Alfred and I were in Montreal over the Easter holiday and decided to check out the salsa scene there. I did some research on the internet to find out where all the salseros and salseras were on each night. This is what I found:
Mondays: 737′ Rooftop Terrasse of highest skyscraper (Place Ville Marie, downtown) from May to September
Tuesdays: The Living, (St-Laurent and Mont-Royal) very nice and cosy area, with the Cactus crowd shifting from these 2 places depending on which club is open
Wednesdays: Karina’s (Crescent and Maisonneuve) above Winnie’s also very nice and lots of good dancers, Jell-O bar Ontario and St-denis which often features a live band
Thursday thru Saturday: Cactus, Cubano’s and Salsatheque
Sunday: Salsatheque, Cubano’s, and 6/49
If you would like a listing of all the salsa clubs available in Montreal (with the addresses), here’s a good link: http://www.salsapower.com/cities/canada/montreal.htm
Since we were staying downtown and the only available night we had to go dancing was Sunday, we decided to check out 6/49 and Salsatheque. They are around the corner from each other (less than 5 min walk), making it very convenient to hop from one club to the next.
It was already midnight by the time we arrived at 6/49 but at least we got to see what the club looked like. 6/49 is apparently known to have very very good dancers there on Sundays and you’ll occasionally see people dancing Casino Rueda. There’s no entry fee but you do have to pay for coat check. The interior has a lot of dark wood, pretty big dance floor, and attentive staff.
We then walked over to Salsatheque just to check it out. There are bright pink neon lights showing the entrance to the club. Music here is a mixture of salsa, merengue, bachata, and reggaeton. To me, this club felt a little seedier than 6/49. Probably because we got there around 1am and the salsa crowd had been slowly replaced with clubbers and scantily clad women as the night wore on. No entry fee either, just coat check. I can’t comment too much on this club yet because we came at such a late time but I think its one worth visiting if you’re in Montreal.
The next time I’m in Montreal, I’d like to check out Cubano’s and Cactus. These two are also highly popular salsa clubs amongst Montreal’s salseros. Check out Cactus on a Thursday and Cubano’s on a Saturday. Till then, see you on the dancefloor!
