Normandie — Restaurant in Montreal

Came to visit for the first time and the bartender was not very nice. I ordered one beer, paid with card, and left a cash tip on the counter for him. I wasn’t sitting at the bar, but when I got another drink, the same bartender told me “by the way, service charge is not included in the price” to which I replied “what are you talking about? I left a tip for you on the counter” and a small exchange ensued. And even if that was the case, tips are optional and dependent on how you feel the service went! I do it because you look like an a-hole if you don’t, and because tips make up most of a service worker’s salary - it’s ultimately an issue with the employer not paying a living wage, but I won’t get into that now. I got another drink, and gave the bartender (skinny scruffy dude with a short Mohawk?) another tip, but I mentioned that I was offended by the exchange. Shortly after that and while I’m already drinking my beer, he said he felt bad for his service and actually rejected the second tip I personally handed him. He actually put the tip back on the table and pushed it towards me. I pushed it back and he kept pushing the tip back towards me. I found that even more offensive honestly, and the whole vibe was just awkward afterwards. The other bartended took the tip eventually (one with piercings/gauges), but it was just such an unnecessary exchange. I’m familiar with tipping culture coming from the USA, and I wish it had not gone this way but it did. Safe to say I probably won’t return on my next visit to Montreal. A simple misunderstanding turned into drama because the bartender was not fully aware of what’s going on and busy taking shots with...

Bar tender with the earrings and beard needs to get over his own entitlement, usually when I’m paying with card I either leave a small or no tip then just set down some change so after I had received my drinks I went back and sat down, bar tender took time out of his shift to come up to me and tell me that service charge was not included in drink prices and that he would not serve me for the rest of the night. The other bar tender was great, he made sure I was well taken care of got my drinks quickly and had recognized me when I came up to the bar the second time made sure the other guy had me taken care of and was just wonderful to speak with I left him a cash tip on my way out shortly after the exchange with the beard and earring bartender. I had no intentions of staying after getting personally insulted and cutoff for leaving cash on the counter when paying card. Atmosphere other than that was good the people are respectful and it’s a fun place to be. I understand tips make up a large part of the service industry but this isn’t the US. Canadians make a living wage even if it’s minimum but as a bartender I know they make at leave 22$ an hour, their job is to serve you and to do it in a respectful and reasonable manner and sometimes it just doesn’t deserve a 20% tip for filling a glass, though tips are the respectful thing to do to come off as a decent person they are not required and as a girl on her own in the bar I felt rather unsafe after...

I’ve been going to this karaoke bar on and off for the past 20 years and have had a lot of amazing nights here. I hadn’t been back in about 10 years and was really hoping to find that same fun, welcoming vibe I remembered. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

I waited two and a half hours to sing, and when I finally got my turn, the whole place lit up—people who were outside even came back in to join the party. Later in the night, I tried to join a friend on stage for a duet, and the host wouldn’t allow it because I had already performed. I got on stage anyway—because it’s a duet, and because karaoke is supposed to be fun. Instead, I got muted mid-song.

What made it even more disappointing is that my friend was visiting the Gay Village for the first time, and I really wanted her to feel the warmth and energy this place used to be known for. That moment did the opposite.

I understand wanting to keep things organized, but it felt less about fairness and more about control. Like… just because you’ve been on TV doesn’t mean you need to take it that seriously. It’s karaoke. Let people enjoy themselves.

This bar has meant a lot to me over the years, and I hope this was just an off night—not a sign of where things...