Every Wednesday is a List Day, in which I do some kind of beer-related list. Lists are good.
Since I run the Toronto Beer Lovers Group, I'm often asked by newcomers what my favorite beer bars are. And - these five below are typically always on the list, for the sheer awesomeness of their taps.
Listed in no particular order:
1. C'est What
67 Front Street East, Toronto. Closest TTC: King or Union.
The pros: A massive tap list, mostly local taps, fantastic food, live music, and an amazing beer tasting festival twice a year.
The cons: Pints aren't cheap, plus the basement location is a bit of a downer in summer.
2. Bar Volo
587 Yonge St, Toronto. Closest TTC: Wellesley.
The pros: Volo tends to carry at-least one or two beers that you just can't find anywhere else. Monday nights, the pints are slightly cheaper. Nice outdoor patio and good food.
The cons: Like C'est What - there are no cheap pints in this place.
3. Dora Keogh
141 Danforth Avenue, Toronto. Closest TTC: Broadview.
The pros: Fullers London Porter on tap, enough said. In my experience, by far the best Guinness pour in the city.
The cons: Loud music on weekends, and no place to take refuge, and no food to speak of.
4. Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street, Toronto. Closest TTC: Bathurst.
The pros: Again, an all-local, excellent tap list, plus Victory always carries a special cask. Twice a year, they do an amazing cask festival which is well-worth standing in line and going to. Very nice outdoor patio as well, and great food.
The cons: Victory Cafe is crowded, unfortunately. Patio seats are pretty hard to come by...
5. Sin & Redemption
136 McCaul St, Toronto. Closest TTC: St. Patrick
The pros: An extensive Belgian/Belgian-style beer list, with prices about $1 cheaper per pint than the Bier Markt.
The cons: I've found the overall experience here inconsistent. Some nights are great, others - just too crowded.
...documenting my love for good beer...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Paddock - Expensive, overrated.
It is easy to say nice things about my favourite bars, since they are my favourite bars for a reason. How about a bar I’ve been to just twice?
I ended up at the Paddock last Friday for a mixer. Can I just say – overrated? The beer was expensive and not exciting. I had a pint of Stiegel’s, which is the only beer I haven’t seen frequently at other venues. For this oh-so-blah pint, I paid $9. ($9 something, tax + tip included.) A friend had a bottle of Steamwhistle, and paid over $5 for this dubious privilege. Other beers on tap, as best as I can remember, were the Pilsner Urquell, Guinness, and the usual Bud/BudLite suspects.
The lighting was dim; the wine was also expensive. I’ve eaten here before (once), and all I can remember is expensive.
To which I ask – how do bars like this stay in business? I couldn’t find a single thing that recommended this place. It doesn’t have the charm of a neighbourhood bar. I certainly didn’t find it ‘cool’. The beer list was both boring and expensive.
Location: The Paddock is located at Bathurst and Queen.
Overall rating: 1 out of 5. Don't waste your time, there are a lot of bars in the city that are a lot nicer.
I ended up at the Paddock last Friday for a mixer. Can I just say – overrated? The beer was expensive and not exciting. I had a pint of Stiegel’s, which is the only beer I haven’t seen frequently at other venues. For this oh-so-blah pint, I paid $9. ($9 something, tax + tip included.) A friend had a bottle of Steamwhistle, and paid over $5 for this dubious privilege. Other beers on tap, as best as I can remember, were the Pilsner Urquell, Guinness, and the usual Bud/BudLite suspects.
The lighting was dim; the wine was also expensive. I’ve eaten here before (once), and all I can remember is expensive.
To which I ask – how do bars like this stay in business? I couldn’t find a single thing that recommended this place. It doesn’t have the charm of a neighbourhood bar. I certainly didn’t find it ‘cool’. The beer list was both boring and expensive.
Location: The Paddock is located at Bathurst and Queen.
Overall rating: 1 out of 5. Don't waste your time, there are a lot of bars in the city that are a lot nicer.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday night out - Dora Keogh
I walked into Dora Keogh quite by accident last night – the original plan had been to go to Allen’s. What a fortunate mistake!
I deposited my bag at our table, and went over to the bar to take a look to see what was on tap. There I found a beer I’ve never seen before – Durham ESB, brewed by what is quickly becoming one of my favorite Ontario microbreweries, County Durham. As a special bonus, it was cask-conditioned.
What an absolutely amazing beer. It was everything an ESB should be, with the added mellowness that cask conditioning brings. It was smooth, delicious and went down very easily.
While I was strongly tempted to drink another Durham ESB, for the second pint, I instead picked the Fuller’s London Porter, also cask-conditioned. Score! The London Porter is the beer I’m always delighted to find on tap. (I’ve also seen it at Sin and Redemption, and the Monk’s Table, but neither of those places had the cask version.)
My only complaint with porters and stouts (a genre that I truly love) – I almost need a palate cleanser after drinking a pint – there’s a bitterness that builds up in my mouth, and the last third of the pint tastes different from the initial heady sips.
However, in cask form, it retained all the complexity of a porter, but without this aftertaste. It was amazing to the end.
Although it was a Wednesday night, I did want a third pint, only because I wanted to see what the pour of Guinness would be like. The staff at Dora Keogh took their time pouring it, letting it settle, and presented me with a pint that had the perfect creamy head. It was classic, textbook Guinness. Delicious!
Minor quibble – perfection does come at a price – all my pints were in the $7.50 range before tip.
Slightly less minor quibble, after about 9.30, they had a band playing. The band itself was reasonably good, but it was loud! Honestly, if I want to yell above the band to make myself heard, I’d go to a dance club. Call me old-fashioned, but in my world-view, bars do not have dance floors. (I actually don’t know if Dora Keogh’s had a dance floor, or if people just ended up dancing because of the music, but my point holds in either case. There should be no dancing in bars.)
And finally, while I didn’t bother with food, other people at my table had the calamari and the fish and chips, and seemed to enjoy it. Music aside, a very successful night out. Three pints I enjoyed tremendously and good company to boot. I’ll definitely be back.
Location: Dora Keogh is located at 141 Danforth Ave. (Closest subway stop – Broadview.)
Overall rating: 4 out of 5. A perfect 5 for the beer, but the music drove it down.
I deposited my bag at our table, and went over to the bar to take a look to see what was on tap. There I found a beer I’ve never seen before – Durham ESB, brewed by what is quickly becoming one of my favorite Ontario microbreweries, County Durham. As a special bonus, it was cask-conditioned.
What an absolutely amazing beer. It was everything an ESB should be, with the added mellowness that cask conditioning brings. It was smooth, delicious and went down very easily.
While I was strongly tempted to drink another Durham ESB, for the second pint, I instead picked the Fuller’s London Porter, also cask-conditioned. Score! The London Porter is the beer I’m always delighted to find on tap. (I’ve also seen it at Sin and Redemption, and the Monk’s Table, but neither of those places had the cask version.)
My only complaint with porters and stouts (a genre that I truly love) – I almost need a palate cleanser after drinking a pint – there’s a bitterness that builds up in my mouth, and the last third of the pint tastes different from the initial heady sips.
However, in cask form, it retained all the complexity of a porter, but without this aftertaste. It was amazing to the end.
Although it was a Wednesday night, I did want a third pint, only because I wanted to see what the pour of Guinness would be like. The staff at Dora Keogh took their time pouring it, letting it settle, and presented me with a pint that had the perfect creamy head. It was classic, textbook Guinness. Delicious!
Minor quibble – perfection does come at a price – all my pints were in the $7.50 range before tip.
Slightly less minor quibble, after about 9.30, they had a band playing. The band itself was reasonably good, but it was loud! Honestly, if I want to yell above the band to make myself heard, I’d go to a dance club. Call me old-fashioned, but in my world-view, bars do not have dance floors. (I actually don’t know if Dora Keogh’s had a dance floor, or if people just ended up dancing because of the music, but my point holds in either case. There should be no dancing in bars.)
And finally, while I didn’t bother with food, other people at my table had the calamari and the fish and chips, and seemed to enjoy it. Music aside, a very successful night out. Three pints I enjoyed tremendously and good company to boot. I’ll definitely be back.
Location: Dora Keogh is located at 141 Danforth Ave. (Closest subway stop – Broadview.)
Overall rating: 4 out of 5. A perfect 5 for the beer, but the music drove it down.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Mid-week pause at C'est What
I’ve been drinking, I just haven’t been writing.
A friend had a birthday last night, and a bunch of us crowded into one of my favourite beer places – C’est What.
C’est What is awesome. They have roughly 20-30 taps, all Canadian, mostly from Ontario. A few staples on tap, but there’s a 6-7 beer rotating selection, which is always fun. Also, they have excellent food, with the added bonus that they are very veggie friendly. (I swear by the hummus and tsiziki appetizer. Yum. Plus, they bring you extra pita if you ask for it.)
As always at C’est What, the beer isn’t cheap. Last night, I had a couple of pints (it was a weeknight, what can I say?), and each beer ran about $8.50, tax and tip included. A girl can go broke very easily with those prices, which is probably the only real downside here.
That being said, my two pints were excellent. The first pint was the Hop Head, (brewed by County Durham Brewery in Pickering), which, to the best of my knowledge, is only available at C’est What. The second was the Hazelnut Chocolate ale, which to my mind tastes a bit like Nutella. I usually can’t drink more than a half-pint of this, but a full pint really hit the spot last night.
Even though it was Tuesday night, C’est What was fairly full and bustling, though that might have partly been because twenty of us poured in to celebrate. Anyhoo – I really recommend this place, with the above caveat of the price of beer.
Bonus points:
Twice a year (spring and fall?), C’est What runs a huge tasting event, where every Ontario brewery seems to brew something special, and each tasting costs $1. For a beer drinker, these events are must-dos, though very, very crowded. You really have to appreciate and support a bar that takes the effort to do events like this. (Next one is May 22nd, I think - watch for it.)
Boring details:
C’est What is located at 67 Front Street (Front & Church), in the basement. (According to their website, it is located in the cellar of a historic century old building in the St. Lawrence Market area. Ok then.) It is open from 11.30am to 2.00am. The bar has pool tables and other diversions, if for some reason the beer doesn’t hold your interest. They have live music fairly frequently, and their website has an up-to-date live music list.
Food runs about $15 for mains. Pints of beer run about $8 (tax and tip included.)
Overall rating: 4 out of 5, but this is a personal preference. Rebel House does better in my book because it is smaller and more intimate. C’est What has better and more beer.
A friend had a birthday last night, and a bunch of us crowded into one of my favourite beer places – C’est What.
C’est What is awesome. They have roughly 20-30 taps, all Canadian, mostly from Ontario. A few staples on tap, but there’s a 6-7 beer rotating selection, which is always fun. Also, they have excellent food, with the added bonus that they are very veggie friendly. (I swear by the hummus and tsiziki appetizer. Yum. Plus, they bring you extra pita if you ask for it.)
As always at C’est What, the beer isn’t cheap. Last night, I had a couple of pints (it was a weeknight, what can I say?), and each beer ran about $8.50, tax and tip included. A girl can go broke very easily with those prices, which is probably the only real downside here.
That being said, my two pints were excellent. The first pint was the Hop Head, (brewed by County Durham Brewery in Pickering), which, to the best of my knowledge, is only available at C’est What. The second was the Hazelnut Chocolate ale, which to my mind tastes a bit like Nutella. I usually can’t drink more than a half-pint of this, but a full pint really hit the spot last night.
Even though it was Tuesday night, C’est What was fairly full and bustling, though that might have partly been because twenty of us poured in to celebrate. Anyhoo – I really recommend this place, with the above caveat of the price of beer.
Bonus points:
Twice a year (spring and fall?), C’est What runs a huge tasting event, where every Ontario brewery seems to brew something special, and each tasting costs $1. For a beer drinker, these events are must-dos, though very, very crowded. You really have to appreciate and support a bar that takes the effort to do events like this. (Next one is May 22nd, I think - watch for it.)
Boring details:
C’est What is located at 67 Front Street (Front & Church), in the basement. (According to their website, it is located in the cellar of a historic century old building in the St. Lawrence Market area. Ok then.) It is open from 11.30am to 2.00am. The bar has pool tables and other diversions, if for some reason the beer doesn’t hold your interest. They have live music fairly frequently, and their website has an up-to-date live music list.
Food runs about $15 for mains. Pints of beer run about $8 (tax and tip included.)
Overall rating: 4 out of 5, but this is a personal preference. Rebel House does better in my book because it is smaller and more intimate. C’est What has better and more beer.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Beer Girl starts her journey at the Rebel House
I've announced to all that will listen (and to a few that won't) that my favorite bar in TO is the Rebel House. Which makes this an excellent start of the blog.
Every neighborhood should have a bar like the Rebel House. It is appealingly small. The bar's a pleasing L shape, with maybe 10 spots, which always promotes conversation. It attracts an eclectic mix of people, all of who are happy to hang around and chat with strangers. There's no pick-up vibe at all. No DJ, no karaoke, no music at all, in fact.
What the Rebel House has is an excellent, mostly local beer list (the taps rotate pretty frequently), great food and friendly bar staff. In the summer, there's also the incredibly romantic, tented back patio, which probably doubles the seating in the place.
Nine of us squished into the Rebel House's bar area last night, ready to have a good time. We got there at 7.30pm, were there till 10pm.
I drank a pint of the Great Lakes Green Tea ale, which came served with a slice of lemon. It was light and refreshing, though I couldn't taste the green tea at all, so it must be very subtle. (Atleast 2 other people in the group got the Green Tea ale, no-one could taste the green tea.) Also drank a pint of the Wellington Best Bitter - which was, as usual, quite delicious.
I've had the Wellington before, of course, but never the Green Tea ale. I'd order both again, so a successful tasting experience.
I was looking for a stout on the menu, but the only one available was the Black Oak chocolate cherry stout, which I couldn't quite bring myself to drink an entire pint of. Stouts like this are too gimmicky for me. They make good tasting, but I can't ever drink more than 5oz or so of any of these. (I guess I could have had a Guinness, which the Rebel House does have on the menu, but honestly, what's the point? I can find Guinness everywhere.)
To dilute the effects of the beer, I did order food, a plate of the excellent macaroni and cheese, which I enjoyed thoroughly. (Another girl in the group really didn't care for it, though.) Someone else also ordered wings with jerk sauce, which she felt was too chicken-y and not wing-like enough. Since I'm vegetarian, I have no opinion on the wings at all, or any of their other meat dishes.
Cost? 2 beers and food - roughly $27. Most beers are $6.50, most food is in the $8-13range. Plus, the bartender handled our separate check request pretty cheerfully, which not everyone does for a group of 9 people.
All in all, a fun weeknight out, and a good way to break up some of the monotony of the week.
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5, mostly cause I'm reserving the right to rate places higher.
Every neighborhood should have a bar like the Rebel House. It is appealingly small. The bar's a pleasing L shape, with maybe 10 spots, which always promotes conversation. It attracts an eclectic mix of people, all of who are happy to hang around and chat with strangers. There's no pick-up vibe at all. No DJ, no karaoke, no music at all, in fact.
What the Rebel House has is an excellent, mostly local beer list (the taps rotate pretty frequently), great food and friendly bar staff. In the summer, there's also the incredibly romantic, tented back patio, which probably doubles the seating in the place.
Nine of us squished into the Rebel House's bar area last night, ready to have a good time. We got there at 7.30pm, were there till 10pm.
I drank a pint of the Great Lakes Green Tea ale, which came served with a slice of lemon. It was light and refreshing, though I couldn't taste the green tea at all, so it must be very subtle. (Atleast 2 other people in the group got the Green Tea ale, no-one could taste the green tea.) Also drank a pint of the Wellington Best Bitter - which was, as usual, quite delicious.
I've had the Wellington before, of course, but never the Green Tea ale. I'd order both again, so a successful tasting experience.
I was looking for a stout on the menu, but the only one available was the Black Oak chocolate cherry stout, which I couldn't quite bring myself to drink an entire pint of. Stouts like this are too gimmicky for me. They make good tasting, but I can't ever drink more than 5oz or so of any of these. (I guess I could have had a Guinness, which the Rebel House does have on the menu, but honestly, what's the point? I can find Guinness everywhere.)
To dilute the effects of the beer, I did order food, a plate of the excellent macaroni and cheese, which I enjoyed thoroughly. (Another girl in the group really didn't care for it, though.) Someone else also ordered wings with jerk sauce, which she felt was too chicken-y and not wing-like enough. Since I'm vegetarian, I have no opinion on the wings at all, or any of their other meat dishes.
Cost? 2 beers and food - roughly $27. Most beers are $6.50, most food is in the $8-13range. Plus, the bartender handled our separate check request pretty cheerfully, which not everyone does for a group of 9 people.
All in all, a fun weeknight out, and a good way to break up some of the monotony of the week.
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5, mostly cause I'm reserving the right to rate places higher.
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