hey,
great coffee shops abound in montreal, especially the more relaxed places up in the plateau and mile end, they’re not as commercialised and chain-ish as the stuff downtown (e.g. starbucks and second cup, etc.) – i’m not a frequenter of the coffee shop scene, so i can’t be much more specific, but if u want, i can ask around with some friends (i used to live in the plateau) and get back to you)

as for bars, the plateau again seems like the place for you, if you prefer a more relaxed, talk-rather-than-dance kind of feel. i’d recommend mont-royal avenue specifically – seriously, a bar-hopping night along there is worth a week on st. laurent – especially if your french is good!

unfortunately, i’m not too familiar with old montreal, so i can’t help out there, but i’m sure others would be of great assistance!

good luck, and have a wonderful time here!

in the old mtl, yes its a tourist trap, although you might catch good live bands at les 2 pierrots, or le pub st-paul (both on st-pauls street)...

good coffee and parties GARANTIED in the plateau; try le diable vert or le Zaz bar for big crowds, le rockette or l’esco next door for the rocknroll indie scene…dont forget to eat your poutine at la Banquise at 3 am…wanna smoke a shisha? go to hookah lounge (st denis, near emery street, Berri-Uqam metro) or Gitana café (St-Denis corner Sherbrooke)....good microbrewery at le cheval blanc on Ontario street…make sure you have a copy of the mirror or the Hour to check the listings for bands and stuff…

definately, try to have breakfast at la grand-mère poule on Mont-Royal avenue…

crescent street is worth a look, but yeah, its made for tourist so be prepared to pay 8$ for your beer, and meet up with silly underage americans (they do go crazy over in montreal!)

dont leave without seeing our strippers clubs!!! I recommend chez paré, or club super sexe, but you’ll find one at every corner or st-catherines…

enjoy your stay :D
Evie
xxx

In terms of a good café, I highly recommend “Santropol”, where you’ll find the best sandwiches in Montreal. It’s on Mont Royal (a.k.a. “The Mountain”), at 3990 St-Urbain on the corner of Duluth.

Check out their (crappy) site at http://www.santropol.com/pages/rdirectory.html (you can browse the sections by clicking on the “ropes” at the top).

My favorite drinking hole in the world is in Montreal. It’s an Irish pub called Hurley’s: http://www.hurleysirishpub.com . It’s multi-level with lots of “cubby holes” to have intimate conversations. Often on Fridays and Saturdays, they have live bands. It’s definitely NOT a disco.

Bonus: they serve food and it’s good!

Location: 1225 Crescent Street

I really like the coffee shop called Calories. http://tinyurl.com/66b8ar (there’s the google maps link). They have great cakes and coffee and the BEST iced tea ever – it’s like an iced tea slushie thing. So amazing. Santropol is good too!

My favourite place to drink is Brutopia, which is right next to the aforementioned Hurley’s Pub. The address is 1215 Crescent. Despite being on Crescent street, it usually has a very low incidence of tourists. They brew their own beer and pints are very well priced. Plus, the staff is always friendly and the customers are mostly 20-something college students. It’s not a very rowdy bar, and there’s usually great music playing.

I second the recommendation of heading up to the Plateau area. You can find some great sit-down-and-talk-with-people bars along St-Denis street. One of my favourites there is L’Amère A Boire on St-Denis near Sherbrooke. Another good one is Le Saint-Bock. They’re both pretty quiet and serve microbrew beers.

Great food here:

http://www.montrealkrishna.com/

Get more money for your trip here:

http://indyinasia.rejuvenatetour.com/