L'Université de Montréal is not positioned smack in the middle of downtown like lucky McGill, so the drinking opportunities can sometimes be meager around this huge university sitting in the Côte-des-Neiges borough. But with over 55 000 students, there is always a need for a few spots to quench the student thrust.

One of these spots is the McCarold's pub, on the corner of Côte-des-Neiges and Lacombe streets. During the long winter months, McCarold's is home to numerous U de M students, either watching a Habs hockey game or recalling the massacre that the last midterm was.

If hanging out with enthusiastic and not-yet-disillusioned youth is not your thing, McCarold's is also a perfect stop for warm summer days, with its small street-front terrasse on Côte-des-Neiges and tables on the sidewalk of Lacombe street, perfect for enjoying a cold beer outdoors.

Apart from it's location in the heart of the U de M student neighborhood, McCarold's is a traditional Irish/Scotish/Everything-Else pub, with its share of beers and scotches, and its pub-food menu. If anything, I would say that the food is even better than most pubs in town; I guess U de M students are a tasty bunch.