Toast Lounge

I have been trying to check this place out since I moved to Cambridge 2 years ago. I always seemed to try on Thursdays (because my buddy tends to hang out next door at the Independent those nights) and the place was always shut down. Then yesterday, while browsing through Unilocal,I linked to their website and found that a musician I like was going to be there last night, so I popped in.
and glad I did
the place isn’t half bad. The front bar is comfortable enough — TVs playing the Bs and the Sox, and a decent tap selection. I have all but gotten used to the fact that ‘pints’ in Boston are really ¾ pints, but I will say that the beer glasses here even seemed smaller — and at $ 5-​$ 5.50 a pop, not terribly reasonable — but that’s about the only complaint I can think of.
The back area is actually kinda cool — very loungey venue for live music — not too crowded. It’s not nearly as intimate a venue as Lizard Lounge, (which makes you feel like you are sitting in the artist’s living room.) This place feels more like … the artist’s finished basement that they pimped out with a funky bar (and equally cool bartenders as the front room). Like LL, only the right kind of music would likely work here, but Eilen and her pals definitely fit the bill.
And lastly, the crowd. It was very un-​Boston. First, I was convinced that there were no lesbians in this town — but apparently there are (phew) and equally represented along with every other age, race, orientation, and otherwise. very refreshing. you don’t find that too often in this town — and when I do, I have to keep going back.
God I hope it wasn’t some sort of fluke.

Toast is the nearest dyke bar (on Friday) to my house. But oh god– Toast. So I reliably run into jocks I went to college with (in Vermont — graduated in 2003)…which just makes me roll my eyes.
The atmosphere is neat– big loungy chairs and dim lighting.
The bartenders are often overwhelmed… but they do the best they can.
The dance floor is crammed, the ladies love to dance, but the DJ that’s been on every night I’ve been there makes awful transitions on the regular. Maybe I’m just a snob… but eh.

I’ve never had a bad time at Toast.
Like a lot of the people commenting, I generally only go to Toast on Sunday nights to see the Sea Monsters & Jesse Dee. I’ve been there on other random nights to see reggae bands too. Around Thanksgiving they let my friends from Colorado take over the stage and go nuts. My entire hometown was there, 99% of us blacked out.
I don’t know if the food is any good. The beer is a bit more expensive than my preferred price range (cheap). My friends Dad hangs out there nearly every night, but the crowd isn’t all adult (or all lesbian, or all youngsters). It’s kind of a fun, unexpected mix of people.
They’re currently renovating. Hopefully that means more live music for frees.

1) there are lesbians
2) it happens every week
3) at least they don’t play 80’s music all night anymore

I concur with Bridget T.!! Sunday nights all you need to know is about Jesse Dee and the Sea Monsters!
I NEVER go out on a Sunday night because I’m usually dreading the Monday morning wake-​up. So I typically stay home and sulk in front of the TV.
One of our friends has been trying to get us to travel to Toast with her for an evening with the Sea Monsters. We finally took her up on it on a snowy Sunday night. I’m so glad that we did!
First, Toast is such a cool space! It’s so warm and cozy! I felt like I was in an underground maze. Also, where else in the Boston area can you order 4 PBR big gulp cans for $ 10?! AWESOME!
Second, and most important, the Sea Monsters are worth the trip to Somerville! I love that they take turns performing their songs. It’s such a cool way to hear their individuality and influences while playing together as a band. Such a great concept! They always have a guest musician with them which makes every night a new experience.
If you ever have the urge to leave your cozy home before starting the work week this is where you should come to enjoy your last night of freedom! Go to Toast, get a classy 20+ oz can of PBR and indulge in the sounds of the Sea Monsters and Jesse Dee!

similarly to how i feel about club café, i’m not crazy about toast, but i have to give it props for being a dependable lezzie place to hang out.
i actually used to love going here a few years ago when it was on thursday nights (which later moved to tribe at felt– is that still going on?). now it is dyke night on friday. sad to say, there aren’t many options for queer women to hang out and the nights we do have are always coming and going. so for that, toast is reliable. there are usually a good number of women dancing, there is also a loungey area to sit and drink, an outside area for smoking, lots of familiar faces.
the cons: not T-​accessible, and i find the management here to be unfriendly at times.

SUNDAY NIGHTS with Jesse Dee and the Sea Monsters! Thats really all that needs to be said!
He is one of the most talented musicians I have seen in so long. Always a pleasure/​amazing.
Last Sunday we were lucky enough to catch Ryan Montbleau back froma very long US tour sitting in on the set. Totally a delicious dose of jammin’.
Jesse Dee’s soulful voice and rockin band will please anyone…
Go see some live music… you’ll feel better.

Stopped in to Toast Lounge last Sunday when i heard the news that it was no longer a gay bar. Apparently it is under new management (the guys who used to run the Tir na nOg, a much-​loved and missed gem in Union Square that closed in March 07). I have to say, i was really impressed! The crowd and music were fantastic — anyone who enjoyed the old nOg will feel like it is back, only better.
Crowd — lots of the same Union Square faces, but with a lot more room for new ones (and no need to get packed in quite so tightly with any of them!)
Music — live acts 6 nights per week (Friday is still dyke night). On Sunday it was Christian McNeill and the Sea Monsters — unbelievable music and a great vibe. The big difference when it comes to music is the back room — the size and acoustics of this basement space definitely rival the Lizard Lounge.
There is now a full menu, too — I will check out the food on my next visit and repost. I have a feeling i will be hanging out there often!

So, I was really (really) disapointed. My fabulous femme in crime turned 21 just in time for the much touted Halloween Ball and we were so excited. It just really didn’t live up the hype. The drinks were good. The DJ was awful. There must be better hunting grounds for the andro/​butch of my dreams out there… I will have to try again. update to follow

Dyke-​tastic!
Quite possibly the only consistent option for «women who love women» in Metro Boston.
There’s nothing special about the space itself; just a few rooms awkwardly strung together. But there is something that Toast brings to the table that none of the other fly-​by-​night lesbian clubs bring: a dependably packed house.
Unfortunately, the music is just as generic as any other dyke night, but what are you gonna do? The Boston lesbian scene lacks variety and our nights are a reflection of that homogeneity.

Yo, this place was HOPPING in circa 2004 – 2005. It used to be packed to the brim with young hip dykes’n’queers dancing drunk to pop music– what fun! Just went back for the first time in a couple years this Friday night, kinda early because we wanted a table (10:30?) and over 40 night was ending. (Awkward.) Anyway, we figured it would pick up over the next while, but it really didn’t and we left at midnight.
Drinks were strong ($ 5 each for mixed drinks). It seemed less pretentious than other times I’ve been there, but maybe that’s because it was also less cool and less fun. Oh, well.

Ridiculous as it seems, Boston has few lesbian clubs! You would think considering that Boston is a fairly big, popular city with a good lesbian population that perhaps they’d throw us a bone but alas we rarely get prime time.
So, almost by default, Toast must get a good review for at least existing! It is a fun club though with decent music and a good crowd. Getting a drink can be pretty tough unless you befriend, Angie, a fabulous bartender who entertains my constant demand for lemon drops– which is apprently an annoying shot to make!
There is an outdoor patio for smokers which can also be a nice reprieve from the crowded dance floor– just don’t forget to leave your drink inside or the bouncer will ponce on you.
Overall Toast is a fun time and the dunkin donuts across the street is always open when Toast closes for some drunken bagels.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhm. What?
Went here on Saturday night for some gay man thingy ma-​jig. Had heard from others that Toast is pretty great for the lesbians on Fridays and I see that it averages FOUR stars on here. I was initially going to leave one star, but feeling inclined to respect the fact that I may have gone to toast on an ‘off’ night, I’ll leave two.
Anyway, went to Toast on Saturday for some gay man event and I was kind of excited to try it out. Well, let’s just say I was severely disappointed. I’m shocked they would have the audacity to even charge a cover at this place. Walking in, you’re awkwardly met by six middle-​aged gay men standing at a bar who are just waiting to see what’s next on the ‘menu’ of men.
Then you, standing awkwardly, think to yourself, «Where the hell am I?’ and kind of do an old man shuffle away from the front door figuring out your next move. Making your way past the bar of old sketchy men and thru the doorway to the land of empty booths and bare tables (it’s kind of like a gay mythical board game at this point) you finally come to the ‘dance’ floor.
I have put the word ‘dance’ in quotations as the only dancing I saw involved an older gentlemen (shirtless and in leather pants) up on a box kinda dry humping the dark corner. There is a second bar in this room where other awkward gays have gathered to view the MENu and have some booze.
Now, I’m not trying to sound pretentious in any way with knocking the men in here… but you could cut the awkwardness with a knife.
I don’t really remember the cost/​benefit analysis of drink-​strength/​price as my brain has systematically shut down and erased the several minutes I spent in that bar.
But I will say, I was with some cool friends to experience the awkwardness so it made for a good time and good conversation about the sketchiness.
We lasted for one drink before bouncing and heading to Club Café, a stronghold for gays without a plan.

It can be a good time, especially when you’re stark raving drunk, but there are a couple of things I don’t like:
1) When there’s a line outside, the bouncers only admit a few people at a time — which is completely inexplicable because if you are one of the few, you realize as soon as you enter the bar, that there’s no reason for the slow trickle as the bar is ½ empty. After 12, the bouncers (who are total jerks), stop admitting completely, turning away people who have been standing out in the cold, scantly clad in their finest clubbing attire (for us lesbians, that’s our best pair of cargo pants and retro sneakers), for an hour!!!
2) Big club, why only two bathroom stalls? WHY?!

How can I explain when there are few word that I can choose? How can I explain when words get broooooookkkeenn? Do you remember there was a tiiiaahiime? When people on the street were walking hand in hand in haaaaaaaand in haaaaand.
They used to talk about the weather, Making plans together, days would last 4-​evaaaaar! Come to me cover me hold me, together we’ll break these chains of love! Don’t give up, don’t give up (up)! Together me and my baby BREAK THE CHAINS OF LOVE!

New wave, goth and Terri serving drinks. Hi Terri!!!

I love this place. I used to head there every friday night with my girls and loved every minute of it.
The bartenders, Ange and Pamela (there’s more, but those are the two I can vouch for) are fantastic. Friendly, smart, and cute.
A great time on lesbian night at the very least. =)

For queer girls, Toast is fabulous on Friday nights. At first I thought Somerville + Lesbians = Mullet Heaven. I expected to be transported back to my old haunts in St. Louis or, better yet, rural Texas. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it’s nice to have a place for lesbians and like-​minded folk to party in style! Hooray for Union Square!
The venue has an interesting layout, somewhat labyrinthine, but well suited to groups who don’t want to shout to be heard as well as a good sized dance floor. I’ve never had a bad experience with the bar tenders, and they seem to have a decent, but not huge, selection of draught beers including Stella. Big star for that one.
The couches are comfy, and not too far removed from the dance scene, but the bathrooms are tiny! C’mon. Two stalls for two hundred of inebriated dykes?
Another down side is that the club fills up quickly on Friday nights and the bouncers are hard to bribe. Although you should try bringing them coffee from Dunkin’ D’s across the street on cold nights… And there is a good outdoor smoking section that you can access without leaving the club.

edit
I used to come here a lot, but Chris Ewens «Heroes» night is no longer here, and it was pretty much the only thing drawing me to this place.
/​edit
The only fun dance night in Greater Boston is at Toast on Saturday nights.
The bar has taken over a couple of the nights that used to be at ManRay before it closed, and included among them is the Saturday Night Retro Electro New-​Wave and punk night (Used to be called Transmission at ManRay, now it’s called Heroes).
Until ManRay reopens (if it ever will) I can’t see myself enjoying anywhere else as much on a Saturday night.

A trendy, wannabe upscale joint in Union Square. The bar staff is very monotone and not all that helpful. I’d go so far to say that a couple are borderline pretentious. If this place were on Newbury or something, I might be able to understand it a little better, but we’re talking about Somerville here! I can’t say I’m a fan. This isn’t New York people, lose the ‘tude. I guess they do have one of the only Boston area lesbian nights though, so that’s one plus. I can’t vouch for the quality of it though. The whole having-​a-​penis thing gets in the way sometimes.