The Best Places to Drink in Quebec City

The circular brass bar in the Château Frontenac's turret room looks out over the St. Lawrence, and local lore has Churchill plotting Allied strategy in this same spot, Scotch and cigar in hand. The cocktail bar has moved on: seasonal drinks draw from Canadian literature and local ingredients like maple gum and verjus from Île d'Orléans. The whisky list alone has grown considerably since Churchill's Johnnie Walker days.

A cocktail menu built around the golden age of travel sets the tone at this small, intimate bar tucked down a quiet Saint-Roch side street. The drinks lean theatrical, the food leans oceanic, and the whole operation treats oyster shots and caviar as completely normal bar snacks, which they are here. Weekends tip festive; the room is elegant enough that nobody feels overdressed for ordering well.

The garden terrace is what people come for: a sprawling, vine-tangled outdoor spot on Rue Saint-Jean that fills up fast once temperatures climb. When they drop, a demountable wooden lattice structure folds over the space so the drinking continues at -25°C, which feels appropriately committed for Quebec City. Inside, the heritage building keeps things rustic and comfortably worn-in, a neighborhood bar that never feels like it's trying.