Projet Pilote: a beautiful bar, distillery and brewery in the Plateau Mont-Royal

A large circular bar sits at the centre of the room, crowned with hanging glassware and cut through by a spiral staircase that climbs to the mezzanine, where the copper tanks work away above the tables. Behind the glass wall, the stills. On Rue Rachel Est, Projet Pilote positions itself as the only bar, microdistillery and microbrewery not only in Montreal but across the entire province.

The grain, the still and the bottle

Open since 2021, the house describes itself as “born of a love story between distilling and brewing,” and the line holds up. Head brewer Martin Allaire is behind the beers brewed on site from organic grains, enough to keep hop lovers busy for a long while. Next to them, more than 350 varieties of spirits fill the shelves, while the wine list leans organic, biodynamic and natural.

Made to measure, with or without alcohol

Bar manager Jacques Barneto started his career in flair bartending, that acrobatic bottle work performed while building cocktails, before turning to distilling. Basque by birth, he is today the creator of the Hydrolats Projet Pilote, non-alcoholic spirits sold in a great number of establishments across Quebec and Canada. He was also a finalist at the Lauriers de la gastronomie du Québec 2026 in the mixologist/bartender of the year category.

His team approaches the bar the way it would a kitchen: ultrasound, low-temperature cooking, distillates, house tinctures and bitters, every recipe made in very small quantities. Made-to-measure creations, with or without alcohol, are part of the exercise. As for the spirits of the moment, you discover them by tasting at the bar, and only there.

Bistronomy takes on Latin colours

In the kitchen, the house holds its bistronomy course and slips in accents from Latin America. The sea bass ceviche with passion fruit and coconut milk sets the tone, between seasonal products, local ingredients and flavours from elsewhere. The menu bets on in-betweens that marry appetizer and main, generous and affordable portions cut for bar food you share willingly. “Everything is made in-house and by hand,” the team sums up, from the breads to the macerations. Early in the week, a three-course table d’hôte renewed every month joins the menu, with the option of an alcoholic or non-alcoholic pairing.

A bar where you can hear yourself talk

The place is warm and intimate, quiet enough that you can hear yourself talk, which makes it as much a date night address as a meeting spot for a drink with friends. The house also programs jazz nights, and private bookings remain possible for special occasions.

We like Projet Pilote for the curiosity that runs through all of it, from grain to distillate to plate. It’s the kind of place where you order without quite knowing what’s coming, and where you’re rarely wrong to trust them. The decor holds its own against what’s in the glass, and it’s no accident that Projet Pilote appears in our list of the most beautiful bars in Montreal.

Written by Jean-Philippe Tastet
Photography by tts.mtl

Updated on August 17, 2026

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