Montreal's Gay Village

Hey Nerds,

Happy Pride Month! Last week, I posted a form to ask you guys to help me choose subjects for blog posts as I wanted to know what you all wanted to hear about. One of you reached out and asked me to talk about LGBTQ+ history or the gay community and Montreal. Therefore, I decided to make this first Pride Month post about my experiences with the gay community in Montreal.

The Gay Village has to be one of my favorite places in the city. Granted, the main metro station, Beaudry, is oh! so very sketchy! However, it has a lot of great restaurants, cafés, as well as many bars and clubs. They also have a really nice outdoor gallery where there is currently a new exhibit which I want to see. In the summertime, the Village is great since they block off the road and hang up rainbow baubles above the main road. I've gone quite a few times with my friend/editor Gay Wolf. In fact, she is the one who introduced me to this place.

I've been to quite a few of the businesses in the Village. One of my favorite spots is La Graine Brulée. It is a small coffee shop that has specific areas where you can write on the walls and seats. I love texting the random cell numbers I can spot on these walls. The menu is small, but The Barbie is my favourite drink there. The place has a lot of great spots to just sit and read, work, study or hangout. It has a few board games and books which you can borrow, as well as retro video games you can play. However, beware of the ‘’haunted’’ washrooms! With its flashing lights and children’s music, it's quite creepy. They have a warning on the door for people who are prone to seizures. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give this place a solid 4. I’m removing a point only because I am not a huge fan of their drink menu, but a lot of people love it so I can't complain too much. And at least I have my go-to drink there. But this is definitely my favorite place in the Village.

I have also been to a restaurant called Toro Rosso. It's quite small inside, so I strongly suggest the terrace. But even then, it can be quite cramped. The food there is pretty good and there is a little bit of everything. The prices are usually quite reasonable as well and the waiters are nice. Just be careful because the service can be quite slow at times and servers have forgotten to bring us our plates until we reminded them, but I still ended up getting my appetizer, but it was a few minutes after I got my main meal. Though my experience was so-so, I have to say they were having problems with their staff at the time and the food was still quite good. I would go again. I give it a 3 out of 5 due to the few issues, but it was still nice a restaurant.

Another place I went to was a sex shop called Wega. It was not my kind of sex shop as it mostly consisted of gay pornography films, and the few toys they did have were not what I wanted or could afford. I give this place a 1 out of 5. It may be some people’s favourite place, but it was not mine.


I have also been to Cacao 70. Oh! My God! That place is like chocolate heaven! I know there are quite a few around the city, but I have only ever gone to the one in the Village and I loved it. The chairs are quite uncomfortable, but it's worth it for their amazing 3 chocolate fondue. And the milkshakes are quite good too. I give this place a 4. Now I really wanna go there again.... Mmmmmmm chocolate...

The last place I will talk about is Sky. It is a club/bar. I've gone there twice, I believe. The drinks I have ordered so far were the ceasar and the rum and coke. The caesar only tastes like tomato juice, and the rum and coke tasted only of rum. Maybe I was just unlucky, but I did not love the drinks. I did love the shots though. Sky has three floors: two for clubbing and the terrace which serves as a bar. The rooftop terrace is my favorite spot because you can see the road from up there. However, the walls of the terrace are closed off and so tall that you can only see when leaning over them. On one of the clubbing floors, there is a drag queen serving 1$ shots. You better tip well, though, because those queens are sassy, but I love them. They are so pretty and fun. I still wish I knew where one of the queens got her skirt as it was drop dead gorgeous. Anyways, as some of you may know, I hate clubbing. I hate it with a passion. Therefore, Sky is not my favourite place, but I know a lot of people who love it. So I give it a 4 on 5 due to the fact that it seems to be a great club. Many people love it, and the bar area makes me happy, so everyone wins. And even though I have not found my go-to drink at this place yet, I’m sure I eventually will.

I know there are many other places I could talk about when it comes to Montreal and the gay community.  But for now, I think I will leave you with this and maybe come back to this topic some other time. Maybe, by then, I will have been to more places and will have more to tell you about. But, until then, have a great week.

Love,

Bi Nerd

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