The Central

Not sure what to make out of this place marijuana is smoked police show up from time to time I have no clue what’s brewing inside

I came to this bar to support a friend’s band playing at this venue. From the outside, the patio seemed very nice to drink and eat at. I have passed by this bar to go to the comic book store thinking that.
When I finally went in, I was severely disappointed at the state of the interior. The whole venue smelled like a washroom stall. All of the furniture and stage equipment were just a slapdash of mismatched parts added throughout the years. It was cramped, all the tables were wobbly.
I did not trust the food that came out of the lower level kitchen. I ordered the red lantern drink since I was taking up space there. I thought the drink was a pitcher for people to share but looked like it was for one person. It tasted nice and fruity but I didn’t like the hard old gummies.
Anyways, I was glad to leave ASAP

This place is disgusting for eating and drinking at. It smells like urine everywhere in the venue. The tables are sticky and don’t look clean. And the ventilation is just pretty bad when you have a bunch of people inside.
It took a while for someone to come by to take our order. Practically nobody came by until we saw someone try to clean a table after some patrons left. We wanted a drink, so we asked him if we could order, but he gave us this look like, yeah I’ll take your order, but I don’t work here Lol. Whatever, he eventually came back with our drink but he made the transaction process so awkward. So the deal is, you order a drink and when it arrives you pay him immediately… unless you want to make a tab. The drink was not as big as we thought it would be for 10 $ — it came in a small/​mediumish mason jar. This place is quite pricey for drinks.
Anyway, would not recommend coming here. It was really not clean, after leaving, I had a strong urge to want to shower. The only worthwhile thing here is the live music.

Jack of all trades: Dive bar edition.
The Central has random programming… comedy shows, concerts, and even chess nights. Every night seems to have a different theme and mojo.
The Central first caught my eye due to the spillover effect from Victory Café. Victory’s service and slow moving patio can sometimes be a pain… why bother when you can just go next door to Central?
Don’t expect a lot from the service. At times, they are severely understaffed. Help yourself.
It’s a fairly big venue, so it’s a strong choice for groups.
If you’re looking to impress someone with service and atmosphere, go elsewhere. This spot is perfect for random hanging out, drinking, and having conversations all of types.

horrible horrible poutine, don’t do it

I suppose we had the unfortunate experience of choosing to go to the Central on a Sunday afternoon for our first impression of this bar.
The service was absolutely terrible. Although we had a table we were not approached. It took a while of awkward glances from the kitchen to get attention at the bar. The drink menu on display had incorrect prices. It said 5 $ pints Sunday for the drink special. I was told that’s actually not true.
I chose the house beer which was actually really quite good. My friends ordered cocktails that they liked as well. We were planning on ordering food but after my drink was poured I was informed that the kitchen «was out of everything». Too bad.
In conclusion, great for drinks. Don’t expect helpful service. Probably great party venue at night.

Decent beer selection but terrible service. Our waiter was standoffish and pretentious. He took forever to come back to us, and he insulted my friend’s choice of drink, forcing her to buy a more expensive one. He also wanted us to start a bar tab with a credit card when all we wanted was a relaxing patio beer on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Also, misleading drink specials — make sure you confirm before you order. Needless to say I will be going to Victory Café over this dive next time.

Dive! Dive! Looking for this watering hole just off Bloor St. behind what was known as Honest Ed’s, I noticed their address 603 Markham St. was reflected in the blue street sign adorning the corner right at Bloor. That means right next to the corner, not counting Honest Ed’s. A few steps up, and… there it is, a dingy spot to whet your whistle. The first floor has a small stage at the back where some brave souls were strumming guitars and a bar that has a few select beers on tap seemingly running strong, cold and fresh from the kegs below.
There are random tables and chairs to assembly any way you wish right at the front with a good view to look down as your friends show up at the bar or have a smoke outside. Then, upstairs has another space which, at the time, was being used for some kind of a reading, so keep that in mind that The Central hosts groups of people engaged in stuff. Each area of the bar has a different smell, grungy and reeking of spilled beers from days gone by. A patio off the back is covered in broken chairs and trash as if a party happened at some point and the place never really recovered. An excellent spot to meet up for drinks before a show at an equally divey Toronto hallowed institution like Lee’s Palace, or the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema nearby.

I’ve been to The Central at least a dozen times over the past year to see a friend’s shows and I’ve officially had enough of the place. I’ll start with an abridged list of food «incidents» I have been served or been witness to.
1. Boneless chicken wings that resemble anemic, greasier popcorn chicken.
2. Poutine with gravy so pale and watery that it soaked the burger bun it was served next to.
3. Chicken wings that are still frozen on the inside.
4. A drill bit in side french fries. Yes, a drill bit. I have no idea what series of health and safety violations had to occur for a drill bit to end up in food.
Most of the time the place is understaffed, but sometimes they’re just incompetent instead. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter because I’m still waiting half an hour at the bar to get a pitcher for my table.
The prices are too high for what you get in the service and décor departments, the bathroom makes it impossible for one person to get into the stall while someone else is washing their hands, the beer tastes funny because they don’t wash their lines enough, and it’s located a stone’s throw from half a dozen superior bars. God, I hate The Central.
If you want cheap drinks, go to The Green Room, The Crown and Tiger or Toby’s. If you want a casual atmosphere but with decent service, go to Nirvana. If you want good beer and good food, go to The Victory Café. Just take it from me: Don’t go to The Central.

Popular U of T student hangout. Unique beer selection including an alcoholic 4% ginger beer from the UK which I haven’t seen anywhere else.
The staff (wherever they were) are virtually hiding from you. We had a group of 8 people and had to trek up and down the stairs to give out individual orders and pay for it up front.
It’s kind of moldy smelling place — I prefer the upstairs which a bit like an attic with a large patio. And they played film noir with subtitles while we were there on a projector screen. I’d go here if Victory Café next door was too full or closed.

I had an excellent time at the Monday night comedy show/​open mic! Comedians were HILARIOUS. especially Stephanie Tevlev. The prices for food and drink were good! Got a veggie wrap and vodka soda for $ 12. Its divey, so dress casually. Also, surprised how they allowed hecklers. Ladies were rude to comics and was certain someone would say something but staff did nothing.

It’s alright — the patio is awesome but I don’t stay long, often just meander down the street to Victory.

I’ve been to the Central a couple of times, and neither time has it really stood out. Tonight there was only one staffer for the early evening on the main floor, so one guy was tending bar, expediting orders, and working sound. It was a bit much to ask. He did a great job, but it was still too much for one guy working a floor with really dark corners and blind spots.
The food is the real issue, though. I ordered the fish & chips, and the fish was grey and limp and sad. It was breaded like a giant fish finger, and tasted about the same. I ordered the veggie fajitas after that (I couldn’t stand to eat the fish), and they were much better. Sizzling peppers, with enough guacamole and sour cream, plus salsa that was actually spicy. If you go, order the fajitas. The poor overworked bartender was really careful to ask me if my order was all right after that, and he was very friendly and accomodating all evening.
The Central is a good place to go if you can’t get a seat at the Victory or Pauper’s, but it really needs to raise its game in the kitchen to compete with all the other bars in the area.

Treats bands like meat. Be warned if you’re thinking of playing here. They’ll cram 10 bands in one night resulting in nowhere to sit. Service is horrible too, pretty much have to serve yourself.

The bar was decent enough but what I completely disliked was being swindled by the bartender at the second floor bar who double charged us for drinks. You can recognize this loser bartender — he thinks he looks like Ryan Gosling and is under the impression that he is way more charming and attractive than he really is.
The bartender talked us into ordering shots, which is fine, but then knowingly took money from both my sister and I (we didn’t know the other had paid) for the same drinks. My friend told me he later bragged to the other scrawny bartender for doing that– she didn’t know he was talking about us. This completely left a bad taste in my mouth about the bar. If management would like to know who this guy is, we actually have a picture with him. I would just warn all other patrons going to this bar to not trust any of the bartenders as this is shady and reflects poorly on the bar in general.
EDIT: The manager (maybe owner) Lucan, contacted my sister after she complained and offered to reimburse us and apologized graciously. He stated that the bartender would be reprimanded. It was extremely kind of him and so I’ve changed my review. Excellent customer service on Lucan’s part.

Stopped by here on a random weeknight.
There are several rooms here, including an upstairs. The bar downstairs is pretty small. I felt that the place as a whole was somewhat cramped.
Drink prices were average. No complaints about the staff.
There was free live stand-​up comedy the night I went. It was so-​so, as is usually the case with bar shows. I’m sure it’s better on some nights.
I might come back once in a while.
Tip: the stall in the men’s bathroom is unbelievably cramped! Avoid if possible.

Situé juste à côté du Honest Ed, le Central accueille généralement des comédiens en herbe pour des soirées stand up. Le plus ici repose dans la terrasse qui est littéralement prise d’assault au premiers rayons de soleil.
Idéal pour les groupes voulant un endroit pour se retrouver et passer un bon moment.
Located just next to Honest Ed, the central usually hosts comedians wannabes for stand up events. The bonus here is the patio which is litterally packed with the first days of spring.
This is definitely a good place for groups to gather and have a nice time with few drinks.

The Central is my kind’ve place. Very chill and unassuming with a few good brews on tap and a full bar on the main floor if you’re looking for cocktails.
The Central has space for any mood:
Soak up the sun: main floor patio
Live music: main floor inside
Cozy with a breeze: upstairs closed-​in «patio»
Rec room: Upstairs on your left with a projector showing the live music from downstairs, a couch area, and large communal tables
Private Room: if you have enough people you can completely control the small room with the upstairs bar
Outdoors at all costs: If everything else is full, there’s a small back patio surrounded by brick
If you’re looking for a place to slug back a few with friends or watch some live music or meet some university/​college kids, head to The Central for a good time.

Shockingly good food. And not just for a dive-​bar.
Influenced by his high-​end Toronto kitchen experience, chef James renewed and expanded the menu eight months ago with a focus on fresh ingredients and innovative twists on typical bar-​fare. Try the crushed-​potato-​chip battered Fish and Chips or the tofu Pad Thai (often a terrible choice at a bar, but The Central does it very well). Also recommend the wings — huge and juicy — which can give any wings spot in Toronto a run for its money. Order it with a cup of butternut squash soup.
Warning: Make sure James is working before ordering.

Sadly this is one of those places that just can’t seem to get their act together.
I mean on paper The Central looks great. Two stories high, two patios, and lots of different bands and comedy shows. They could be like a Baby-​Tranzac. Heck they even have cheap drink specials every week. $ 4.50 pints on a Friday night? Having said that, nothing that I have seen here in the sense of food would ever inspire me to eat here.
However the bands are horribly advertised, same goes with their other shows which some of them could be quite good, but you would never find out about them if you go by their spartan, never updated website.
So whenever I have been there I have had the impression that most people in attendance are not actual customers but family/​friends of the bands/​acts themselves. I brought a number of people to the Strip Comedy a few weeks ago. A show where bad jokes are rewarded with the comedians having to strip a piece of clothing!!! Although the premise is unique and well, funny, most of the comedians were embarrassingly bad so the entire show is about half-​cooked –plus in case you were asking, most are not worth seeing even remotely naked.
Plus on the previous show two of my guests got heckled by a sad «comedian» just because we would not laugh at his horrible jokes. The hostess of that show apologized for his rudeness but still this does not speak well for the venue in general.
Also, you get the vibe that this place is very disorganized. For example, a while ago, I was there with 8 friends, we had been drinking for hours, having a blast when all of the sudden –and without warning, we were being asked to pay if we wanted to stay, since a band, that had not been advertised –as I checked their website (which generally is awfully outdated both in design and calendar listings) was about to perform and wanted their money. We were like, «we have blown through some cash here and now you are telling us to pay up or leave?» Yup. So we walked out. Went down to the bar at the end of the street.
Would I come here again? Maybe during the Summer for a quick pint outside in the patio where I would not get charged to get in case they had a band or if there was a large party already happening. However Victory Café down the street falls under the same lines in decour yet it is superior in almost every way.

Sarah L and I have never had a bad time here. For some reason we often end up here when no one else is around, and one or more of us has a laptop, and we get to drinking, and five-​way-​Skyping and incredible times ensue.
Or we’ll show up and and before we know it we were knee deep in a fundraiser featuring stand-​up comedy. This kind of thing happens a lot at The Central where there is something going on almost every night. Live music, comedy, parties, DJs, what-​have-​you is always on the schedule.
Downstairs features a diminutive bar, their main dining space and a little stage (where the aforementioned comedy took place) for gigs. Upstairs features a more chill space with loungy area with couches and a TV. I believe there is also a patio up there, which combined with the large streetfacing patio brings their count to TWO. Impressive.
The foodstuffs are surprisingly decent and reasonably pricied. I remember the dip platter being more food than any quantity of people could handle and being delicious too. Hoorah!
Obligatory Title Pun: This place is in the MIDDLE of all the action.
Menu Readability: It’s ALL right. I like the use of black stock.
Need to mention: They have Amsterdam, Wellington and Creemore Springs on draught. Pints are $ 5.
What this place teaches me about myself: The formula for fun is Sarah L + Laptops + Beer.