Toronto’s ‘Brooklyn’ is having a nightlife comeback and it’s happening farther west

Decades ago, Queen Street West was the place to be when it came to grabbing a drink and having a good time in downtown Toronto. Now, several legendary Queen West hotspots that were in business for years have closed, including the iconic Velvet Underground just last year (that one hurt).

Other venues and bars on Queen West that once made it what it was and drew major crowds are long since gone: millennials might remember The Big Bop at Queen and Bathurst, drawing crowds at night with its gritty vibe and indie acts.

It’s now a furniture store.

As some hangouts on Queen West continue to make it happen, it feels like so many others continue to slowly slip away. So, is Queen West’s nightlife dead?

There are some people running bars a little further down the street on West Queen West and in Parkdale who strongly beg to differ.

Robin Goodfellow, who professes to be “bringing 2013 back” with the newly opened indie-sleaze-inspired bar The Dirty Laundry at Queen and Gladstone, is going back to his roots.

“Queen West was undoubtedly the birthplace of the cocktail bar scene in Toronto,” Goodfellow tells YourCityWithIN.com, citing spots that are just down the street from Dirty Laundry and still operating, including the Gladstone and the Drake Hotel, which still host music acts and events that draw people from other areas. Further east, he also cites now-closed Czehoski and Unit.

“When Queen West developed these iconic bars, the entertainment district’s mega nightclubs were dying out, and people wanted something more curated. The global cocktail renaissance was also taking shape and this was where a select few individuals were experimenting with an upcoming trend,” says Goodfellow.

“So, Queen West definitely has had a heyday. In my opinion, likely 2009 to 2015, but it has never died. I think last year it was probably at an all-time low with Cold Tea closed, but now there are a few spots opening up and revitalizing this very historic neighbourhood: The Virginia, The Dirty Laundry, Cafe Gigi, Liliana, Boogie.”

Liliana is a new Italian hotspot that’s impossible to get into right now, and Boogie is a club keeping the Parkdale nightlife culture alive within steps of the gloomy, still-shuttered Beaver, which was once one of Toronto’s most iconic gay bars on Queen West. The Dirty Laundry has taken up residence where vetted nightlife spot Cold Tea closed.

While our beloved 2010s indie sleaze era may be the stuff of days gone by, there are arguments that the Queen West scene is not only still alive and well, but also evolving.

For example, the new restaurant Florette, headed up by Miguel Lopez, boasts a formidable cocktail menu.

Lopez also shouts out Cold Tea and the transformation into The Dirty Laundry, confident that new neighbourhood staples are emerging.

“I think Queen West shifted from mid-2000s lounge-and-club energy to today’s wine bars and craft cocktail rooms. Condo development brought a different crowd; the scene became quieter, more food-focused, and centred on community and enjoying time with familiar faces,” Lopez tells YourCityWithIN.com

“I’ve worked in College Park, the Financial District, King West and Yorkville. Queen West feels more artistic and community-centric.”

Both Goodfellow and Lopez call Parkdale the “Brooklyn of Toronto” with pride.

“It somehow feels like the heartbeat of Toronto, while also feeling outside of Toronto,” says Goodfellow.

“I can appreciate that lots of pockets around the city are having their moment but Queen West is very much the Brooklyn of Toronto,” says Lopez. “Lots of things to do and see and the bars on Queen West demonstrate it.”

Extending west, new bars that have opened on Queen West include understated cocktail haunt The Virginia and ultra-cool dive Water to Wine. One serves immaculate martinis; the other offers specials like slushies, plus shot-and-beer combos (for example, the Sacre Bleu, a shot of whiskey and a Labatt Blue). Water to Wine also has a full upright piano.

“During the early years of COVID, lots of great spots left the neighbourhood but some great places remained,” Dan Losier, bartender and owner of Water to Wine along with Spencer Hendry, tells YourCityWithIN.com. Losier shouts out The Rhino, Skyline, Motel Bar, The Mezz, Food & Liquor and The Grand Trunk as places that have stood the test of time.

“Since the COVID recovery, many more great spots have opened up in the last three to four years, and that legacy Parkdale had pre-COVID is coming back with new bars,” says Losier, specifically pointing out Danu Social House, Dystopia, and The Bell & The Beacon.

Even some of the people who have enjoyed many years of success on Queen West have moved further along the strip, with the team behind the iconic Skyline Diner opening The Bell & Beacon near Roncesvalles, a pizza restaurant with a bar/venue above it that’s not so secretly the liveliest new spot in town. In fact, it used to be the iconic late-night pizza spot Amico’s, symbolic of Queen West’s quietly loud comeback.

“I believe the strip from Dufferin to Roncesvalles is due for even more growth. We will continue to see that strip of spots grow,” says Lopez. “Not just in the quantity of places to go, but also in the quality and creativity of the spots we will see take space on this street.”

Some people have even given the area of Queen West near Roncesvalles a new name: Queen’s End.

“Queen’s End Parkdale is really starting to develop as an excellent strip of bars being anchored by Food & Liquor and The Bell & Beacon,” says Losier. “Spots like Three Dollar Bill, Osprey Cafe, Dystopia and ourselves, Water to Wine are all new to the area, and are bolstering those blocks from Sarauren to Roncesvalles which have historically been a bit quieter in the past.”

Goodfellow thinks that Queen West is not only “back,” but he also has his eye on potentially opening more places in the area in the near future if things keep going well at The Dirty Laundry and Cafe Gigi.

“We just need more people around the city to know that Queen West is back, super fun, and most importantly, affordable,” says Goodfellow.