D.W. Alexander

Bouncer was very unreasonable. He had insisted people were drunk and rejected entrance while we were not. Not sure what’s the business strategy here but overall a 0 star experience.

A few of my friends went here because CC Lounge was full, and I came to join them. There were a few people waiting in front of me, and the bouncers said it was at full capacity. I was waiting in line for about 10 minutes and noticed a bunch of people leave and texted one of my friends. She said it was empty and came to see if I could go inside. The bouncers said I had to wait for people to leave… which is fine. I waited for another 10 minutes, but noticed a bunch of other people leave… so I asked if they were going to let anyone else in, since it was almost last call, and if they weren’t going to, my friends and I would just go somewhere else… rather than waiting in line if I wasn’t going to get in. The one bouncer responded, «If you’re not happy leave»… and I said I was sorry if I offended them but I was just wondering. They then let the people in front of me in (even though no one left at that time), and when they got to me they said, «I’m sorry I think you’re a little too drunk, I think you need to go home.» I told them I was sorry if I offended them in anyway, and they said, «Well if you wanted inside you maybe shouldn’t have said anything.»
I’m a server and understand there are certain rules you have to follow… I totally get it. But that wasn’t the problem here. Your bouncers need to get off their high horse. I can’t say anything for the rest of the staff since I didn’t even get inside… but I think the limited power they have has gone to their head a little bit too much.
They ended up letting everyone else in except me… my friends and I ended up going back to CC Lounge which was still packed. We’ll definetly remember to pass on this place next time.
*Also, I wrote this review while I was «a little too drunk» to get into the bar.

I agree with previous reviews! I wish I can give 0 stars. Had my birthday there and the bartender was an A$$h01e. Waiting 45 mins for a drink. We had a tab running, was the first few people at the bar. Severed everyone and just ignored us. The manager got him to apologize but he was just made excuse. He should be fired. I have been in management for 15 years and I would never keep someone like that in my team. Obviously DW has a very low expectations for service.
Music is great but service is shit!

Great ambiance and music here with some fancy bar drinks and cocktail options. Easy vibe for those just want to sit or stand and relax, but also offers a nice dance space for those in the mood. Appeals to a 30-​something crowd and hipsters…

Was there last night (Saturday) arrived at about 10:30pm, no line.
Pros:
–bouncers were super nice and had no problems on the way in, even offered a hand so we wouldn’t trip on the step up over the door jam. On the way out they photo bombed a photo and then joked with us until out über arrived.
–the music– the DJ played all the great stuff from 90s and 00s, with some current stuff mixed in too. It was impossible not to get up and dance or singalong the whole time. It was a bit loud though so carrying any kind of conversation is nearly impossible
–atmosphere/​décor — I really like the whole vibe and that it wasn’t a massive space. It felt intimate but you still had your space
Cons:
–service is a tad slow and one of the two waitresses serving us never brought two drinks but we were still charged for them
–the cocktails weren’t my favourite. They were $ 13 each and I ordered a whiskey sour and an amaretto sour and both were off in the flavour balances
That said I would still come back. Probably not great for a date or if you wanna have conversations but if you have a group of 4 – 6 then this is a good option.

If I could give this place zero stars I would, I have never experienced such rude and unprofessional service at a bar until coming here.
I came here last Friday night with friends and was rudely greeted by the bouncer who made it sound mandatory to check our coats which it wasn’t. We made our way in to a table and found our server was less than polite and seemed bothered that we didn’t want to put a credit card down to start a tab. One of our drinks was incorrectly ordered by accident so my friend went to let the server know to change it (before it was being made) and she gave my friend so much attitude for this, going so far as to yell at the bartender that she (my friend) «messed up.»
We eventually got our cocktails (which weren’t well made) and upon leaving asked to speak to the manager to let them know of this experience. To our surprise he went on and defended the server pretty much making it a point to my friend that she was in the wrong and couldn’t even acknowledge or offer a simple apology for the terrible service we received. He even had the nerve to ask my friends which part of their home country they were from, as if that is at all relevant?
Needless to say it’s no surprise the service staff here act the way they do when their manager sets an example of treating customers with such disrespect and arrogance. I’ve been here on multiple occasions but after this will not be going back.
Note to management: take a refresher in customer service, clearly it’s not just my review on here that points to how terribly you treat customers.

This sort of place isn’t typically my sort of place, but I love a cheap cocktail and happy hour at D.W. Alexander means that you can drink $ 8 cocktails between 5 — 8 pm from Tuesday through Friday. That’s $ 5 off the normal $ 13 price tag (yeah, I have math skills). Speaking for the happy hour window only, the service is good, the music isn’t too loud, and the place isn’t very crowded. A really good spot for an after work drink.

The place is awesome, bartenders are amazing. Highly recommended. My goto spot for sure. Nikki is the sweetest person in the whole widest world! I love her (she’s the manager)

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE! Awesome music! Awesome Staff, AWESOME Management!
Great spot for a“let loose friday” when you just wanna dance it out! The cocktails are fantastic, I especially love that they always remember my drink!
Bouncer Matt, super nice guy, always super hospitable and great whenever I go there. I am not usually one to go to the same place twice but it sure is just one of those spots that keep you coming back. The managers Kyle & Nikki always go out of their way to say hello to me when they see me as well as servers/​bartenders. Never had any issues here, and after going here many many Thursdays through Saturdays, it is clear that the people who end up having issues are not the nicest to begin with (seen it with my own eyes). Just wish there weren’t so many spoiled brats there — they kill the vibe!
Makyla

If I could give this place a zero I would. This place ruined my night. The management was completely unreasonable and unprofessional. The bouncer made my party wait outside for hours! He was so pretentious. I was disgusted by the first impression. If you have a large group dont bother coming here because they don’t care for your business. There are tons of bars in this city, I will never recommend this place to anyone.

I have never felt so bad about an experience in my life. The bouncer was an an absolute horror. Yes I am east Indian and generally don’t feel racisim in this country. But he called me a pakki and I was shocked. I’m surprised that people think it’s possibly acceptable to say such things. My brother was not let in and I asked why? I asked repeatedly and then he said the racist comment. Ruined my experience as a Torontonian. Is this what we have come to???

This place deserves zero stars. The words «customer service» mean absolutely nothing to them. The staff is completely unprofessional — the manager, Kyle and his bouncers have no respect for their customers. The staff is compromised of false promises. Half of our party was denied entry (even after purchasing bottles), they messed up on bills, had rude servers, etc. Our entire party was unhappy and there was nothing the staff did to make it better. There are many places in Toronto that are way better for a night out and they treat you right. I would NOT recommend to host anything at this place! Probably one of the worst experiences in Toronto we’ve had! Congrats DW Alexander for being a candidate for Toronto’s worst lounge!

I wish I could give this a –10. Worst place ever! Bouncer was a total jerk. We were part of a party but not allowed in. And talking to the management and owner was just a buzz kill. They’re all on the same wavelength… Like talking to a brick wall! Never ever going back to this place ever! Do not recommend it to anyone!

I wish I could give this 0 stars for the absolutely disgusting experience I had here. My friend made a reservation for her boyfriends surprise birthday over a week in advance and was not even allowed in upon arrival. Several guests were turned away despite having a reservation they kept telling us no one was allowed in.
The manager was incredibly rude and disrespectful and called myself and friends «psychos» and «rude» multiple times despite us simply trying to explain our situation. We ended up having to move the group to a pub around the corner so we could still surprise my friend’s boyfriend after they were not allowed into the bar. Even when we arrived the table was not ready at the time of the reservation and the staff were completely disorganized and rude. The bouncer wouldn’t even get off his 5 minute long personal phone call to explain why people could not get into the club and told me if I came upstairs again to speak to him I would have to leave.
I’ve worked as a server and bartender for several years and if I ever gave a patron the same attitude I experienced I would be fired on the spot. This place should be shut down, I can’t believe it is still in business.

was here two days in a row, by fluke.
the Friday was to celebrate my boyfriends birthday and the Saturday was because we were walking by and couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.
it’s on the higher end of pricing and the service was mediocre. I was upset that I told the bar tender it was my BF’s birthday and to not let him pay but she still insisted on it.
the Friday was more live than the Saturday and the ambiance reflected that.
we had louder more club like feel to the place Friday vs Saturday. we asked the DJ to turn up the music a few times on Saturday with no luck so we left around 1.
nice place, clean.

Amazing cocktails. Even more amazing for Happy Hour, when cocktails go from $ 14 to $ 8. (Weekdays from 5 to 8pm) Happy Hour food items too!
Hipster bartenders, cool décor, dim lighting in a basement but everything’s very classy.
Free bottled water too to sip in between cocktails.

2 words: bacon popcorn.
That stuff is the BOMB. To be honest, I come here almost primarily for the bacon popcorn.
But the excellently crafted cocktails and the cozy lounge-​like atmosphere sure doesn’t hurt either.
I’ve had several things from the menu (charcuterie, sliders, fish cake) and enjoyed them all. No complaints whatsoever.
Also definitely order a Manhattan or negroni while you’re here, too!

I stopped by this quaint little cocktail bar with a bunch of coworkers on a quiet Wednesday night for happy hour.
First things first, they gave us complimentary popcorn which is always a bonus. Happy hour drinks feature $ 6 pints, $ 7 wine and $ 8 cocktails. My moscow mule was delicious and no one had complaints about any of their drinks.
I also tried their duck slider and mushroom melt. Of the two, my favourite was the mushroom melt. I do wish that they expand their food menu as there wasn’t a lot of choices. But I can understand that they are more focused on drinks rather than food.
On the negative side, service was a little off that night. Our server had difficulty remembering our orders since there were 10 of us (why couldn’t he just write it down?) In the end we literally wrote down our orders on a notepad and handed it to him. As well, there was a little mix up with the bill. Even though the mushroom slider was priced at $ 4 on the menu, they charged us $ 5 for it on the bill (maybe the menu pricing wasn’t updated?)
That aside, we still had a great time, and I would definitely come back for more happy hour drinks in the future.

Just was reviewing my receipts from the night of my birthday drinks at DW Alexander and noticed that they were adding 18% tip automatically to the bill without informing me. Not cool. I paid the guy $ 80 on a bill that was $ 64.49. Little did I know that the actual tab was $ 52.70 and they added a $ 9.49 tip (18%) automatically.
And they wonder why it’s not busy in there? You pull BS like this and you will end up having fewer and fewer fans.

This is my go-​to happy hour spot for a post-​work drink in the financial district.
The cocktails are very well done and the dimly lit interior is just right. Happy hour means: $ 8 cocktails, $ 7 wine, or $ 6 beer. They make a serious Manhattan (goes for $ 14 during non-​happy hours).
Since my last visit to DW, the service has improved 110%, hence my updated review. Staff are not pretentious and service is efficient. During my first visit, our food order never arrived but I have summed this up to a one-​time error.
Drinks come with a free serving of extra buttery and bacon-​topped popcorn. Nice touch.