Last Wednesday, we went for a cocktail at the new semi-secret bar in Montreal’s Old Port, the Lovebird. It was warm, the sun was setting over the neighborhood’s gray stone buildings, and we had a little trouble finding the bar because Google Maps lists it as being underneath the Nelligan Hotel (both venues are creations of Corner Collection).
Actually, the Lovebird is located behind the hotel, in a Gotham-esque alley, and luckily a doorman noticed our confusion and pointed us toward a small door. We hadn’t made a reservation, but there was room at the bar.
The hidden, the complicated, and the traditional aspects of hidden cocktail bars
The walls are covered in mirrors and deep red upholstery fabric, decorated with white birds and flowers in the style of 1960s Oriental-inspired tapestries. On the Lovebird’s website, the bar is described as a “salon,” and the decor also evokes a certain boudoir-like atmosphere, one of the forbidden and the hidden.
At the back of the bar, a pianist strums away and a singer in a polka-dot dress improvises jazz scales, giving the Lovebird an old-fashioned charm that immediately places it in the tradition of those very cool bars that stand apart from Montreal’s modern design scene. Like the George, like the Bowie, like the social clubs that appear and disappear in the streets of the Old Port with the changing seasons. It might be a bit too escapist, but it feels good.
In addition to the music and the velvet seats, there’s a very sophisticated cocktail menu, caviar, and multicolored marinated olives. I’m having a Haven, which tastes like black licorice and contains tomato vodka and morel syrup, among other things. It’s very luxurious—it’s a bit like in the movies—and it’s a great place to go on a date with a guy who works in finance. As for the rest, let’s just keep it a mystery.
Practical Information
Where? Lovebird, at 101 Rue de la Capitale, Old Montreal
When? Open Wednesday through Saturday, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.