The Top 34 Places to Drink Near Clockwork

Updated July 15, 2026

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  1. Rank 1. Library Bar

    Cocktail Bar

    Tucked off the grand lobby of the Fairmont Royal York, Library Bar is a jewel-toned cocktail den where the drinks are genuinely serious and the room looks like a film set from a better decade. The cocktail menu is built around a Michael Ondaatje novel set in Toronto, which sounds pretentious until you taste the drinks and realize the team actually pulled it off. The crowd dresses up a little, and nobody seems to mind.

    Awards
    Address
    100 Front St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  2. Rank 2. Clockwork

    Awards
    Address
    100 Front St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  3. Rank 3. Reign

    Canadian American

    Awards
    Address
    100 Front St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  4. Rank 4. Evangeline

    Cocktail Bar

    Awards
    Address
    51 Camden St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  5. Rank 5. Alder

    Wood-Fired Mediterranean

    Wood-fired Mediterranean small plates inside the Ace Hotel, from the team behind Alo, so you already know the kitchen means business. The room is dark brick and warm wood with good natural light, and the crowd tends toward stylish locals who actually eat instead of just photograph. Order something from the fire, because that's the whole point, whether it's the lamb or the chicken. Save room for dessert.

    Awards
    Address
    51 Camden St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Reserve
    OpenTable
    Online
    Website
    On the Way What's Around

  6. Rank 6. XXX

    Cocktail Bar

    Tucked beneath a Dutch-Indonesian restaurant on Portland Street, this 20-seat subterranean speakeasy is the kind of place you either know about or you don't. The bar is run by a genuinely legendary bartender whose cocktails lean toward the high-concept and weird, in the best way. Funko Pop dolls and '70s Dutch kitsch cover every surface, and the 20 or so people packed in here are all very pleased with themselves for finding it.

    Awards
    Address
    102 Portland St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  7. Rank 7. 416 Snack Bar

    Been around for years and still pulls the crowd it always has, 416 Snack Bar is a candlelit no-reservations hang on Bathurst where the industry crowd comes to decompress and the cool kids never really left. The vibe is casual in the best way: good food, solid drinks, and a room full of people who look like they know something you don't. Show up, find a spot, and order with your hands.

    Awards
    Address
    181 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    Online
    Website
    On the Way What's Around

  8. Rank 8. Bar Pompette

    French Cocktail Bar

    Pompette pulls off something genuinely tricky: it feels like a Parisian café that wandered onto College Street and decided to stay. The cocktail list is where it gets interesting, with combinations that sound like a dare but somehow drink like a dream. Cool-kid regulars sprawl across bentwood chairs and the garden patio like they've nowhere better to be, which, honestly, they don't. One of Canada's 100 Best Bars, and worth every sip.

    Awards
    Address
    607 College St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  9. Rank 9. Slice of Life

    Awards
    Address
    409 College St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  10. Rank 10. Cocktail Bar

    Awards
    Address
    923 Dundas St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  11. Rank 11. Mother

    A cocktail bar on Queen West where the bartenders are basically brewing their own universe, fermenting and culturing ingredients into drinks that sound wild but somehow make complete sense. The vibe is polished and a little moody, and the crowd looks like they all have strong opinions about natural wine. The barrel-aged Negronis aging quietly behind the bar are worth the visit alone.

    Awards
    Address
    874 Queen St W, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  12. Rank 12. Civil Works

    Civil Works is a cocktail bar where every drink comes loaded with a concept, and somehow it works. The current menu ties each cocktail to the history of Toronto's old Garment District, wars and labour movements and all, printed on an actual fabric-swatch book. Heavy stuff, but the bartenders keep things fun, so you'll find yourself ordering craft Jell-O shots between sips of a rye-and-carbonated-maple number. Come curious and dressed like you have opinions.

    Awards
    Address
    50 Brant St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  13. Rank 13. Suite 115

    Cocktail Bar

    The password is posted right outside, so it's more of a speakeasy in spirit than in secrecy, which honestly makes it more fun. Inside, warm sunset tones and a bar that stretches on forever set the stage for some genuinely inventive cocktails, the kind that show up with a little snack alongside them. The crowd leans curious and adventurous, and the bar team matches that energy without taking itself too seriously.

    Awards
    Address
    532 College St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  14. Rank 14. Fix Coffee + Bikes

    Coffee

    Awards
    Address
    UG28 - 486 Front St W Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  15. Rank 15. Lonely Diner

    American

    A diner on College Street that takes the format seriously, right down to the long counter and the wood panelling, then quietly loses its mind in the best way. The regulars nursing cocktails spiked with Szechuan peppercorn and black garlic brine look like they figured something out. The food follows the same logic: greasy spoon classics with enough of a twist to make you feel clever for ordering them.

    Awards
    Address
    432 College St, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    Online
    Instagram
    On the Way What's Around

  16. Rank 16. Civil Liberties

    Cocktail Bar

    Civil Liberties is a no-menu cocktail bar on Bloor where you just tell the bartender what you're feeling and they figure out the rest. The crowd skews creative and slightly obsessive about drinks, which makes sense given the place runs its own house-made liqueurs. It shifts from nerdy conversation starter earlier in the evening to a proper party as the night goes on. An honest neighbourhood bar that happens to be quietly excellent.

    Awards
    Address
    878 Bloor St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  17. Rank 17. Bar Raval

    Spanish

    A pinxto bar on College that does a convincing impression of San Sebastián, right down to the vermouth and the late hour. The room is genuinely stunning, all curved mahogany that makes you feel like you're inside a very elegant ship. You come for Spanish snacks and small bites, stay because the cocktail and sherry program keeps getting better, and leave considerably later than planned. Holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

    Awards
    Address
    505 College St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    Website
    On the Way What's Around

  18. Rank 18. Cry Baby Gallery

    Cry Baby Gallery is a cocktail bar hiding behind a bouncer and a dark curtain in a whitewashed-brick gallery on Dundas West, which tells you exactly what kind of night you're in for. The drinks are genuinely serious, built around a menu that reads like a love letter to Toronto. The crowd is cool in that effortless way that's slightly annoying, and there's rotating art on the walls in case you need something to stare at between rounds.

    Awards
    Address
    1468 Dundas St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  19. Rank 19. Fika

    Nordic-Inspired

    Awards
    Address
    28 Kensington Ave, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  20. Rank 20. No Vacancy

    Cocktail Bar

    No Vacancy is a swanky cocktail bar on Ossington where the Japanese-inspired drinks program is genuinely the reason to go, not just a menu someone typed up and forgot about. The room looks great, all warm amber light and exposed brick, and the crowd dressed for a first date or a very good Tuesday knows it. The zero-proof options are also surprisingly legit, which is rare at a place this serious about drinking.

    Awards
    Address
    72 Ossington Ave, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  21. Rank 21. Bar Mordecai

    Cocktail Bar

    Bar Mordecai is a cocktail bar on Dundas West that genuinely can't sit still, and that's the whole point. The drinks are inventive without being precious, the fizzy wine list runs from Champagne to sparkling sake, and the crowd is exactly the kind of people who own that. Downstairs, karaoke gets loud and earnest in equal measure. Between bachata classes, tarot nights, and drag-hosted bingo, there's always a reason to come back.

    Awards
    Address
    1272 Dundas St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  22. Rank 22. Simpl Things

    Cocktail Bar

    Parkdale's pastel-hued cocktail bar where the drinks are nostalgic and unabashedly fun, and the food is genuinely worth sticking around for. The cocktail menu leans playful, think Cosmos and their kin, but there's real craft behind it all. Evenings bring Asian comfort dishes that hit harder than you'd expect from a bar. The crowd wears vintage finds and orders a second round before finishing the first.

    Awards
    Address
    269 Dunn Ave, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  23. Rank 23. Uh Bar

    Awards
    Address
    1221 Dundas St W unit 5, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    On the Way What's Around

  24. Rank 24. Sweaty Betty's

    Cocktail Bar

    Sweaty Betty's is the kind of bar that was cool before the neighborhood knew it was cool, and it's still not trying to impress you. The red-lit, mismatched-furniture dive on Ossington looks like a late-night stumble-in, but regulars know the cocktails are genuinely well-made and mostly under $18. Good beer on tap too, plus a solid food menu. The crowd wears whatever they want, which is exactly the point.

    Awards
    Address
    13 Ossington Ave, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    Online
    Website
    On the Way What's Around

  25. Rank 25. Gift Shop

    Cocktail Bar

    There's a hidden bar behind a barbershop on Ossington, and yes, you have to actually find it, which is half the fun. Gift Shop has been around long enough to earn the label "heritage bar," but the cocktail menu hasn't gone soft. They do classics right and their originals get genuinely weird in a good way. The crowd tends toward people who noticed the door and decided to try it, which is already a decent filter.

    Awards
    Address
    93 Ossington Ave, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  26. Rank 26. Prequel & Co. Apothecary

    Frankie Solarik traded the smoke machines and dry ice of BarChef for something quieter but just as theatrical: a cocktail bar dressed as an old apothecary, where drinks get made with house bitters, crushed herbs, and stuff pulled from vintage jars on the backbar. You walk in through a chemist storefront, flip through a menu that reads like a potion catalog, and somehow end up holding something genuinely delicious. The '90s hip-hop keeps it from taking itself too seriously.

    Awards
    Address
    1036 Queen St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  27. Rank 27. Black Dice Cafe

    Japanese Coffee Shop

    This Dundas West bar has been nailing the Japanese rockabilly thing for years, and it only gets cooler with age. Sake cocktails, Sapporo pints, and whisky highballs flow under the glow of a vintage pinball machine while the owner's actual rockabilly band plays around the city. The chrome barstools, the Formica, the carefully curated posters, it all adds up to a vibe that feels genuinely lived-in rather than designed by committee.

    Awards
    Address
    1574 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    Online
    Instagram
    On the Way What's Around

  28. Rank 28. Belle Isle

    Awards
    Address
    1455 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    On the Way What's Around

  29. Rank 29. 915 Dupont

    Japanese

    A Toronto bar that doubles as a daytime café, 915 Dupont is built around the kissaten tradition of serious listening and sessionable drinks. Vintage amps and Noguchi lamps set the mood, and the crowd runs from laptop creatives in the afternoon to people who actually care what's on the speakers at night. The cocktails lean Japanese, with sake and yuzu showing up alongside highballs inspired by famous albums. It made Canada's 100 Best Bars list, which tracks.

    Awards
    Address
    915 Dupont St, Toronto, ON · Toronto
    Online
    Instagram
    On the Way What's Around

  30. Rank 30. Doc’s Green Door Lounge

    Cocktail Bar

    A Junction cocktail bar and cafe that pulls off the rare trick of being genuinely good at everything: coffee in the morning, caviar and chips at night, and a Martini program that hands you a menu of choices and tells you to sort yourself out. The natural wine list is serious without being solemn, the cocktails are precise, and the regulars drinking icy pilsners don't seem to mind either way. Classic neighbourhood bar energy, quietly overachieving.

    Awards
    Address
    3106 Dundas St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  31. Rank 31. Writers Room Bar

    Awards
    Address
    4 Avenue Rd, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  32. Rank 32. Le Tigre

    Awards
    Address
    1060 Yonge St Floor 2, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
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  33. Rank 33. Electric Bill

    Australian

    Awards
    Address
    866 Bloor St W, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
    On the Way What's Around

  34. Rank 34. De Mello

    Awards
    Address
    2489 Yonge St, Toronto ON · Toronto
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
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