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.