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    Handlebar

    4.3 (65 reviews)
    Closed • 7:00 pm - 2:00 am (Next day)

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    Martin S.

    You gotta love Handlebar! They got things right back in 2012 when they opened with a bang using Yelpers hosting an elite event that help launch them into instant classic Toronto bar status and adding a nice dose of class to a disheveled strip of Kensington Market. There is good synergy between Round across the street and sometimes even the Boat, to provide some danceable nightlife to an otherwise tumbleweed infested strip where you might get mugged rather than have a good time. I dropped by Handlebar recently to see a EDM live show where a friend of mine was producing, and it was good to see not much has changed from 2012. Cozy tables along the wall facing the bar, a chill spot at the very front near the end of the long bar, and spontaneously good service from the bar keeps. This along with a perfectly sized dance floor add up to the right chemistry for longevity. Don't change a thing! (And, if you want, run across the street and see what's happening at the neighbours :)

    i am robot and proud - Live performance.
    Aida M.

    This is a great place to have a drink with friends, a mate or alone. Seems like a spot that you can always make new friends and get to know the regulars. I came here from NYC to sit in and watch i am Robot and proud, a cool band you must check out if you haven't heard of them already - they are an awesome group and the music is great. This bar was a perfect fit. Cozy, chill and somehow it felt special... I don't know, but maybe that's the beer talking =) I'll comeback on my next trip.

    View from the best seat in the house.
    Oliver B.

    ***NEW FAVOURITE BAR*** Owned by the same people who ran The Avro before it was rent-jacked out of existence, this is a place where I heartily recommend spending all of your dollars. They have movie nights, dance nights and pleny of just totally chill nights where they play music at the perfect volume for you and whoever to easily hear each other expressing distaste with the mayor's latest performance art. Beers are well priced and the staff pay you just the right amount of attention. There are pleny of booth and bar seats but easily the best place in the house is right by the front entrance where you can enjoy one of these small half-couches. Each one has a detachable, small oval table that's perfect for your drink. When you really push your butt into the couch facing the front window you're rewarded with a great view of the sky as framed by potted plants and illuminated by the lightbulb in the bicycle they have as part of the front display. For maximum value, have a beer in one hand (easy) and your other arm around a partner (hopefully easy, for your sake). Wait, I want that seat all to myself. Why am I telling you about it?! Shit, why do I keep sabotaging my LIFE? The one complaint I have is that the bar staff wouldn't compliment my big ol' dick, no matter how many times I asked them to do so. I will, of course, be taking this up with the appropriate government regulatory body. Oh, I'm just kidding, the only thing lengthy about my dick would be the tragic poems it inspires on account of being so dang terrible.

    The Poutinette
    Brishen V.

    Handlebar has become our new favourite bar in Kensington. The drink list is awesome with lots of fun local beers, cider, and mixed drinks (try the fantastic dark-and-stormy!). It's a cool dive bar with super friendly staff and an awesome dark decor complete with couches and a pinball machine. They have the best food menu we've seen at a bar: my fiancée loves the poutinette- a perfect cross-hatched stack of thickly cut potatoes, smoked gouda, and red-wine demi glas that'd be at home on a high end table, but served at a bar! Their dishes are an impressive selection of the better vendors in the market (Hooked, Sanagan's, Thomas Lavers). If you want a low-key relaxed atmosphere with good drink and snacks you can't beat hitting up Handlebar early in the evening. Later it becomes one of the better venues in town (the NXNE show we caught last year was incredible). While I miss the Avro, I've maybe grown to love Handlebar more.

    Hibiscus and Green Tea beer

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    8 years ago

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    9 years ago

    My second time in Toronto, my gf wanted to check out this spot. Very romantic, smooth and cool spot. Must check it out.

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    10 years ago

    Easily my favorite KM bar. The atmosphere and music is always spot on, and the live music curation is even better.

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    10 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    10 years ago

    Great place to go for a pint and check out some live music. Highly recommended and in the heart of Kensington.

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    14 years ago

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    11 years ago

    Fun spot. Good crowd. Good music. Cheap drinks. Nice little patio in the heart of Kensington market. What more could you ask for?

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    9 years ago

    We went on Tuesday night and it was a blast! Highly recommend it for a fun night of karaoke and dancing!

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    10 years ago

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    12 years ago

    What can I say? This place is awesome. Friendly crew, delicious food and great drinks.

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    14 years ago

    Visited a second time and I gotta say this place is growing on me. I think it's a perfect addition to the Augusta strip!!!

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    13 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    13 years ago

    Not the fanciest place but the atmosphere is really fun and the service was amazing. Saw the wolf band play here. Great show great night

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    10 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    9 years ago

    nice vibe, great place to go out for a good night with some friends! cover to get in and fairly priced and the drinks are somewhat cheap!

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    13 years ago

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    Page 2 of 2

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    Review Highlights - Handlebar

    “The atmosphere was dark and cavernous, adorned with old bicycles and the overall atmosphere was a super chill vibe.”

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    Adelaide Hall

    Adelaide Hall

    3.5(16 reviews)
    1.1 km•Entertainment District, Downtown Core, Waterfront Communities-The Island
    •$$

    Adelaide Hall is a nice bar type live music venue in the heart of the entertainment district. The…read moredoors are located on the west side of Duncan just north of Adelaide, and easy to spot with plenty of signage proclaiming that it's the cover band spot to be on the weekends with live music just like the good ole days! The first time I went was for the NYE party bringing in 2024 and the cover band played 2000's era music which was very well done and had the crowd singing along. Even the owner got on stage and was lead singer for many of the era's tunes using his phone for the lyrics. Hokey but awesome too! This kind of place reminds me of the days before the popularity of EDM, house music, and bars charging money to hear recorded music. With a live band there is more of a focal point to the evening and more randomness in the music, which makes it more interesting to dance to. Check this place out if you're in the mood on a weekend and tired of the typical pretentiousness of many of the bars in the area, and get back to basics where people are playing real instruments and have plenty of talent to share with the public.

    Went for a show and ended up being assaulted by another patron. Security wouldn't do anything…read more(wouldn't even have the person who assaulted me move away from me) and after venue management said that security couldn't do anything if "they didn't see it", I suggested pulling camera footage (which of course venue management refused to do). At this point I ask the venue manager if in this situation i should call the cops to deal with it, and she said if that's what l'd like to do then do it. So I went outside and called, and they wouldn't let me back inside the venue because of this. So what I've learned is Adelaide Hall security is there for no reason and won't help when someone is assaulted. Police report made. This place has no business being open when they don't value public safety and actually side with aggressors. No reason not to pull footage. Karma has this place on her list, I guarantee it.

    Photos
    Adelaide Hall - Live music NYE.

    Live music NYE.

    Adelaide Hall
    Adelaide Hall - Not actually on Adelaide.

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    Not actually on Adelaide.

    Hugh's Room Live - Doane Music School's top class performing with Melanie Doane

    Hugh's Room Live

    5.0(2 reviews)
    4.1 km•Riverdale

    Last Thursday, I was at Hugh's Room Live to see Melanie Doane perform. It was a benefit concert to…read moresupport the Doane Music School, which provides music education programs to Canadian youth through the ukulele. Where should I begin? Let's go with the original Hugh's Room. It used to be at 2261 Dundas Street West. It was founded in 2001 by Richard Carson, in memory of his brother Hugh, a musician who died of cancer. Hugh's Room Live moved to its current location on Broadview Avenue in July 2023. It is where the Broadview Faith Temple Church used to be. It makes sense that a music venue would take over a defunct church. The acoustics are fabulous! It is kind of weird returning to this venue. I used to stand in front of this church, be it talking to my mom or chatting with friends before we parted ways. I spent a lot of time in this neighbourhood, especially on Saturdays taking Cantonese classes a few blocks away. The concert was at 8 pm. I drove down to the Riverdale area and parked on Broadview. It's free parking after 6 pm on weekdays. Otherwise, it's Green P paid parking. This concert was general admission. Considering that most Melanie Doane fans would be my age or older, I didn't see this show being standing room only. I was right and relieved. There were seats, but you nabbed them when you arrived. The day before, I travelled home through Chicago. I walked for twenty minutes at Chicago O'hare airport to get to my gate. At Pearson, I walked for ten minutes from the plane to customs. My legs did not want to stand for this show! It is an older church, so there are stairs. It wasn't built for accessibility, but there aren't a ton of steps. If you use a cane or walker, you'd be fine here. Otherwise, it's not the venue if you have complex mobility issues. A woman at the front table said hi. I reciprocated and showed my ticket's QR code on my phone. She scanned it and let me know that I could sit anywhere that wasn't reserved. I asked where the washrooms were. They were downstairs. I used the women's before and after the show. There were three stalls. The washroom was quaint and clean. No complaints. I sat on the main floor. I tried a pew initially. It felt like church. There was no back support, so I moved up to a chair with some decent back support. Perfect! The front rows were reserved. There was seating on either side of the walls. You could also go up to the second floor for more seating. I love Melanie Doane and her music. My first experience was taking in my first Jann Arden concert at the National Art Centre in Ottawa in the late 90's. Opening for her was Melanie. I was floored by her singing and her playing multiple instruments, such as the mandolin, ukelele, and violin. I loved seeing her at shows when I lived in Winnipeg and when I moved back to the greater Toronto area. She doesn't perform often these days. She made giving the gift of ukelele playing to youth her commitment. I was pleased that she held a benefit for her music school. My first instrument was the ukelele in grade 3, so I get it. I went on to play until I was in grade 6. Melanie put on a terrific show. I last saw her a decade ago at, yep, the original Hugh's Room. Insane, right? I had a wonderful time here. Good memories came flooding back. She brought some special guests. Her children, Rosie and Theo, joined her on a song. The former is a singer and the latter is a drummer. They are products of the school and they frankly are blessed growing up with two musical parents. Kathryn Rose and Emilie Claire Barlow joined Melanie to sing a couple of songs. I loved that they covered Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. They offer the best harmonies with edginess. It was nice seeing Gill Deacon there. I used to listen to her on a CBC music podcast years ago. She helped get the word out on donating to the school. Madeleine, a student of Doane Music School, sang and displayed her uke skills. She was sweet and talented. This venue does not have any food for purchase. It does have beverages, including alcoholic ones. Debit and credit cards are accepted. I liked coming to this former church for a fine evening of Melanie Doane music with her friends and family. I'd return again to take in another concert. It's the perfect venue with the best acoustics. (382)

    This is an institution that holds the history of folk, blues, country and soul. I was blown away by…read morethe EPIC Samantha Windover and the indomitable Tandy Joy playing here tonight. It's a simple and comfortable venue--an old church--feels like you're in your friend's living room. It's a chance to meet the singers and song writers and other music aficionados. What a fantastic evening! Thank you.

    Photos
    Hugh's Room Live - Stage with logo

    Stage with logo

    Hugh's Room Live - Entrance. It used to be a church.

    Entrance. It used to be a church.

    Hugh's Room Live

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    Handlebar - bars - Updated September 2026

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