Book Bar is like a board games cafe, except with books instead of board games. It's one of a kind because I don't think any other full-building "book bars" exist elsewhere in the city (other than cafes offering a few books or magazines to read).
The location is convenient as it's right off Bloor Street West (steps away from the Bloor line subway), and the inside is SO cozy, beautiful, and charming - like walking into someone's very neat and inviting home with a lot of natural sunlight, nicely arranged furniture, and tons of books. This is truly a book lover's haven.
The main floor has the cafe where you can order small bites such as muffins, cookies, pastries, and drinks (tea, coffee, etc.). There are seating areas all throughout the floor, including a small table near the front that is ideal for socializing or chatting over drinks and snacks. Book shelves are spread out on both floors.
The upper floor has washrooms, a long island table, and various rooms and seating areas. My favourite is the lounge area / room with the fireplace - soo cozy with lots of books to choose from. As this place is newly opened, all of their books are also brand new. They are organized very neatly, labelled similar to the labelling system you'd find in bookstores and libraries.
The book selection is quite large - both fiction and non-fiction. You can search for a book by title or ISBN number on their website.
All the books in Book Bar can't be borrowed (not a library); they are meant to be read and enjoyed on site. Some are displayed for sale.
I like that they have a laptop-free policy in the evenings and weekends, so the space is used for what it's truly meant for - reading and enjoying books.
They hold monthly events such as book launches, author meet-and-greets, book club meetings, and other social events for literary enthusiasts. An area on the upper floor is reserved for the Book Club meetings.
The only downside (at the time when I was there) was that the music on the upper floor was a bit too loud for reading. As a reading space, there should be no music, or have classical / instrumental music with low volume. I couldn't concentrate on the reading with high-volume lyrical music in the background.
This is a very lovely space. I hope it stays and sticks around for a long time. read more