ollowing in the resto-lounge Suite 701’s footsteps, Le Place d’Armes Hotel continues its forward assault on the borders of nightlife with a rather chilly drinking playground. Mixing one part hipster lounge, two parts frozen water with a solid dose of DJ-delivered beats, produces one Grey Goose Sub Zero - on the rocks.

Built on the rooftop of Le Place d’Armes, Sub Zero is Montreal’s first ice bar. Cold as ice, martinis are right at home amid the sculpted-ice trappings of this Old Montreal lounge. Don’t be expecting by-the-fireplace chi-chi, as carved ice is the foundation for everything. Walls, cocktail bars, stools and seats lined with baby blue faux fur, and even the cocktail glasses, all to create a certain after-hours “chill” appeal.

To create the concept, owners brought in Quebec’s master ice sculptor, Laurent Godon - a Guiness Book of World Records champion who set the world record in 1989 for fastest ice sculptor in the world - to chisel out the overall Sub Zero design. To effectively carve out a swank and stylish boite, Godon cooled the roof-top with about 75,000 pounds of ice, supplanting the area with a frozen, built-on-location design, then filled the thing with fixtures made of ice.

Godon’s carved ice sculptures adorn the lounge, which makes for an interior that feels very 2002 Gucci ice cave. This is like the Montreal version of the Toronto’s Ice Lounge , brought further alive by a series of events by the ice lounge’s sponsors, Grey Goose, Parasuco, Sony and HSBC.