A little up and down, but overall a nice place

Chez Paree is another club in downtown Montreal. It's located half a block down Stanley street which comes off the main road, Saint Catherine. Perhaps being off the main street is why it has room for an actual marquee, unlike places like Club Downtown that are just doors. Chez Paree is also at ground level, rather than up a long flight of stairs. The cover charge was $5 (Canadian, of course). The bouncer/host took me to a table and was fairly pushy about a tip being "appreciated", apparently for the service of walking with me into a room with lots of empty spaces and pointing out an available table. He seemed happy with a $5, which was more than I felt like giving him but tossing him coins didn't seem polite either.

The club is a little larger than Club Downtown. Immediately on the right when you enter is a step up to a bar area. Ahead there is seating and then a stage in the middle of the rectangular room, with another bar along the left wall. There's more seating behind the stage, with tables far enough away that you wouldn't really see very well. In the back left corner is a small hallway with half a dozen video poker machines, with an optimistic neon sign reading "Casino" above it. The stage is modestly, but adequately sized, with chairs all around it. The poles aren't very tall, however, and limited some of the acrobatic potential. Up just a few steps and behind the left-side bar is the lap dance area. There was another small bar there, but there was never anyone working (or sitting) there during my visits. The seats weren't great. They were in fine shape (not run down or broken), but were just simple padded seats and a metal tube back - not as comfortable as more lounge-like chairs I've found elsewhere.

There were no signs about a drink minimum, but the waitress acted surprised and asked if I had just arrived when I asked for a Coke, giving me the impression I was supposed to buy something more. But she didn't give me any actual problems. The Coke (and the bottle of water I got later) was $8. The waitresses here were among the least attractive of any strip club I've visited. They weren't unpleasant by any means, but most clubs seem to have pretty hot wait staff (sometimes better than the dancers) and here that was definitely not the case. They were attentive, however, and hustled through the room making frequent eye contact and check-ins to make sure I had whatever drinks I wanted.