Cocktail Bar is a bar in Kensington Market, Toronto.
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.
Must order: Whatever the bar manager David Greig is excited about that night.
Food program: Snacks from Grey Gardens sister kitchen
Tip: Closed Mondays. Snacks from Grey Gardens kitchen run light. Bar seats walk in; tables on Resy.
Address: 923 Dundas Street W, Toronto, ON M6J 1W3
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.
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.
