areas to go out in Toronto?
 

I will be in Toronto for a few days on business. I've never been and am looking forward to it.

Can anyone suggest a nice pedestrian friendly area to go out in? I am staying downtown at Intercontinental Toronto Centre if that makes a difference, but I dont mind grabbing a cab if I can land in an area where maybe I can bar hop a bit.

I am more interested in real, non-touristy spots. I dont go in for trendy martini bar stuff....not looking to "club," just a good bar....cold beer, friendly locals...maybe some tunes...no pretention. Grungy/bohemian/student dives are ok by me. I like well worn/well loved local watering holes, Irish pubs...that type of scene.

Again.....I'd like to find an area/neighborood thats got a few good places to check out, is safe, lively/youthful, and walkable.

Any ideas are appreciated. Cheers,

C'est What would fit the bill for a beer (and boyoboy, do they have beer).

Their web address is cestwhat.com and they're here relative to your hotel.

http://tinyurl.com/6r2tan

Another area is Roncesvalles, especially the upper end south of Howard Park Avenue (south from the Dundas West Subway station). It's isn't the closest to your hotel but is definitely walkable and is an enjoyable neighbourhood.

HTH
K

http://tinyurl.com/5s3u6p

The Annex, which is just west of downtown, has a couple of bars that are popular. The Madison (at Bloor & Madison) has been around for years, and it's a popular English pub style of place. No music though. The owners also have another bar called Paupers, right on Bloor Street.

Grungy, a dive..."I like well worn/well loved local watering holes" - The Horseshoe - often a band playing in the backroom - you can smell the beer and stale smokes on the street.

On Queen West at Spadina.

Walk over to Spadina from your hotel, catch the 510 streetcar going south on Spadina, get off at Queen.

I like staying at the Fairmont and hanging out at the train station across the street. And there is so much underground shopping, Toronto is outta sight! I wish I was going soon too.

The following are areas that I would recommend for a stroll, I won't recommend specific places as you can just jump in/out of bars until you find one you like:

1. South side of King St between John and Blue Jays Way (http://tinyurl.com/kingstreet). The strip is 600m from your hotel and has a great selection of martini bars, jazz clubs, etc.

2. College st between Crawford and Euclid (http://tinyurl.com/collegestreet). This comes highly recommended as it matches your description pretty well, and it's a great strip for walking. It's an 10min/$8 cab from your hotel, or $2.75 subway (go to St. Andrew station at King/University, grab a transfer, go northbound on the university/spadina line, get off at Queen's Park station, go up to street level on the northeast corner and grab the streetcar westbound to Euclid - about 15/20 mins total).

3. Bloor between Spadina and Bathurst (http://tinyurl.com/bloorstreet). I agree with the suggestion of going over to spadina (500m) and taking the streetcar north, or taking a $10 cab. Walk west on Bloor and between Spadina/Bathurst there are loads of boho pubs. I said I wouldn't recommend anything, but: Highly recommended for grunge: The Green Room - tough to find by the ultimate in student/boho grunge. Walk 3 doors south from bloor on the west side of brunswick, go down the first alley and you'll see the entrance to the green room. Future bakery on the corner of Brunswick/Bloor is the epicenter of student hangouts.

4. Queen West between University and Spadina (http://tinyurl.com/queenstreet). Just walk 900m straight up Simcoe from your hotel and walk west along Queen - loads of interesting bars and patios (and people).

Enjoy the city - hopefully you're coming soon before it gets really cold (it's already started to turn into fall).

Oops, I thought your hotel was on Bloor West - you're even closer to the Horseshoe.

Somehow my original message never got posted.

In it I said to go out the front door of the hotel and look around.

Turn right / east and there are lots of places in the next block.

Walk north two blocks along Sincoe to King, and there's a British pub with decent food, and then a half-block of other places.

Walk west on King another block, and there's a dozen places in the next block.

Walk north from King and John, and there are more restaurants and bars. Hooters at ADelaide and Montana, at Richmond, both meet your criteria.

Walk north on JOhn one more block to Queen, and turn right/east to The Rex (grungy, jass) or left/west and there are several bars, including the Horseshoe at Spadina. EAsily walkable,

No need to go to the west end of town on a half hour streetcar ride to be surrounded by Polish delis.

I walked through the parking lot of the Madison yesterday; seems like a long way to go to be surrounded by university students from the frat houses along the street, or, perhaps my daughter, who lives half a block away.

BAK

You could also walk to Wellington St and spend a little time at the Reservoir Lounge for live jazz/swing. Check out www.reservoirlounge.com. It's near C'est What? (mentioned in an early post). Mr frogoutofwater and I were lucky enough to have both Tyler Yarema (piano player - Tuesdays) and his partner Janice Hagan (sings Thursdays) as the band for our wedding a few years ago. They're both fabulous.

Brendan-
I've always felt safe anywhere I've been in Toronto, especially the area you are staying. I would suggest you explore, Toronto is THE easiest city to get around in..I love it!

by the way, would love to hear how you made out after you get back