La Sala Rossa

Very good tapas. Paella not so great… The rice is a bit soggy.
Overall quite good, the sangria is great — it has more wine than in most places, so it’s not watered down by juice or soft drink.

Went back for a friends birthday, was happy to go back.
Ordered one dish per person average and managed to have a nice meal! with the decent bread basket, people who didn’t want to drink could try a ton of delicious things for like $ 20
For those who got wine, they had one of my favourite affordable ones for a small markup.
The cheese balls were amazing, the leeks amazing, quail quite nice. Avoid the the croquettes; shrimp I liked, the beef thing we got was also wonderful.
STRONG recommendations, especially for big groups. Several others had parties there and it was just great.

We have been going here for decades and can never get enough of it. It’s always great being greeted by charming Monica, the services is always top notch. Great prices on drinks and food is very reasonable. What makes this so much fun is the mix of cultures that mesh together.

Je n’ai été qu’au restaurant, deux fois. C’est vraiment très bon! En plus il y a de la place et ils cuisinent jusqu’à 23h (le vendredi en tout cas)

I can’t believe I have never reviewed la Sala Rosa. Although I have been to many shows at its venue, in this review here, I am reviewing the restaurant. I’m very impressed that over the years, the food quality at Sala hasn’t changed, there is still passion there. It’s a 5-​star restaurant. 5-​star attentive staff who know exactly what they are doing, 5-​star entertainment on Thursday nights with a live flamenco show while you eat! 5-​star original atmosphere where you feel cozy, comfy and yet part of the action. 5-​star price-​quality ratio (it’s cheap!). And, most importantly, 5-​star food. Tapas galore. Try the croquettes, the fried goat cheese & honey, the melt-​in-​your-​mouth mussels and use bread to soak up all the delicious sauces. Order anything, it will be good. They also have a big back room that can host huge parties. After dinner, you can head upstairs where they have a live venue hosting bands.

I played a gig here last weekend, and it was great. I’d been to Casa many times, but first time here. From a performance perspective, the team there were awesome and really helped us sound good and were quick and efficient. We got some drink tickets, so I went down for food/​drinks.
I sat at the bar, and ordered 2 – 3 gin tonics and some calamari, and it was awesome. Great gin tonics, good tapas, and good prices. Friendly too. More friendly than bar folk at Casa, though I love that place.
Will definitely return, most likely if there’s a band playing etc, I’ll go eat downstairs first. Totally.
Most places in Montréal like this, with a reputation, I’ve found to be overhyped and a bit of the past, but Sala stood up for me.

Vraiment bel ambiance de restaurant. C’est bien d’y aller avec un groupe d’amis .Bonne bouffe espagnole. Beau design.

It’s good cuisine! Spanish cuisine… It’s a good place to go to, not the best in the world, but you’re not paying that much for it so it’s all right. Try it out!

Played a gig here on St. Patrick’s Day at the bar. Can’t comment on the food, though I saw it coming in and out of the restaurant while lugging gear up, and I was sure jealous of the people who were getting to eat it. Pretty laid-​back, considering what day it was. They treat the bands well, which is no small thing. Sound is pretty good, if a bit cavernous (think talent show at your high-​school auditorium, but a bit more refined); it’s nice to be at a venue that’s built around performance.

This is a great, low-​key Spanish tapas restaurant. We ordered a ½ of pitcher of sangria to start (this didn’t sway the review!). Then proceeded to order the goat cheese and honey, pulpo (octopus), and the croquetas. We got the albondigas (meatballs), but they were a little on the dry side.
Have I been to Spain? Yes. Would this compare to the food in Spain? No. Would it satisfy a craving? Yes.

Je n’ai pas été au restaurant. J’ai été à l’étage pour voir un spectacle. Alors, cette critique est complètement basée sur mon expérience à la salle de spectacle. La salle est relativement grande, je dirais 150 – 200 personnes… peut-​être même plus.
J’aime bien l’aménagement. Les tables sur le côté, la voie libre dans le milieu. Le son était étrangememt vraiment clair pour les trois groupes. Les prix varient entre 5 $ et 6 $ pour un verre de bière ou drink. Le seul petit défaut est que le nom du restaurant est écrit sur une feuille de papier dans la vitre. Alors, j’ai manqué la porte plusieurs fois et failli né jamais rentré. Merci à mon GPS mais sinon très satisfait.

the best!!!

The restaurant on the first floor is one of my favorites in Montréal, especially for a large group of people.
They serve a great selection of tapas and the paellas are amazing. I suggest sharing a couple of tapas dishes (1 per person) and then ordering a paella (1 is good for 2 – 4 people). The potato croquettes are delicious. The sangria is also a must-​have.
I just simply love the ambiance; it feels like you’re having dinner in a family restaurant in the middle of Spain.
I suggest you make a reservation, especially if you’re planning to go there on a Friday or Saturday night.

Not impressed.
There’s a dumpy feel to the place. You walk in and say «this might be cool» but at the end you’re like «really… 90 $ for that?»
The food was ok. Not the best Spanish food in town. Not at the price they charge. Spend another 25 $ and go to Pintxo or Tapeo. It’s worth the difference.
I really wanted to like it. I live 5 min away by foot! But I won’t go back.

On m’a convaincu d’aller à Sala Rossa avec peu de mots: fromage de chèvre frit au miel. Miam!
En me rendant à Sala Rossa pour la première fois, j’ai failli manquer la porte d’entrée parce que le bâtiment où le resto s’y trouve ressemble plutôt à un centre communautaire, et pour une bonne raison. Sala Rossa a déjà été un important centre communautaire de la communauté espagnole de Montréal, et l’est encore par moment. On y retrouve cours de danse flamenco, resto à tapas et salle de spectacle.
Quand j’y suis allée, c’était pour un souper entre amis. On a partagé un peu de tout: des fromages frits à différentes saveurs, des légumes grillées et une grande paella aux fruits de mer. Bien sûr, il a fallu commander une portion double du fromage de chèvre! Le menu est propice à un potluck en resto. Parfait pour les groupes d’amis qui né sont pas dédaigneux et qui aiment partager afin de pouvoir goûter à un peu de tous les plats. Pour boire, on a choisi un vin bio que j’ai bien aimé, simplement à cause de son nom, Miracle! Il était aussi très bon au goût.
L’ambiance est très bonne, à la fois décontractée et pleine d’énergie. À partir d’une certaine heure, on pouvait commencer à entendre les battements de pieds des danseurs de flamenco au dessus de nous. Toutefois, ça n’était pas assez fort pour nous empêcher de jaser et continuer de profiter de notre soirée, donc né vous inquiétez pas pour le bruit.

Delicious tapas restaurant on the ground floor of the big stone building which, upstairs, also houses the venue Sala Rossa (note the double ss.) Goat cheese balls are great and sometimes I wake up thinking about them, and I smile. The sausage, paella, ceviche are very tasty and relatively inexpensive and the Thursday Spanish guitar and flamenco are a delight.

****restaurant review only****
i used to love la sala rossa. just went this week end with 2 other friends and service was awful. none of us got our food together, the waitress forgot to order some of our appetizer and potatoes, then blamed it on the kitchen (NO-​NO!!!) waited for the end of the meal to ask us if we wanted anything else to drink, and a couple of days later, 2 of us realized they completely overcharged our cards! this is a definite «never-​ever» no matter how cool the place used to be. a disaster of a dinner.

Such a wonderful place. The restaurant is exceptional, great food and good service. The venue upstairs is one of my favorites, though the drinks are massively overpriced. Good sound, though, intimate atmosphere! A+

where you can see a good concert and enjoy a good paella = paradise !

Gotta be one of the top indie rock venues in the city. I’ve seen a number of great shows here, including the late, great Jay Reatard (R.I.P.). It’s the epitome of a good concert hall — cool looking, great sound, and cheap beer combined with quick service. And as other reviewers have posted, they’re pretty quick on the turnaround between sets, which doesn’t hurt. I should also note the coat check — important for going out in the cold (and I think was only $ 1).
This was one of the first places I went after moving here and it felt like home to me. As long as they keep booking the top indie acts, I’ll definitely be in the crowd.

came here for popfest to see thee oh sees and the fresh and onlys. what was smart about the setup was in order for there to be less time in between the last two bands, the headlining band had their instruments set up on the floor, away from the stage and ready to play. i wish more places would do this, as it kept the energy level constant.
people went crazy, i mean really crazy, prompting the singer to ask «what is wrong with you people?» but i think that was in reference to the guy who, for some reason, decided to take his shirt off and jump on top of the crowd. still, it’s refreshing to see an entire room of people dancing at a show instead of just standing around posing (i’m looking at you NYC.)
the venue is on top of a restaurant and bar. i can’t imagine the racket the people below must have heard with the floor shaking from everyone jumping up and down, but i think the restaurant portion was closed by then (the shows start on the later side.)
drinks are cheap. 3.50 shots 4.50 mixed drinks. they didn’t have bourbon. other than that i really liked the place.

La Sala Rossa is a great venue, on the small side with a bar, scattered tables and a nice stage.
They book great shows here (caught Mt. Eerie in the Spring) and it’s run by the same people as Casa del Popolo
(NOTE:some of the reviews on the Casa. page are for La Sala Rossa).
There’s also a restaurant downstairs but I’ve yet to check it out.

You have to have to have to come here for tapas and flamenco show on Thursday night. This is a quaint little institute — it is not a restaurant really, it feels like a Spanish expat social club in Montréal. Once you step in, you are in Spain — not Barcelona but this small Spanish town by the sea. The free show starting at 845 every Thursday is terrific. It is actually the first flamenco show I saw. I was astonished by how beautiful and fun it was. The female dancer was full of passion. The musicians were happy, cheering. They put together an unforgettable performance.
Yes, I tried the goat cheese fried ball with honey. It is indeed delicious. So was the grilled squid. The paella was OK. It is not an expensive restaurant and not fancy but very cozy. It is not the great tapas you get in a fusion tapas restaurant, but you feel more in Spain then in any other Tapas place.
Love love loved it, will def take another out of town guests here :-)

first for the restaurant, la sala rosa on the ground floor:
what you need to know is, it is great. that is pretty much it. okay fine, how about it if say goat cheese balls deep fried with honey drizzled on top, how about a chick pea garlic tomato thing. okay, there’s meat and fish tapas, too. whatever you want, man.
just bring an empty stomach and eat whatever is given you and smile. it’s run by hipsters who seem like they just arrived off the plane from williamsburg or greenpoint, and i mean that in the best sense of the description. honestly from the first time i walked into this place i felt at home.
now for la sala rossa, the small venue above the restaurant:
you know that indie rock venue in the semi-​transitional neighborhood just down from the american apparel that usually holds like two hundred people at the very most?
YOU know.
the place where you saw the junior boys seven months before your less hip friends even knew about them. or that time where you were front and center when bradford cox spit up his own vile phlegm in a fit of rock n roll ecstasy and rage and it landed on you, and you were happy about it. or how about that night in 2002 when you got blissfully wasted with 150 of your newest friends while robert pollard and guided by voices celebrated their 8,000^th show and 10,000 beer.
you know– the place where the people who work there are as friendly as the indie rock nerds who show up a half hour early to hang out with the dude from the merch table, who also happens to be the roadie. and the bassist.
that’s this club.
and the only thing missing from it are three dollar PBR tall boys.