Is it just me or is every shisha/hookah lounge in Montreal a ghetto? What happened to smoking in a respectable atmosphere, such as Stogies or Whiskey Cafe? I don’t know about everyone else, but the majority of the lounges in Montreal are a dump in my opinion. Honestly now, the place I last went to (which will go unnamed for now) had the stench of body odor in the air. Surely this isn’t the establishment”s fault, but there should be some ventilation going on in there. Another place I once went to on Decarie Blvd. looked like a broken down fast food restaurant that basically served tobacco. The worst place I’ve been to had holes in the walls with a small couch trying to hide them. Clever. Bravo.
The nicest lounge I’ve been to that definitely had some class was called Suite 3930 on St-Laurent boulevard. It was nicely decorated, the staff was friendly and the music wasn’t loud at all. You could actually sustain a conversation with a friend without having to shout in each others ears. The prices were decent too, and the shisha itself was the best I’ve had in Montreal (besides my creations…). The owner eventually made his business private and only approved certain guests to come in (basically a private shisha lounge, a first of its kind). Sadly, this place literally disappeared the following day when I tried to go for a second round of smoking after being 6 months or so open. Their phone lines were cut off, doors bolted shut, curtains over the windows… it was all tell-tale signs of abandonment. I suspect the owners fled the country for whatever reason(s), most likely avoiding taxes or they might not have had the appropriate smoking licenses in place to run such a joint.
For the longest time, a friend of mine and I discussed the possibility of opening up our own shisha lounge for kicks. We’d design the place to be comfortable, modern and overall be fresh. Comfortable couches and chairs would be the norm (ones with cushion at that) proper ventilation all around to keep the air circulated & clean, have a dress code in effect, and definitely serve the finest tobacco out there: Al Fakher of course. Montreal wouldn’t know what’s coming to them, and we’d seriously have a nice niche going, serving more mature and higher-end clientèle. Of course, this dream got shattered once we found out that we couldn’t get a smoking permit anymore. Too bad.
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You should try Al-Dar on Mackay street, just south of Ste-Catherine. It’s not bad, probably the best in Montreal and they serve Al-Fakher as well. Its a little crowded on saturday night, but other nights are good. They also serve a fantastic Mint Tea and some other cool drinks. But you’re right, there are no decent Shisha places in Montreal. However, the same could be said about other North American cities. I,ve been to shisha places in New York, San Francisco, Miami and Chicago. The only one that was good, was in Miami on Lincoln Road, but it cost $100 for a Shisha, Mint Tea, a Pina Colada and some Humus…
About your little problem about getting a new license for a Shisha bar, you are indeed correct, however, there is a loophole. Send me an email and I’ll tell you all about it. I’d actually be interested in openning up a Shisha lounge as well.
Hey you talked about a loophole conserning getting a permit to open a shisha loung, i just wanted to know out of curiosity what this loophole was, i do not plan on opening a store anytime soon, but im a very big shisha enthousiast.
Thank you
Alek
It is not so much a loophole as it is a “dérrogation mineure” (minor variance), meaning that the establishments who has the right to have smoking indoors still are, but any new places cannot acquire this permit. If you want to open a shisha lounge, you’d have to take over a lounge/resto/club that allowed for that in the first place.
I learned about this while working as an Urban Planner for the city. Whoever had the permit prior to the new law is still allowed to have indoor shisha and cigar smoking, as long as the usage of the land (or lot) does not change (eg:old shisha lounge converted to retail store cannot turn into another shisha lounge because it looses its permit)
I hope this helps!
Heya, I’ve been to Al-Dar once, it was pretty decent from what I remember.
I went to a shisha lounge in New York City once. While it was very good, I recall the price being 140$ USD for three bowls… the “drinks were on the house” by the owner.
I’m highly interested in knowing how to obtain a license for kicks (I don’t think I’ll actually open one anytime soon mind you). I’m afraid I don’t have your email, however — if you wish, you can contact me directly: saro at montrealing dot com. :)
I think I’ve tried every single one… it was a mission I began to find decent shisha places… sadly I was very disappointed to find out that indeed, there is a lack of good shisha bars/cafes…. HOWEVER, by far Gitana on St-Denis is the best I’ve tried so far…They serve Al-Fahker as well, have decent quality shisha pipes, maintain them well, and have competent staff… They have a very decent middle-eastern atmosphere and play similar music to add to the authenticity of the shisha experience… they’ve been around for quite some time but it was difficult for me to come across this place… I had never heard of it before even amongst many shisha smokers… anyway, I have been going there every week for a year already and have been 99% satisfied…
PS, I too am very interested in opening up a shisha lounge…have some great ideas… lets chat…
einick at gmail dot com
cheers
Tried Al-Dar tonight… very pleased… great atmosphere (modern setting compared to Gitana’s middle eastern feel) great shisha, good service… a little more expensive than most other places but I’d say its worth the experience.
I’ve just returned from Al-Dar with some friends. We went there to have lunch and try the shisha. Excellent place, great atmospere, comfortable and good service. I prefer it to every other shisha place I’ve been. Although it is a little expensive… but totally worth it.
Hi everyone!
The reason is simple: Quebec is not alowing any permit to anybody to open a shisha place.
The only ones available are the ones that were already open when the law came to place.
That have restricted and owners have to obey or the pay fines and could even have their place closed.
Vive le quebec!
Here was on LCN
Deux seules substances pourront encore être fumées légalement dans certains lieux publics du Québec: les cigares ou la chicha, une pipe orientale.
Les salons de cigares pourront continuer à offrir un emplacement de dégustation à leurs clients, en autant qu’ils respectent les conditions qui leur sont imposées.
Ils doivent avoir un chiffre d’affaires d’au moins 20 000$ par année, maintenir un endroit totalement fermé et ne servir aucun repas. Ils ont jusqu’au 1er novembre pour se conformer à la loi.
Pour les salons de chicha, aussi appelé narguilé, ils doivent avoir ouvert leurs portes avant le 10 mai 2005 et ont les mêmes privilèges que les salons de cigares.
Un producteur de tabac écologique québécois tente de percer le marché européen et arabe, où l’on compte plus de 500 millions de fumeurs de chicha.
Et voila!
The best Shisha Lounge by far that Montreal ever saw was Maeeva Lounge 1468 Cresent they had every possible flavour, the best staff and the owner was simply the best he had real class . The lounge was very cossy nice chairs , 2 flat screens for every sports events .
The women that came there had real class . The music Arabic English French Spanish Disco was always the latest and the best rythms that really set you in the right mood . Only onething I can say about Maeeva Lounge Imated But will Never be Duplicated . That
Lounge just had class. I don`t understand why they turnned around that concept. The Portugeese Restaurant downstairs called Maeeva was also good except for one or two waiters that ran the place as if they owned it . I never seen a gentleman so down to earth like the owner of Maeeva . Simply the best , You where the King my friend .
Guys seriously there is no decent Shisha place in Montreal. People who says Al Dar is decent, didn’t really go to any place that is close to midrange in the Middle East.
Any decent shisha place in Egypt, Lebanon or the Gulf, would be a 7 stars compared to anything here in Montreal.
Al Dar might be an Ok Shisha, But chairs sucks, like if you are setting on a toilet, poor service and bad vintilation. The reason I ended up in here, it while looking to buy my Shisha, to stop going to these places and start smoking from the comfort of my house :)
Cheers,