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| - This review will use the arbitrary rating system I use for all karaoke bars. See my lists for details.
Bar Zoé Karaoke Et Cocktails (etc.) is probably one of the best karaoke bars in Montreal. It does a lot of things really well, nothing really badly, and a few things...surprisingly--and comes on top in almost every respect.
Singing:
Zoé's singing setup is the best I've seen anywhere. Singers (up to two live microphones) have a stage to themselves next to the DJ booth, and can easily read the lyrics from two visible screens. The acoustic is set up smartly with sensitive mics, invisible but powerful monitors and good instrumental tracks. The song selection is serviceable and often includes more than one version of popular tunes. If you've picked out a duet by mistake, the DJ will sing with you, even if he doesn't know the lyrics. He's a trooper.
For the best conditions in town to absolutely destroy a song, I give Zoé's five Busted Microphones.
Booze:
This is Zoé's weakest point, which means it's merely good.
The selling point of their bar menu is obviously the cocktails, being in the business name and all. They're tasty, generally sweet items for people who prefer their poison colourful. The full list of available mixed drinks is quite exhaustive and you can expect to find something right for you. The beer, on the other hand, is somewhat disappointing, with a limited selection of somewhat overpriced brands on tap. Still, with such a solid offering, your friends will soon find it in themselves to belt out their best Sinatra.
For a great variety at the expense of decent cheap beer, Zoé receives four Bohemian Rhapsodies.
Extras:
This is where this place really shines.
Let's agree that Karaoke is a gimmick to sell alcohol to groups who normally would not be inclined to close a bar, let even go to one. Zoé recognized this and ran with it. They will gimmick the crap out of you.
Before the Karaoke starts, the bar doubles as a specialized fondue restaurant (!), and demonstrates a staggering dedication to the concept. The white tablecloths, the reusable towelettes, the wine card, the actually pretty great food and all the details I missed; it's like they're secretly ashamed of being a Karaoke bar. This makes for a mighty fine evening.
There are some other inspired decisions. The songbooks are actually computers with keyboard screwed into the walls; you can look up songs by title or artist name almost immediately, provided you know what you are looking for. Singers have their back to a giant screen where onlookers can easily read the lyrics and sing along. There is a smallish dance floor. The gambling room is entirely isolated from the main bar. The restrooms are way classier than they have any reason to be.
For outdoing themselves in any conceivable respect, Zoé gets five Awesomes out of a possible five.
As with any Karaoke bar, your night will largely by defined by the people with you. That being said, once you are ready to surprise your coworkers with that one song you sing really well, you'd be hard pressed to find a better stage than Zoé's. It's relentless assault of genuine coolness on what is essentially a kitschy activity will win the hearts of even the most stuck-up anti-singing drones. Five stars.
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