The Wednesday night social club at Marcus, the restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal, is a good start toward crowning the five-star establishment as the coolest spot in town.
In Montreal, there are plenty of trendy spots where the city’s most fascinating and beautiful people gather, but there isn’t really a dedicated social club.
A social club is a multigenerational spot where, with a little luck and magic, you meet all the most interesting and talented people in a place. And the rest just happens on its own. But that delicate balance of coolness and an air of effortless ease—being “the” right person in the right place at the right time—is very difficult to achieve and almost impossible to imitate. Not everyone can be Soho House.
You need very cold martinis, great (live) music, very interesting people, and the air of exclusivity that comes with a well-kept secret. And, of course, something intangible and almost indescribable: a lot of style.
I went to the first party at Marcus Social on Wednesday, April 1.
Marcus Social
The Marcus Social Club, a jazz-infused take on the ultra-chic evenings in the lounge of the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal’s restaurant, will take place every Wednesday evening starting at 6 p.m.
The concept is a midweek oasis. A breather to recharge the creative batteries of the city’s modern “yuppies” and artists. So, naturally, it’s a jazz night.
On Wednesday nights, there’s an air of sophistication reminiscent of the ’80s at Marcus—something campy, architectural, and nostalgic. The band plays in front of a backdrop of potted palm trees; the musicians wear blazers with shoulder pads and oversized suit pants, and they don’t look a day over 25.
On the tables, there are dice games and playing cards printed with questions: “Do you believe in love at first sight?”, “Have you been surprised by someone here?”. No one uses them, of course, because the (dirty) martinis and the atmosphere already act as a social lubricant, and it’s incredibly easy for everyone who’s come to the first Wednesday at Marcus Social to chat about this and that.
Clustered around the small marble tables in the lounge are women in their fifties wearing acetate frames, men in shirt sleeves, tattooed girls in wedge boots, journalists in T-shirts, and influencers with little digital cameras from the 2000s. Curators, artists, financiers, event and publishing professionals —everyone is here. All that’s missing is a movie star to make the picture perfect…
By the end of the night (9 p.m., because it is a weekday after all), I head home with two new topics for my articles, a designer’s phone number, and a burning desire to get a membership card for Marcus Social.
Practical Information
Where? Marcus, at the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal
When? Wednesday evenings, starting at 6 p.m.
