Five months of shovelling driveways and sidewalks, scraping windshields, and layering up like you’re heading to base camp. Then one Tuesday in May, you step outside and the air hits different, with a hint of sprin. The snow is gone. The patios are set up. Suddenly, none of it mattered.
Montreal will have over 193 terrasses open for the 2026 season. Rooftops with skyline views. Canal-side breweries you can bike to, but might be best to walk home from. Hidden gardens tucked behind old buildings that you’d stroll right past if nobody told you they were there.
Here are the best patios in Montreal right now, 15 terrasses across the city that earn every short month of summer we get.
Up Top: Rooftop Terrasses with A View
1. Terrasse William Gray
Best For: The cocktail experience with a panoramic view. California-inspired drinks and upscale bar snacks eight floors above Old Montreal.
Vibe Check: You’re on the roof of Hotel William Gray, looking out over the Old Port and the St. Lawrence River. Polished without being stiff. Impressive first date material destination.
Address: 421 Rue Saint-Vincent, Old Montreal
Why It Made the Cut: Probably the most well-known rooftop terrace in the city. The 8th-floor views cover the Old Port, the river, and the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. The cocktail program is strong, and the atmosphere walks a good line between relaxed and sharp. If you only do one rooftop this summer, this is the one.
2. Terrasse Nelligan
Best For: Mediterranean plates with a DJ set. The sunset does the work for you here.
Vibe Check: Fifth-floor rooftop at Hôtel Nelligan. 180-degree Old Port views. DJs play Thursday through Sunday.
Address: 106 Rue Saint-Paul Ouest, Old Montreal
Why It Made the Cut: Views nearly as good as William Gray, the food leans Mediterranean, and the DJ nights give it a different energy later in the week. One of the few rooftops where you can have a proper sit-down meal and still feel like you’re out for the night.
3. Terrasse Alizé
Best For: Poolside cocktails nine floors up. Mediterranean menu, good drinks, skyline in every direction.
Vibe Check: Luxury rooftop at Hôtel Humaniti Montréal. There’s a pool. There are lounge chairs. Feels like you left the city for somewhere warmer.
Address: 340 Rue De la Gauchetière Ouest, Downtown
Why It Made the Cut: Terrase Alizé is the terrasse that makes your Instagram followers ask where you went. Ninth floor, poolside, downtown skyline behind you. The food holds up and the cocktails are interesting without being gimmicky. A splurge, but summer is short.
4. Taverne Atlantic
Best For: Pizza, natural wine, and a rooftop in Mile-Ex that doesn’t feel like a hotel lobby.
Vibe Check: Super cool neighbourhood rooftop. No dress code. The crowd is local and the energy is loose.
Address: 6512 Avenue du Parc, Mile-Ex
Why It Made the Cut: Tastet called it “one of the coolest terraces in Montreal” and it’s hard to argue. It feels like someone put a great bar on a roof in your neighbourhood. Pizza, beer, natural wine, cocktails. Covers all the bases without trying too hard.
By the water: canal-side and floating bars
5. Terrasse St-Ambroise
Best For: World-famous craft beer and wood-fired pizza on picnic tables along the Lachine Canal. You can bike there.
Vibe Check: McAuslan Brewery’s summer patio. Bring your dog, bring your kids, wear your flip-flops. This is where Saint-Henri flocks to when the sun comes out.
Address: 5080 Rue Saint-Ambroise, Saint-Henri
Why It Made the Cut: If you’ve lived in Montreal for more than one summer, you’ve been here. Terrasse St-Ambroise is right on the canal, the beer is brewed on-site, and the pizza is solid. Gets packed fast on weekends, so go early or go on a Tuesday.
6. Messorem Bracitorium
Best For: Milkshake IPAs with a following. Rotating food trucks. One of the largest terrasses in the city.
Vibe Check: Industrial brewery in the Sud-Ouest with a huge outdoor space. You show up for one beer and leave three hours later.
Address: 2233 Rue Pitt, Sud-Ouest
Why It Made the Cut: The terrasse is huge. Their impressive beer list rotates constantly and their milkshake IPAs have people who specifically seek them out. Food trucks cycle through so there’s always something different on the menu. Added bonus, it’s a short walk from Terrasse St-Ambroise, which makes the whole canal corridor a full afternoon!
7. Canal Lounge
Best For: Spritzes on a boat. Literally.
Vibe Check: A floating bar on a riverboat docked along the Lachine Canal near Atwater Market. Retro and charming. Nothing else on this list is quite like it.
Address: Atwater Pier, Atwater Market area (Opens May 19)
Why It Made the Cut: You’re on the roof deck of a riverboat, drinking a spritz, watching the canal. Nobody needs convincing. The Atwater Market location means you can grab groceries first and then float for a while. Get there before the word gets out.
8. Riverside St-Henri
Best For: Colourful benches, golden hour, and a view of the Canada Malting silos. Bring your dog.
Vibe Check: Big, lively terrasse with South American-inspired food. A dog walks by every two minutes and everyone’s happy about it.
Address: 5020 Rue Saint-Ambroise, Saint-Henri
Why It Made the Cut: Riverside has one of the biggest and most colourful patios along the canal. The old malting silos and Maison Rose give it a backdrop you won’t find elsewhere. South American food, casual prices, dogs welcome. Hard to beat on a warm evening.
Hidden in plain sight: the garden terrasses
9. Jardin Nelson
Best For: Live jazz in a courtyard garden behind Place Jacques-Cartier.
Vibe Check: Leafy patio hidden behind the building. French-inspired menu. You hear the jazz before you see the terrace.
Address: 407 Place Jacques-Cartier, Old Montreal
Why It Made the Cut: Jardin Nelson has been around long enough that it shouldn’t still feel like a discovery, but it does. The garden feels completely removed from the tourist traffic a few steps away on Jacques-Cartier. Daily live jazz, French-leaning food, and a canopy of leaves overhead. One of the few Old Montreal spots locals actually go back to.
10. Café Santropol
Best For: The most overgrown, charming garden patio on the Plateau. Open since 1976.
Vibe Check: Mismatched furniture, plants spilling over everything, the kind of backyard that makes you forget what time it is.
Address: 3990 Rue Saint-Urbain, Plateau
Why It Made the Cut: Santropol has been running its garden patio for five decades and it still catches people off guard. The backyard is walled in by greenery and feels nothing like the Plateau streets outside. Coffee, sandwiches, and the sense that you found something most people walk right past.
11. Le Vin Papillon
Best For: Natural wine on a wooden terrace behind the Joe Beef empire.
Vibe Check: The biergarten out back is called “Joe Beach.” Long picnic tables, natural wines, a menu that changes all the time.
Address: 2519 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Little Burgundy
Why It Made the Cut: Part of the Joe Beef family, but the back terrace has its own thing going on. The wine list is excellent, the small plates are sharp, and the biergarten feels like a backyard party where the host happens to run one of Montreal’s best known restaurants.
12. Le Sainte-Élisabeth
Best For: Craft beers in an ivy-covered courtyard you’d never find on your own.
Vibe Check: Hidden garden pub off Sainte-Catherine in the Quartier Latin. Ivy climbs the walls. The city noise disappears.
Address: 1412 Rue Sainte-Élisabeth, Quartier Latin
Why It Made the Cut: Le Sainte-Élisabeth is the kind of bar you walk into and immediately text someone about. The ivy-covered courtyard is genuinely hidden. You have to know it’s there. Good beer selection, low-key crowd, and a patio that feels twice as far from Sainte-Catherine as it actually is.
The Neighbourhood Spots You Keep Going Back To
13. Réservoir Brasserie
Best For: House-brewed beer on yellow picnic tables with a view down Duluth.
Vibe Check: Plateau rooftop brewery. Bright, casual, gets loud on a good night. The terrace fills up by 6.
Address: 9 Avenue Duluth Est, Plateau
Why It Made the Cut: Réservoir brews its own beer and has one of the better low-key terrasses on the Plateau. The bright yellow picnic tables overlooking Duluth are a summer fixture. Show up, grab a pint, stay as long as you want. Nobody’s rushing you.
14. La Buvette Chez Simone
Best For: Wine on a summer evening in Mile-Ex. The terrace that starts your night.
Vibe Check: Green and yellow furniture. Natural wine bar energy. People are here because they want to be, not because they’re killing time before a reservation.
Address: 4869 Avenue du Parc, Mile-Ex
Why It Made the Cut: Buvette Chez Simone is a Montreal summer fixture. The wine list is well put together, the terrace has a warmth to it, and you’ll show up for one glass and leave two hours later wondering where the evening went. Good starting point for a Mile-Ex crawl.
15. Le Majestique
Best For: Oysters and cocktails on a 60-seat terrace on The Main.
Vibe Check: Eclectic “Ali Baba’s cave” decor inside. Buzzy sidewalk terrace outside. The oyster bar pulls a crowd.
Address: 4105 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Plateau
Why It Made the Cut: Sixty seats on Saint-Laurent is a whole lotta terrace. Le Majestique fills them because the oyster bar is legit, the cocktails are actually thought through, and the whole thing lands somewhere between a nice dinner and a great night out. The interior is worth a look too, one of the more interesting rooms on The Main.
Now Go Find Your Spot
We have only just served up fifteen of the top terrasses across Old Montreal, the Plateau, Saint-Henri, Mile-Ex, Little Burgundy, the Quartier Latin, Downtown, and the Sud-Ouest. Rooftops, canals, gardens, wine bars, and a floating boat. We have set the table but now it’s your turn to draw your own conclusions.
Get out there and find your spot. Report back to the class — or on our Facebook page!
Montreal gives you about five months of real patio weather. That’s not a lot. So, don’t waste those idyllic days at the wrong table.
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