Editorial

The date-night rooms of Toronto

Published May 16, 2023 · Last updated September 29, 2023 · Reviewed by the barsforKings editorial team

Past the first-date stage. Picking up where the proposal left off. Ten Toronto date-night bars our editors return to.

The date-night bar is a different brief from the first-date bar. The first-date bar has to pass — the date-night bar has to be a place you both enjoy enough to come back to. These ten venues in Toronto are where our editors send couples three months in, three years in, thirty years in. They are not flashy. They are the rooms our editors are sending their partners to, on Tuesday nights when nothing in particular is happening.

The Toronto bars our editors take their own partners to

The first six picks below are the editors' default — the rooms we send a friend to first when they ask. Each is followed by a recommendation we have ordered ourselves at least three times. Click any bar name to read the full review, signature drink notes, neighbourhood guide and how to book.

Three more rooms worth turning into a regular

These last four are the editors' deeper-cut picks. Smaller rooms, more specific energy. If the first six feel obvious to you — meaning you have already been — start here.

What to know before you go

Date-night bars are the venues you want the staff to know your face at. Two suggestions. Pick one from this list and turn it into your monthly Tuesday — the staff will remember, the corner will get held, and over time the bar starts to feel like an extension of your living room. That is the goal.

Marcus splits his time between LA and Miami and has a reservation under his name at most of the bars on this list.

Related editorial

Reach Toronto bar-goers when they are deciding.

Sponsored placements on this article, on the Toronto city guide, and across the barsforKings network. Contact us to put your bar in front of the right audience.

Keep reading

Related guides

Weekly picks

The bars worth going to, weekly.