I've been to 416 Snack Bar many times, and it's one of my favorite places when I'm in the mood to…read moreeat a little bit of different things. Their menu is built around small plates, which makes it easy to order a few dishes to share or sample different flavors in one visit. My favorite item is the lamb sandwich. I order it almost every time because it's just that good. Another reason I love this place is that it's open late into the night. After an event or a night out, it's one of my favorite spots to stop for something delicious when most kitchens are already closed. I also like that the menu changes from time to time. There are always some familiar favorites, but it's fun to come back and discover new dishes as well. The atmosphere is another highlight. The space is small and intimate, with dim lighting, candles on the tables, and sometimes a DJ playing music in the background. It has a cozy, relaxed vibe that makes it a great place to spend an evening. It's one of those restaurants I find myself coming back to again and again.

After years of wanting to try this place and not getting in, I finally made it for a cute little…read moredate night. The vibes were cozy and romantic, the wine was flowing (they have an excellent selection) and the tapas were great. We tried at least half the menu, and the standout for me was the korean fried chicken. Everything else was good, only real miss for me was the flauta. Definitely would come back here!

This is the bar up above Khao San Road. Darkly lit, vibey place with some neon and cool music in…read morebackground. Good spot to have a drink while waiting for a table downstairs. Drink menu has some interesting Thai themed takes on classic cocktails. Had the Letters From Iwo Jima Thai version of an Old Fashioned and it was pretty good. Guac and Chips was solid - homemade chips and good quac. King Oyster Mushroom was quite tasty although a bit too salty. Overall (4/5) - not a bad little place pre-dinner.

Nice place to stop by for a drink. Didn't have any food but the menu looked interesting. We sat at…read morethe bar upstairs with big TV's and a great vibe. Our bartender was nice and attentive with a real wit about her saying funny lines and entertaining. Next time will get some food but the drinks I can attest are well pored.

I'd heard a lot of good things about Slice of Life, so I was super excited to finally check the…read moreplace out on a recent Saturday. Obviously, the ambiance simply can't be beat. You walk in and you're immediately presented with a really cool, really atmospheric hallway that leads into a flashy bar. The service was awesome, too. It was the end of the night, so I figured I'd probably only be getting one drink, which is why I went with the very expensive ($26!) New York Sour ("lot 40 canadian rye whisky. peller estates private reserve pinot noir 2024. montmorency cherry. wild rosehip. citrus. whey"). It's a decent cocktail. The flavors work well together and it did elevate a normal Whisky Sour. However, I don't feel like it knocked my socks off, and as a result, paying about $30 (including tax and tip) seemed a little unreasonable. It's a solid drink, though. It sure fared better than the Truffle Pommes Frites ("shoestring fries, parmigiano, truffle aioli"), which I found to be inedible. I know that truffle oil is one of those divisive ingredients that people either love or hate, but I'd say I easily fall into the latter camp. And this concoction was overloaded with the stuff, so I was only able to eat a few bites before throwing in the towel. Based on this visit, I'd have to say Slice of Life is more style over substance, but I could be wrong and I'll presumably be back at some point to give them another shot.

Small but cute cocktail bar. It's a bit pricey for what you're getting, but a good one time visit…read more The service was excellent - we sat at the bar and the bartender was very friendly and walked us through the menu and made general conversation. The drinks were good too, but for $20+ drinks, I think I expected a bit more.

Cute stop for a cocktail bar hopping night. Their drinks are a bit too sweet for our liking, but…read moreI'm always a sucker for the Asian inspired flavours! We tried the Opium signature drink and the Chinese Hangover (had a super nostalgic orangey flavour for me).

Opium Bar is all about providing quality and delicious Asian inspired tapas along with their unique…read morecocktails. Located at Ossington & Dundas, this spot is perfect to chillax or catch up with friends. The restaurant is just right to accommodate large groups, but you would have to make a reservation as most of the seats are 2 seaters/bar seats. They have a lot of unique cocktails available to go with your meal, but if you want mocktails, you can get a customized one for just $5.50 too ~ If I had to say, all of the food I've tried was delicious, but here are some of my favorites. - Noodles ($11): Their soft Chinese cut ribbon styled noodles is topped with their in-house special beef paste. - Opium Chicken ($13): Their Taiwanese style chicken is seasoned well and made out of dark boneless meat that's marinated in their special recipe for hours. - Veggie and beef dumplings ($8.50 each): The dumplings are always made fresh in house without MSG. Getting them pan fried adds the perfect crispy texture! (+0.75). The owners who are usually working were very friendly to us. We had a good chat and I can really tell how passionate they are about this business. I highly recommend checking this bar out if you visit downtown Toronto!

I booked my birthday party here for 30+ people and Eddy and his team were so accommodating! They…read morewere great with emailing me and contacting me about the details of the night and also let me customize my message on the marquee board. They gave me the entire back end of the bar + a booth, let us decorate the area, and gave us all the materials we needed for our cake. Our server was amazing. She was so nice and tended to all 30+ of us. She was constantly around and was always refilling the waters and cleaning the tables. The tacos, nachos, and the cocktail drinks are great. Would highly recommend this bar for a special day. My entire party had a great time here.

4.5/5 overall The…read moregood: great bar to hang out with friends, fits a group of 6 well! Atmosphere was great, vibe was good! Lots of good beers on tap! The bad: ordered four cocktails, one of which I do not recommend - peardise lost. Tasted more like cough medicine gone bad The meh: the rest of the drinks were pretty average. We ordered Sunken Island (tasted like piña colada, Nijikai (good infusion of Japanese drinks together), and proper pimms cup (easy to drink, exactly as the menu describes it). Also ordered the LC nachos, large amount that was easy to share amongst our group of 6. What to know: they have food from la carnita (whom are attached upstairs). If you have a big group, best to book ahead because table is limited. Overall not a bad experience. Great bar to go to if you are around the area :)

Best cocktails of the trip for this #22 on the best of North America's '26 bars. 4.5 stars…read more Cocktails: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4 Cost to worth it rating: 3 Opentableable: yes Return worthiness: yes Highlights: - James was a wonderful host with great recommendations. Even when one was a miss for me, he followed up with a winner - Claire De Lune: gin, vanilla, almost clarified punch style was my favorite. 5 stars - Spiced Prophecy: tequila, ginger, and mint drink was so smooth and effervescent and came with a little sparkly fire show with a wreath of steel wool around it. 5 stars - Fun vibe though was a thin hallway with just a few tables - Style: Q-bert black and white cube flooring Midlights - Some heavy on the scotch flavor which isn't my thing Lowlights - Came from dinner so didn't have room to try snacks

I'm a big fan of Manhattans, so when I heard that Mother was serving up a supposedly top-notch…read moreversion, I knew I had to check it out for myself. I arrived at around 6:30 on a recent Wednesday and the place was about half full. I snagged a spot at the end of the bar and began perusing the menu. Obviously I had to get the Bobby Burns in Manhattan ("Bourbon, Canadian Whisky, Blended Scotch, Italian Vermouth Blend, aromatic Bitters, Salted Vanilla and Drambuie. Burnt caramel with bright aromatics") and it was ready a few minutes later. It's incredible. It's right up there with the best Manhattans I've ever had, and it's sure possible it might be the best. The balance of flavors is right on point, and it's also been incorporated with other tastes that work perfectly. (I returned to Mother a few weeks later and it was just as good the second time.) I was feeling a little peckish, so I went ahead and ordered the Jerk Chicken Karaage. It arrived piping hot and was a far bigger portion than I had anticipated. I figured I'd never be able to finish it, but it was so delicious I inhaled the whole thing. For my second drink, I went with the Honey + ("100% Agave Reposado Tequila, Espadin Mezcal, Ontario Bee Pollen, Salted Lavender Honey & Fresh Citrus. Floral, Smoky & Tart"), and it was so satisfying and flavorful. (I'm all about that Manhattan, though.) Mother is a terrific place. The atmosphere is awesome and my bartender was super friendly and helpful. It deserves its place as one of the city's very best cocktail bars.

3.5/5 but I couldn't really give it a 3…read more Great spot for a post work happy hour drinks and bites on a Thursday. Amazing deal for their small plates. They have tons of food option and a few cocktails. I tried the yuzu gin smash, bang bang shrimp, and dumplings. I'd go back to try more of their dishes.

Big Trouble is a pretty unassuming Asian cocktail and snack bar tucked away on the second floor…read morejust off Chinatown. We stopped by for happy hour and were pleasantly surprised to see that it leans just as much into food as it does drinks, which isn't always the case. The space is simple and cute, with a modern snack bar feel and Asian-inspired touches without too much frill. There are a few larger semi-communal bar tables, some booths along the window, and a couple of bigger booths on the opposite side. One small note for anyone over 30 though: the communal tables could really use some back support, because those stools are not doing your spine any favours after a while. Service was decent but definitely slow. It looked like the place was being run by one person who was doing everything, taking orders and making drinks behind the bar, so the pace made sense given that. For food, we tried the cheeseburger dumplings, bang bang shrimp, pork and leek wontons, and the curry beef pocket from the happy hour menu. We also ordered the popcorn chicken and spicy glass noodles afterward. Everything was good enough, but nothing really stood out. The happy hour items felt like solid value (at $5 for snacks, and $8 for a plate of dumplings), while the regular menu portions were on the smaller side, so you'd likely need to order a few dishes to feel full. Seating was a bit of a shuffle. All the booths were taken by couples, so we initially sat at one of the communal tables, then later moved to a booth to make room for a larger group. There was quite a bit of empty space in the middle of the room, and it felt like they could fit more smaller tables if they wanted to, though that might not be the atmosphere they're going for. They were also happy to make me a non-alcoholic lychee mojito, which I appreciated. It was refreshing, though slightly on the sweet side. Overall, I'd come back for the vibes and the happy hour. It's a chill, tucked-away spot that's nice for a low-key hang, and I'd be open to trying more of the menu next time.

Keep your eyes PEELED for the slap dash (espresso martini)…read more Walked in on a Saturday with no reso @ 6:30pm. Food: Slap dash (espresso martini) - so so so good. Must try. Might be one of the best in the city. Cruising altitude (cantaloupe tequila) - not bad but I don't like tequila so... Shrimp cocktail - shrimp was sweet and juicy. The cocktail sauce was the star though. I think they put some wasabi in it that really elevated the dish from good to great Service: Was good and attentive. Ambiance: Upscale. Classy. A but pricey but some appetizers were 10 dollars. Good for a date.

We were here while bar hopping in Ossington area. This spot is very chic and classy, good decor,…read morenice menu and interesting cocktails. Spicy churros is a must try. The bartender is very friendly and offered amazing suggestions for the drinks.