New frontiers
in beers

Eight fresh spaces worth checking out

by SCOTT C, LORRAINE CARPENTER, ERIN MACLEOD and
RAF KATIGBAK. Photos by RACHEL GRANOFSKY

Le Big Cheeze
4479 St-Denis, 845-9010
Formerly Central Ganesh, this Plateau bar opened with new management and staff last July. Apart from the token hip hop/funk Tuesdays, Big Cheeze’s house DJs Swinger and Paté spin all things rock ’n’ roll, from old-time rockabilly to punk to indie to the popular stuff, Thursday through Saturday, and Wednesdays and Sundays will start rockin’ soon. Catch the late happy hour from 9–11 p.m.

Boa Bar
5301 St-Laurent, 270-3262
Brought to you by the owner of Blizzarts and the Dunlevy brothers (including longtime DJ and Gazette reporter T’Cha), Boa, which means “good” in Portuguese, took over the space previously known as le Set last fall. Like a more spacious Blizzarts with large, black-and-white prints on the walls, the laid-back Mile-End lounge features a variety of local name DJs spinning Afro beats, funk, jazz and R&B. Happy hours run from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.

Café de Lima
6409 St-Hubert, 282-8777
Whether you think it’s a trek or not, the comfortable confines of Café de Lima are enough to pacify those of you who never leave the Main. This spacious younger sibling of Salon Daomé boasts all the trappings of a dance studio, mainly because that’s what it used to be. Complete with stush furniture and studio mirrors running the length of one side of the big, hardwood floor, the well placed sound system supports the many soulful sounds represented here. DJs spin everything from deep house to hip hop and soul, while live acts are often featured. This will definitely be a joint to check out this coming summer.

Café l’Utopik
552 Ste-Catherine E., 844-1139, www.lutopik.org
Once a games parlour that held late-night backgammon and chess matches, this converted, early-century top-floor apartment, with its hodgepodge of bohemian, Salvation Army furnishings and warm, cosy wood décor, brings a charming slice of Québécois hippie activism to the downtown core. Dreadlocks and army jackets, faded ironic shirts and colourful headscarves seem to be the uniforms of choice amongst the young franco UQÀM students who arrive in droves to gobble up the 80 per cent organic veggie fare (from burgers to lasagna, sandwiches, chili and pizza). A youth hostel/art gallery/activist meeting point/restaurant by day, at night l’Utopik transforms into an intimate show space where you can hear anything from experimental noh-theatre prog-pop (Dynamo Coleoptera) to Cajun zydeco, Spanish hip hop and Balkan Gypsy music for little to no cover. A welcome oasis amid Ste-Catherine’s hustle and bustle.

Duplex Lounge
6702 St-Laurent, 270-7792
Since last summer, this spot on the Main near St-Zotique has been packing in up to 200 patrons a night, right upstairs from Italian eatery Mary’s restaurant. DJ Derek brings the ’70s and ’80s rock and old-school hip hop on Fridays, and Elevation hosts a night of Euro house, R&B, reggae and hip hop on Saturdays. The rest of the week is up for grabs—call the club for rental info.

EB Resto Bar
5345 de Maisonneuve W., 482-7921
Since October 2005, EB Resto Bar has not only been dishing up Caribbean delights, but they’ve also played host to Morgan Heritage, Baby Cham, Lexxus and Metromedia, as well as many local luminaries. Reggae fans will be spending a lot of time here over the next few months—the bar has reggae-fest giveaways planned every weekend, sounds coming in from T.O. (Nitro, April 15) and Jamaica (Cash Money, May 20), and a not-to-be-missed Bushman and Turbulence show on May 27. When not presenting artistes live and direct, resident selectors keep it going Fridays and Saturdays and, starting next week, an all-ages open-mic night on Sundays will showcase Montreal’s talent pool.

Lambi
4465 St-Laurent
Lambi’s story begins two years ago when Haitian brothers Romain and Charlie established the place amid the swingers clubs on St-Laurent south of Mont-Royal. The pretty, 325-capacity space hosted West African bands and kompa/somba soirées (Romain once worked for the Nuits d’Afrique festival) until the folks at Pop Montreal got involved in recent months, and began booking indie pop and electronic bands.

La SPAG/Bain Mathieu
2915 Ontario E.
Built in 1931, La Spag/Bain Mathieu is hardly a new space, but it has achieved talk-of-the-town status based on its gradual transformation into a multifaceted event space over the last two years. This is literally an old pool, complete with original ceramic floors and walls, a dome roof, an integrated sound system, and a standing bar around the pool. With a capacity of around 600, patrons congregate either on the floor of the pool, or enjoy the spectacle poolside. This versatile space has been used for everything from fashion shows, video shoots, DJ events and TV and film locations to corporate parties, dance performances, concerts, art exhibitions, seminars and bar mitzvahs. It’s an intimate and unique space that is definitely artist-friendly, and able to accommodate just about anything.