La Banquise, a small dairy bar in its early days, came to life in May 1968. Its founder, Pierre Barsalou, a neighborhood firefighter, transformed it into a 24-hour snack bar in the fall of 1968. One could then enjoy excellent hot dogs and delicious fries.
Poutine made its appearance in the early 80s, with the classic and Italian poutines. Faced with popular success and repeated requests from many customers, the choices of poutines multiplied. There are now no less than 35 different poutines.
M. Barsalou's youngest daughter, Annie, took over in the 90s, along with her partner Marc Latendresse. Together, they continued to perpetuate the tradition of quality and the reputation of Restaurant La Banquise.
In the summer of 2006, La Banquise underwent significant renovations, considerably expanding its kitchen and dining room. A few years later, it completely redesigned its graphic identity and image to better reflect its culture and unique status in Montreal.
50 years later, La Banquise has become an institution, a flagship of Montreal recognized worldwide. It is a must-stop for tourists visiting Montreal, an integral part of the Montreal and Quebec experience.
On November 14, 2023, a major headline hit popular publications: La Banquise passes the torch to young entrepreneurs, Émily Adam and Jean-Christophe Lirette, who are also poutine enthusiasts. They acquired the famous Ashton poutine restaurants in 2022.
Despite this new energy, La Banquise will continue to be operated independently by the current management team, which remains in place. The restaurant will continue to be a true poutine laboratory and constantly develop new original dishes.
On behalf of Annie and Marc, as well as Émily and Jean-Christophe, thank you very much to our loyal clientele, night owls, groups of friends, workers, students, small families, etc., for shaping the history of La Banquise in your image and making it the current success.
Émily, Jean-Christophe, Annie & Marc, magicians of poutine!
