Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Toronto for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Toronto for grown-ups.
Bar Raval on College runs vermouth on tap and Spanish bar snacks from a mahogany Art Nouveau counter since 2015, Grant van Gameren's room the Michelin Bib.
Signature drink: Vermouth on tap, manzanilla sherry
Food: Pintxos and Spanish snacks
Order: A vermouth on the rocks with a slice of jamon iberico.
Tip: Walk-ins only. Arrive before 17:30 for an easy stool. Open from 09:00 for the coffee crowd.
Civil Liberties on Bloor at Ossington runs a no-menu speakeasy since 2014, bartenders mixing drinks to your taste in an industrial-vibe back room.
Signature drink: Dealers' choice, bartender-led
Food: Bar snacks only
Order: Tell the bartender three flavours you like and let them mix.
Tip: No menu by design. The door at 878 has no signage; ring the bell. Late nights until 02:00.
Cocktail Bar on Dundas West is Jen Agg's drink room since 2013, the menu split seasonal, bold, citrusy, liquor forward and wild cards, sister to Grey Gardens.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktail rotation
Food: Snacks from Grey Gardens sister kitchen
Order: Whatever the bar manager David Greig is excited about that night.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Snacks from Grey Gardens kitchen run light. Bar seats walk in; tables on Resy.
BarChef on Queen West is Frankie Solarik's modernist cocktail bar since 2008, theatrical drinks with dry ice, smoked glass domes and botanical foams.
Signature drink: Smoked Manhattan, Abstract Ice
Food: Bar snacks only
Order: The signature smoked Manhattan presented under a glass dome.
Tip: Reservations recommended; cocktails run $25 to $50. Closed Monday.
Mahjong Bar on Dundas West pours Asian-inspired cocktails behind a Vietnamese sandwich-shop facade since 2016, a speakeasy through the back door.
Signature drink: Asian-inspired cocktails
Food: Vietnamese small plates
Order: A Pandan Highball with the bahn mi sliders.
Tip: Enter through the sandwich shop; the back door opens after 19:00. Reservations on Resy.
Dreyfus on Harbord is the Annex's reference cocktail and natural-wine bar since 2018, chef Zach Kolomeir's small-plate kitchen under 50 seats.
Signature drink: Mediterranean spritzes, Beaujolais by the glass
Food: Mediterranean snacks and pasta
Order: A spritz and the cured fish board.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Sister to Bar Mordecai on Dundas West. The chairs at the bar take walk-ins.
Pinkerton's Snack Bar on Gerrard East is the city's reference snack-and-cocktail dive since 2017, owner Marc Baglio's pan-Asian plates and drinks.
Signature drink: House cocktail rotation
Food: Pan-Asian snack bar
Order: A house cocktail with the bao buns and crispy rice.
Tip: Walk-ins only. Closed Monday. Late nights to 02:00 Friday and Saturday.
The Communist's Daughter on Dundas at Ossington is the strip's reference dive bar since 2003, a former Portuguese diner with low ceilings and cheap beer.
Signature drink: Beer and a shot, well drinks
Food: Bar snacks
Order: A pint of local lager with a shot of rye.
Tip: Cash preferred under $10. Late kitchen has frozen pizzas after 22:00.
Miss Thing's on Queen West in Parkdale runs Polynesian tiki cocktails and Pacific Rim plates since 2013, the painted bamboo interior the strip's reference.
Signature drink: Mai Tai, Tiki classics
Food: Pacific Rim small plates
Order: A classic Mai Tai with the salt-and-pepper squid.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Weekend nights take walk-ins after 22:00 only.
Sneaky Dee's at College and Bathurst runs the city's reference late-night Tex-Mex kitchen until 04:30 on Friday and Saturday nights since 1987.
Signature drink: Pitcher of cheap lager
Food: Tex-Mex, King's Crown Nachos
Order: The King's Crown Nachos with a pitcher of Stella.
Tip: Cash only at the till; debit card at the bar. Late-night kitchen the city's most reliable after-bar option for nachos.
Bar Pompette on College Street is the aperitif bar above Pompette since 2018, North America's 50 Best Bars ranked #8 in 2026 with a low-ABV cocktail program.
Order: The signature Pompette Spritz or whatever the bar is pouring on draft.
Tip: Reservations through Tock. The downstairs Pompette is the restaurant; bar is upstairs.
Bar Mordecai on Dundas West is a retro Wes-Anderson cocktail room since 2020, World's 50 Best Discovery list with vintage and modern drinks.
Order: The Mordecai Martini, served with house olives.
Tip: No reservations; small room fills early on weekends. Closed Sunday-Tuesday.
Track & Field on College Street is the lawn-games cocktail bar that returned in October 2021, two floors with bocce, shuffleboard and a photo booth.
Order: A round on the bocce court with a tapped cocktail.
Tip: Walk-ins or Tock reservations for the bocce lanes; 30ft bar runs through the main floor.