So, now that we've lost one of the best cafe/bar/restos in the city, I think it's an appropriate time to make a collection of places that are friendly to the kind of people who enjoyed L'Utopik and its beautiful ways. I'll start it off, but feel free to add or modify this plan as you see fit :)
We're looking for places that excel in one or more (hopefully more) of the outstanding qualities, to whit:
-Really groovy ambiance
-Centrally located, and near a metro (this is the doom of so many of the plateau/mile end places, alas.)
-Bright and colorful
-Open late, open every day, sections open and free even when there's a show going on
-Never too noisy to have a conversation (even with a tiny voice like mine), but still happy and lively
-Has free and plentiful music/art shows/poetry readings, etc.
-Really good, vegetarian-friendly food at a variety of prices (ie $3 soup with huge bread for when you're broke, special notice for massive heaps of affordable nachos... god I'll miss their nachos)
-Has beer, but isn't full of drunk people. Or if it is, they're nice drunk people.
-In-house supply of books and board games
-Free wifi, or even not, but at least...
-... allows you to sit and talk or read or work or practice your guitar or make chainmail for as long as you want with zero pressure to move it along.
-Always an open couch
-Teeny, functioning iron stove/skylight/second floor vantage/mini balcony/ other magnificent architectural curiosities
That's enough to make me sufficiently sad, so I'll leave it there for now. Even when Utopik did exist, I really wanted to find other similar places, and now it is of greater import than ever. The only places I know that have a number of the above are le Petit Gaule by Charlevoix metro (but their tea is way too pricey so I never go there), and Cagibi/Esperanza but that's a major pain to get to from NDG. But they could work for other people! So, Montreal community, lets see if we can come up with a list :)