Crows Nest Barbershop

Best place for a cut. Open 7 days a week, book in advance for the regular barbers. Walkins start at 10 but don’t bother coming after 12 because they are most likely all booked up. Only place I trust for a good cut.

Rolled the dice and walked in today around 1pm. Chris, one of the apprentice barbers at crows nest was able to take me right away. Had an awesome first experience at crows nest, friendly and knowledgeable staff combined with a very cool and old school barbershop feel. I will definitely be back!

I got an awesome cut from Steven the first time I was here and I came here the second time to confirm that it wasn’t just luck… And it wasn’t.
I was a bit hesitant coming here at first because I don’t particularly fit into the «hipster» category, so I also thought my hair was better suited for a salon-​style cut rather than a barber-​style cut — but I was completely wrong. My experience got me thinking that perhaps every guy can rock a barber-​style haircut — but it could also be what’s trendy at the moment.
A barbershop is a bit different from a salon so if you’re deciding if this is the place for you, you should review some of the differences to make sure this is what you want. They’re likely not going to cut your hair with just a pair of scissors — and a clipper will likely be used.
When I first walked into this place, I was a bit surprised as to how much it fit my expectations of a barbershop in Kensington. However, the one thing I expected was a snooty attitude, which no one gives off here. All the guys are really chill and seem to enjoy actually working there. My barber Steven was a really genuine, honest, and humble guy who is really good at what he does. He gave me the best haircut I’ve ever received and even though I don’t have any tattoos, piercings, or facial hair, it still looked right on me.
The hype for this place is well-​deserved. It may be on the pricey-​end for a barbershop, but I’m used to paying salon prices so for me it’s actually a steal. Other reviewers have mentioned that they’re cash only, but I think they actually accept cards now. They do take walk-​ins up until they’re filled up — so go early in the morning if you want a spot, but I highly recommend just booking in advance. They have a great online system that’s easy to use and notifies you through email and text when your appointment is coming up. Yeah you do have to book fairly early for the popular barbers (~3 weeks), but for me it’s worth the wait to get the perfect cut.

These barbers are nothing short of artists! I’d recommend Steven wholeheartedly. It’s a fun atmosphere as well, definitely gives off Kensington vibes, the barbers will almost guaranteed be talking about different music artists or shows they’ve been to which is interesting. They have an easy to use website to book appointments, the only drawback is sometimes you may need to book around a month in advance.
The other plus is you get a free comb on the way out! ;)

I have received several hair cuts from barbers around downtown Toronto. At many of them, I have received good cuts with pretty mediocre service. At the time I had always walked away happy with the new cut but feeling like something was missing in my cut. For all of my barbers, I had received a good haircut, but nothing that fried my dumplings.
This time around I had grown my hair out pretty long (you can see what I mean in the pictures posted). I had slicked it all back, but it had become unruly. So I decided I wanted to find a barber that would give me the hair cut I always wanted. I have always wanted a cut where I can slick back the top and keep the sides short enough to look modern but retain some a slightly more classic look. I’m not a fan of the ultra shaved sides and slicked back hair that’s gotten popular (although I have had that cut before). I looked up reviews and found that The Crow’s Nest had gotten the best reviews all around. I noticed that it was located in the Kensington Market area, which I have been frequenting often lately.
I got off the streetcar and walked West on Dundas just past Spading and took a right on Kensington Ave. When you walk up the steps, you notice the classic barbershop barber pole spinning beside a door adorned with painted information on the door (barbershop hours, name, lunch time). When you walk in, you see caricatures of different actors on the wall (Danny Trejo). You step in to the shop and there are pictures of Jesus EVERYWHERE. There are also several crosses and rosaries EVERYWHERE. I walked up to the the cashier (later found out to be Dave «The Sweep»), and asked for a hair cut. It turned out that the next available opening was the next Friday!
Fast forward a week (a week of patiently waiting quite anxiously). I ended up getting a new guy named Dom to do my hair. He was a nice guy. Seemed like he was genuinely interested in how I wanted to get my cut done. I told him I wanted a 3 on the sides, keep the top long to slick back and cut off the junk in the back. He asked if I wanted any of the top done, and I said yeah maybe a bit. He told me we would go through it together and see what we want to do.
So the cut was basically the best I have ever received. Dom took the whole 30 minutes to focus on making a good cut. He used different clips for the buzzer to get the ride length on the sides. He used the wonderful warm shaving cream on the back of my head with a straight razor (my favourite treat in hair cuts). Dom had a nice hair cleaning brush, super soft and with some after shave. He talked me through the cut, no small talk (which I personally prefer).
I ended up buying some pomade (Grant’s golden brand) for my hair as well. I highly recommend the place. I will be going back every month.

I went for a cut and a beard trim today, and it was great! The barber (Mac) was friendly, and the environment was very aesthetically pleasing. They had great classic music playing, that added to the classic Barber Shop feel.
The whole thing took about one hour to complete and with awesome results. I was very vague with what I wanted done, and Mac did a great job figuring out what would look good.
I am definitely going to return in a few weeks to get trimmed up.

I’ve been getting my hair cut regularly at Crows Nest for a few years now and their service has me coming back again and again as a happy customer.
The (largely) bearded and tattooed staff take great care of every customer, offering as much (or as little) conversation as their patrons want. The vibe is vintage Kensington Market, with consistently great music playing, no matter what the genre du jour might be. Most importantly, they will leave you feeling fresh to def’ with a cut you can feel confident with!
One note — make sure to book well in advance online! Their growing popularity means long waiting lists, but it’s worth it if you have time to plan ahead.

Went to the Gentleman’s Expo in Toronto recently. Met Steve from Crows Nest there at a temporary setup for the show. Got my first ever straight razor shave from him. Absolutely top-​notch experience. He was friendly, personable, and professional. My skin has never felt so soft. Looking forward to visiting them at their actual location in the very near future.

Saw great reviews so thought I would try this place out. I came in at 1 o’clock on Saturday and was told there was an opening at 3 pm. Apparently this was lucky as the next available appointment was next Saturday. So if you are looking for a quick haircut probably not for you, book or call in advance.
I got my haircut with John who was considered an apprentice even though he’s been a barber for 30 years. Super friendly, get me entertained throughout the whole process. Spent about 40 minutes cutting and styling my hair before finished with the blade to get things just right.
For 16.95 after tax I felt this was a steal and was more than happy to leave some extra cash for my barber.
Place has an interesting look and everyone was very nice, place was packed too so other people must be happy with their results as well !

These guys are awesome. Love the cuts. Dogs sometimes hanging out in the shop doesn’t hurt the feel of the place. Would recommend booking early as they fill up. My guy is Steve but have heard good things about all of the team.

Baby Rae is the absolute best! She consistently gives me the best haircuts each time I visit her. Rae is hilarious and easy to talk to as well, which is a definite bonus. No awkward conversations here.
Crows Nest is a hip environment and very affordable for cuts and beard trims. I highly recommend this joint!

Was pretty good. This place has people waiting before 10am to get a walk-​in! Shows that they are popular. Went for a haircut to a barber after ages! Was given a good masculine treatment lol. No powder puff! But very friendly… this is NOT supercuts (thankfully). My barber was Jayhu. He turned me away from the mirror and started his job. Was chatting up with colleague. I liked the religious murals on the wall gives it an interesting twist. They have a mother mary’s statue with the rainbow flag… that was cool.
This place is pretty decently priced. Take an appointment online or walk-​in at 10am.

It seems that my only Unilocal reviews thus far are about barbershops… So to continue with this trend, a quick review on Crows Nest.
My last barber fled the country to go chase his boyfriend around in Switzerland, so I was on a quest for a new, quality barber to be loyal to.
I was desperately in need of a cut, so before I left my house in Riverdale, I hopped on the net and looked for barbershops in the city and Crows Nest was one of the first to pop up. I entered their website to check their availability for cuts — there was none, but the online booking tool said that they always take walk-​ins. And walk in I did.
I showed up just after 2pm and one of the barbers greeted me, telling me the next available sitting was at 5pm. Just as I declined the 5pm cut (as I was pressed for time), a gentleman-​barber named Joel chimed in saying he was just finishing up with a guest and that he could take me next. Score. Joel is technically an apprentice at this shop, but he cut my hair like he’d been doing it for years.
I am very happy with the results. He was very knowledgeable about cuts and was a good guy with good conversation skills. I will definitely call ahead next time to book an appointment with him. Barber loyalty be found!
Be forewarned — they only accept cash as payment.

Had my cut with Big Matt. Again i left satisfied with a fresh cut. Big Matt knows his stuff n listens to what you’d like. Really recommend this place.

I got my hair cut by Steven and I’ve never seen it look better. Looking around in the chair at all the other barbers, everyone knows what they’re doing. It was my first taper/​fade and he did an amazing job. Great conversations, friendly and relaxed environment. A few notes though:
–It was more expensive than I expected (~$ 28 bucks pre-​tip for a cut, but worth it to me)
–Don’t bother going for a walk-​in if you don’t want to wait for an hour. Their online booking system is so fast and easy. Book in advance though because they’re quite booked up all the time.
Will go again if I’m ever in the area! They’ve got my business.

I almost want to give this place 4 stars because of how far you need to book in advance. That’s not what an oldschool barber shop should be like! You can’t fault them for living in the future though and places like this don’t go unnoticed. Amazing cuts, reasonable price, great banter and a really rad looking shop make this a winner. Even if it’s not the same hole in the wall underneath a vintage shop like in the old days it still has tons of character. I could stare at their weird garage sale christian art for ever, it’s engrossing. You know how some shops have some good barbers, some okay barbers and some bad ones. Crow’s Nest is not like that, you can’t get a bad cut here they all know what they are doing (at least for the style I like). More about that style; One thing I’d warn people about is liking the kind of cut they do here, everyone walks out looking the same, so if you don’t want a WW2 era kinda fascist but cool looking haircut you might want to look elsewhere. Also have no idea how they’d handle curly or nappy hair as everyone seems to have straight hair. Crow’s Nest also has a the small touches down, the sell the best pomade, they have a machine that makes shaving cream warm and they use a straight razor to clean up the back of your head. So for me this place would be absolutely perfect if it didn’t require me to book so far in advance. Can’t fault them for well deserved success though.

The haircut I got was nothing like what I asked for. I wear it short on the sides and messy on top, pretty standard guy cut. Anywhere I go I describe it and get the same cut more or less.
I should’ve seen it coming when the girl immediately turned me AWAY from the mirror and kept me facing the wall the entire time. Instead of doing what I asked she just buzzed it almost to the top of my head, then hastily took a little length off the top without texturing at all, and finished by putting the glue-​iest product in and combing my hair over. Pretty sure she only knows the one cut.
At least it was only a $ 16 mistake.

Got a haircut that didn’t make any sense to me. It seems that I need to communicate more with them, as to what I want, than other places. Note I had an apprentice.
They have a certain style of haircut and that seems to be their go to. If that’s what you want, you will have an amazing experience. If that’s not what you want, make sure to communicate. Unfortunately since they don’t place you facing the mirror, I was not able to see the mistakes before they happened.
After spending a few hours trying to figure out what to do with my hair, I called them up and they fit me in right away. Unfortunately, I think that made matters worse…
Note that I’m a bit OCD, so this haircut is causing a bit of a mental meltdown, due to the lack of symmetry. I’m sure if it was someone else they may not be bothered by it. However I will probably be going to cut my hair short elsewhere or shave my head and start over growing it out.
My rating is based on my haircut, not on the over all atmosphere and friendly staff. I do plan on going back, just with a «non apprentice» and I’ll make sure I’m extra clear as to what I want and don’t want. As well as a barber that cuts hair with the customer facing the mirror.

Amazing barber shop! Super chill and friendly atmosphere. Really cool décor and music. Highly recommend Matt. He does a great fade! Love this place.

I had been growing my beard for about 3 months and it was starting to get out of control, but I was scared to cut or trim my beard in case something went wrong. After talking with a couple friends about crows nest I decided to give them a chance. The staff their were really friendly and as a walk in it didn’t take me that much time to get into a seat. The barber talked to me and asked me what I wanted to do and then went to work. Within 10 minutes I was walking out of Crow’s Nest feeling great with a well trimmed beard. I will be making the trek from Mississauga to Toronto just to have these guys work on my beard.

Had my first visit to Crows Nest today for a cut from Jay-​Hu.
Great atmosphere, love the barbershop smell and the style of the place. Was a bit weird to face away from the mirror for most of the cut, but I was in good hands and when I finally got a look, I loved the new ‘do!
CASH ONLY — they let me make the trip to the TD machine nearby after my cut, no problem.
Super easy online booking system!

Just had my haircut today with Jimmy. Jimmy is very friendly and he did a great job with my haircut. I went for the side part and it came out very close to what i was expecting.
My only complaint is that they face you away from the mirror as they cut. This is unorthodox and it makes it difficult to have a good conversation because you can’t see your barber. The place is noisy with all the clippers and conversations going on but overall a very cool vibe.
Will revisit.

Had to take out a star versus a year ago… Still go there and reco them… however! they are about to do the same mistakes many other successful start ups do.
They have a good start.
They ride the social media wave.
They raise prices (from $ 20 to $ 25)
They become too used to success. Move constantly barbers around on availability making it difficult for base customers to follow.
They open a 2^nd store likely impacting the first just a little.
They raise prices a second time within a year to $ 28.50
Again I really still like the place and go therebut I would not be surprised if they have been experiencing customer feedback.
Guys … Stop messing around with what has made u a success. Great cut at a great price at convenient times for customers in a cool vibe

I’ve been getting my hair cut by Big Matt since this shop opened and I’ve never been disappointed.
Great music, warm welcome, but a no-​nonsense vibe. Your cut will be crisp and if you want to chat, the barbers are always interesting. The new shop layout is gorgeous.
Yes, it’s better to reserve than rely on a walk-​in, but their reservation system is easy to use and convenient.

They’ve moved! Just down the street — bigger and brighter, al the loss of some edge-​y-​ness.
Still busy, long waits for walk-​ins.
The best for the slick comb-​over