Big in Japan Bar in Montreal

I'm not sure what the negative reviews are about. Went with a group of 3 on a Sunday and had no wait time and no neurotic manager. Maybe they don't work there anymore? On the expensive side but you pay for ambience.

Love this speakeasy. Drinks are good. Prices are average, like 13$ for a cocktail. Great for after work drinks but better for dates. Dim lighting, jazzy music. Very new York underground style with the waiters in the center and seating around. 4 or so small items you can get to nibble on, but don't come here expecting to eat, they have a restaurant a few blocks down actually.

A favourite of mine in the city. Cozy, good service, and great drinks.

is hard to find the door, but once you go through hallway you'll discover an intimate environment full of candles and a sweet smell of herbs. Great mix of darkness and light. The design is great!!! The drink are tasteful!! You have to try it. Do not forget that the black door that looks like nothing is the entrance for a complete new experience in a bar. Cheers!!!

Professional staff and great service. Super cozy atmosphere.

Candles are nice, drinks were alright. Unfortunately the vibe from the staff that wafted through the place forced us to finish our drinks as quickly as possible and get out. We left feeling uncomfortable about our experience. If you want a hidden speakeasy bar with fantastic drinks and amazing service, go to The Coldroom. Unfortunately Big in Japan is not really worth the visit.

Best old fashion I've had. Absolutely love the secret entrance. Makes for a great date

Went to Big in Japan last night and received absolutely terrible service. Our waitress brought our first two drinks (total of 15$), I gave her 20$ and she didn't even bother bringing back the change! When we finished our drinks, about 20 minutes later, I asked her if she had forgotten to bring back the change and she simply said no. I asked for my change, left her nothing and left. Since when do waiters give themselves tips!?

Devine space, great cocktails. Just find the lost door and enter...

Super cool bar, with cool and efficient service from well dressed bartenders. The cocktail list isn't too large, but I had the traveler and it was pretty good. Maybe not the top level of craft cocktails, but the setting makes up for it.

Love this place! From the secret entry leading to the classy decor inside to the fab drinks and snacks food available! Perfect for romantic couples as well as group 5 @ 7 ;)

Drinks are just mediocre, but it's got a cool ambience and layout.

Speakeasy style bar. Can be a little bit hard to find as there is no sign whatsoever on the door. The inside is lit with hundreds of little candles which makes it looks so pretty and warming. The cocktails were good and so was the service! The bartender girl was really kind and cheerful. Highly recommend

Unique bar located in a basement area with personal bottles for the regulars suspended from the ceiling.

Hard to find how to enter this place at first but other than that this place is gorgeous. It is a small place with cute little candles. The decoration is really adorable. I think it is a really good place for a date.

Best drinks we had out of the handful of cocktail places we went to. Very cool decor, friendly service.

If you didn't know there was a bar at this address you would totally miss it, there's no sign on the door or any indication that this plain, slightly shabby looking black door would lead to such an awesome place.Really cool atmosphere, great music, amazing drinks (reasonably priced too), and very professional staff. You'll want to leave the jeans at home for this one, business casual or a little fancier seems to be the typical dress here.Also probably best to avoid coming here with a large party of people, when this place fills up it stays full for quite a while, but parties of two (i.e. couples) seem to have an easier time getting in when a couple seats free up.If you're bringing a date ask for a seat at the back bar ;)

This was a wonderful place, right when you sit down you feel like you're sitting on your own little plane of existence. Enter though the door and walk down the hall into this superb bar were you'll be greated by a friendly staff member. They have a great Japanese whiskey selection and my favorite Japanese beer asaki.

Really intemporal setting for an elevated date. There's space to talk and feel intimate but everyone seats around an intricate open bar where the professional waiters come to check on you and advise you on their best drinks. The drinks are delicious, sophisticated and classy. It's a bit expensive but really worth it once you see the amount of care and details that went into making this mysterious bar one of the top places to go to on Saint-Laurent if you want to show something new and a bit magical to someone who's dear to you.

This bar loved up to the hype of being cool. Almost too much, haha. Our waitress was attentive and had excellent reccomednations and the space was beautiful. I'd reccomend seeking it out for a pre or post dinner cocktail.

Really nice hidden bar, the ambiance is amazing, friendly service and delicious drinks.

Really cool spot that be hard to find, look for the door with small window that leads to a long hallway. Through there you will find a great spot to grab a drink, or grab a bottle that you can save for next time. Chill speak easy atmosphere with great service awaits you here.

Smells likes candles. Obviously. Our waitress was super courteous.

Unique atmosphere with jazz music and interesting layout

Great atmosphere with that isn't too dark like some speak easies. Fun cocktails that are made with care. Unique setup that I've never seen before. I enjoyed the rum sour.

Gorgeous place, great staff and good drinks. Not cheap but definitely worth it for a special occasion :)

Excellent bar for dates or business meetings, unless you know where to look you would never know this little gem even exists. Service can be a little bit slow sometimes when it's really busy but it's always top notch service. The drinks are very high quality and the bottle concept they have is a very unique one. I love visiting this place whenever I am in Montreal and have some extra time. The design and ambiance inside is very modern while having traditional touches in terma of materials used and layout. Extremely relaxing, laid back and upscale at the same time.

This place is the definition of a date night spot. Amazing cocktails. Definitely go there if you already had dinner.

Love visiting this speakeasy every time I am in Montreal. Super low key spot with some of the best cocktails. The owner came and chatted with us and recommended some amazing brunch spots for us to check out the next day. No seating is bad- we were in the back bar area and watching the bartenders at work was a truly amazing experience.

Bar is relatively small but makes it very intimate to have a 1 on 1 conversation. Really enjoyed their tataki dish, nicely seared around the perimeter and fresh salad to go along with it. As you can tell from the photos, this bar has a very nice ambiance and is reasonably priced. Hit the jackpot on my 1st visit because we didn't have to wait in line. Great time.

Big in Japan was the highlight of our weekend in Montreal. This hole in the wall speakeasy produced some amazing cocktails that didn't rely on sugary syrups to be delicious. The bar has an intimate vibe and is perfect for one-on-one conversations. Our server was knowledgable and attentive, and was quickly able to pick up on our tastes and provide recommendations.

Amazing ambiance beyond an unassuming door. The bar space is beautiful and sparsely lit, drawing your eye to your drink and your company. For a place to sit down and enjoy oneself, the space itself is definitely worth it.The menu did highlight some Japanese whiskey and sochu options, all of which were great, but I felt the variety was bit lacking if you compare the selection to comparable whiskey bars. Other liquors are available, but most are imported from the United States. I hadn't had a chance to sample their mixed drinks on this visit, but I imagine they are too notch definitely worth the visit to drink somewhere beautiful.

A little hard to find but I guess that's the point (and part of the charm). Great drinks at reasonable prices. Worth checking out for the ambiance and experience. Not personally a huge fan of the whole "speakeasy" thing but it definitely beats going to a typical, noisy bar or club

Atmosphere was very nice! Candles and the idea of a “hidden bar” was very interesting. drinks were good, however staff and waitress was very rude and made us feel very out of place!

I was bummed out about this place. The atmosphere seemed cool, but in reality the bar had what appeared to be tons of mold underneath the glass. The service was average and the drink was below average for the price point.

Supremely nice decor and environment. Alright list of bar features and options. Extremely adaptable staff. Be careful in groups and of the bottle pricing unless you're a regular! Def stop by if it's 1 or 2 mf you're looking for one of the nicest places to chill in the Montreal nightlife.

Amazing speakeasy cocktail bar serving up all the right ingredients.

Very cool place. I love the atmosphere and the service is very professional.

Speakeasy bar with candlelit long bar tables. Nice employees and very intimate. A little on the pricier side, but that’s expected for this kind of place!

Really nice and classy! It's just a little expensive but I think it's worth it for a more "fancy" experience.

Came here a little after midnight for one last drink with friends on a Friday night. We were greeted at the door (by a very nice looking and friendly gentleman) and asked to wait outside just a minute. Then we were motioned to walk down a hallway into a gorgeous, modern bar space but due to limited seating we sat at a more vintage-like bar in the back. I enjoyed this a bit more because we were able to watch the bartenders at work which I always find intriguing. The cocktail I ordered had a sake base and was absolutely delicious. I would certainly recommend this spot if you're looking for a nice drink in an upscale atmosphere.

Big in Japan is an overrated ultra-pretentious bar. Go here if you want to see what it's like to be negged by an underpaid waiter fumbling to make a $25 martini.

Great atmosphere! The small bites are a perfect pairing with the drink offerings. A really cool place to catch up with friends or cozy conversation with a date.

Great ambiance, Excellent service. Try there old fashion

Always great! Quiet if you go at 5pm, more crowded around 7pm and totally jammed after 10pm. Choose your style. Drinks are just pwrfet

Fun spot! Super yummy exotic drinks with great decor and ambiance. The bartenders are fantastic too, so friendly. Big recommend!

What an amazing fine Japanese whiskey bar, hidden behind an nondescript black door on the Boul St. Laurent. The selection is fantastic and the ambiance sublime; perfectly laid back and romantic and so much more than a speakeasy. One of the great whiskey bars.

Cool bar with no signage made me feel like I was living in a movie where these things actually exist. We waited maybe 20 minutes to get in and people who walked by asked us what we were waiting for. I personally love interiors that are dimly lit, so the decor was right up my alley. I don't think this place is good for groups though. It'd be good for two people though.

Horrible experience. Sent corporate clients there because of decent reviews. They were asked to wait outside for over 15 minutes while people coming out said the place was half empty. Called Andre the manager who was not helpful and claimed he was at capacity. This line people up outside thing is for teenagers not big spending corporate clients. Will not recommend this amateur spot again.

Great drinks, cool.ambiance. Everything is lit by candles. Chairs a bit uncomfortable, and air conditioning was a bit high. Lost a star there. But other wise pretty nifty place.