The Garrison

went here for a concert back in september, very tight, very intimate, great sound!
i wish that more bands played this venue.

I went here with a couple of friends last week and the experience was pretty bad. So bad I decided to make this Unilocal account to warn others about it. The first thing to hit me when I walked in was the music. And I do mean hit me, it was deafening. I couldn’t hear my friends from across the 2 foot wide table even though they were yelling as loud as they could.
After stuffing my bleeding ears with napkins and regaining my equilibrium, I managed to stumble to the bar only to be met by a very unfriendly bartender. I asked for their 4 $ Steam Whistle tall cans (which was the special the day we went) 3 times before being I.D.‘d. I don’t mind that, but normally I don’t feel like I’m being subjected to a criminal background check which is the vibe I got on this particular night. At that point the bartender finally handed over the beers and my friends and I attempted to enjoy them without going deaf.
With all that being said, I think this place would have been fine if the volume of the music allowed for conversation and the bartender had been in a better mood. But I can only judge this place based on the experience I had, which wasn’t good. My advice is go elsewhere, there’s several good places to drink nearby like The Lakeview which is maybe a 5 minute walk east of The Garrison.

Delicious cider beer on tap!
Delicious avocado frittas!
Deliciously fun dancing was had!

Was there a couple of weeks ago to grab some food, ostensibly. But got sucked into «Good Enough» Karaōke which started up while I was finishing my drink.
Had the fish tacos: very very good. No sloppy bar food, this. Lots of attention to detail and great taste. In fact, I would rate the mexican-​style food I got at The Garrison as better than what’s being served at Grand Electric – without that weird attitude you sometimes get from the staff at GE. The bartender seemed pleased, apparently the chef is trying to step it up a notch. I would say that he’s doing a pretty good job.
Service was great, of course I was one of 6 people in the bar when I arrived. But it was pretty busy by the time karaōke started.
Speaking of which, the band that played the karaōke was amazeballs. On top of their skilled musicianship (accompanying generally bad singing – mine included – and making it, mmm, good enough) they were a good show.

I’ve been here a couple more times and it’s been way better. The bathrooms still suck but the beer has improved. I actually quite like the joint now.

The Garrison is a great venue and dive bar, one of my favourite venues in Toronto.
The place is a bit hard to get to you take the TTC to Ossington station and walk down to Dundas, or alternatively, get off at Dundas Station and take the 505 Streetcar Westbound to Dundas and Ossington.
The experience really depends on the music which they book great talent. They get a lot of touring indie rock bands, they showcase local talent and they even have a few bands do DJ sets occasionally. The venue is pretty intimate with a capacity of about 400.
They have a bar area in the front where they have food which I assume is good (I’ve never eaten here) and the back area with the stage and another bar. The bathrooms are just unisex stalls right beside the stage and while they looked a bit run down but still clean.
The beer is somewhat expensive but they have a good selection. Because of how hard it is to get here I wouldn’t come just for food & drinks but definitely for the music.

I volunteered for NXNE in this venue. The food is incredible! Their soft shell tacos and empanadas are to die for! I loved them! Hard to pick a favourite. The carne asada tacos were just delicious. The black-​haired girl tending the bar in the dining area is incredible! Very friendly and personable. I thought there was something wrong with the sound system but I am tone deaf, so I could be mistaken!
I had a really great time here.

Reasonably priced food, rather pricey beers, decent service, and a neat space. Tuesday night is taco night, where steak tacos are only $ 2 each. We ordered three steak and two fish tacos and a bowl of chips and salsa for two people, and were stuffed by the time we’d finished. The steak tacos were fine but the fish tacos were incredible! I would definitely order those again. The chips were still warm and lightly salted. Overall a fun time and delicious meal!

A fun, relaxed start to the New Year!
We went to The Garrison for NYE and had a great night. Sure, the wine came in a tumbler and the hipster-​non ratio was sky high, but I really liked the laid-​back mood of the crowd and the set up of the venue.

Ok so I love the garrison as a place to party. They have a really fun and cheap NYE party. BUT I would not recommend going to just get a drink or eat food. The drinks are really expensive for the type of place that it is! So grungy and dirty floors. They have some nice seating by the window but that’s about it. $ 5 for a SHORT CAN of pbr? plus $ 7+ for a pint is justttt too much for that area. We had tacos which were ok… I would have given less stars except I do enjoy it as a concert/​NYE venue.

The Garrison has had a slow time in gaining acceptance as an indie rock bar possibly due to the location. Not the easiest place to spot along Dundas. But as the area gets busier at night, and with a swanky new sign hoisted up front, The Garrison has proven itself as a reliable venue with a consistent lineup of shows. The acts lean toward the more unusual indie bands that are not well known. The front of the bar has windows that open up onto Dundas allowing air in and breathing life into the dark space. The front room is welcoming enough to pop in and see who’s there without committing to stay. To watch a show and pay your cover you continue into the back room which is thru a doorway to the right as you enter from the street. The back room is spacious and LOUD. The sound guy likes his level up, so bring ear plugs. Snack food is available and people were walking around eating it so it must be decent. The door guy is friendly and talkative and oh, the beer store is right across the street.

This is a small indie music venue that is lacking in frills as well as character. The bar is super divey. It’s the music that really makes or breaks the experience.
The beer selection is mediocre but the prices aren’t unreasonable. They carry Molson Stock Ale, which makes me happy. The layout is functional with side booths for small groups and tables scattered around the floor for a more casual affair. If there’s no music, the tables can be pushed together to accommodate a large 20 something group. There’s even some cantina-​style food for cheap.

Great space! This review is for their chronologic dance party on Sept 1. The DJs did a great job with their musical selection throughout the decades. Who knew you could Dance to the jitterbug, Elvis, snoop dog, ace of base then biggie in one set? They ended the party with contemporary hits and I was impressed with how the DJs incorporated hip hop, modern hits and even some deep house into the sets. Fun night all around. I’m definitely sore this morning from the dancing into the wee hours of the night.

I have been here a few times either to check out bands or for bar nights. It’s a good, midsized space for that in between sort of act… not not famous, but not really famous either. One of those places where if some act gets really huge, you can be all «oh, I saw them at the Garrison years ago.»
The sight lines are good — it’s basically a box of a room — and there are benches around the sides of the room. The sound-​guy space (that’s the technical term) is right beside the bar, so if you like to drink, you will also get to enjoy the acoustic sweet spot.
Beer prices are reasonable for cans, and the bartenders are quick and efficient.
The toilet situation is not ideal, though it sounds like it would be: unisex private stalls. I think there are around 5 of them, and the night I was there, the lights were broken in two so they were unusable. I recommend heading to the front part of the venue to use the bathrooms there.

I’ve never had a chance to go to the Garrison because I’m simply not interested in any of the shows or events that happen here. There have been some shows I wanted to check out but was busy, so I don’t want to come off as a total music snob, but this place does seem to lean towards the indie-​rock vibe, which is not my bag.
Anyway, some friends were having a CD release show here recently and I was looking forward to finally checking out this venue. I’ve walked by it many times and looked inside and have seen the front area, but never the actual stage in the back. The outside is very bland and basically looks like every other generic building on Dundas West — I’m not even sure there’s any signage to be honest. If you walked by on a slow night and a bunch of hipsters weren’t smoking outside then you probably wouldn’t even know it’s a bar, let alone a concert venue.
The back is pretty basic as well. It was dark so you can’t really see much, but there seemed to be a ton of exposed wiring and random pieces of wood on the left side. The right side had high benches that make you feel like a little kid when sitting on, and are very useful for shorter people to see a show comfortably. The bar in the back is physically quite small, so I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to get a drink if there were a dozen people trying to do the same.
The sound was decent. It didn’t blow me away or anything, but it certainly didn’t sound bad. The stage itself has little character with no branding at the back like most spaces. It appeared to be a good three feet off the ground so another good quality for the vertically-​challenged. The washrooms are single rooms and there seemed to be a few of them, but they’re really small. I was a little drunk, but found it awkward getting out because your legs get sandwiched between the door and toilet bowl.
Overall the Garrison is a decent venue, but was disappointed that it lacked any character. It obviously has a reputation as a place to see quality shows, but right now it just seems to be a giant room with a stage and some bottles at the back. At the moment with its thrown-​together half-​assed décor it visually reminds me of one of my least-​favourite venues in the city: El Mocambo.

As far as smaller music venues go, the Garrison is okay. I prefer Lee’s Palace which is wide and has that pit, and The Horseshoe which is wider and has more character. The Garrison is just a little too long, narrow and plain to give too solid of a rating.
It’s sketchy looking from the outside, so much so that it’s a bit tricky to find. When you first walk into the venue you walk into a small room with a bar and a few tables, from there you pass through a door, hand over your ticket and walk into the long concert hall (that you could probably pack no more than 300 people into). At the back is a small bar that serves a full array of drinks including local draft beers for $ 6.
The sound system here is good, maybe a little too good. I counted 12 concerts I’ve been to in the last year or so (so my ears are pretty damaged) and this is the first venue in a long time to leave my ears ringing well into the following day.
The walls are bare, black and grungy. There are a few chairs around the outside of the venue, though if you did choose to sit in them you wouldn’t be able to see a thing.
The washrooms are small, (understandably) dirty, and right beside the stage. The stage lighting is low and simple.
Overall, not the best place in the city to catch a show, but not a terrible option either.

Hipsters? Check. Hipster beer? Check.
Find me her to check out some good music? Check.
I like The Garrison. Is it my fav venue? No. Why not? I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe because the bouncer seems to hate me for no reason? That could be it.
Other than that though, if you’re in the mood for good music this is the place to be. Good sight-​lines, big enough that you don’t feel squished but small enough that it feel intimate.
Bonus? It’s oh so close to my fav 24 hour spot The Lakeview so if after last call you want some snacks, food is not far!

This is a really odd place. From the outside it looks like an abandoned laundromat, except that there are all of these people hanging around and it’s 1 am. When I say all of these people, I mean the most eclectic group of people you have ever seen. For example, when I was there a dude was wearing leopard skin pants, a cheetah skin jacket and a Daniel Boone hat.
The first room you walk into looks kind of like a Legion, except they are selling good beer rather than Labatt Blue. In the back there is a spot for live music, it’s kind of like the Horseshoe, but smaller and weirder.
The night I was there the «headliner» was a bunch of middle aged men playing covers, like Rave On (you may remember this tune from the Cocktail soundtrack), but in a Ramones style. Cheetah man was loving it, but it wasn’t really my thing.
The entire time I was there all I could think was, «Man, Toronto is crazy. Apparently there is a place where people have been watching middle aged men play punk covers and wearing a full jungle cat outfit accented with a coonskin hat is sort of normal.»
I would recommend The Garrison for the experience if nothing else.

I have now gone to this venue 3 times and I am a huge fan. I love this place, its nice and big, and it has 2 bars one in the back and one in the front. The front one is usually less crowded and they let you take your drinks in the back that you buy in the front so you can save yourself some time.
All drinks are reasonably priced, and the staff are happy and nice. The bouncer is a friendly dude too.
My only complaint is the lack of A/​C when I was there on Friday it was so warm that my fake eyelashes started falling off because I was sweating so bad from everywhere. They need a couple of fans or something in there.

Wavelength has moved from Sneaky Dee’s to the Garrison, which just opened this fall. If you look at it in google street view the sign says ‘Portugal Bar and Lounge’ and has a couple of old portugese dudes hanging around outside but have no doubt that this is the new music venue of the Ossington/​Dundas corridor.
This past sunday the Garrison was about a ¼ full for the young mother, provincial parks and parlovr show. The sunday night wavelength shows are coming to an end so catch as catch can. This is not the end of wavelength though, just a move toward a special events based format.
PBR bottles are $ 3.75 and 50 bottles are $ 4.75. Wellington on tap. Better sound and lighting system than at sneaky dee’s. Good size, minimal seating, fresh line-​up, and no frills. Keep the cover cheap and ravenous trendy crowds at bay and I’ll continue to go to this local joint.