The Best Bars in Toronto

Canada’s largest city is known as a thriving cultural and commercial center, as well as home to a diverse population, including numerous immigrant groups. As a result, Toronto’s food and drink scene offers remarkable variety, including a bustling bar scene. Following the pandemic years, the city’s varied bars are flourishing again, from dives to high-end lounges.

Want an all-day café that pairs drinks with Italian bites when the sun is out and Chinese-inflected snacks at night? Look to Simpl Things, highlighted below. Or a French-run bar whose name literally means “tipsy”? That’s Bar Pompette, also featured in our list. It’s all here.

To get the full scoop on the best way to enjoy Toronto’s drinks scene, we asked a selection of local industry pros where to drink in the city, and what to order while you’re there. Check out their recommendations below.

Image Courtesy of Igor Aldomar / Bar Mordecai

Dundas West

Part supper club, part night club, part karaoke bar, the space was designed to feel like a vintage hotel lobby from a Wes Anderson film. Of note, bartender-owner Christina Viera has made a name for herself as an advocate for the bar community, with a focus on equity and education. She’s also the national coordinator for the Canadian chapter of Speed Rack, the all-female bartending competition that highlights up-and-coming talent in the industry.

Among the roster of playful drinks, James Grant, beverage director for Fairmont Royal York, suggests the Soft Serve Miami Vice, combining the frosty flavors of a frozen piña colada and strawberry daiquiri: “It’s boozy ice cream, what else do you want?”

Little Italy

This small French cocktail bar is helmed by French expat Hugo Togni. “The care that they put into every single aspect of their cocktails is levels above most bars in Toronto,” says Josh Lindley, Toronto-based co-creator of Bartender Atlas. “While the menu changes frequently, there is always something interesting for you to try from their kegged cocktails to their delicate takes on classics.”

The Fairmont’s Grant is a fan too, recommending the Fire Escape, a whiskey highball served on draft.

Bloorcourt

Pompette’s Togni describes this “dive bar-ish” space as “your bartender’s favorite cocktail bar.” The vibe is industrial (metal barstools, pressed tin ceiling) rather than speakeasy precious, with Guinness on tap and no cocktail menu. Tell the bartender what drinks or flavors you like, and you’ll soon receive a creative riff. Also check out their new Aussie-themed bar Electric Bill a few doors down.

Parkdale

At this unassuming Parkdale neighborhood haunt, wines are almost entirely from either Prince Edward County (to the east of Toronto by two hours) or Niagara (1.5 hours to the west/south) and rotate as seasons permit. But that’s just one reason Lindley of global directory Bartender Atlas gives Food & Liquor a nod. Cocktails are “fun but faithful takes on classics,” he says, created by owner and bar manager Ginny Tam. Try the Shiso Pretty (rum with Manzanilla Sherry and shiso plum syrup), and “don’t be surprised if a shot of bourbon shows up on your table but not on your bill.”

Dundas West

A Spain-inspired coffee shop by day and cocktail bar by night, the name means “swimming pool,” in Spanish. Of course, an “awesome espresso martini” is the correct drink order here, according to Rob Granicolo, co-owner of Toronto bar Cry Baby Gallery. But “the real reason people pack this spot is because it’s a one-of-a-kind blend of DJ vibe and casual neighborhood bar.” Bonus: it’s down the street from Cry Baby, “so, we always send guests over who are looking to really turn-up.”

Financial District

Just off the lobby of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, this is an elegant little hideaway, with plush banquettes and tableside martinis. The Birdbath Martini, in particular, has been the signature drink for three decades. It’s generously sized, as the name suggests, with

an assortment of garnishes including lemon zest, house pickled onions and olives.

Image Courtesy of Jonathan Adediji / The Little Jerry

College Street

An audiophile’s listening bar in the College Street neighborhood, this is a spot for beer, wine, vermouth and amaro (try a vermouth highball). Early in the evening, the mood is mellow and warmly lit; the late night scene is marked by a spinning disco ball and red neon glow. But no matter what, says Pompette’s Togni, expect “only vinyl playing all night long.”

Dundas West

Enter through the pink neon-lit bodega and you’ll find a lacquered bar and backbar outfitted with antique cabinetry. A wall-spanning, 36-foot tropical mural painted by Toronto artist Gabriella Lo further enhances the vibe. Granicolo of Cry Baby says this “convivial” spot is his pick for group outings, where he’s likely to order tequila shots and a selection of Asian street food snacks. Order the Soju Spritz (strawberry soju, bitters, Prosecco and soda) for a refreshing pick-me-up.

Trinity Bellwoods

Fermentation is the thing here; creative preservation techniques show up in the food and drinks, which span from sourdough bread and red miso butter to funky lacto-fermented cocktails. “It’s an experimental, wild little bar with a focus on the unusual,” says Fairmont’s Grant. “The flavors push at the boundaries of what some guests might be used to, but the reward is worth any sense of risk. He recommends the Toasted Chai Piña Colada, a mix of lemongrass rum, toasted chai cream, caramelized yogurt and lacto-fermented pineapple.

Image Courtesy of Jessica Blaine Smith / Simpl Things

Parkdale

Owned by multi-hyphenate author/drink expert/entrepreneur/somm Evelyn Chick, this all-day bar and restaurant focuses on Italian food during the daylight hours and Chinese fare after dark. “Both menus are complemented by Chick’s light, floral and herbaceous cocktails served in her own glassware,” says Lindley of Bartender Atlas, referring to Chick’s line of sleek, minimalist glassware called Story. Try the Sup Wit Dat, one of Chick’s signature cocktails, made with mezcal, balsam fir, cucumber and lime.