My husband and I will be in Montreal the last week of September for the Presidents Cup. We are staying at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth along with other parents for the U.S. team. I would like to organize a "Parents Dinner". I'm looking for a place that would accomodate a large group - maybe twenty to thirty people - a casual atmosphere (maybe a sports bar?) so that we can visit with each other. I have read about the "Old Port". It sounds interesting, but is it relatively close to our hotel?

I seem to recall Bar b barns is close by - haven't been in years. Rib and Chicken place.

Hi! There is a restaurant chain in Québec called St-Hubert. It's mostly chicken, but also ribs, steak, etc. They are very good at accomodating large groups if you reserve in advance and the food, for this type of restaurant, is also good. There is a nice one not too far from your hotel on Ste-Catherine near Place-des-Arts... http://www.st-hubert.com/index2.html

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check into those.

Hello, Anne! OMG...you are Stewart Cink's Mum! This is so exciting. My son is a student @ McGill University & he & his friends will be @ The President's Cup.

Do you like Thai food? Everytime I go to Montreal to visit my son we go to Zen which is located in The Omni Hotel on Sherbrooke(not far from Fairmont QE). It is not a "sports bar" but the atmosphere is great, you cld easily visit w/ each other, Zen wld accomodate 20-30 people & the food is excellent. But, you will have to make a reservation soon b/c it is very popular.

Hello WOW! Yes, I am Stewart's "Mum". I love your enthusiasm! We are so excited about being in Montreal. We will have one whole day to see some sights. I know, that isn't much. But the Opening Ceremonies are Wed. and golf takes place Thurs thru Sunday. Those golf days are looooong days. We are at the course from dawn till dusk. Thanks for recommending Zen. I will be making this choice for a lot of people that I don't know real well. Zen sounds great, but I think I would rather stay "safe" that night and go to a steak, ribs, burger place, or a good pizza place. (We can do Zen on a night when there are just a few of us). We did this same thing at the Ryder Cup last year, in Dublin. I ended up choosing the Bad Ass Cafe (pizza). No fine cuisine, but a good safe choice for a group of people who wanted to visit with each other. Now that I think about it, I think a good pizza place would be great. We have transportation for everyone. What about the port area(?) or the "Underground". I have read about both of those and they sound fun. I know, they also sound very "touristy", but I think that is the atmosphere I want for that night. There must be a pizza place that is also a fun "destination". Thanks for helping me think this through. I hope your son has fun at the Cup.

Baton Rouge downtown is close to the Bell Center, hence the QE. The food is good, groups abound.

Mitchdesi, Baton Rouge sounds great. I looked at the menu online and it looks like they have something for everyone. With my "cajun" background, I think it sounds really good! Merci!

We will fly in on Monday and have all of Tuesday for sightseeing. We thought we would hire a guide. I know we will be limited to just a small portion of a very large city. Mount Royal and Notre Dame Cathedral are both on my list of things to see. We also love tours that give you a feel of the "neighborhoods", where the populace live. I would love to do Chinatown and Little Italy and the "underground city". Any ideas on narrowing it down and whether or not to hire a professional guide. ? We will not have a car.

Hi, Anne! How exciting! Everytime I go to Fodors, my son says "Mum is going to visit her imaginary friends!". Wait until I tell him that Steward Cink's Mum is one of my "imaginary friends"!! This is too funny.

I like Mitch's suggestion for Baton Rouge & agree w/ you that Zen wld be better for another night. I will ask my son for a great "pizza place".

One area that is "touristy" & fun is what I call "The Cobblestoned" area( Prince Arthur I think). Mitch or some other Montreal Fodorites cld tell you the name of the area...I am sure it has a name! I just follow the kids & usually don't know where I am! LOL... Hop in a cab & go! "The Cobblestoned" area has some really fun Italian & Greek restaurants. I don't have my "Montreal list" here w/ me but the last time I was in Montreal we had a great dinner @ an Italian place in "The Cobblestoned" area. I am sure they must have pizza! I will ask my son for some ideas for places that wld accomodate 20-30 people.

Hi, Anne! My son suggests PizzaDelic on St. Laurent and Gibby's for steak.

We enjoyed The Keg which I believe is very close to the Fairmont but not a cheap meal.

For a casual place that is close by as well--there is a pub we had fun in--laid back/casual and big menu....BEER...also had an upstairs...

http://www.les3brasseurs.ca/eng/index.php

we went to the St Catherine location

http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/

The Old Port area is a 20 minute walk from the QE; or a 8$ cab ride. A good dropoff location to ask for is Place d'Armes, across from the cathedral.

I personally don't think our Chinatown is worthy of a guided visit, it's dirty and quite ordinary.
It's 5 minutes away from Place d'Armes.

The cobblestoned area is Prince Arthur ; Jardin de Panos is an old standby for reasonably priced average food, there are a lot of BYOB places there.

The Keg is a national chain that does groups pretty well. Gibby's would be more upscale. I guess it depends what type of dinner the group would like;
I know that when we travel, a pizza place would not be our choice for dinner, plus you'd be in and out pretty fast, no time to visit.

I have been away on a golf trip to Daytona Beach the last three days. You guys have been busy. Lots of good reading here. Now I will research the websites and pick one of the recommendations. Thanks for the heads-up on Chinatown. The "Cobblestone Area" sounds nice. Thanks again.

Hi mitchdesi,
I know most people, when travelling to Montreal, would be looking for "fine dining". I don't think this is the night for that. Along with the parents and in-laws of the players, we will have some of the children also - some of us grandparents will be caring for the kids. This needs to be EASY. Last time we did this in Dublin, the ordering and billing were a nightmare. I'm still thinking it all through. The coordinator from the TOUR is looking into it for me also.

Hey annecink,

I definitely agree with the recommendations for Baton Rouge, the food is very good and it would be a good casual atmosphere for your group.
The Bar B Barn is also good, but I would pick Baton Rouge out of the two of them.

Layla