McKibbins Irish Pub

 

 

McKibbins is a warm, welcoming little bar with a nice feel to it, great look on the inside, some macro beers, music, surprisingly good food. It has no craft on tap, but typical Irish pub offerings and a full bar. They also have a pretty decent whiskey selection. The basement is my personal favorite area. It is a really lovely, inviting 'pub-type' space if I've ever seen one.

 

Tucked away from Crescent is this little Irish gem on Bishop Street. Now if it weren't for the damn TV's at the bar, I could unwind, eat my Irish stew, and listen to a quartent playing live Gaelic music.

Okay, about the place; it's cheper than the pubs on Crescent, having both better food and draft prices. Food is quite good too, my Irish stew was filled with big chunks of beef and potatoes. What about beer you ask? Not bad for a pub, with drafts including Kronenbourg 1664, Tartan, Murphy's, and McAuslans. Other British Isles beer apply to the list as well. They have a list of upcoming events listed on their website, so check it out if you have any plans to visit McKibbin's any time soon.

I visited here upon leaving Hurley's (see my review); this is much, much better. They boast very attractive servers who can pour some very good pints o' Guinness; all in a convivial and relaxing atmosphere that could be considered reminscent of several old pubs that I visited when in Kilkenny, Ireland.

What made this pub truly stand out was the excellent service, somewhat of a rarity I discovered during my recent stay in Montreal. In any case, I will be back to attend the Mondiale de le Biere - and Montreal - and I will certainly return to McKibbins!

Now this is an Irish pub done right. McKibbons feels like you're in the middle of Dublin, something that isn't easily replicated. There's actually three levels to the place. I stayed on the floor level, with live music and a rustic, woody interior. Dimply lit, but not too dim. There's a bunch of taps lined up by the bar, mostly Canadian brews, but a fair amount of UK fare as well.

The waitress was helpful and courteous, which was a change for most of Canadians I encountered up in Montreal. Unfortunately they only had about half the selection of their other location available, but it was still a fine amount. We ordered some pub food, which was also solid. Overall, this was my favorite pub/chill atmosphere place in Montreal. I would recommend anyone traveling to Montreal visit there.

Another great Irish Pub in the Crescent Street corridor in Montreal. Actually located on Bishop street, its in an old Victorian looking building. Inside is all dark wood, has a very old, lived in feel. Very cozy on a cold night. Main bar is quite nice, a few irish and victorian accents. Pretty much the same tap selection as the other top pubs in the area (Guinness, Kilkenny, Leffe, Hoe, Smithwicks, Tartan, etc) with the exception of their house beers which I think are brewed by McAuslan. There's a house stout and house cream ale which are both very solid. Great live music is usually there, but the best music is at Hurleys. I will usually start a pub crawl at Claddagh, work my way over here and end up at Hurleys. Never tried the food but it looked tasty.

Well the McKibbin's is usually my main hangout spot. Near Crescent street, near restaurant and Concordia University and quite too near the recruiting centre where I sealed my faith! Im going there since 6 years now, every weeks. The atmosphere is good, not typically Irish, but a sense of friendly crowd that combined the people working downtown and university students. The McKibbin's is combined in three spots. Upstairs the Toucan Club(Ladies Night on Wed) and the Shebeen downstairs.

Most of the nights there are some bands playing, but the selections of band was better in a recent past, maybe because I miss the trio of drunken singers singing old eirean tunes! BEER! Well you get the biggest Irish name, few microbrew, 3 home brew(stout is very good) and the usual north American heroes(molson, labatt, miller, bud name it)

If you like pubing, you cant miss the McKibbin's