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Nightlife Toronto’s nightlife is yet another aspect of urban life that defies the city’s staid reputation. This was recently helped, in no small part, by the provincial government’s decision to extend drinking hours until 0200, while nightclubs and after-hours clubs often stay open until dawn. Mixed drinks and pints tend to come in around the C$5 mark and admission is often charged at nightclubs but never at normal bars unless a band is playing. A few self-consciously trendy nightclubs may have no-jeans, no-trainers policies at the door. Since it is illegal in the Province of Ontario to serve alcohol and not serve food, bars should be considered places to eat as much as to drink. The legal drinking age in Toronto is 19. The free, alternative weeklies eye (website: www.eye.net) and NOW (website: www.nowtoronto.com) provide the latest information on club nights and gig listings. The most common nights for locals to spend on the town are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, although enthusiastic crowds can usually be found on most other nights. The most popular area for bars and clubs is in the heart of the city centre, slightly west of the Financial District, around the Theatre District on King and Queen streets. For a more ethnic feel, Little Italy offers Italian-flavoured bars and clubs that tend to attract a cooler, more refined crowd in search of pasta, properly mixed drinks and better music. Greektown offers a slew of Greek restaurants and bars that import something of a Mediterranean festive feel even on the darkest of winter nights. Local bars playing a hockey or baseball game on television can be found almost anywhere and are great spots for a plate of chicken wings and a beer. Bars: British visitors will feel at home in the many pubs that dot the city, showing up on street corners and in the more commercial neighbourhood high streets. The Madison, 14 Madison Avenue, is something like a super-pub, taking up four floors over two converted Victorian houses. The Rebel House, 1068 Yonge Street, a neighbourhood favourite, serves a range of good beer and uncommonly good pub food. For a taste of the excellent lager and ale at the city’s best brew pubs, try the Granite Brewery, 245 Eglinton Avenue East, or the Steam Whistle Brewing Company, 255 Bremner Boulevard. Little Italy’s Bar Italia, 582 College Street, is a stylish, trendy cocktail bar with reasonably priced and tasty pasta, which attracts the good-looking weekend crowd. The Rivoli, 332 Queen Street West, attracts a slightly more alternative crowd. One side of the bar serves fusion cuisine, the other cocktails, while concerts, club nights and spoken-word events take place in the back and there is a large pool hall upstairs. Further west is the Gypsy Co-op, 817 Queen Street West, comfortable as a bar/lounge/restaurant earlier in the day or as a nightclub later on. One of the friendliest gay bars in Toronto is the boisterous Woody’s, 465 Church Street. A sense of the country’s ice hockey obsession can be experienced at Wayne Gretzky’s, 99 Blue Jays Way, owned by one of the game’s greatest players ever and a monument to his success on the ice. Casinos: There are no licensed casinos within the City of Toronto, however, there are three government-run casinos elsewhere in the province. The nearest is Casino Niagara, 5705 Falls Avenue, Niagara Falls (tel: (888) 266 7258; website: www.casinoniagara.com). The casino offers slot machines, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, Caribbean stud poker and craps. Patrons must be at least 19 years of age and must possess government-issued identification as proof of age. There is no dress code. Clubs: Richmond Street is home to many of the city’s biggest and best-known clubs. Whiskey Saigon, 250 Richmond Street West, lit up with a neon sign and bright lights, is one of its longer standing venues and offers a lounge and rooftop patio. Not far away is Roxy Blu, 12 Brant Street, known for modern R&B as well as high-profile DJs occasionally flown into town. A young, tapped-in crowd finds its home at Turbo, 360 Adelaide Street West, for electronic music, trance and breakbeats. Chilled-out spots include Ciao Edie, 489 College Street, filled with retro-funk furnishings, and Fluid Lounge, 217 Richmond Street West. On the eastern edge of the city centre is the Guvernment, 132 Queens Quay East, a massive warehouse rigged with an industrial-strength sound system. Gay clubs are scattered throughout the Church and Wellesley area; one of the biggest is the three-floor complex containing The Barn and adjacent Stables at 418 Church Street. Comedy: Toronto is home to what is probably North America’s most famous comedy club chain: The Second City. The Toronto branch at 56 Blue Jays Way (tel: (416) 343 0011 or (800) 263 4485; website: www.secondcity.com), however, is of particular pop-cultural significance as it experienced a golden age in the late 1970s. It witnessed the beginning of the careers of future Hollywood greats, such as Dan Aykroyd (Blues Brothers), Mike Myers (Austin Powers) and Martin Short (Three Amigos). Toronto’s other big venue is Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Cabaret – the 2335 Yonge Street branch (tel: (416) 967 6425; website: www.yukyuks.com) is reputedly the continent’s largest stand-up venue. Live music: The Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen Street West, a gritty down-home venue and the first on the continent to receive The Police, is the best place to hear new rock bands. Massey Hall, 178 Victoria Street, hosts everything from jazz, classical, rock and world music to international dance troupes. A more laid-back atmosphere can be found at the Rex Jazz and Blues Bar, 194 Queen Street West, and the Montreal Bistro and Jazz Club, 65 Sherbourne Street. |
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