Proof The Vodka Bar

This is a handsome bar with comfortable seating. Their bar menu includes Pintxos – tapas – and there is a five for $ 23 option that is splendid. The chef chooses from what he has on hand, and there’s enough for a light meal for two that includes (usually) bread, meat, shrimp in varying styles, all very tasty. With a couple glasses of wine, two can eat well pre-​Koerner Hall for $ 50.

So I’ll admit I don’t have the best memory of my visit to Proof (blame it on the pre-​Proof vodka drinks), but I remember a very yummy cocktail and very comfy couches.

Nice place, not the best wine selection but they have Absolute Fridays where you can get any flavoured shot of vodka for $ 5 with any mixer.
Good vibe and music and lots of space if you want to host a big group.
Amazing popcorn!!!

The bar is located in the InterContinental Toronto Yorkville. There’s a nice patio out back with lots of seating and can accommodate a fair number of people. I would come back again.

Great space with a really nice backyard patio.
Totally slow, inept bartenders which would be fine if they weren’t charging $ 15 for a cocktail and $ 10 for a draft beer. At this price point, know how to make my cocktail properly, garnish it correctly, and don’t make me wait 10 minutes for it.

classy place, expensive drinks and food for really small portions. they charged me an extra $ 10 on my credit card for some reason which was later credited back to me a few weeks after. kind of boring i went here during the summer i forget which day of the week but was pretty dead. the restaurant was empty as well. ok service.

This place is REALLY hit or miss for me.
I’ve been here a few times for events and its always great. Energetic atmosphere, beautiful space, and delicious drinks. It was busy and the crowd was fun and smart. The snacks were delicious as well.
The one time when I was staying at the Intercontinental (which is attached to the hotel) it was really empty and they closed at 11 which was really annoying as I’ve been here well past midnight every other time. I guess it really depends on how busy it is but I like consistency in the bars I go to.
Another time I was here with a party of 15 and the space was perfect to accommodate but again, the energy just wasn’t there so we had a few drinks and went on to the next bar.
Drinks and food are pretty good here. Cocktails are delicious and a little on the expensive side since you are in Yorkville. If you’re looking for an intimate place to chill this might be good for you. On the other hand, if you want to host an event or a small mixer this would also be a nice, casual but classy space.
Despite my mixed experiences I admit I do like to drop by from time to time as the service, ambience and drinks are all solid.

I have been here for a few events over the years and a few personal get togethers. However ever since a make over… a few years ago, the place looks pretty sharp. An eloquent décor with dark tones gives it a bit more refined demeanor.
It used to be a bit more expensive then, now it feels less expensive, however they do have some good choices of wine, which I am fine with.
You still pay what you would pay at a lounge in a downtown hotel but this location is pretty worth it. Also with a very nice patio out back, let’s not forget about that.
Great place for dates, mingling and low-​key business meetings as the music is non-​intrusive. I definitely recommend it.
When it gets busy, it gets busy but unless you are hosting your own event, from a night to night basis, it will never be a problem.
Highly recommend.

Classy spot!
Great music.
Energetic & friendly staff.
Amazing cheese plate & cocktail.
Much enjoyed.

I have been here a lot of times, and my experience has varied, but overall I still love the place. The ambience is what makes this place. Inside, the couch seating is very comfortable, and they also have great outdoor seating in the summer. The drinks are fantastic but pricey. The food is where they could use some work. The cheese plates are fantastic (but should really come with more bread), and so are the salads (although they are very small). The mains are expensive and not worth it. Proof opens at 3 — 3:30 pm, and is great for intimate parties at night. The background music is also always great.

This place is awesome and beautiful. Its like the hidden gem in the outskirts of Yorkville.
First Things First… its free to get in!!! The place is located inside Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville Hotel and the entrance is from the inside. Its a huge resto-​lounge-​bar with a huge patio as well.
The serve wasn’t bad it it got busy but then again you got to give it to the bartenders to get it done as soon as possible. The place has lot of table and chairs as well as couches to chill and have a drink.
Pricing is a little on the expensive side but than again you would expect that from a place located in Yorkville.
The awesome huge parking lot behind the hotel is connected and you can come up inside the hotel without stepping out in the cold and after peak hours the rate is maximum $ 6 flat!

I always thought this place was Pravda LOL buts it’s not, this place is gorgeous! Pravda is too red for my liking (sorry fellow Russians)
Huge resto-​lounge-​bar and it connects to another hotel lobby. Huge patio in the back, I bet it gets really packed in the summer time. I really like this place because it looks so classy and elegant. It has a mixed modern yet homely feel to it.
The bartenders and servers are really nice, the atmosphere that night I went was a bit quiet but I enjoyed it. You can sit down on 1 of the many seating areas and actually hear your friend speak and lean back because of the empty space.
The calamari was great, it was grilled and served with lots of lemons, just the way the islanders have it. The crème brûlée was pretty good too, quite a big portion so that was a pleasant surprise.
The alcohol list is quite extensive, tons of tequila brands, the house shots were pretty unique, we grabbed a few crouching tigers. It was a very smooth tasty shot with a blueberry inside; so cute!

Once upon a time we came here for a birthday party. There were around ten of us, and we’d reserved a space.
Music seemed subtle enough, and I liked their selection of drinks and vodkas. Staff was polite and friendly, but it was difficult to actually order as we were left alone for long stretches of time.
Most drinks were delicious, some were total flops, at least for my palate — if we come back here again, I’ll be sure not to feel too experimental.

Amazingly season chips to snack on, Mykonos cocktails that are delicious and make you feel like you are back in Greece, sweet awesomeness of the strawberry mojito, comfy seating, and a really nice wait staff, what is not to love? My friends and I had an amazing night chilling, relaxing, and catching up at the Proof Vodka bar. I was very impressed w’ their drink menu and the fresh ingredients in their drinks: mint, lime, chopped strawberries, what is not to love? I also liked that they gave you an awesome snack to munch on as you imbibed.
I wish I lived in Toronto so I could try more of their cocktails and chill here every weekend! Great outdoor space as well for the nice warm weather evenings!

Boozing it up with class? Then step right in!
Came here for some catch-​up time with friends late on a Saturday, and was not disappointed. Those drinks are pricy, but they don’t skimp on the alki. It was already late when we showed up at 1230am, but the server brought over some complimentary house-​made chips to tide over our hunger pangs. Definitely useful, since I’m a cheap drunk and was pretty hungry at this point.
Even more disappointed when I finally settled on one of their many (many) cocktail options, only to find out they were out of hot chocolate, one of the key non-​alcoholic ingredients for the drink. :\
The bellini my friend ordered was also kinda gross, the champagne in it tasted off. They offered to remake it with a new bottle, but she picked up a cocktail instead. They also had a good selection of whiskey on the list, so the men gave the place a thumbs up too.
The location is really nice — it’s just by Yorkville — and the décor is great. They were playing some old school 90s popular hip-​hop music, which was really strange for the ambiance but since we grew up with it, everyone in our party was pretty pleased. Despite it being a Saturday, the place was pretty empty, there was one other large party in there other than our group of 6. They’ve got a beautiful piano in the middle of an open space which I assume is a dance floor, and the bar is connected to a hotel so the bathrooms are out by their lobby.
Overall a decent place for a nice late night drink. Will definitely keep this in mind for a future meet up suggestion!

I went to Proof on a Saturday night as it was the venue selected to host a charity fundraiser. For this reason, I’m not sure if the night I went can be described as an average night for this bar.
The place itself has a nice layout and ambience. There is a DJ and a large patio, and plenty of seating. The patio seemed a little lacking in terms of heaters though.
The drinks range from $ 12 to $ 14 a cocktail. This is double what you would pay at any average bar, but considering you’re in Yorkville I would say it’s not out of the ordinary.
The one annoyance I had with this bar is the bartending service. It was abysmal. The bartenders looked confused and were painfully slow. For a bar that was half full at most, I had to wait 20 minutes just to be noticed. The bartenders would even leave the bar to go to the back room for some reason. It just seemed very disorganized; I felt like I was at an upscale lemonade stand at the CNE.
Overall, the nice layout did not make up for the lack of service. If you have the word «Bar» in your name, you should be capable of living up to it.

The existence of Proof Vodka Bar (from what I can imagine) serves only one purpose – waiting area for Sky Lounge.
By square footage Proof is about equivalent to Sky Lounge, everything else falls short. But it’s existence is not completely unjustifiable. It is after a bar, and all hotels need an indoor bar for it’s guests to feel bad about themselves. So that is my interpretation of Proof Vodka Bar, a ‘feel bad bar’.
It is nearly impossible to be objective when reviewing this place because it’s in many ways just an extension to Sky Lounge. There are two drinking venues within the Intercontinental Hotel Yorkville, and there is absolutely no reason why anyone should drink here when they can drink at Sky Lounge instead, which is separated by a few pieces of glass. There’s no reason you should pick this place over Sky Lounge, not even on a rainy day, because the patio umbrellas & heaters at Sky Lounge provides complete protection from the elements.
Proof is:
–less romantic
–dimly lit
–more depressing
–always empty
This might as well be a review on Sky Lounge, because really what is there to talk about? Same service staff as Sky, same menu, same bar capability. Sitting here and looking through the window at Sky Lounge is like eating a hot dog on Front Street while gazing at the people coming out of all the restaurants around the corner.
The furniture is posh, but so what?
I get it, Proof serves it purpose as being a bar with a roof at a hotel. It’s there solely for that purpose, and perhaps I am being a bit harsh. But it’s kind of like being told the reasons to buy a smaller diamond by the sales persons at Tiffany’s, when the bigger rock is staring you straight in the face.
How many times did I say ‘sky Lounge’ in this review for Proof Vodka Bar?

Organized a gathering here for a group of friends on a Saturday night and the evening was quite the success. The bartender, Daniel, was friendly and takes his art very seriously. Luckily for us the place was not crowded at all, and our group (that must’ve numbered in the 30+ range) were basically able to take over the space for the night. Drinks are well made and the service is top notch. I actually had a server call me by my name! I will definitely sing the praises of Proof.

I love Proof! I’m at this bar around once a month, it’s central and the drinks are good. They are creative with their cocktails and always have something to suggest that you try. The food is ok, nothing amazing — I would avoid the smoked salmon appetizer though as it’s not that good. The spring rolls aren’t bad though and the potato chips they always have out are really good! They’ve got a patio that’s quite nice as well in the summer but you can hear all the commotion on Bloor.

Came here with a group of about 10 people following a concert. They were very accommodating and we were able to get a nice table on the patio, which is lovely on a warm summer evening. Service is excellent — attentive without being intrusive. The drinks menu is vast, with plenty of creative martinis, bellinis, mojitos, and the like (prices range from $ 11 – 13). Of course, there are several types of vodka you can order straight up, plus a small wine list. I tried the strawberry mojito which was yummy! The menu definitely is ideal for those who are into «girly» (or as one guy in our party said, «metrosexual») cocktails. Our server also brought us bowls of potato chips, which were warm and delicious. I think they actually make them on the premises, because no chips that came out of a bag ever tasted this good. She refilled our chips a couple times over the evening, which was much appreciated. The space itself is lounge-​y and stylish, but also quiet enough to carry on a conversation. This would be a great place to unwind after work or a show, or to bridge the gap between dinner and dancing!