what caught my attention. CHEAP DRINKS! and the bathroom doesnt smell! yay! They also have open mic nights here !!! (Sunday)

Dive bar to the max. Not what we were looking for when we were in search of live music. It smelled of bad odor, was a small, crowded space, sat at the bar and thought the stool was going to break, cash only, one bartender for a fairly big crowd, music was too loud for any slight conversation. Not my scene.

This is a dive with Live music and regulars Cheap and no convo

One star for the dog. She told me they accepted US currency(cash only).. she treated the US currency as Canadian dollars so I was charged about 25% more than I should've been. Very unfriendly service with an unpleasant attitude. We felt as though we were a bother. Check out Darling down the street! Great service and wonderful atmosphere.

Comfortable spot. Decent beer prices and selection. It's a good spot for small rock shows amdaking friends. Sometimes people come and "play" their Moog and make 'atmospheric music" or pretend they're Brian Eno and that's a bummer. Besides that it's chill, has a pool table and plenty of seats

Man, I fell in love with the Barfly the moment I walked in. My travel companion didn't land in Montreal until near midnight, so we set off wandering the Plateau neighborhood to find a nightcap to celebrate our first night of vacation. The music lured us in! It was a Wednesday night, and there was a bluesy folk band playing. Ted, the bartender, made us feel at home immediately, and gave us incredible travel advice. We ended up returning to the Barfly two more times before our week long vacation in Montreal was over! The warmest people we met in this great city :-)

Awesome bar, all around. Great bartenders and the owner Antony is super friendly - loved the atmosphere, and the place is a great live music venue as well. We happened to catch a bluegrass set on Sunday night that was fantastic, we were blown away. Met some cool people and the drinks were not expensive, will definitely return the next time we're in Montreal.

Nice time here! Travelling through from Texas and stopped in Hamilton for the night. We came early and had a nice time talking with Rodrigo and Johnny learning about the city and drinking whiskey!

Small dive bar with cheap drinks and free pool. If I lived in Montreal this place would be my second home.

Best dive-watering hole (without a patio). I don't think beer is cheaper anywhere else on the main. They still have tapes behind the bar and an excellent bluegrass night. There's a live band crammed into the back nearly every night of the week and some of the best shows I have ever seen were in those ten sweaty feet of standing-room-only space.

Wandered into this place after shopping on St. Laurent. Anyway, we NEEDED to be drinking in a bar for THE RAPTURE 2011, and we like random places. Bar Fly looked like our cup of dive bar and we only had 10 minutes before, you know, THE RAPTURE. Could not have picked a better place. It was almost six when we wandered in we got our drinks and headed out back to the cementesque patio ( which closes at 9:00pm btw) About 15 peeps outside, sitting around drinking, chilling and smoking. Some were complete characters. Some were just ( happily) drunk. All were REALLY welcoming, friendly and interesting. All seemed local. As the night wore on more and more regulars showed up. All equally cool. BONUS: It was one of the regular's birthdays and he BBQ'd a feast on the patio - it was his bday party, he's a chef by trade- and he even invited us to eat. So NICE. It was awesome! We stayed until about, errr, 10:00. By then it was super- packed anyway and we ready to move on. We had made some friends and went out dancing. NOTES: Good music on the sound system, nice bartender. Definitely a dive joint ( in the best sense of the phrase). We used cash and I would suggest you do too. Not even sure if they take cards. All-around great experience.

Hands down, the dirtiest dive bar on the Plateau. This is a place you go to sit down, drink cheap pints, and chat with friends. There's a pool table, a bar, and maybe half a dozen tables. To frills whatsoever. Unless there's a show going on to attract new faces, the crowd is mostly regulars, and it doesn't take more than a few visits to get friendly with them. Sunday nights are Blue Grass nights, which are worth checking out if you have an inner hillbilly.

So enjoyable. After asking about a "Homer, Alaska" bumper sticker behind the bar, I quickly found myself chatting with some very pleasant Montrealers. Pas trop cher, and I dug all the Habs memorabilia. Would love to come back and stay for some live music.

if your looking for a total dive bar with super friendly service, and live music......this is it. Ask for Amanda she's an awesome bartender We literally bought a 10lb brisket down the street and carved up sandwichs for the entire bar for dinner enjoy.

Sticky floors. Gram Parsons. Hockey games on a big TV. Sodas. Beers. Steamy windows in the winter time. Awesome ladies wearing all black and big floppy hats. Nice dudes in Canadiennes toques. The best.

A really easy going bar. Indie music was happenkng on the Friday we went. Love the bar dog.

Great little dive bar with good music and casual atmosphere. Cheap drinks, very small town America feel to it.

Everything I expected a dive bar to be and more. Cheap drinks! Great bartenders! I didn't get to meet the dog, but Anthony and Gwen, the bartenders, were awesome. And I had a great recommendation to go to the bagel shop, from regular, John, and Anthony, and it lived up to its reputation. Thanks, guys!

A solid dive bar in Montreal, with a dangerous couple steps up straight from the street. This little old building is original - you can tell from the exposed beams and the way the entire bar tilts straight down, but its original in other ways, too. A mixed-age group of people, cheap beers on tap, good music on the juke and still the ocaissional punk show, this is everything a dive bar should be. Within two pints you can be sharing a table with an old guy who tells you stories about rock stars on Caribbean islands, his problems with faith, and hand-draws you maps to Leonard Cohen's bagel joint and the best vintage shops in town.

THIS is my favorite bar in Montreal. Live music pretty much every night and can be anything from bluegrass, country, punk, hardcore, heavy metal \m/. Bar staff are friendly and will be talkative if it isn't too busy. Also dog friendly if not to crowded. Great spot to catch a last pint before closing time. Avoid if you don't like fun.

It ain't bad but it ain't good, either. Considering that most of the time there is a cover to pay when going in (to see bands perform), the beer is pretty expensive. If the cover's $10 I don't really want to pay $6.50 (not including tip) for a pint of low-quality beer. Some might find that acceptable, but it just seems steep to me. If there weren't a cover I wouldn't even mention it, but beer is beer and bands are bands. One of them has to be cheap - both can't be unreasonably priced, you know? At least by my standards. The acoustics leave something to be desired - it's what happens when a bar is much longer than it is wide, I guess. The bathrooms are right next to the stage too, making it difficult to go potty when there's a big crowd watching the band. Still, it's a cozy little place and it's probably where I'd go drink with my father if ever he got divorced or something to discuss where he's moving to (if you exclude the bands playing). The shows are still entertaining and it's cool that they host so many of them. If my friends' bands continue to play here I will keep coming, but other than that, I don't see why I'd keep coming back.

Great little spot. Drinks are more than reasonably priced, staff is friendly and competent, atmosphere is pretty cool. I'm here with some friends from work and it's a great way to end the week.

dingy little place but the punk rock dive-bar style really is something that I enjoy. The crowd matched up to the decor and the live music hit the spot. Washed my stress away with a few Ricards and friends.

The diviest of dive bars. If that's what you're into, you'll enjoy yourself. My friend & I came in on a night with a jazz band playing; a very pleasant surprise!

We came here for Sunday Bluegrass night (which didn't really get going 'til 11pm) and really enjoyed it. Good beer, great music, pool table and a warm and grimy vibe -- though at $6.25 a pint I'm not sure I'd call it a dive bar even if it looks the part. Anyway, well worth a visit -- though watch your bag, my wife was pick-pocketed to the tune of $100+ which blew.

So I was in Montreal for a conference, and my friends and I were walking all around the city, trying to find somewhere to grab drinks. We didn't want a swanky bar, we wanted a local dive. We quite literally stumbled upon this place and it was SO FUN. First of all, it's an English-speaking bar which was a nice reprieve from us constantly feeling like ignorant asshole Americans for not knowing a lot of French. We were a little intimidated by the locals-only feel, but if you are even slightly outgoing, soon you'll feel like everyone in the bar is an old friend. Everyone was so welcoming and it was easy to strike up conversations with people. They also have live music some nights and the band that night was so freaking good!! I would have stayed there all night if I hadn't started feeling a little under the weather (which turned out to be the flu, thank goodness it held off til after I experienced this place). If you're laid back and friendly, looking for a local place to drink some beer and hear some music, then this place is for you.