Kitch

Not the establishment’s fault but the moment I approached the bar I was accosted by some dude who was a know-​it-​all regular telling me how to proceed with ordering a drink and food. Thanks dim wit. I work in the industry and this ain’t my first rodeo. Turns out he only had his phone as a friend. No surprise there. Unfortunately, I found one of the bartenders on the rude side. She was short, inconvenienced and harsh for no reason at all. Maybe it was a bad night for her, I get it, but it is never good to be on the receiving end of residual bad energy. They had some weird and degrading drinking games where 3 people can volunteer to chug a pint of the swill from the taps, the winner getting a proper shot of something, the losers getting a larger shot of something grosser? Just weird. It’s unfortunate it was a bad experience. The bar is right around the corner from my boyfriend’s house. I give mega appreciative props to the bartender in glasses. She was a doll and absolute pleasure to deal with when the other angry bartender was «busy».
We were there on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016. In case any managers care to address the attitude situation.
PS. Most of their kegs were out. Only two options available. Also, they were sparse on their can selections too. Weird.

Incredibly unique bar with a great atmosphere. Staff were quick to fill my drink and help make the night a little more fun. Would definitely return.

We Mexican people tend to be kitch because we decorate based on our attachment to sentimental junk… What some people would consider out of place in a living room, is a treasure for you and you exhibit it with pride: old awkward pictures; the puppet you used to perform for your mom when you were 8; the foreign cans you started to collect while teenager; or any trophy you won in any tacky contest.
The decoration of Kitch reminded me that funny Mexican-​kitch vibe and I loved the experience.
The menu is simple, very affordable and the portions are big. Variety of nachos, peroggies, burgers, etc.
This is a really versatile and fun joint. There is nothing similar around that neighbourhood, so I really recommend it.
You can play board games (they have a big selection), go to enjoy standing comedy, live music, or watch the movies they project in a huge wall.
They have a big selection of boost, drafts and cider. The bar is huge and funny to watch.
I ended up chatting with the bartender because she happened to be Mexican!!!
We’ll be back

I like Kitch. A lot. You can go there and relax. It has a fun atmosphere with lots to look at and do. Their food is cheap and good. And when I say cheap, you can get a decent chicken sandwich there for $ 5. The weakest part of the experience is the beer. They only sell tall cans, and a lot of the choice is samey.

Dayum Kitch! You’ve worked up a hella bad rep on Unilocal?!But you know what Kitch? I like you, you did me right last night for Wednesday Karaōke; I had a grand ol’ time and for sheezy wanna come back again and butcher Whitney Houston while chowing down on your 5 dollar menu!!!
First off, Dawn, our Bartender for the night, is an AWESOME HUMAN. Round of applause for Dawn, you killed it! She was super nice and when I asked for a Bourbon sour, the sweetheart spent close to 5 minutes lovingly slaving away at crafting a sour from FRESH LEMON JUICE. She didn’t focus on anything else (even waiting patrons wanting a drink) until she was done with her drink making ritual. I cannot front on that tbh. Bless your heart Dawn, anyone who passionately and intensely crafts a cocktail is a girl after my own heart. She was generally attentive, helpful and started up a tab for me, charged me all the right prices and was on top of her bartending game. A++ For Dawn!
Eventually, all the karaōke yodeling got me peckish, and I’ll be honest, I was scared to try the food, when an establishment boasts a $ 5 menu — the food is USUALLY gonna be a hot mess, and after gandering at some Unilocal reviews for this place, I approached my BBQ pulled pork quesadilla with some trepidation. But you know what? That queso was tight… as far as 5 dollar queso’s go. I mean, let’s be honest guys, this isn’t a 3 Michelin star’d establishment, you’re going to get some middle of the road bar food, but for what it is, I kinda loved it. The pork was sweet and flavorful, that might have been the case cause it was slathered in BBQ sauce, but frik it, I enjoyed it in full. It was a touch on the salty side, but after a few bourbons, my body was like YAAAASSS SODIUM OM NOM NOM F U HANGOVER I’M GOOD.
And big-​ups to Margaret who’s a great Karaōke host, sweet as pie (really, she’s truly an angel) and if she’s feeling generous, she’ll let you try your hand at «I’m every woman.»
The only downside for the night is waiting for the Dufferin bus, and then getting to college and discovering the college streetcar was another 30 minutes away (we had to take a quick cab ride home at like…3 AM) So yea, Kitch is kinda in the middle of nowhere, so please bring some cab fare kids!

Kitch has a great Wednesday night Karaōke show if you are so inclined and the inside is actually pretty nice. The menu is decent with no real vegan options I could see and the daft beer list is very limited. This place has a really nice patio area in the back that is worth checking out, although I imagine it gets pretty smokey on a busy evening. This biggest drawback for this place is its location. Kitch is kinda out in the middle of nowhere. There’s not much nearby, which means if you’re not into what’s going on, you really need a cab if you want to keep your night going. Head over if there’s an event you know you’re going to dig, find somewhere more centrally located if you are not sure about going there. Parking is pretty much nonexistent, so I would not recommend driving.

Awesome place to check out on Thursday nights (weekly comedy night, no cover). Comics perform from 9−11ish.
Lots of $ 5 food options with decent portion sizes. I’ve been before and had the grilled cheese, ordered the nacho burger this time (they’ve been out of perogies both times I’ve been).
Only complaint is the service. They don’t really seem to have a dedicated server (even though the seating is at tables) and it seems you have to go to the bar to order and then they’ll bring it to you. Not what I want to be doing when I’m trying to enjoy the show.

Terrible staff. Owner (or claims to be — has glasses and ponytail) is rude and aggressive. Avoid this place at all costs. You’ll get physically harassed and berated. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE.

2.5 stars to be exact, but I didn’t try any food, so to be fair I’ll round up instead of down.
We came here for our friends’ engagement party. It is located at Dupont and Dufferin, which is a total deadzone, except for the Rehearsal Factory down at the end of Geary. If you’re interested in hearing the worst noise in the world, I highly recommend taking a stroll through the halls of the rehearsal space. There’s nothing quite like the combination of metal thrashery, funk riffs, dad bands, and Tears for Fears covers (sorry, that’s my contribution).
At Kitsch, I had a Caesar and a Strongbow. The Caesar was quite delicious actually! The service was just okay. There was one bartender and many customers, and it seemed overwhelmed by the number of customers (it was a Saturday night, so they must not get a lot of customers, despite it being a massive space.)
I can’t score too harshly based on the service considering I didn’t try the food, but I can definitely talk about the space: lots of potential to be a great bar in an area of town with zero competition, but it feels like a misused opportunity. There’s lots of really cool art pieces and murals. I think it looks really great inside, but I do have some quibbles:
PROJECTOR
There is a giant white wall opposite the bar that is being utilized as a projector screen. Awesome! Not so much when they’re showing old episodes of Popeye (Q: How old is Popeye? Is he 100 years old? Is he 16? I have no idea and it’s impossible to tell. My honest guess is he’s like 50.) Anyway, there’s lots of awesome ways to utilize a projector. One is VIDEO GAMES! If I ran this bar, I would have a different game on every single night. Goldeneye, Mario Kart, NHL96… you would get so all the hipsterdads in the neighbourhood coming here like clockwork.
You could also sync up music and film — Dark Side of Oz, Kid A Nosferato, Snow White in the Court of the Crimson King… ANY sporting event + the theme from Back to the Future (Silvestri4eva).
Anyway, it would be great to see them put more thought into this. I would totally make a weekly trip to challenge anyone to a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 duel.
STAGE
There’s also an awesome almost-​ground-​level stage. On a Saturday night there was no band playing. WHAT. You are a bar a short walk from a rehearsal studio and you don’t have a live band on a Saturday? That is crazy. I’m not suggesting they book whatever group of teenage garage band misfits to test out their songs here (that’s what Tuesday nights should be for) but certainly they could have found an interesting and functional band to soundtrack the spinach consumption happening on the wall behind the stage.
STREET FIGHTER 2
On the subject of video games, they do have two arcade games in the back. I let loose a flurry of Hadoukens on my girlfriend (sorry sweetheart, I love you) before succumbing to the computer Chun Li’s super cheap blur-​kick. Not cool, Chun li. The other coin-​op seemed to feature a medley of different games. I didn’t examine, but hopefully they have Dig Dug and Outrun on there.
If you live in the neighbourhood, I do totally recommend coming by to check this place out. If you don’t (and not a lot of people do) I think maybe check out what they have on the bill. If it’s Seinfeld trivia, then by all means make the trip. If not, maybe just stay in and repeat «Serenity Now» until you fall asleep.

This bar is a hit and miss. It has themed nights with music and comedy performances and it seems this is the intended purpose for this bar. Not detracting from the value $ 5 menu which holds it own with cooky and creative options but bring your flashlight, the lighting is so low you’ll need it to do anything. This place is acutely hipster so don’t come here expecting restaurant style service, even though the staff are incredibly nice and probably great people I didn’t find them to be good at their jobs. The drinks are ok and the music they play when they don’t have a performance is pretty good, mix of classic hip-​hop and alternative r&B sometimes. Its worth a try, it might be your flavor.

This place has all the makings of a great hangout spot for a group. I dig the interior. It is spacious and the bold black and white print walls are quirky. As a big fan of a decent washroom, this place had that covered too. The boombox walls served as a backdrop for my sister-in-law’s photo shoots. And the service wasn’t bad either despite what I read in other reviews. I wasn’t a big fan of the music which happened to be a strange mix of some down tempo Indie rock and the Beach Boys, but hey, that’s personal preference and I bet others were totally into it.
The food is super cheap and as pub grub goes, it is more or less what you’d expect. I imagine after a few more drinks, it would have been a lot more palatable. The fully loaded nachos were the best thing I tried.
On the plus, the drinks are reasonably priced and the margaritas were good. I have never had one with chili around the rim instead of salt.

For a place that is first and foremost a bar, this joint was not hoppin’ the way it should have been on a Saturday night.
12 of us headed out for my friend’s birthday last night, primarily to get our eat on. From the point we entered, to the point we left, the place was deserted.
The food was mediocre. We got the Fully Loaded Nachos with Bacon, Sour Cream, and Green Onion. They were just okay.
The Antojitos, and Pulled Pork Quesadilla on their $ 5 menu were not good at all. There’s a reason they’re on the $ 5 menu yo!

I really didn’t want to give it one star because their food is decent (mediocre but for the price…) and the location quirky and charming, but there’s really no way to avoid the low rating.
We were a group of 8 and earlier during the day I called to try and make a reservation because I saw on the reviews that they do reservations. When I called I was told, «we don’t do reservations, bra». OK bra, no worries. We get there and we see at least 3 tables with the «reserved» signs on it. What the hell bra? It wasn’t a problem because the place was empty and we were able to sit on one of the picnic tables outside. So far so good…
The three of us got there first and no one greeted us (this isn’t a huge deal but…) and we sat ourselves down. We sat around and chatted for about 5 – 10 minutes or so. Still no one turns up. We’d like some drinks, so I figured maybe they just didn’t see us enter and I head up to the bar to ask for a menu. The waitress hands me one menu, so I explain to her that there will be a bunch of us so if she could grab more menus for me that would be great. To this she snarls at me, «I will get them, OK?» And that look! You’d think I had just committed murder and was attempting necrophilia…
She finally comes around, we order our drinks and put in an order for nachos for us to share while we wait for the rest of our group to join us. We got those nachos well after our party arrived (1.5 hours after we had put our orders in). Our meals came out about an hour after that — of course all separately. When a friend of mine asked if we’d be getting the rest of our orders, the waitress became snide and told us that it’s coming (well, where is it?)
Paying was a nightmare too — we had gotten inside because we wanted to get out of there at last — had to ask her to get us our bill multiple times and we just sat around and waited for her to run around doing whatever she was doing. Not to mention the «band practice» Wednesday nights where we had to endure a terrible sounding band hack away at their «instruments».
Phew, what an experience! If you want to be irritated and not be served you should definitely check this place out. I don’t even mind that service is slow and that the food is mediocre. I’m really okay with that. What I have a problem is when people treat people with disdain and contempt (especially in the hospitality industry). Hard to believe that I am using such strong words for a restaurant/​bar review but they certainly are the most accurate word for the way we were treated by the waitress.

My friends and I had a really great time here.
Music was the right level for conversation, good variety of seating (couches, tables, high tops) and the music was really great that night.
Service is super friendly and quick (it wasn’t busy) and they make a great caesar. Drinks are about a buck more than most pubs. $ 8 for a tall boy of Strongbow.
What really got me was the food. They have a huge variety of nachos. My friend and I shared the Three Amigos, which is pulled pork, chicken and beef. Very tasty, but could have done with more pico de gallo. The best part was that they had Daiya cheese! For those in the know, you’re probably pretty happy about it. If not, don’t worry your pretty little lactose tolerating head about it. A share size was $ 15 and was barely finished by 3 of us. Their kitchen might be open all night, I think we ordered it around 1am.
The only thing I’d like to see (other than cheaper prices) would be a dedicated dance floor for when I feel the need to bust a move.
We’ll definitely be back. I loved the vibe, music and space.

Straight up, Kitch is a Toronto gem.
Its a little bit hidden and you would never expect such an awesome bar/​eatery to be hidden on the backside of Dupont Avenue.
If you are looking for a place to become you new neighborhood hang out… Kitch is it. My husband and I stumbled upon Kitch in the late summer and have been hooked on their Nachos, great drink specials and super friendly service ever since.
Their nachos are a thing of beauty. I will upload a picture soon. There is so much cheese and toppings on the nachos, they are a main meal (not an appetizer). I highly suggest the pulled pork nachos (served with their special guac and a pineapple!). Recently I tried their bean and cheese burrito and home made apple cider and they were both amazing.
Kitch has two floors. There is a great lounge/​bar and patio area downstairs, and a really neat party/​group space called ‘the upper basement’ up the flight of stairs. The ‘upper basement’ is like travelling in a time warp to your cool friend’s parent’s basement circa 1986.
The food is great and the servers are fantastic, but hands-​down why I love coming to Kitch is for the qwerky ambiance and converstaion-​friendly volume. It’s a place where you can bring your friends, chill out, hear some awesome music and not have to yell till your voice is hoarse to carry on a conversation. The bar is big enough to accommodate large groups and there are so many cool sitting areas to cater to all sizes of crowds.
Check it out
j

I live about five minutes from this place, but never had a chance to visit until recently. It’s definitely a little off the beaten path because I don’t know many people who take strolls along Geary Avenue.
I was blown away by this place. I had no idea the space was so huge! There’s tons of room on the main floor for dining and drinking, and then there’s a large flight of stairs to an upstairs area for dancing by the DJ booth. This upstairs spot feels like someone’s fancy living room. Lots of couches, shelving, and cozy lighting. The sound system is really nice as well. A warm sound, though this particular night the DJs were playing funk and soul on vinyl.
The outside patio area is narrow but spacious. They have many picnic tables with vinyl covering like at your grandparent’s house. It’s literally next to the tracks and the train did fly by twice while I was out there, and it’s quite loud indeed. But they built the patio with high fences to block out the industrial landscape.
They have a whopping twelve varieties of tall can beers! This is the most I’ve seen any bar stock, and I am a huge fan of tall cans. They also have a Street Fighter arcade game in the back! Plus lots of board games. The walls are beautifully designed in black and white doodles, and the men’s washroom is cover in boombox wallpaper. The bartenders were super nice to me and were more than happy to chat with me about their short history (only open since April).
I’ve not ate there but I plan on coming back very soon (and very often).

I went here for a Sceneopolis event last night so my review will vary from the others.
As an event space, this place was great. The décor is fascinating, from film influenced drawings on the walls to mexican décor including pinates, it really lived up to its name with its kitchy accessories. Upstairs feels like a rec room with couches and nice but café-​style chairs. Not really my thing. Downstairs is more loungey and where I spent most of my time. Tall tables, couches, and various other places to sit made it different and unique. The bar is really neat too as the kitchen is behind there as well and it takes up a large stretch almost the length of the wall. It was neat to see cocktails being mixed on one side and food being prepared on the other.
The food was great and included nachos (again like the previous reviewers said were served in pizza boxes), peach and chicken quesadillas (yum!), mac’n’cheese and hot dogs. The event was sponsored by Canadian Club so we drank CC sours (AMAZING) and premixed CC and coke/​gingerale from a can. They were also pretty good, I found them sweet but apparently they have 20 per cent less sugar than a normal mix of CC and coke.
Also this event featured a performance by Eight and Half at the back. We got a great spot on the stairs and I didn’t hear anyone complaining about not being able to see. The band was INCREDIBLE and the main reason I was at the event, let’s not lie.
I would love to go back and try this place on a normal night. I’d bring some friends and give it a shot. Everyone who worked there was super nice and I love, love, love unique places like Kitch. I highly recommend it — even if it’s just to see what the fuss is about.

Went to Kitch for a friends birthday. I loved the set up and design of this new bar and their menu sounded great.
One big major faux-​pas stuck out for me though and thus, adds to the low review:
They use plastic cutlery, glasses, and paper napkins. Nachos are served in pizza boxes. Basically — not as eco-​friendly as I would like (although I did ask why they served with such disposable materials, and they assured me that plastic things are used again, and the pizza boxes are recycled, but still, get some glassware).
Another was super loud music, but no dance floor.
THOUGHTS:
So close to where I live, OMG! Thought it was going to be my new 3Speed. But alas, it will not. They also do not serve brunch (WHAT… weird). My friend and I had Nachos with steak, two glasses of sangria and three beers and it was about $ 55 for both of us. They did NOT take debit OR credit but had one of those no-​name ATM machines at the back that charged us 1.95 to get money so we didn’t have to wash dishes all night.
FEELINGS:
I loved the patio. It’s long and lean and has tables and benches to sit on. Much better than chairs. Also has a hotdog bar outside! How cool!
Serving staff were AWESOME. Great people. Answered all my questions, brought food and drinks promptly. Were also very kind when I suggested that the size of sauces with the nachos should be in proportion to the number of nachos we received (aka we ran out of sauces — I hate that…).
OVERHEARD:
You couldn’t really overhear anything due to the extremely loud music. We were there for a birthday party and really just wanted to chat, but even going outside to the patio didn’t help as they blast the music there too.
I did overhear a conversation on their choice of size for the projected screen. It’s very big, takes up the entire wall and there really isn’t a place in the bar where you can comfortably watch the big screen. I guess it’s more for art and not for actual distraction.
GREAT PLACE FOR:
— drinking with buddies
— hanging out with people you don’t really want to talk to
— sitting on the patio
— NOT saving the planet

Went there earlier today. Was quite looking forward to discovering a new local food place. Was quite disappointed. The décor was nice and the place looks cool. That is the only good thing about this place.
Ordered the tortilla with mango to start. The chips were literally Doritos. Next, tried the pulled pork burrito. Worst burrito ever. The pulled pork was grey and dry, as if they just boiled it. Not at all how pulled pork is supposed to be. Overall, quite bland tasting. Also tried the fish tacos, which were one of the worst things I have ever tasted. As previously stated above, the taco comes with two tasteless shells that fall apart. The fish was deep-​fried and battered but somehow was awful and had no flavour. How can something deep-​fried be so bad? Will never return.

BOTTOM LINE: Rad venue… but a really, really shaky start. At least I heard the Mariachi band from outside (It was Cinco de Mayo — I doubt they’ll be a regular installation). :S
After driving an effective marketing campaign to get the word out (BlogTO, theGRID, Toronto Life, NOW, etc.), the guys from Ink Entertainment really dropped the ball on their opening night. Granted, it’s expected that any new establishment would go through growing pains, but they really blew it tonight.
When I arrived a bit past midnight on their opening night, the place was nearly empty! Loud electronic beats rocked the place (a plus!), but tables obstructed what I presumed was the dance floor and patrons appeared to be bored out of their minds as they mindlessly munched on their nachos (and not in an ironic way). At least the venue itself was rad with commissioned works of street art on the walls, shelves lined with kitschy cookie jars and nik naks, and a projector on the wall screening vintage movies (seems like every place has got to have one these days). It felt like a grundgy Circa (circa 2005).
A staff member informed us that we weren’t allowed upstairs because of a «private event» only for her to change her mind 5 minutes later on a whim. At the top of the steps, the «private party» could only be described as 5 strangers sort of dancing around the DJ booth. Hmm. I then asked about when Supermaniak would be playing (the main reason I even came this far!) and the staff looked at me with only the most inquisitive of looks. Seriously?! The staff that guarded the «private party» with the DJ has no idea who the main DJ is for the night?! I was later informed that she had gone on «hours ago». I looked at my watch…1233 AM. Hmm again. Maybe it’s totally my fault for not checking the schedule, but if you’re billing yourself as a resto-​lounge, and you schedule your main DJ to only play during eating hours, I think you’ve got yourself a problem.
Okay, but not all was lost, right?! They still had their menu of Mexicana (spicy mac ‘n’ cheese, nacho platters, etc.) that we wanted to try. We spied all the dishes that were coming out of the kitchen and when we settled on what we wanted, we were told the kitchen was «closed for the night». JTFC. We ended up trying their margaritas (which were alright), but the night was lost by that point.
Finally, if you’re gonna go to Kitch, you need to understand that you’ll need to fully commit. A bus from Lansdowne station will drop you off across the street, but you’re literally stuck amongst automechanic repair stores with no «back-​up» options available. It’s gonna be a while before I’d consider returning, but hopefully with a good line up of performers, I’ll be tempted.
Opening night, Cinco de Mayo FAIL.