Cathay Beauty Salon

Surprised that Cathay has never been reviewed. Basically, it’s a Chinese family owned and run barber/​salon. Mom and pop do nothing but ladies hairdos and the two brothers do all the cuts. I’ve been going here since I was a tween. I haven’t been here in recent years since I began shaving my head — but with my brief return to hairdom, a visit to Cathay was necessary. All my highschool friends still go way out of their way to get their haircuts here.
I must say that this place has gotten way busier than I remember. It used to be nearly exclusively Asian clientele. But it now seems like everyone in the area (with the exception of young ladies) comes to get their hair ‘did’ here — old Italian grandpas, Chinese lady perms, and young Asian kids getting fades. Cathay does it all.
Back in the day, you strolled in and read a crappy lobby magazine while waiting for one of the brothers to free up. Last time I was turned away because I didn’t have an appointment. I called Friday morning and scheduled a 1:30PM time slot.
I was immediately seated when I arrived. But my haircut was incessantly interrupted with phonecalls — «Haircut? Hmm… you’re looking at about 4:30PM… yes, we’re really busy.» They have really gotten busy — appointment highly recommended.
There’s not much difference to me between the two brothers — the older brother is slightly better with fades and the younger one is better with trims. I’ll often take whoever frees up first — but most of the male clients will wait for their preferred barber.
The family will often yell at each other across the barbershop in Cantonese which adds to the entertainment value if you understand. For you non-​speakers — don’t worry, they never diss the customers — it’s usually about which one of them is slacking off.
Anyways — decent cuts at $ 12 plus HST from a reliable hair salon with tons of business.