Comments on: Montreal Needs Better Shisha Lounges

By: Ameed El-Ghoul

Ameed El-Ghoul — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:14:18 +0000

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,

By: karim

karim — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:19:16 +0000

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 .

By: Rita Pita

Rita Pita — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:04:49 +0000

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!

By: Alek

Alek — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:31:53 +0000

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

By: Liza

Liza — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:59:10 +0000

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!

By: Myriam

Myriam — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:56:50 +0000

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.

By: Einick

Einick — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:40:08 +0000

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.

By: Einick

Einick — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:25:06 +0000

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

By: Saro G.

Saro G. — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:16:20 +0000

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.

By: Marc

Marc — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:49:05 +0000

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.