St-Laurent Bifteck

good beer, nothing fancy, young crowd like me

Un petit bar sans prétention avec table de billard, mini terrasse sur le trottoir qui doit fermer à 22h30, des prix pas trop chers et une bonne sangria sucrée.
Le service est omni présent, il n’y a pas de cuisine, le choix de l’alcool est limité. C’est un bon endroit pour prendre une bière, discuter un peu et rentrer à la maison. Il est possible de ramener des plats de l’extérieur.
Né sera pas mon premier choix mais bon les petits plats de popcorn donnent envie de rester et de boire très longtemps. Les cartes né sont pas acceptées, il faut donc retirer à la machine (3 $ de frais).

I’m surprised, after all the good times we’ve had together, that I’d never reviewed Bifteck, The People’s Bar.
Bifteck is the prototypical St-​Laurent bar. It’s nobody’s first choice, but it’s in just about everyone’s top 5. Cheap enough, not obscenely cheap; free popcorn saltier than Satan’s nads; bartenders who are just-​friendly-​enough. Of all the bars in Montréal, Bifteck is my favorite one to be stuck in at closing time, and the most agreeable venue when you’re sick of that party/​club/​other bar but you don’t want the night to be over. The downstairs isn’t much to write home about; the place earns its keep upstairs, which is much quieter.
It’s also a very sociable bar, in the classic sense. Bifteck isn’t like Tokyo, where you dance your arse off and try to get laid with as little actual conversation as possible. Nor is it Grumpy’s or Blackjack, which is best enjoyed solo in a dark corner with enough whiskey to stun a horse. This is a bar where you go out with a few friends, and sit next to other people who have also gone out with a few friends, and you make conversation, and now their friends are your friends, at least fleetingly. Something like that has happened just about every time I’ve gone to Bifteck.
According to legend, it’s where the founders of VICE first got together, ca. 1994. Of COURSE it was, Jesus Christ. I wouldn’t trust any other watering hole to an important business meeting, except maybe BDP at off-​peak hours.
Plus, they have Boreale IPA on tap. Mmmmm.

It was a pretty cool dive bar on the main Saint– Laurent. I would compare it to a dive bar you would find on the lower east side of NYC. Finding a table for our group wasn’t difficult. The waitress was super friendly and service was speedy. I got a double rum and coke and the drinks were made in good proportion.
I’d recommend this place if you’re looking for a chill night with your friends. There are tables and seats at the bar to hang out and there was a pool table in the back. There was also wifi available– just ask one of the staff for the login.
If you find yourself bar hopping on Saint-​Laurent, I would recommend stopping by here.
Sadly, we did not get the free popcorn that other reviews mentioned.

Free popcorn, how can you go wrong? The beer prices are some of the best in the area. There are pool tables upstairs, and ample seating. It sometimes gets packed, which is not always ideal for big groups.

Amanda was our bartender tonight! She was awesome, we had a good time. It’s a for sure a place to bring friends enjoy cheap pitchers of beer and play pool when you get the chance. You cannot take the salty awesome, cheap popcorn out one of the male workers said…
I laughed. A lot. But I’ll be back! Much better then that last dive bar we went to! Amanda you are awesome keep rock on!

I just had appetizers (supersalty) and my date ordered a beer. Then my other friends phone got stolen :(

You really can’t beat the prices here, but like many Montréal bars the less than competent servers aren’t shy to rudely demand their tips.

A Perfectly Reasonable Dive Bar.
There’s not much to say about Bifteck other than that it’s a run-​of-​the-​mill dive bar that’s best suited for having some drinks with friends, watching the game, or shooting a couple games of pool. You can sometimes meet new people here, but the place is more laid out for sharing a table with friends, and this is place is by no stretch a pick-​up spot.
PROS: cheap pitchers, several shot specials, and free popcorn
CONS: there’s an unsettling, lingering odor of stale beer that takes some getting used to, but I guess it wouldn’t be a dive bar without it ;)

Great dive bar; cash only, cheap drinks! Pool tables, a bit noisy, but not too shabby! As can be expected, one must order at the bar, because the servers will be busy, and might not remember everything you say to them.

cool dive bar. cheapest beers we found actually while in montreal — $ 11 for a pitcher. Everywhere else was like $ 6 – 8.50 just for one beer.

A dive bar par excellence.
Went there early on a Saturday night before dinner reservations in the area, had a couple of cheap scotches while chatting with a Buddhist and an army vet from the Korean war (American dude) about what was wrong with the youth today (I’m 31).
Bifteck has a lot of characters. I’ve been going here for years and it’s always a good time with fun folks of all walks, albeit the later it gets the more hipster, dive bar it gets. Around 9, it’s more like the cook kids from the legion decided to make it their watering hole (hanging out back by the pool tables, at the front of the bar there were a good number of university students enjoying the very reasonably priced drinks).

Leave it to me to go to one of the most beautiful and cultured cities in North America on an anniversary trip with my wife, and still wind up at a dive bar.
I get the impression that this is a college bar, mostly from the cheap booze and wacky shot/​cocktail options. Old Man dive bars may offer the finest bottom-​shelf bourbon, but they don’t have cartoony drink special menus on the wall.
Oddly enough when I was in there, the place was virtually empty on a Saturday. Granted, it was in the early afternoon, but I would expect a few more respectable drunks to be whiling away their time in such a fine establishment. Perhaps Montréal drunks can learn something from Providence drunks about how to waste a day.
The bar has pool tables if that’s your thing, and you can watch sports on TV. Well, you can watch soccer.

After way too many nights spent scheming over too many pitchers at Bifteck in my youth, I veered north and didn’t darken it’s doorways for nigh on a decade. Then recently in the area it was the venue of cheering choice for whiskey shots and rounds of pitchers of blonde and the same old salty bowls of popcorn and it was like no time had passed.
The waitresses still are tough and nice in equal measure, the walls still coated with a previous generation of DuMauriers, the décor non-​descript and divey satisfying, the tables small wooden and round, the ambiance gimick-​free with the same old street-​side people watching in the front and pool table in the back. It is just what it is, and it’s plenty.

Excerpt from Mount Royal, There’s Nothing Harder Than Love by Basil Papademos
«A year ago the Bifteck was a tomb. The numbskull Porkchop owner had his d*ck in his hand and couldn’t figure out how to draw flies. He’d redone the dive with curly, wrought-​iron arches, exposed wood beams, beige stucco and framed bullfighting posters. He tried flamenco dancers and they immediately flatlined. Then Gypsy fiddlers – pfft. That was followed by some lowlife in a matador suit who sang Barry Manilow schmaltz while tickling a Farfisa organ. All that and fine dining.
Despite his considerable efforts, the Porkchop was thwarted. He’d fret, pace around and his testicles would constrict as he watched the Balmoral across the street get mobbed day and night. He couldn’t figure it out. That place was a filthy hole while his establishment was classy.
Looking to replace a barmaid, the Porkchop hired a hip young babe called Marie, without giving it much thought beyond some far-​fetched fantasy she’d find him beguiling. Marie advised the Porkchop to uncover the pool tables fossilizing in the back. He was reluctant, worried about the Bifteck losing its luxe appeal, but eventually agreed to try it her way – for a little while. Marie played some of her mix tapes and a few friends dropped by. College kids began to show up and shoot eightball, drink lots of cheap draft. It wasn’t long before The Mirror officially sanctioned the Bifteck’s kitschy cool. Within a couple of months the place got fairly trashed, which only added to the image and nowadays there’s a lineup down the block after midnight.»

A long time ago, in a land far, far away (Vermont) I once attended university. It was a pretty good time, except for when it wasn’t. I had a nagging girlfriend 300 miles away who forbade me to have any fun, and I was so young and dumb I often listened to her. But when I didn’t…I made damned sure to make the most of it. Like on my trips to Montréal, where I would visit a friend who studied at McGill. We used to hit up all the college-​y bars like Miami, that other two-​story bar whose name I’ve forgotten, and Bifteck. Fuck the hipster bars like Korova. Let the VICE nerds have their spots, I always say.
I liked imbibing at Bifteck the best. Free popcorn, pool tables, and gorgeous young waitresses serving cheap pitchers of beer and moderately cheap shots. What more could a young man ask for? Nothing. Literally nothing. Cheep booze, good scenery, and a pool table for when I get drunk and want to throw my money away. That’s my life, guys. It’s simple, but I love it.
Oh, also I was back here a few weeks ago and I was glad to see it hasn’t changed much. I think that was the original point of my review. Then I got sidetracked. Just like every other Unilocal review I try to write. Sorry about that.

We opened this awesome little dive on a walking tour of the Mont Royal /​Plateau neighborhoods. The bartender was great and took a few pictures of us enjoying some beers and people watching. We got a pitcher for $ 8? This place looks like it could be a lot of fun at night. Free WiFi makes checking in on Unilocal not a problem, just get the wifi code from the bartender.

Blackout for $ 10.

Dive bar. Free pool. Free popcorn. Free WiFi. Cheap beer. Sassy staff. English friendly. Knowledgeable bartender. Yup — not bad.

Cheap drinks (Montréal standards), good tunes, plenty of sitting room and awesome laid back «dive bar» environment that I miss so much from L. A!
Pool, Foozball, free popcorn, pitcher specials! Only negative: CASH ONLY!
Oh, and everyone speaks English there which can be nice for some.

Bifteck was a rather interesting place. It definitely was the bar with the best drink specials that we found and the barmaid knew what she was doing unlike elsewhere.
The crowd was mixed with some younger people sitting outside and a few older folk sitting toward the back near the pool tables. One, named Tito (see photo), a regular, lost four times to me in pool, but thats beside the point.
Seems small if you’re downstairs but apparently there is also an upstairs with a second bar (not sure about this). Tables in the back as well and free popcorn.
Closest Metro station is Sherbrooke, but the walk up and down Sainte Laurent isn’t bad anyway.