West Queen West is just plain cool, but established hot spots like the Drake and Gladstone hotels have lost a bit of their former edge and gone mainstream. When you and the boys are rolling out, try some places that seem a little less predictable.
It’s a combination art gallery, lounge and cinema and the best part is you can book it in advance. The lounge is located inside the Stephen Bulger Gallery, making it one of the most unique and versatile venues in the city. The screening room has seating for 50 people so it’s ideal for larger groups and special events like birthday or bachelor parties. The hip décor, fireplace and artsy flavour will give your gathering a touch of class.
This place is open late every night of the week, giving you and the guys all the time you need to see who can scarf down the most oysters. If bivalves aren’t your thing, the menu includes other mouth-watering options. Everything here goes down well with beer – they pour draft into tankard-like vessels and prices are reasonable enough to help satisfy any thirst.
If every bar in Toronto had a decent pool table, it’d be a lot harder to decide where your next guys’ night out should be. Luckily, The Raq has that angle covered with multiple tables to keep your group occupied and thirsty. It also excels as a place to meet and mingle with a big dance floor, club chairs and banquette seating in a chillin’ man cave-type atmosphere. Once you’re in, you won’t want to leave.
Make sure you bring lots of change to feed the jukebox so you can gain control of the music selection. There’s an awesome patio for warmer weather, complete with wooden benches and a high privacy fence. But if you want to keep it indoors, they’ve got couches and other comfortable chairs for lounging. It’s also the kind of place where it’s easy to chat up new faces, with a diverse clientele of all ages and social groups.
It’s the kind of dive bar that, regrettably, seems to be disappearing, but remains an ideal place to hang out with the boys. They have an AC/DC pinball machine, craft beers on tap, vintage light fixtures from a ‘70s wood-paneled rec room, and a back patio that looks likes the work of a couple of college kids who’ve had a few too many. Or, in other words, the perfect place for a beer.
