Bar Diana the worst in the city? I doubt it. It always looks very sleepy in there. Just a handful of retirees reading the paper over their morning beer and a few lesser forms of riff-raff hanging out in the corners. I’m pretty sure there are a lot worse bars than that in the city.
There are a few in Montreal North that are pretty scary, and some on the edges of Rosemont that look just plain dangerous (although I admit I’ve never gone in). There’s one that I see from the window of the 161 bus as it goes through Cotes-des-Neiges that looks like murder just waiting to happen. And what about that place on the east side of St-Laurent just before the Van Horne viaduct, the one with the tinted windows? I don’t know what it’s like now, but I went in there about 12 years ago and lasted about three minutes. It was like walking unannounced into a private club in some dictator-run third world country. Everyone just stares at you because you’ve never been seen there before.
Diana is certainly a dive bar, but I doubt it’s the worst bar in the city.
Bar du Quartier on Saint-Hubert, between Sainte-Cath and René-Lévesque was something too. In front on a parking lot used by junkies. The barman kept a baseball bat behind the counter and warned newcomers that this was a dangerous place. It was owned by a Brossard Chinese entrepreneur who had no idea of what was going on there. Got closed by the Régie.
Bar Lington on Darlington, Côte-des-Neiges, is another nice spot. Two guys simultaneously stabbed each other a few years ago, cooling my eagerness to go there for a beer.
To be fair I used to work around the corner from Barlington and while it’s seedy, I’ve had a drink or two in there and sometimes serious altercations occur it’s really not that bad, at least no worse than Skala on Park was when it was open, and that was my regular. No worse than Diana anyhow, and yes, I’ve had a drink or two in there as well. Coin D’Or at Notre-Dame and Atwater in the early 90s way way worse. It’s a Belle Province now.
I remember going to Skala to watch election returns on their TV, but in the year or two before it closed it got very rough and the last time I was in there I left knowing I would not go back. Definitely a feeling you didn’t want to use the bathroom because something might be going on in there you wouldn’t want to see, one way or another.
I’d add to our dives list the Bar de la Plaza at Saint-Hubert and Jean-Talon – there was a fatal stabbing there in the last couple of years – and some of the other establishments in the rather grim stretch of Saint-Hubert north of there, although the Bar Stainless seems to be gone.
Blork, if you mean the little place on Parc about 100 metres south of Van Horne on the East side, I’m pretty sure it’s a coke joint. I lived upstairs and a couple doors away for a number of years and the guys who ran it weren’t too bad. There certainly was never any trouble there because that would be bad for business. I once got into an altercation with some drunk who smashed his beer bottle to go after my dog (I don’t believe he had come from that bar). Just as the dog and I were about to get into it with him two or three guys came out of the bar (Sahara?), ran the guy off, made sure me and the dog were okay, and went back in. They definitely did not want a show going on near their place.
Btw, I think I may have served you a beverage or two in a past life. You’re friends with Dwight B?
Bar de la Plaza seems to have police in front of it more often than not. I used to go to Stainless (which, due to its vertical sign, I thought was called St-Ainless for the longest time) and it seemed to have been owned and patronized by a group of slacker young people. They got the boot because they hadn’t paid their rent in months. I went there a few times to watch hockey games or play free pool. The new place (Bica I think it’s called) is owned by a young guy related to the landlord. Went in once with a friend to watch the hockey game the day it opened, we might have been the first customers who the owner didn’t know. He told us he was going for an upscale “European lounge” thing which I didn’t see lasting too long on that stretch. Considering it’s still in business, I assume it’s either turned into a drug bar or is a front.
denpanosekai 10:55 on 2012/10/15 Permalink
Toto BBQ? Toto BBQ. Getting sick of all the drunks hanging out there.
Robert J 13:13 on 2012/10/15 Permalink
Yeah that is the only bar in Montreal I know of that I won’t go to.
Matt 15:38 on 2012/10/15 Permalink
Bar Diana, the worst bar in the city.
Blork 10:08 on 2012/10/16 Permalink
Bar Diana the worst in the city? I doubt it. It always looks very sleepy in there. Just a handful of retirees reading the paper over their morning beer and a few lesser forms of riff-raff hanging out in the corners. I’m pretty sure there are a lot worse bars than that in the city.
There are a few in Montreal North that are pretty scary, and some on the edges of Rosemont that look just plain dangerous (although I admit I’ve never gone in). There’s one that I see from the window of the 161 bus as it goes through Cotes-des-Neiges that looks like murder just waiting to happen. And what about that place on the east side of St-Laurent just before the Van Horne viaduct, the one with the tinted windows? I don’t know what it’s like now, but I went in there about 12 years ago and lasted about three minutes. It was like walking unannounced into a private club in some dictator-run third world country. Everyone just stares at you because you’ve never been seen there before.
Diana is certainly a dive bar, but I doubt it’s the worst bar in the city.
Louis 10:52 on 2012/10/16 Permalink
Bar du Quartier on Saint-Hubert, between Sainte-Cath and René-Lévesque was something too. In front on a parking lot used by junkies. The barman kept a baseball bat behind the counter and warned newcomers that this was a dangerous place. It was owned by a Brossard Chinese entrepreneur who had no idea of what was going on there. Got closed by the Régie.
Bar Lington on Darlington, Côte-des-Neiges, is another nice spot. Two guys simultaneously stabbed each other a few years ago, cooling my eagerness to go there for a beer.
Ian 13:19 on 2012/10/16 Permalink
To be fair I used to work around the corner from Barlington and while it’s seedy, I’ve had a drink or two in there and sometimes serious altercations occur it’s really not that bad, at least no worse than Skala on Park was when it was open, and that was my regular. No worse than Diana anyhow, and yes, I’ve had a drink or two in there as well. Coin D’Or at Notre-Dame and Atwater in the early 90s way way worse. It’s a Belle Province now.
Kate 16:41 on 2012/10/16 Permalink
I remember going to Skala to watch election returns on their TV, but in the year or two before it closed it got very rough and the last time I was in there I left knowing I would not go back. Definitely a feeling you didn’t want to use the bathroom because something might be going on in there you wouldn’t want to see, one way or another.
I’d add to our dives list the Bar de la Plaza at Saint-Hubert and Jean-Talon – there was a fatal stabbing there in the last couple of years – and some of the other establishments in the rather grim stretch of Saint-Hubert north of there, although the Bar Stainless seems to be gone.
dwgs 18:40 on 2012/10/16 Permalink
Blork, if you mean the little place on Parc about 100 metres south of Van Horne on the East side, I’m pretty sure it’s a coke joint. I lived upstairs and a couple doors away for a number of years and the guys who ran it weren’t too bad. There certainly was never any trouble there because that would be bad for business. I once got into an altercation with some drunk who smashed his beer bottle to go after my dog (I don’t believe he had come from that bar). Just as the dog and I were about to get into it with him two or three guys came out of the bar (Sahara?), ran the guy off, made sure me and the dog were okay, and went back in. They definitely did not want a show going on near their place.
Btw, I think I may have served you a beverage or two in a past life. You’re friends with Dwight B?
C_Erb 23:34 on 2012/10/16 Permalink
Bar de la Plaza seems to have police in front of it more often than not. I used to go to Stainless (which, due to its vertical sign, I thought was called St-Ainless for the longest time) and it seemed to have been owned and patronized by a group of slacker young people. They got the boot because they hadn’t paid their rent in months. I went there a few times to watch hockey games or play free pool. The new place (Bica I think it’s called) is owned by a young guy related to the landlord. Went in once with a friend to watch the hockey game the day it opened, we might have been the first customers who the owner didn’t know. He told us he was going for an upscale “European lounge” thing which I didn’t see lasting too long on that stretch. Considering it’s still in business, I assume it’s either turned into a drug bar or is a front.