The Comrade

Looking for a friendly hideout in Toronto that specializes in hand-crafted cocktails, cool post-punk '80s music and savoury conversation? The Comrade, an enormous dimly lit once-upon-a-time hotel lobby in Leslieville, has been that place since 2006.

“We’re like the original lounge cocktail bar,” says general manager Jess Toombs, a pint-sized toque-wearing 20-something actress from Toronto who describes the neighbourhood as well as the bar and its lively cast of characters as something like British TV soap Coronation Street. “The Comrade is a lounge for the locals,” she says, noting it’s as much a hot spot for Friday night cocktail folks as it is for the mid-30s party crowd and couples looking for a one-of-a-kind date night nook on Queen Street East.

Jess has been behind the bar, mixing drinks and mingling with the crowd just about every night of the week for the past four years. It’s her dream job. “Everyone is really cool and laid back,” she says. “Nobody’s uptight.”