March 15, 2026
The Best Rooftop Terraces in Montréal
By the Terrasse Season team
People from Miami or Barcelona don't understand why Montréalers make such a thing about rooftop terraces. They have outdoor drinking 365 days a year. They've been desensitized.
We haven't.
Six months of winter will do that. You come back to a rooftop in May or June and it hits you in a way that's genuinely difficult to explain to anyone who spent the winter somewhere reasonable. The St. Lawrence out there. The city below you. A cold beer. The feeling that you made it.
The rooftop scene here is smaller than the city's overall terrace culture. Most outdoor drinking in Montréal happens at street level, which is actually how it should be, which is actually better. But there are good options if you know what you're looking for.
The hotel rooftops
Old Montréal has a cluster of these attached to boutique hotels. Cocktails, good views, polished service. They tend toward the upscale end, which makes them a great call for a special occasion, out-of-town guests, or when someone else is paying.
The converted rooftops
Bars and restaurants that took a building top and turned it into something real, with no particular effort to make it look designed. String lights, mismatched furniture, a bar that works. These places tend to have better prices and crowds that actually live here.
The ones you have to find
A terrace above a Plateau restaurant that doesn't advertise itself. A rooftop in the Latin Quarter that fits maybe forty people and has been there for years without a PR campaign. These are the ones worth the effort.
Terrasse William Gray
Eight floors up on Hotel William Gray. The Old Port, the Saint-Lawrence, the Ferris wheel, the whole mess of the old city below you. Firepits when it cools. Cult MTL's 2025 reader pick. When someone visiting asks you to name a rooftop, this is the name that comes out. Usually the obvious answer is wrong. Not here.
Terrasse Nelligan
Hotel Nelligan, Rue Saint-Paul Ouest. Old enough to have regulars who've been coming for years. The mimosa brunches became an institution somewhere along the way. Views across the old city. Retractable awnings if the weather moves. Saturday mornings, show up early or call ahead.
Terrasse sur l'Auberge
Fifth floor of the Auberge du Vieux-Port, facing the river. The 2025 menu: bison tartare, grilled octopus, tuna tataki. The view doesn't need the food to justify the trip. The food is just what keeps you there past the second drink.
Terrasse Carla
Sixth floor of the Hampton Inn, Rue Saint-Laurent. Tropical vegetation, 7,000 square feet of it, the whole concept lifted from Vietnam's French colonial period. French-Vietnamese food. You expect something smaller. You get something else.
Rose Orange
44th floor of Place Ville Marie. Highest terrace in the city. Go before sunset. That's the whole instruction.
Réservoir
Craft brewery on Avenue Duluth in the Plateau. Yellow picnic tables on the roof. Nobody's trying to impress you. After enough hotel bars that all look the same, this is a relief.
Taverne Atlantic
Art Deco bar on Avenue du Parc in Mile-Ex. City views, pizza, cocktails. Cult MTL 2025 reader pick. The neighbourhood is still real in a way that most of Old Montreal gave up on years ago.
Snowbird Tiki Bar
Inside Bar Idole on Plaza Saint-Hubert, Petite-Patrie. You won't find it by accident. Tropical cocktails, pineapple glasses, decor that commits to the bit. Open until 3am on weekends. Small place. Go once and you'll understand.
Practical things: arrive earlier than you think necessary. By 7pm on a Friday in July, most good rooftops have a wait. Get there at 5, or make a reservation. Some places take them, some don't. Worth a call.
One more thing. It's windier up there than it looks from the street. Every time. Bring something for your shoulders or spend the evening cold and annoyed at yourself. Your choice.