"So goodbye yellow brick road Where the dogs of society…read morehowl" (Elton John) The SAQ stands for the Société des Alcools du Québec. It's the network of government-run liquor stores in Quebec. It manages the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages across the province and operates its own retail stores. We were fortunate enough to win a gift card to SAQ at a charity event last week, so one of our final visits in Montreal was to walk over to this small store at the Place D'Armes and pick up whatever we could for our C$50 prize. Although the store wasn't very large it was very neat and fully stocked, with prices clearly marked for every bottle and can in the store. One of their sales associates was very friendly and helped us find what we were looking for. I'm a big Bloody Mary fan, and from previous trips to Canada knew that "Bloody Caesars" are favored up here. The differ from a Bloody Mary by using Clamato juice instead of a tomato juice base. So, when I saw a shelf with plenty of Clamato choices, I knew one would be coming home with me. I selected a 16 ounce can of Clamato Caesar "With the Works" (Le Tour Garni) with extra spices, seasonings, hot sauce and horseradish (C$3.80). We rounded out our purchase with a bottle of Cliff 79 Shiraz (C$11.75), a bottle of Folonari Pinot Grigio (C$14.95), a bottle of Casa Santos Sangria (C$12.45), and a nifty little branded tote bag for (C$2.95). The only down note of our visit concerned a bottle of SIVO blueberry liqueur I had hoped to buy. I had some at a social function on Thursday night and liked it so much I took a photo of the bottle. When I showed the photo to the sales associate, he not only told me they didn't carry it, but he also told me it was just syrup, and not alcoholic. He said any grocery store would have it. I learned that he was wrong, it is an alcoholic product made in a Canadian distillery.

Excellent selection and what seems like decent prices. I found what I went for: maple whiskey and…read moremaple cream liqueur.

Actually pretty damn impressed with this place…read more Came here a few months ago w my gf's lookin for a nice place to grab a drink...it was around midnight and packed to the entrance which made us turn right back around n we left without ordering. This time we made a reservation for 30 ppl for 7pm. So we were the ones making it packed lol. Far more enjoyable when you know all the people ur bumping into all night. There were still plenty of other tables and people but our group dominated being so many. The menu was disappointing...i like having a lot of choices and this menu does not offer that. But. The choices that are available are allllllll incredible! And all reasonably priced. One of my friends tried the onion soup which he said was almost as good as his mother's, almost. Another group of friends tried the 3 different platters offered: varieties of cheese, charcuterie and terrines respectively, also thoroughly enjoyed and portions were decent for the price. Most of us ordered pizzas for dinner dressed as per our liking (see photos of menus i took)...i had brie and bacon on my pizza and it was fabbbbbbbuuuuuuu! I tried a bite of my friend's faux filet steak too which was so unbelievably tender! There was a singer for the evening...but while he was very good he was also pretty lazy IMO. He would play one or 2 songs then disappear for about an hour then play another song or 2... It's a shame cuz he was really good, I woulda tipped u quite decent Félix had u kept playing, u missed out! The decor was nice, there's an old skool pew at the entrance and other religious relics about...but weirdly mixed in with modern and un-related styles too ...so I duno what to take from that... (ex row of beer bottles around the ceiling, industrial style pipes, wood walls, poster of big lips from like the 90s in men's bathroom...i duno...inconsistent i guess), but still nice. Don't dress too fancy to come here cuz you'll feel outta place. Our waitress deserves such big props: Elizabeth u were phenomenal my lovely lil alcohol ninja u!! (Ever seen a glass of wine appear outta nowhere?! I have.) she kept everything going smoothly: not one of our group of 30 was anything but highly impressed with her! Only downside was one of my glasses of wine cost me 13$!!! But was a fairly large glass so again cant complain too much. Definitely going back for sure!

Great food! Great ambiance! Staff is fun but a little loud, crowded and too busy on fri-say nights…read more Did I mention the food is great?? Decent choice of beers with the local microbrewery on the menu. Live bands some night. Only downside is the over crowdedness (victim of its popularity) and the too loud noise. Definitely recommended!

Safe choice, easy in and out for a craft beer and a slice of cheese…read more It can get pricy, because it's alcohol and hand portion cheese. The thing I liked was that since it's mostly all from around the province. It makes us consider going to the brewery if the beer was good. But I think it was it's limitation for me. My BF was hesitating between 2 beer and I told him, take option 2, option 1 is from the ruisseau noir in Terrebonne, we could go directly. Going on site to enjoy the product for me is part of the fun. So that's why I can't fully go 5 stars. But I can understand the need and that's why I can't knock it. Ask the staff for recommendations, they know their stuff.

How I wish we could have cheese and beer stores where I'm from. Got coffee, fondue, cheese, beer,…read morewine, cider and grilled cheese sandwiches to go!

As a grocery store it isn't very much. It's the kind of shop you go to if you live nearby and need…read moreone or two things. I wouldn't count on finishing my shopping list here. So why four stars then? It all boils down to their craft beer selection which is fantastic. I even found the St-Ambroise Maple Ale here in July which is quite exceptional considering they only brew it in springtime. The selection will totally please the craft beer lover in you.

Amazing selection of craft beers. This place is stacked, and a beer lover's dream…read more I would say if you don't already know everything you need to know about Quebec beers, do a little research beforehand. The selection can be overwhelming!

Great little shop with great selection of wine, beer, and food items. Friendly help. Delicious…read moreolives and baguettes! Will definitely be back!

A small beer/wine shop that has quite a great selection. My husband and I stumbled upon this place…read morebefore dinner and felt so compelled to make a stop. The store clerk was very nice and friendly. My husband ended up buying a few beers we wanted to take back with us to the US and the guy there offered to store them for us so we could go get dinner and not to worry about dragging them a long with us. Don't worry if you don't speak French. They could switch to English once they realized you aren't a local. There are some snacks and cheese available here as well. Pretty stuff you can pair with beer or wine. When we came back from dinner to pick up the beers, I asked for some non-alcohol drinks. For that, I had to walk the stairs down to their basement (not creepy, it's pretty cool because you could see the outside through the big windows). Happy to say that Canadian root beer was pretty good!

With a name like House of Beers (translated of course), you might expect there to be quite the…read moreselection of chips, no silly -- beer, and they don't disappoint in that category. It may be one of the most diverse selections of single can offerings I've ever encountered in the realm of specialty beer stores. That being said, they do also have a nice selection of snacks (which do include chips) and other related beverages like artisanal root beers, ciders and the like. The shop has a bit of a rustic saloon feel from what I can remember on a quick visit at night. Another quick notable is the person behind the counter was quite friendly and say them helping another customer with their selection among the various rows of shelves and beer fridges lining certain walls. The only negative is that the prices did seem on the high side (and I tried to find exceptions), even for specialty bottles and cans that are known not to come in at run-of-the-mill brand prices. I also didn't notice anything on promotion and seemed most were at the retail price. In a beer keg shell -- great selection, cool ambiance, neatly kept, but boohoo pretty pricey.

This is NOT an inexpensive store, you're getting high end beers at relatively high prices…read more I gave the employee the ability to pick out six different beers for me and he hit it out of the park on five of them (the sixth was very good, but not amazing). I wish I could (legally) bring twenty or thirty bottles back with me into the USA every time I visit my daughter at McGill! Looking forward to my next visit to this fine establishment.

Good beers, good food. Service is attentive and amiable, and most of the staff seemed very…read morecomfortable with English, which is nice if your Francais isn't so bien. They make an impressive variety of beer onsite, and I enjoyed all of the ones I tried. Some of their beers include stouts, cream ales, hefeweizens, and kolsch, along with the standard IPAs available. Fun atmosphere with good music adds to the experience. Kids are welcome, too.

Very good. Live music on Thursday was nice. I would go back. Food was good, service was a little on…read morethe slow side but not bad.

Happened to pop in twice with two different types of crowds…read more First night came in with my younger cousins and sat at the bar. Rest of the family was home cooking dinner so we were really just grabbing a beverage and an app to split. There was live music, had a very difficult time understanding what he was singing even though we knew the songs. Bartender was very chill and did a great job. Place was busy so reservations would be ideal rather than popping in. Second night the other half of my family came for dinner. We had an appetizer of buffalo cauliflower which was good. I enjoyed my shepherds pie, grandfather liked his fish & chips (which I seen a lot of people order the night before). My uncle had chicken wings while my cousin had chicken sandwich, both were pleased with their meals as well. I imagine there is a lot of traffic from the hotel in the same plaza. Parking can be very difficult later in the evening. One thing that aggravated me was the lack of care to keep a clean sidewalk free if ice and snow. I say this because my girlfriend is disabled and where the handicap parking spot is the ramp and the sidewalk leading to the main entrance was covered in snow. Not only that anyone who is elderly would have difficulties walking as well.

MC is the best! Wonderful selection on tap, super comfortable and casual. Hope to visit again soon!read more

Belle microbrasserie assez grande à l'intérieur ( je suggère de réserver !), et avec une grande…read moreterrasse à l'extérieur. Excellent service et excellente bières en fut. J'ai dégusté un fish and chips qui n'avait ruen à envier à tous ceux que j'ai déjà dégusté, la panure est légère et le poisson gouteux, les frites était ok et la salade très bonne. J'ai bien aimé leurs bière rousse

Had a fantastic meal here with my cousin and his wife. Our food was amazing! Fun, energetic…read moreatmosphere! Attentive and knowledgeable waitress!

Lots of saq are running low on bottles, the large 40 oz or even simple good wines. This place…read morewasn't huge but wasn't the best saq I've been to. Sometimes it's nice to have help on the floor but this location was pretty quiet. Quick in and out but crappy thing the email I got said I would get extra points didn't say when so when I went to saq she said it started Friday. Not her fault but that's the location I went to after getting the email. Tricky

Outside of two traumatizing experiences related to language (English / French) it has always been a…read moregood experience shopping at the Morin Heights SAQ. One such experience was when a customer flew into a huge rage because English was being spoken in the store. The other very recent experience unfortunately came from an employee I'd never seen there before. He said something very fast in French as a customer was entering the store. She did not understand him and she just nodded and continued toward the interior of the shop. He kept shouting the words in French until the customer asked if he spoke English. He angrily explained that he needed to see proof of vaccination. He went on to accuse the customer of ignoring people who speak French. The customer apologized at least three times and even said that she appreciated that vaccination proof was required. The man never accepted or replied to the apology. Each time she apologized he continued in silence to give the customer a very angry expression and this made the customer cry.