Pub l’Île Noire

I’ve been here twice always a nice little ambiance they have going on. They should how ever move that big light over the booth leading to the other room it’s the only spot with a huge light and it’s annoying.
They have a great selection of scotch and drinks come pretty quickly.
Place has great potential only thing that was a con last time I was there was that there was a piece of food on the floor nobody wanted to pick up all the waiters and waitresses kept stepping on it you could hear the crunch everytime lol it takes two seconds to sweep up, it was 1 am really not that busy.

Outstanding Gin selection and great bartending! Very lively atmosphere right up until closing time.

J’ai beaucoup aimé l’ambiance, lumières sombres, tamisées, grand choix de scotchs et même de bières, bonne musique, bonne vibe! :)
seul tout petit hic: musique un peu forte si on veut discuter :)

J’ai passé une super soirée à l’Île Noire avec des amis. Du bourbon, du whisky, du gin, en veux-​tu, en v’là! Ils ont aussi quelques bières pour celles et ceux qui aiment moins le fort.
Par contre, elles sont vraiment chères. 8,50 $ pour une pinte de Boréale, bof. Côté forts, ça allait, mais je né suis pas familière avec les prix du whisky et compagnie, n’étant pas trop habituée de commander ça dans les bars. À vous de voir, chers amateurs et amatrices de boissons qui réchauffent le gargoton, si le prix est raisonnable.
Ce qui m’a charmée, c’est l’ambiance. L’endroit est sombre mais éclairé par les lumières du Quartier Latin et j’ai été impressionnée qu’il y ait autant de monde. La musique était juste assez forte et agréable. J’y retournerai pour plus de bourbon :)

If you’re a scotch drinker then you must come here. They have an extensive list of scotch from various regions that will satisfy you. For those like myself who have never been a fan of it there is still a decent variety of other drinks to choose from. They have a good selection of gins and there was a fair number of beers on tap. There wasn’t much in terms of food so make plans to eat elsewhere f you come. The prices are incredibly reasonable. My pint of beer which they had brewed themselves was only $ 4.50 and it was pretty good. It’s definitely worth checking this establishment out when you get the chance.

Probably the best scotch location in Montréal, in my experience. Great selection, passable prices, good service, and large enough that you don’t need to be particularly concerned with getting a spot. For a scotch night downtown, this would easily be my default option.

Was having a good time (not great beer selection but the ambiance was nice) until closing out my one half pint of cider. After I paid the bartender came over to me and my friends and asked me directly where I was from and how the service was. I said it was fine, to which she replied «oh well normally when you experience good service you tip. (To my friends) he didn’t leave a tip.» Normally I would tip $ 1 per drink, if not $ 2 if it’s a place I frequent. Tonight, I just didn’t feel like it was necessarily warranted. That should NEVER warrant the kind of behavior she displayed. She wasn’t even the bartender that served me! Could be a cool place, but take your money elsewhere where the staff is a little more professional.

A casual place in one of the busiest stretches of Rue St Denis. They have a small patio overlooking the street and comfortable booths inside. The scotch list is incredible and what’s even better is that the prices are reasonable.
There are several beers on tap.
The food menu is small, but if you’re into having a few drinks and love scotch, I’d recommend this place.

The place is cool but I’ve never been to a place where the bar tender says she needs to be tipped especially when she was a horrible bar tender. I would avoid this place, try some better fun place down the street…

Très belle place pour les amateurs de whiskys. On a l’embarras du choix.
Les prix sont corrects.
J’y suis allé deux soirs de suite, j’avais besoin de me réchauffer avant d’affronter la météo pourrie =)

If you like scotch, you will like this place. the place is clean, beautiful, the servers are knowledgable and the dancing nights is fun and filled with gentlemen.

This is an amazing bar for those that adore scotch, this lounge had at least four pages of scotch if I remember correctly. I think I may have posted photos of the scotch list on Unilocal under this business, so go take a look if you’re curious.
My hubs is a scotch lover, giving the true Scotsmen a run for their money. He could drink scotch all night and remain himself throughout. We had been wandering around the neighborhood looking at all the sights after seeing Dr. Steve Bruhle. Not sure of the spelling, it has been a few months since we attended that show. So after the show we contemplated what to do with the rest of our night, Opening the Unilocal app caused for an overwhelming list of places we could go. So I put away my phone and let chance run wild and decided to let life take us wherever it may.
I noticed a small group of people down an alley and decided that was the alley we would traverse in hopes of finding a rad out of the way spot with mostly locals and few tourists. I’m glad I listened because we stumbled upon l’ile Noire. We walked in, went up a few stairs and entered a large open room filled with tables. At the rear of the room was a large glass wall that allows you to see right into the wine room, which looked awesome illuminated. The green and brown tones of the glass bottles filled with wines cascaded soft shadows on the floor. It is truly a beautiful design.
We opted to sit at the bar area, which is L shaped with an elevated seating area at the base of the L. Once we sat a friendly waitress came over, offered us menus and gave us a moment to pour over our options. My Husband ordered a scotch neat. I don’t know which one he went for, I do know that it was aged for as long as both of us have been alive and it smelled like a just smoked interior of a wine and/​or whiskey barrel. I’m not a scotch fan, so to me it smelled like a campfire. I had a beer that is impossible to find stateside, as I was trying to try everything that you can’t get stateside while on holiday in MTL.
We ended up talking to the waitress and another patron at the bar about all the places we needed to see, and those we should avoid like the plague. We received some useful information, which helped us determine a plan for the following day. After our conversation ended, the three of us bar patrons went on to another establishment that our newly befriended guide insisted was a must see.
I love this lounge, I call it that because the vibe was mellow, relaxed and felt more like hanging out at your friends ultra chic apartment and less like a bar in the middle of a pretty hopping party area.
This is a must stop on my next trip, and if I ever find myself up there on business or another holiday I will be sure to stop in for a glass of wine, since the list was massive and contained quite a few awesome listings.

Pour les amoureux de bière et de scotch. Pub sympa, tranquille, pas très achalandé. Un must à connaître

I can’t believe I waited this long to check out ile noire. Can I move in? I felt that comfortable, like I was hanging out in my living room, if my living room had a glass wall filled with beautiful bottles.
When my partner in crime first mentioned that a birthday celebration being planned here for a friend, my immediate reaction was that he’d have a great time, scotch lover that he is, and I was sure they’d have something else for me. Well I had nothing to worry about, because they had lots of other options, including a nice selection of beers on tap, and decent wines both by the glass and by the bottle. I was particularly delighted by their gin list, and the option to have it on the rocks, as a gin and tonic or as a Martini. I ordered mine as a him and tonic, and I was surprised to receive a glass containing the gin and some ice, and a separate small bottle of tonic. The bottle was so cute, everyone ohhed and ahhed over it. It was also very tasty.
I was also impressed by the fact that the music was a decent level for most of the evening, making it easy to chat, unlike many other bars. Of course the closer to midnight we got the louder the music became, but that’s to be expected. The music selection was great, a mix of 80s, 90s and 00s alterna rock, a little moody at times and more upbeat at others.
The only reason why I gave this review four stars is service. One waiter serving us was excellent. The other, not so much. It wasn’t very busy when we first arrived and yet he had a major case of the grumpies. It seemed like he was avoiding us, and would occasionally come over, take one order and run away before anyone else could order. Our table often had lots of empty glasses on it. When I read through other reviews, it seems we weren’t the only ones who walked out of there much more sober than we could have been if the service had been more frequent. I normally brush off bad service as someone having a bad day, but this really stood out.

Close by to my work, we often stop here for happy hour, since there’s more than a few scotch aficionados at the office and L’ile noire has an excellent selection. From time to time, they’ll have live music as well, so ends up been a pretty fun place to hang out.
While I’m not the biggest Scotch drinker, they do have a decent selection of beers to choose from.
Plus, it’s super close to the Metro for you to get safely home =)

Un pub écossais en plein Quartier Latin!!! Eh bien, je suis plutôt surprise!
Mais Oh combien mes papilles gustatives furent ravies de cette petite soirée, où chaque verre fut d’un délice total et ce à un prix très abordable!
Leur liste de boisson est extra, chacun sera satisfait qu’importe ses préférences gustatives.
Je fus aussi agréablement surprise quant au décors, qui est un genre de traditionnel revisité en moderne.
La musique et la lumière n’étaient pas trop fortes ni pas assez: quel plaisir que fut la possibilité de discuter sans hurler tout en étant capable de distinguer les traits du visage de ma date!

Got out of work early and was able to join Katherine and Risa for a CYME (?) here last night. I’ve been to Ile Noire before but the last time was back when they were still located on Ontario, so needless to say, it has been a while.
The place is easy to find once you know it, but until then it just looks like it is the second floor of McDonald’s. Be assured, you won’t be walking through the golden arches when you reach the top of the stairs, phewf! I felt a little like I was walking into a porn shop, that’s how dirty McDonald’s makes me feel. But it isn’t a good dirty.
I’ll start with the great stuff. Friends waving hello, calling you over to the table to celebrate the end of the workday. A wonderful selection of whiskeys and a respectable selection of beers on tap, including their very own brew, a L’ile Noire Bitter, which I ordered and loved, then ordered again.
There were a few negatives, not glaring negatives and certainly not a negative if you have never been to the original L’ile Noire, but for me, the décor, the feel of the place was SO NOT like the old spot. The spot on Ontario was lived in, homey, used, patina… like wooden furniture and used books feel. It felt wiser than this new space.
Again, it isn’t negative per se, the new space is clean, aesthetically it’s very modern, the bar, the banquets. No where was this highlighted more to me than on my way to the washroom where a bright lighted circle with a big helvetica F stares out into the hall.
I guess for me, the name should have been changed if the mood was going to change that drastically.
Okay. I also felt the service was a little slow. Mind you, it was a busy evening, but in 3 hours we seemed to have 3 different waiters. This wasn’t a huge issue since we had very engaging company but there were plenty of times where there were empty glasses on the table. I ordered 3 drinks total and I would have ordered more had they approached our table more often. In fact, the last round we ordered by heading to the bar ourselves.
I had a great time, and I tried a whiskey I never had before (I don’t know much about whiskey) and I really liked it for the sweetness and it’s mild nature (dalmore 15 years). I’ll be back, maybe on a quieter evening, sit at the bar and order that beer again.

Il y avait un temps, jadis, oú je tripais L’Île noire. Lorsque le bar était sur Ontario, c’est comme prendre un verre dans le salon de mon grand-​père. On se sentait toujours la bienvenue et le staff était vraiment chaleureux.
Depuis qu’ils sont déménagés sur la rue St-​Denis, ce n’est plus pareil. Quoiqu’ils aient encore une excellente liste de whisky, ainsi qu’une bonne sélection de bières et de vins, il leur manqué le côté pub écossais/​rustique. C’est maintenant grand, très éclairé, chic, et impersonnel. Ils leur manqué souvent du staff aussi. À chaque fois, j’ai l’impression d’attendre au moins 10 mins au bar pour commander et ils oublient souvent les commandes lorsqu’elles sont prises aux tables… J’ai vu mieux.
Le seul aspect du nouveau lieu que j’aime est qu’il est possible de réserver la salle arrière pour des événements.
Si non, on y va vraiment juste pour le whisky!

Jeudi 10 octobre 2013
À l’occasion d’un CMYE … bravo encore Katherine B ! … nous nous retrouvons à l’île noire, un charmant pub mais très sombre en entrant, sans accueil à l’entrée. On choisi notre propre place. On se demande où on est, dans un décor un peu rétro-​moderne malheureusement avec un bruit de fond assez fort, qui semble typique des pubs mais à oublier pour un tête à tête, suffisamment bruyant pour qu’on doive monter le son de notre conversation ! Ils auraient eu avantage à se baser sur le concept intelligent du Royal Merchant, encore inégalé en terme de lieux et d’environnement.
La panoplie de bière et de spiritueux de l’Île est plus qu’impressionnante ! Quoi prendre? J’ai faim !! commençons par des rillettes de canard accompagnées d’un Prosecco. Divin !!! Malheureusement, attendez-​vous à devoir redire votre commande au serveur, il a des pertes de mémoires, vous pouvez recevoir la bière d’un autre. Mes rillettes de canard arrivent accompagnées de petits cornichons marinés à l’aneth et d’un grand bol de tranchettes de baguettes. C’est parfait ! Dès la première bouchée de rillettes, une sensation crémeuse et riche envahit votre palais, une arôme de gras de canard «s’orgasmise» sur vos papilles et c’est le bonheur qui vous guide vers l’extase gastrique. Vous lixiviez le tout avec un bon Prosecco bien sec, c’est parfait. Ceux qui me connaissent bien savent que je mangerais des rillettes jusqu’à l’explosion totale tellement c’est bon.
Malheureusement, notre serveur en perte de mémoiré a oublié mon grand verre d’eau bien glacée pour que je puisse me désaltérer avant la transition vers mon bon whisky. Trop tard, pas de Whisky non plus. Si la commande né se fait pas dans l’ordre, la liste s’arrête. Ce sera donc pour une prochaine fois, si le temps se présente ! Mais disons qu’avec autant de bruit ambiant, il y a moins de chance que j’y retourne en tête à tête. On finit la soirée assez fatigué.
Tuesday october 10^th 2013
For a nice CMYE … congrats to Katherine B ! … we all gather to l’Île noire, a nice secluded pub (on a second floor) but really dark as you enter, without any host at the door. You choose your own place. One can ask him (her)self where one is in such a retro-​modern décor with a loud surrounding noise seems typical of pubs, to be forgotten for a cosy warm evening between lovers. YOU WILL HAVE TO RAISE YOUR VOICE ! They should have rethink their concept on Royal Merchant, still to me the best in environnement.
The beer and alcohol list is most impressive. What to choose? I’m hungry, I’ll pick some nice duck rillettes with a chilled Prosecco. Divine !!! Unfortunately, you might receive the glass of someone else if your waiter has memory loss, like I did. The rillettes were Hmmmmmmmm, and accompanied with some tiny pickles and a big bowl of baguette slices. Perfect ! With the first bite, a rich and creamy sensation slowly engulf your mouth with a pefectly distributed duck fat taste «orgasmyzing» your taste buds until gastric extazy. Lixiviating the mixt with a nice and dry Prosecco, perfection. Those who know me well, know I would eat rillette until I blow up, it’s that good.
Unfortunately, our memory-​loss waiter forgot my nice-​icy-​tall glass of water so I could prepare for my whisky transition finish. Too late. If the order is not filled in order, the list stops right there. It’s going to be for a next time, if I’m in the area, but with that much noise it’s not the place for a romantic evening. You end the night still tired.

I was really excited to come here due to their expansive scotch list. But I was a little disappointed when the bartender put the device on the bottle to pour my scotch. Maybe this is a Canadian thing, but this almost never happens in the US. I ended up with a very small pour of the scotch I tried. Decent vibe, but a little slow and quiet compared to what’s going on around it. I could see a time and a place for this bar, but it just wasn’t what I was looking for when I went.

Chill to the max… cool waiter, refreshing beers/​mixed drinks.
Off the beaten path… hit up this block when the Latin Quarter gets nutzo.

It always seems difficult to find a bar with more than a handful of whiskeys. I was overjoyed to hear my friend say that they had 140 different kinds here, especially heavy on my favorite: scotch. At first I was disappointed that it took us awhile to get anyone to take our order, but once someone came over, he was very accommodating.
He seemed confused, but complied when we explained and asked for pickle backs (shots of whiskey followed by shots of pickle juice). I also didn’t realize that the $ 18 whiskey tasting flight was only for whatever distillery they had chosen to highlight on the board. The bartender let me do a flight of the brand I chose, Glengoynes (10, 12, 14) for only $ 20.
I really wish we had gone one more time before leaving Montréal, and I will certainly come back if i’m ever in town again.

Excellent. Beaucoup de bons choix et de précieux conseils des barmans. J’y suis allée pour une réunion d’affaires et j’y retournerai avec grand plaisir !

140 types of Whiskey from all over the world. So basically the pornographic version of heaven…
They also have a weekly tasting menu where you get 3 half-​drams of Whiskey served on a little card with details on the origins and the flavors of the Whisky.
A Whiskey lover can’t lose in this place.

Décor agréable en 2 déclinaisons: le devant un peu plus pub (en bois), la salle du derrière plus louge (divans), les 2 sont agréables ! Pour la boisson, une grande sélection de scotch de tous les prix et pour tous les goûts. Carte de cocktails régulière, bon choix de bières également. Shout out pour le meilleur gin tonic en ville: servi en 2 parties et vient avec une petite bouteille de Fentimans ! C’est super chou et ça fait vraiment différent. Aussi, le goût semble meilleur, la qualité du tonic éclate en bouche !
Bön, parlons maintenant du service très basique (pour être polie). Difficile de devenir en boisson dans cet établissement. On te sert un premier verre, puis on t’oublie. Le temps que tu boive et que tu attende suffit amplement a rentrer dans les normes de consommation d’educ-alcool. promis.

Une adresse a connaitre pour les amateurs de single malt… Design vraiment sympa également, notamment la salle de dégustation blanche !!

It had been a weekend of decent beer, excellent music (Kinetik festival) and intensity on many fronts. My traveling companion and I, both veteran liver abusers, scanned our immediate environ and noticed this place above the most understated McDonalds I’d ever seen. We’re 1.5 litres into a serious afternoon of drinking at this point, so there’s my caveat with this review.
Onward:
Being the best damn decision makers on the planet at the time we wandered in and immediately realized we were someplace very special. Always polite, however, and we were rewarded handsomely.
However, the memories are a bit hazy –
Served neat in whisky tasting glasses with spring water on the side:
in order:
Lagavulin 16 year old
Glenfiddich 21-​Year-​Old
Glenmorangie Signet.
Armangnac from 1981
Shots of something 12 years old with bartender as we killed a bottle
Something my companion handed me that was smoky peaty, green label, Ardberg maybe?
During the entire time the bartender was warmly professional, the drinks poured precisely, and the manager came over and was very knowledgeable and accommodating. There’s a wall of Scotch behind a sliding glass door that should warn the more frugal, but was not enough to deter me, alas. One warning — if you seem like you know what you’re doing they won’t warn you the whisky you ordered is $ 50 CAN per dram (Signet).
And it was completely worth it. No, really. Caramel, vanillins, complex smoke, light peat and a finish that is precisely like having your lower lip bitten then sucked by Josephine Baker in her prime during the wee hours of an Easter weekend in Paris while wearing little more than a feather boa. You, not her.
If you enjoy most whisky more than most people and are up for an excellent education you could do far worse than to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon here.
Personally, I think this place is a gem.

Beam me up Scotchy ! or is Scotty
Peu importe, le capitaine est fier de vous mousaillons ! Pourquoi tu dis… bien tu as réussi à trouver son ravitaillement de Scotch de qualité et ce en plein centre ville!
Le nouveau château de Moulinsar est plus discret sur un deuxième étage sur St-​Denis par rapport au dernier mais il est beaucoup plus moderne. En été, on peut s’y déambuler à l’extérieur sur une petite terrasse le long de l’établissement.
La liste de produits est long comme mon bras gauche & droit collé en ligne avec une extension sur ma jambe droite… dans le fond il est bien long et bien agréable à parcourir.
Amateur de TinTin ou simplement amateur de la petite $%@ de marche qui peut t’envoyer à quatre pattes dans la salle de bain, vous serez servi dans un ambiance vraiment groovy et ce à un prix relativement raisonnable. Il est certain que vous allez en faire un dram!
p.s: un dram = 30 ml. Bön ok, joke plate.

Scotchy, scotch, scotch…
L’Île Noire se veut un pub où il fait bon prendre une bière mais j’y ai surtout remarqué la sélection de scotchs. Né vous vous trompez pas, ça n’est pas un pub anglais vieillot, mais plutôt un pub moderne où vous en vous sentez pas mal à l’aise si vous êtes bien habillés parce que vous revenez d’aller voir un spectacle, ou bien parce que vous planifiez une grosse soirée. Parfait pour y aller avec un group d’amis (ils prennent des réservation pour les gros groupes) ou même en tête à tête amoureux.
Vous pouvez y choisir le menu de dégustation de whisky qui vous permet d’essayer quelques scotchs différents, tout en ayant une petite fiche d’information qui vous permet de savoir ce que vous buvez. Pour ceux comme moi qui né boivent pas vraiment de whisky à part pour un bon verre glacé de Sortilège de temps en temps, il y a une très bonne sélection de bières (époustouflante en fait!) qui parviennent d’un peu partout à travers le monde. Quand j’y suis allée, c’est le Black Velvet qui était la boisson gagnante de la soirée (moitié Guinness et cidre), mais en fait, c’est la compagnie qui a fait de cette soirée, un moment inoubliable ;)

Went here with a crew of Unilocalers and had a great experience. As a big scotch drinker, I’m surprised it took me so long to discover this gem of a place — the fact that it’s directly above a McDonalds probably didn’t help.
Amongst other things, I had their scotch taster (3 different scotches 10 – 15 years old from the same distillery) which was great value at $ 18 — it even comes with a set of tasting notes. As mentioned in other reviews this place is good value when it comes to scotch, and the menu is extensive.
The place is nicely done up; the front section is cosy with a pub feel, while the back area is a bit more modern — the whole place looks very new.

L’Île Noire vous offre une vingtaine de bières en fût du Québec, de l’Irlande et de l’Angleterre. Par contre, la spécialité de la maison c’est le Scotch Whisky. Plus d’une centaine au menu, impressionnant. Proposé en dram et demi-​dram.
Un dram est une unité de mesure utilisée pour de petites quantités de liquides. Dans le cas du Scotch Whisky, un dram = 30 ml = 1,014 fl oz. Hé! C’est 0,43 ml de plus de ce précieux nectar.
Pour déguster, penser au trio. Une sélection de trois Scotchs avec leur description gustative. Très intéressant, pour faire de nouvelles découvertes. Un petit conseil, débuté par le Scotch le plus vieux, car les saveurs sont plus subtiles que les plus jeunes. À déguster sans glacé et avec un bon verre d’eau, bien évidemment.
L’emplacement lui-​même, ayant emménagé dans de nouveaux locaux il y a plus de deux ans, tout est neuf. l’Île Noire, a perdu un peu de son cachet que lui conférait l’ancien emplacement. Par contre, une fois le choc initial passé, l’on remarque rapidement que l’endroit est moins intimidant et très élégant: plancher en bois, deux bars, tables en bois, chaises, bancs et banquettes. Tout pour satisfaire votre fessier. Dans la partie arrière, il y a une petite scèné où l’on présente des groupes, entre autres lors du Festival de jazz.
L’été, vous pouvez déguster vos breuvages divins dans la petite ruelle de pavé uni, elle donne sur la grande bibliothèque.
C’est mon bar de prédilection pour le scotch pour ses prix raisonnables, mais avant tout sa vaste sélection.

Ile Noire is a classy professional spot with charming staff and an exceptional scotch menu located on a convenient, vibrant stretch of St Denis. The front room feels very business, but the back opens up into a more comfortable candle-​lit brasserie vibe where, in addition to the extensive bar with rare and affordable options for scotch drinkers, they offer simple snacks eg; a small mason jar of herbed goat cheese served with crackers. I’ve found the staff attentive and jovial and 0 stress. The music the last time I was there was all 80s and 90s throwbacks, an odd but good-​humored choice given the chic atmosphere.

I really loved this place! We went after the shabu shabu and it was the perfect place to relax and grab a few drinks. The atmosphere is dark and pub-​lounge like. Deep mahogany colors on the velvety seats and booths and walls. I only went into the back for a minute but it looked more lively and open.
I had my very first boilermaker. Sure we didn’t drink it properly but it was still great. If you
like Scotch I highly recommend this place.
We sat up by the front windows and it was perfect! I really enjoy people watching so what better place to do it than on the second floor looking down at the bustling Saint-​Denis.
Price wise, again, it wasn’t too bad.