Koï: n’importe Koï

Koï is something of an incidental reinforcement of the status quo. A middle-of-the-road sound system blurts out ephemeral radio hip-hop laden with Auto-Tune choruses. Groups of newly independent students and suburbanites awkwardly explore the liberties of adulthood. The few coffee tables lining the walls feature suggestive, inset stainless steel tubs yearning for bottle service which, one suspects, rarely arrives. The smallish grey room is dimly lit and could accommodate maybe one hundred comfortably.

On the Saturday night I attended, I was immediately confronted by a cocktail of stinks ranging from B-O, blow farts, halitosis and cheap perfume. I’d normally be more careful drawing conclusions from this potentially incidental fact but, given that the bar only seems to be open two nights per week on average, one can only suspect such details to be representative.

All this makes Koï the sort of characterless, unimaginative space that, given the location, could very well thrive on the petty cash of random passers-by. But, unless some care and creativity are directed at it, it seems quite difficult to imagine it ever penetrating the cultural fabric of Montreal’s teeming, diverse nightlife landscape. And, yes, the bathrooms are disgusting.

Koï
3603, St-Laurent
koibar.ca