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The 17 Best Bars in Toronto

Toronto does much of its best drinking on a few west-end streets. The best bars in Toronto line College Street in Little Italy, Ossington Avenue, Queen West and Dundas West, with others downtown and in Bloorcourt, Parkdale and Leslieville. Ten are ranked on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026, four in the top 50, led by Bar Pompette, a Parisian café-style room on College Street, at No. 8, then Library Bar at the Fairmont Royal York at No. 19, Mother on Queen West at No. 22 and Civil Works, in the 1932 Waterworks building, at No. 29. Civil Liberties in Bloorcourt has worked without a menu since 2014, making each drink to the guest's taste. Mother leans on hyper-seasonal produce and fermentation, Slice of Life hides a lab of centrifuges and rotary evaporators behind a printing shop facade, and Mahjong Bar is entered through a pink corner store. Library Bar serves its Birdbath Martini tableside. Bar Pompette and Suite 115 take walk-ins only, and Bar Raval takes no reservations. These are the seventeen we would start with.

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  1. Bar Pompette
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    Bar Pompette

    A Parisian-café-styled cocktail bar in Little Italy, with whitewashed brick, a marble bartop and tawny leather banquettes, ranked on North America's 50 Best Bars. The drinks program leans on French ingredients and locavorism, backed by an in-house ice program, an Old World wine list and shareable plates from sister restaurant Pompette. Walk-ins only, with live jazz on Sundays. It currently stands at No. 8 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026, and placed No. 55 on The World's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2025.

    607 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1B5Sun–Thu 6pm–1am, Fri–Sat 6pm–2am
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  2. Library Bar
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTHotel Bar

    Library Bar

    The cocktail bar of the Fairmont Royal York, redesigned in reference to the hotel's Art Deco heritage, with a menu of modern cocktails organized by literary genre and its signature Birdbath Martini served tableside. It ranks No. 19 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026 and holds the list's Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2026. It was a Top 4 finalist for Best International Hotel Bar at the 2026 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.

    Fairmont Royal York, 100 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5J 1E3Daily 12pm–12am
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  3. Mother
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    Mother

    A compact Queen West cocktail bar built around hyper-seasonal produce and fermentation, with a philosophy of elevating Canadian cocktails through natural ingredients. Its current menu, The 5th Horizon, is paired with a rotating food program drawn from global cuisines. Ranked No. 22 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026.

    874 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1G3, Canada
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  4. Civil Works
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    Civil Works

    A 120-seat Art Deco-inspired cocktail bar from the Civil Liberties team, set on the mezzanine of the 1932 Waterworks building. The menu features 21 cocktails tied to the building's history alongside a water program that demineralizes Toronto tap water and rebalances it to regional mineral profiles. Ranked No. 29 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026.

    Waterworks Food Hall, 50 Brant St, Toronto, ON M5V 3G9Sun & Tue–Thu 5pm–12am, Fri–Sat 5pm–2am
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  5. Civil Liberties
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTSpeakeasy

    Civil Liberties

    A menu-free Bloorcourt cocktail bar serving bespoke drinks since 2014, with bartenders building cocktails to each guest's taste from a back bar of over 210 spirits. The room pairs a back-to-basics industrial feel with an unpretentious neighborhood crowd, and the team also runs a cocktail school. Ranked No. 21 on North America's 50 Best Bars in 2024 and 2025. It sits at No. 54 on the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    878 Bloor Street W, Toronto, Ontario
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Flavour Blaster
  1. Bar Mordecai
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTHotel Bar

    Bar Mordecai

    A Dundas West bar styled after Wes Anderson films and vintage hotel lobbies, with a ground-floor cocktail bar and four private karaoke rooms. The menu runs to shared plates, local and international beer, wines by the glass or bottle, and a creative, crushable cocktail list. It currently stands at No. 94 on the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    1272 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1X7Wed 6pm–12am, Thu 6pm–1am, Fri–Sat 6pm–2am
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  2. Cry Baby Gallery
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTSpeakeasy

    Cry Baby Gallery

    A bar concealed behind a working art gallery in Little Portugal, with peeling walls, exposed piping and a butcher's-block bar top that lean into a deliberately unfinished, DIY-speakeasy feel. The list runs to cocktails built on housemade syrups, infusions and bitters, alongside oysters, low-intervention wines and regional craft beer. No reservations. It sits at No. 69 on the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    1468 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1Y6
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  3. Suite 115
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTSpeakeasy

    Suite 115

    Suite 115 bills itself as Little Italy's hidden cocktail bar, tucked behind an unmarked entrance at 532 College Street. Opened in May 2024, it operates walk-in only, with cocktail classes offered alongside its drinks menu. It sits at No. 74 on the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    532 College St, Toronto, ONMon-Sun 5:30pm–2am
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  4. Bar Raval
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    Bar Raval

    Grant van Gameren's Spanish-style bar in Little Italy, known for its undulating Gaudí-esque carved mahogany interior and barrel tables. It serves tapas and cocktails, operates largely as standing room, and takes no reservations.

    505 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1A5Daily 1pm–1am
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  5. Simpl Things
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    Simpl Things

    Simpl Things is a neighborhood cocktail bar on Dunn Avenue in Parkdale and the first bar of bartender Evelyn Chick, who designed the room herself, with 27 seats inside and a terrace. The kitchen serves Italian cafe food by day and Asian-leaning plates at night, and a monthly pop-up, Simpl Exchange, hands it to a guest chef. The drinks list mixes house Cosmopolitan variations and seasonal cocktails built on Ontario produce with a full non-alcoholic menu, and many drinks come in a smaller 'teeny' pour.

    269 Dunn Ave, Toronto, ON M6K 2S1Wed-Fri 12pm-12am, Sat-Sun 10am-12am, closed Mon-Tue
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  6. No Vacancy
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    No Vacancy

    A moody cocktail bar and dining room on Toronto's Ossington strip, blending Korean flavors with Italian, French and Japanese influences. Bar manager Troy Gilchrist leads a creative cocktail program in a space dressed with commissioned artwork, including a Roy Lichtenstein-inspired mural. Tasting and prix fixe menus run early in the evening, with late-night walk-ins for drinks and snacks. The bar holds No. 82 on the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    74 Ossington AvenueTue-Wed and Sun 6pm-1am; Thu-Sat 6pm-2am
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  7. Slice Of Life
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTSpeakeasy

    Slice Of Life

    Hidden behind the faux facade of a printing shop at College and Bathurst, Slice of Life is a speakeasy-style cocktail bar that describes itself as Toronto's artistic cocktail haven. A basement laboratory outfitted with centrifuges, rotary evaporators, ultrasonic infusers and dehydrators supplies the cocktail program, served in a darkened room of red velvet banquettes reached through a mirrored hallway. It currently stands at No. 90 on the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    409 College St, Toronto, ON M5T 1T1Wed–Mon evenings
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  8. Bar Banane
    Cocktail Bar

    Bar Banane

    A French-inspired cocktail bar on Ossington Avenue from the team behind La Banane, serving canapés such as Nova Scotia lobster croustade and smoked sturgeon rillettes alongside larger plates like lobster roll américaine and steak frites. The drinks list pairs signature cocktails, among them the Forbidden Negroni, with wine and local craft beer. Reservations are accepted, with space held for walk-ins.

    227A Ossington Ave, Toronto, ONWed–Thu 6pm–12am, Fri–Sat 6pm–2am
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  9. BarChef
    Cocktail Bar

    BarChef

    Frankie Solarik's modernist cocktail bar on Queen West, billed as The Modern Cocktail Experience. A rotating quarterly menu spans aperitifs, spirit-forward drinks and cocktails built with molecular techniques, with all infusions, syrups and bitters made in house. The room is dimly lit, with dark curtains, exposed brick and an illuminated back bar.

    472 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V 2B2, Canada
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  10. À Toi
    Speakeasy

    À Toi

    À Toi is a speakeasy on King Street West that opened in 2018 behind the oyster bar Coffee Oysters Champagne, styled as the lobby bar of a fictional 1920s Parisian hotel. In August 2026 the front room was rebuilt as Hotel À Toi, a lounge dressed as a boutique hotel lobby, and guests now reach the speakeasy through a door at the back of its boutique. The drinks list is built around cognac, absinthe and aperitifs, served with oysters and small plates, and tables are booked on SevenRooms.

    214 King St W, Toronto, ON M5H 3S6Tue-Sat 5pm-2am, Sun 8pm-12am, closed Mon
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  11. Mahjong Bar
    Speakeasy

    Mahjong Bar

    Mahjong Bar is a cocktail bar on Dundas West entered through a pink, neon-lit corner store and a keyhole-shaped door at its back. The room has checkered floors, a tropical mural and a lacquered pink marble bar, and the cocktails mix East Asian and Western flavors, such as a soju spritz and an oolong whisky sour, with Chinese small plates from the kitchen.

    1276 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1X7Thu 7pm-1am, Fri-Sat 7pm-2am, Sun 7pm-12am, closed Mon-Wed
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  12. Vatican Gift Shop
    Speakeasy

    Vatican Gift Shop

    Vatican Gift Shop is a bar in Leslieville hidden behind the false front of a shop selling Catholic trinkets, from the team behind Pinkerton's and Poor Romeo. A door in the corner of the store opens onto a long, red-lit room with a wooden bar serving Toronto craft beer, amaro cocktails and Neapolitan pizza, with live music and DJs on the calendar. It opens Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, and tables can be booked on OpenTable.

    1047 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1Z7Wed-Sat 6pm-2am, closed Sun-Tue
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Explore the whole Toronto scene

These 17 are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Toronto, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.

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