Bill Hicks Bar

Drinks are cheap but clientele and bar staff are really too cool for school. If only come here if white, tall, and male. Their tiki awning is so 2000-​late. And what is this American kitsch with tiny red cups doing in Canada? Gamergaters and country rock bros welcome. Female or genderqueer? Stay away.

I have heard nothing but bad things about this place
From the bad food to the transphobic humour, and poor drink selection
You should stay far away from a place with un canadian attitudes like this.
Much better places to frequent that are inclusive and do not bash people on social media

The people who work at this bar have no regard for other people’s feelings. I have a medical problem with my bladder, and apparently I took 7 minutes to take a pee, which was too long for the owner. They barged in on me and told me I was taking too long even though I was yelling through the door that I would be done shortly. They completely embarrassed me, even though I told them I would be done shortly.
Do not go here if you want to be treated like a human being. I am embarrassed for their staff.

As far as trendy hipster bars go Bill Hicks was a great find. The ambiance was pretty cool. Wall to wall record covers of various artists and the ceiling was covered in vinyl records. The old tabletop arcade machines with Donkie Kong and Space Invaders was a huge but welcome surprise. Tiki isn’t my thing but it fit here. Great cosy spot.

This isn’t Leslieville. Is this Parkdale? No, better, it’s a whole new reality. Open your eyes. Bill Hicks in the sky, you’ll see.
This is the best bar ¹⁰⁰⁄₅ stars. If you don’t like this bar, close my page, move onto the next review. Start a Unilocal Talk thread about your quest for the softest throw pillow.
Imagine the best bar, this is it

Bill Hicks Bar is equal parts tiki (the palm thatch roof detailing around the ceiling gives it a tropical feel), neon dive bar (but way less sketchy and dirty, ladies can actually sit on the toilet here! I know you want to girls!) and fantastic alternative rock club (seriously, Teddy’s play list was perfect and amazingly curated — think old school Alice in Chains & Deftones). Every 5 minutes I was like, fan-​girling being all like «OMFG I LOVE THIS SONG.» I was honestly having such a good time that being there from 9 pm-​1am felt like only an hour.
Teddy the owner has the kindest eyes; being served by him is like buying a drink from the friendliest Labradoodle who has a servers license (No he doesn’t look like a dog, but he’s so adorable that I just wanna pet him, and maybe hold him… like a dog… I like dogs okay… dogs are life.) The selection of drinks is small BUT, they do come cheap, the size of the space is miniscule, so it gets intimate VERY fast (there is a large-​ish room and basically the bar with a little more room on the other hand.) Lots of dark red & blue string lights, with record covers on every inch of the wall, and vinyls all over the ceiling. The bar has a bill hicks logo spray painted in lots of hidden and not so hidden places, and of course, the single bathroom is covered in cursive sharpied Bill Hicks quotes
And capacity is small, According to Markus (More about him later) you can officially, «according to code» only fit 38 people in the Bill Hicks bar. So get there early, or you are shit out of luck waiting. Which kinda ended up happening to me and 2 friends (but we deserved it on all honesty). You know when you get to like… just before last call and you’ve had enough that you’re not asshole drunk, but just enough to feel invincible? Well, it’s 1 am and I want to sing Karaōke, so off we go a few doors down to Velvet to have me a sing song. I sing my Whitney Houston Jam and its only 1.30 so we decide, HEY LETS GO BACK TO BILL HICKS BAR AND HUG OUR FRIENDS THAT WE LOVE THAT ARE STILL AT BILL HICKS BAR. and the WHAM, ~Markus~ the door dude, wont let us in, he just couldn’t, and I really wanted to hate him, I did, But I just couldn’t…because in all honestly, Markus kinnndddaaaaa reminded me of like… a younger, lither mustachioed Bill Hicks, he even had these ridiculous over-​sized glasses that had a bit of a 1992 Hicks ‘Relentless’ Standup feel to them. I was just getting Hipster Hicks vibes from Markus, especially in the face? It was weird. But also awesome Eventually, as a few people left, we managed to get it (it seemed Markus was just tired of dealing with drunk assholes).
Nevertheless, I RESPECT YOUR DOOR GAME MARKUS, KEEP DOING YOU PLAYBOY, ITS HARD OUT THERE FOR A (door) PIMP.

When my friend said «Hey, wanna meet up at Bill Hicks bar?» I was mildly confused. Didn’t Bill Hicks die in ’94? How could he own a bar in Toronto? I was informed it was a dive bar down the street on the east side (leslieville to be specific).
This bar is probably the chillest atmosphere in a bar I’ve ever experienced in the city. No more screaming in a friends ear to have a conversation, the music is kept at a reasonable level for some good conversation. The beer is most definitely not craft, there is one option on the tap and that option is PBR. This slight negative can be quickly countered with «but it’s only $ 4 for a pint». There is also a greater selection in bottles, albeit mostly domestics, for only $ 3 a bottle. The walls are lined with record covers and the ceiling lined with vinyl records. Christmas tree lights hung over tiki styled bar and couches with duck tap. There is even a retro video game table that is free to play (second player beware, one button doesn’t work). It reminds me of a living room a stoner friend would have in college. After some great tunes (think oldies mixed in with some 90’s alternative/​grudge), great conversation and only $ 30 dropped on a night of drinking with friends. I stumbled home happy, finally a place on the east side that I can call my go to bar.

A quick note to start: Within one week of Bill Hicks opening, I was a regular. The energy in this place is similar to the hold that crack had on our former mayor (and in the best way possible)!
Cheap booze. Sandwiches from Rashers a couple doors down. Free poured mixed drinks and the occasional welcome shot poured out by the owner Teddy. They even have a doorman with the greatest handlebar moustache of all time. If that isn’t enough to get you in the door, I don’t know what is.
As great as all of that sounds (it does, right!!!) it is actually the people that keep bringing me back. This is one of the only bars that I can stop in at lone-​ranger style and GUARANTEED I will leave with a new friend (or occasionally more, if ya know what I mean). It’s just a friendly group, curated and fostered by Teddy. It feels like a family party night every time I step foot into this candle-​lit treat.
My closing line: Do yourself a favour and experience this. No matter whether you are a married couple in the area with a couple knuckleheads who have a sitter, an industry worker looking to blow off steam, or just looking for a night out with a great group of guys/​girls… Bill Hicks WILL deliver one helluva night.

This tin foil hat is clearly not working.
It’s almost as if the government mind-​control spies were finally able to read my thoughts and dreams and set out to create a space that captures the purest essence of what I always wanted a bar to be.
Walls lined with memorabilia. Tiki thatch hut roof. Ceiling covered in vinyl. Named after the crown prince of black comedy. Hidden enough to make you feel cool. Accessible enough to make you feel safe.
Do you remember that scene in Back to The Future Part II when Marty McFly is transported to the year 2015 and he discovers that there’s an 80s café? Well. It’s kinda like that. Except that the place is themed in a way that leans heavily towards the 1990s post grunge revival.
Perfectly priced. A bar that doesn’t require a second mortgage for a nice night out.
You can feel the heart and soul that went into this project.
An unpretentious love letter to the east end.