7 Best Bars in Toronto, Ontario

The dark apothecarian interior at BarChef features dimly lit chandeliers and tabletop candles, which set the stage for wild and wonderful concoctions that force patrons to reimagine classic cocktails as art installations. The bartender's bag of tricks includes liquid nitrogen, so cocktails foam over like a foggy mist onto the table or turn into ice shards for a sensory experience that looks as good as it tastes. Purists can order a classic French absinthe fountain while fans of whiskey should order the signature Vanilla and Hickory Smoked Manhattan, served in a smoke-filled jar (but be warned, it clocks in at a hefty C$50). While not highlighted, a full page of the menu is devoted to meats, cheeses, and elevated bar snacks.

Hidden in plain sight on the upper level of the Waterworks Food Hall, a former pipe and plumbing factory, this decadent art nouveau cocktail bar captures Toronto's \"Roaring '20s\" with its deliberate tribute to the building it's housed in. The menu features ingeniously crafted libations with cheeky industrial names like a Pounding Sand or the Strickling Bar. No ingredient goes to waste on the palate here, but the real catch is the bar's \"water program\" that features demineralized Toronto tap water that's been remineralized to replicate the profiles of popular springs from around the world. Tasty fusion snacks from the food hall below can also be ordered.

Such Canadian literary luminaries as Margaret Atwood and Mordecai Richler have used the 17th-floor Park Hyatt bar as a setting in their writings, and now it's been renamed the Writers Room. A popular date spot, it's also a good place to sip a glass of wine, scotch, or a cocktail and soak in the city. The chic bar has big, open windows and an impressive patio that offers some of the most breathtaking views of the city, including the nearby ROM and University of Toronto. Inventive, spirit-forward cocktails (presented with quotes from books) come with little bowls of nuts and olives. There are also adventurous sharing plates like foie gras doughnuts, beef tartare, and oysters.

Slide into a leather banquette or pull up a seat at the string-lit patio at this white-brick cocktail bar. Unusual riffs on classic cocktails—like a cornichon gin martini or a clarified Paloma—are balanced and easy-drinking, with local and foraged ingredients woven throughout. Bar bites include fresh sourdough from nearby Bakery Pompette; down the block, another sister spot, Vinoteca Pompette, serves Italo-French plates.

Under the pressed-tin ceilings, mounted animal horns, and propaganda posters decorating this long-running hangout, locals gather over a brew or cocktail and soak up the 1970s punk playlist. Feeling peckish? There's Spanish and French-inspired small plates—plus one heck of a burger.

This high-end lounge in the flagship Four Seasons Hotel Toronto is modern and chic, with top-notch cocktails, including the bourbon, absinthe, sherry, and coffee-infused vermouth–based Bon Vivant. The food is spearheaded by French chef Daniel Boulud, so the menu goes far above and beyond simple bar bites—the charcuterie is house-made, they take the burger very seriously, and there are fresh oysters at the raw bar.

The hotel's spacious Lobby Lounge is famed for its high tea service complete with decadent pastry selection. The vibe gets swish by night as it transforms with live music, trendy cocktails, and delicious bar bites.