Graffiti’s Bar & Grill

The perfect cozy bar in Kensington Market with great live music almost all of the time. One of Toronto’s hidden gems.

If you are looking for a place to have a gourmet breakfast (or lunch) while listening to the best black metal, look no further then Graffti’s on a Sunday morning/​afternoon.
For the past two sundays I have had no difficulty licking my plate clean of the chef’s amazing and made to order creations. Last week we ordered the savoury french toast with cheese sauce and the salmon quiche. I don’t even like salmon but I found myself stealing bites.
This week I went for the waffle croque-​monsieur and he went for the lasagna. Again, we both licked our delicious plates clean.
The menu changes from week to week so you know you are going to get something seasonal, fresh and absolutely spot on perfect. Highly recommend to all my little rockers and foodies alike.

This is such a cool spot in the Kensington mkt area. There was live music playing and it was so cool that we went and hung out at the bar just for the awesome vibe. It’s a tight space but its a lot of fun!

As Gord and I were walking around Baldwin Street in Kensington Market, we heard music coming from Graffiti’s so we headed on in.
It was jammed but we were able to find a couple seats.
The High Tides were playing. Their sound was loud surfing instrumentals and they were good. The guitarists kept going outside to entertain the crowd on the street.
Then Burnin’ Ethyl came on. They played loud rock ‘n roll and were good.
It’s always a fun time at Graffiti’s!

Went back this weekend for the fabulous brunch.
How I love this place! I have increased my overall rating because I have so much love for the brunch specials menu, which changes every week.
I had the quiche and salad and all I can say is wow, melt in the mouth goodness!
Staff are super friendly and welcoming!

This place caught my eye when I was looking for things to do during my trip to Toronto. From the pictures I knew I was going to enjoy the atmosphere of the place and the music. I was expecting it to be entertaining simply because I was expecting to be having brunch while in a dive bar playing metal.
What I wasn’t expecting was how good the food was and how creative it was. I had the savory french toast which was smothered with mushrooms in a white sauce. It was veryyy yummy. The bf had a egg, cheese, sausage combination that was nicely seasoned and baked inside a roll of bread. Both dishes tasted like they used fresh picked herbs. I honestly was expecting more bland and conventional. I’m glad that wasn’t the case. The bloody mary we ordered did not come (but we were also not charged for it), they may not of heard us over the music and chatter.
Expect a bit of a wait, there is one cook and one guy serving. So bring a newspaper to read or something juicy to gossip about and sip on a drink, it’s brunch after all.

I don’t think I’ve ever had brunch in a dive bar before, but I will again. Graffiti’s is a hodge-​podge of paint, bric-​à-​brac, grit and Kensingtonian squalor. You could make a drinking game tallying Elvis sightings in this place. I decided to hit up the Black Metal Brunch on Sunday morning and I was not disappointed. There is something exquisite about enjoying eggs benny and sipping coffee while listening to hardcore and death metal.
But I didn’t do the benny.
Possibly spurred on by screams on the soundtrack, I ordered the highly badass White Trash Chicken Bake. Breaded fried chicken tenders ensconced in mashed potatoes, corn, and rich gravy. Sweet sassy molassy, it’s wicked good. I ate the whole thing. THE WHOLE THING. I’m going back. And it looks like a pretty chill place for a drink too. Wish it was a little bit more spacious, but that’s part of it’s charm I suppose.
Obligatory Title Pun: TAG, this place is it!
Menu Readability: Two words: skull typeface.
Need to mention: Any other time I walk by this place, there seems to be a band playing.
What this place teaches me about myself: Metal: it’s what’s for breakfast.

There are several faces to Grafitti’s. Performaces by artists like Julian Fauth who went on to win a Juno to Death Metal to Country and back again Then there is the people watching and of course this is some of the local flavour of Kensington. Just a great place to stop and have a break.
Most importantly the Black Metal Brunch moved here from a bar down the street called Planet Kensington. Black Metal Brunch has a facebook page where you can get the Sunday menu. This brunch has seen many favourable reviews over the past several years. It remains consistently good. Simply put the «Eggs Benny» is the real deal. Many restaurants in Toronto charge much much more and deliver ho hum stuff but Linda taught me how to make a good hollandaise sauce. The other menu items are always worth trying. For the less adventurous you can also get bacon and eggs. Oh and did I mention that the price is the best I have seen?

An odd venue for
musical performances.
It’s cramped but charming.

The grafitti mural, Elvis memorabilia, darkly intimate atmosphere, lively crowd of regulars, awesome rotating live bands, everything that everyone loves about Graffiti’s, it’s all true!
The impromptu sidewalk dance party that you’ve probably witnessed as a passerby just on the other side of the glass garage doors is an integral part of the nightly experience and spectacle you don’t want to miss.
I can’t say that I was impressed with the seemingly non-​existent selection of drafts. In fact, one or more of the taps were broken, but there were liquor bottles galore if I had so wished for a cocktail. Alas, I settled for my default bottle of Keith’s and settled down to happily tap my feet to the beats that I had come for in the first place. Oh what fun!

Graffiti’s is a great little bar in Kensington. I enjoy their Saturday afternoon shows, with the windows open it is a great people watching spot and passer-​byers stop by the window to check out what is going on. I have also seen a few nighttime shows here and it is tons of fun. The crowd and bar staff is friendly and I have only ever had good times there. I have eaten there once, a Saturday afternoon with out of town guests. Two of use ordered the portobello mushroom burger and the waiter then proceeded to go across the street to buy the mushrooms, now that is fresh food!

This is not the first place I think of when I wake up on a Sunday morning craving brunch food. In fact, despite all the great reviews, I still don’t think of it as a brunch place. (Though I’d love to try.)
For me, Graffiti’s is really just a place to meet up with friends who don’t care about frou-​frou superficial pleasures. If you just want to drink the night away and listen to some real local music in a gritty Kensington bar, come here.
Acoustic nights are nice and pleasant, but it’s a small venue, so if you’re heading there to see a band, don’t expect to engage in deep conversation… or much conversation at all.
Bring ear plugs.

Graffiti’s is the anti-​brunch place. No egg white omlettes, no mimosa’s, no poached eggs, no folks dressed in their sunday best for a leisurely meal.
Graffiti’s has what they call their ‘black metal brunch’ every sunday from 11 – 3 or 5ish. Music is heavy metal to the T which is good for us downtrodden and sleepyeyed folks on sundays. But the food is good here, fresh cut fries interesting brunch dishes like latkes, philly cheesesteaks or whatever the cook feels like putting out that day. And the quality of the ingredients is excellent must come from being directly in Kensignton market I suppose. They also make pretty good ceasar’s here.

A wonderful venue for musical adventures over beer. You can always peek from the street, as the back of the stage is at the window. The intimate setting is good for softer acoustic shows on quieter evenings. On a loud day outside, there better be heavy metal inside or you won’t hear much.
Unless you’re a local literati-​hyped artsy type who doesn’t mind the John Cage /​Marcel Duchamp sound fusion of inner and outer worlds.
Mostly contemporary western culture sounds. The place next door hosts Rastafarian gatherings and they all live in harmony.