Montreal is a city of restaurants and “hype.” The new chef, the new brewery, the new dessert. The “hot new restaurant” is constantly changing.
We get a new microbrewery every month, new cool bars, an old cool bar taken over by a really, really cool chef…
But what we find coolest about Montreal are the historic hot spots—100 years old or more—because we’re picky about our vintage spots. And one of the city’s oldest restaurants is also one of the cheapest: the Montreal Pool Room.
And late at night, it’s still the best place in Montreal to go for a hot dog—or, as they say here, a “steamé.”
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100 YEARS, HOT DOGS, AND AL CAPONE
The Montreal Pool Room was opened in 1912 by Filipoff Dakov, a Bulgarian immigrant, in Montreal’s Red-Light District—the neighborhood of cabarets, all things illegal, and brothels. Today, it’s the Quartier des Spectacles—but if you know where to look, it’s still just as “sleazy” as ever.
Nowadays, people talk about the Montreal Pool Room as a beloved greasy spoon (in French, a “boui-boui” or a “gargotte”). It’s a term that can be derogatory—except when you love a greasy spoon as much as Montrealers love the Pool Room. A true Montrealer will walk 30 minutes through the dark night, buffeted by the icy winter wind, for a “steamé.”
The Montreal Pool Room’s specialty is “steamed dogs”—hot dogs with steamed sausages—and french fries. The restaurant is still number one on the list of the city’s best hot dogs—it’s a high honor, and one that’s worth its weight in gold.
When the restaurant first opened, that was all there was on the menu, but since then, the Pool Room has also started serving poutine, burgers, and pogos. And a good pogo is definitely worth it.
The coolest Montrealers of the past hundred years—and those who’ve visited the city—have come to eat at the Montreal Pool Room, including Leonard Cohen (our favorite artist) and the famous Al Capone.
It’s a favorite spot for dads who’ve passed down their love of old-school diners to their kids—somewhere that blends diner culture, nostalgia for a simpler time, and the pure joy of eating fries as a kid.
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PRACTICAL INFO
Where? 1217 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
When? It’s open 7 days a week, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 a.m.
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