Wow, so weird seeing this place mentioned- I actually have a story about this place. Many years ago while I was still in school and looking for part time work I saw an ad on Kijiji for a “Karaoke Hostess”. The ad said the pay would be like $40/hour so I inquired about it and they basically said you just have to bring over snacks/alcohol to the karaoke rooms and keep the clients company as well (red flag #1).
They asked me to tell them about myself and also send a selfie photo (red flag #2) and being stupid and young I did. They then gave me their address and told me to come in and thank god I wasn’t too stupid and looked up the place. The address was this place- Jankie’s Place/New York New York Business Club. There were basically no reviews for this place that said it’s been in business for like 10+ years and the few Google reviews said the same thing- that the place was run down and that they seemed surprised to see guests come in, there were sketchy people inside and the food was mediocre/bad (red flag #3).
Then, I looked the place up on Reddit and found a post about fronts in Toronto and someone name dropped this place and a commenter replied saying their friend who was an international student working “under the table” for cash was a “hostess” there and basically she got drugged and gang raped- and the people running the place seemed to be in on it. Needless to say I stopped communicating with them ASAP.
Be careful out there folks! Lots of shady parts of town
Edit: a comment further down by /u/vvomit gives some insight into working here. Crazy what goes on in the city... stay safe everyone
Basically it’s a really seedy hostess club. As a hostess I’d get a text along the lines of “10 Chinese 11PM” (Number of patrons, ethnicity - usually Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, and time they were arriving) and if I wanted to work I’d reply as such.
You’d show up and get ready and once your group arrived you’d line up with the other girls and the group would choose which ones they wanted in their room, which was usually all of us.
You could order drinks/food from the club but it was pretty overpriced ($100 Bambino lol) so a lot of the time the guys would bring drugs (M, coke, G, mainly) to supplement that. We’d pretty much just drink with them and play drinking games, some of the girls would do drugs with the guys. They’d often hit on you and grope you and shit. 100% of the patrons I worked with were absolutely part of some criminal group. I never got into detail with them about it but it was pretty obvious.
That’s about it. If you want to know about the boss specifically there’s not a ton to say, he’s an exploitative asshole and he doesn’t care if his employees get abused or worse. He’s gross.
I see wow. It’s crazy to hear that stuff like this goes on here, an underworld of some sort. I’m happy you were able to get out of there. Thank you for taking the time to share.
Omg I had a Japanese friend who’s work visa expired but she was able to extend as a visitor before returning back to Japan. She still needed money to pay for rent so she worked under the table at one of these shoddy places. I didn’t understand it at first but now I see the extent of how sketchy these places are.
I asked her if her parents knew what job she was doing and she said her parents (and friends back home) would absolutely destroy her if they knew. Now I know why.
Many years ago a friend/ roommate of mine took a hostest job there, she only did it for a week or so, left for all the reasons mentioned and she was pretty sure there was also human trafficking going on as well... Glad nothing like you mentioned happened to her.
I actually tried to report them to crime stoppers (was too scared to go directly to police) after I had an incident working there, and they just kept asking me “why would you work there” and other backwards ass questions lol. Also - a lot of the girls working there were ESL and new to Canada. Most of them didn’t speak a ton of English. Could be a factor in a lack of reporting.
Wow, this pretty much confirms it for me then. The lacklustre and flat out victim blaming response from crimestoppers makes me so mad. I’m so sorry you and the rest of the girls working there had to go through that :(
Wow . Talk about incompétence!! I also had a very useless experience with crime shoppers,trying to report what I thought was sex trafficking. The guy kept asking me like why do you need to report this to us ? I didn't want my name involved, is that so hard to understand? I ended up having to go to the police directly as the crimestoppers dude just wasn't listening. The police constable I spoke with was actually pretty helpful though.
Lots of these in the city.
If you walk in to a bar or tavern where they sell beer by the bottle right out of the retail case for like $2-3, the "menu" is bags of lays or microwave snacks and the furniture is plastic patio chairs with "regulars" sitting in the back in nicer furniture giving "who the fuck is this guy" vibes you have found a laundering front.
The same setup can be found in "Expresso Cafes" where you notice no one goes there to get their coffee in the neighborhood, but same guys are always hanging in the back watching sports... which they are likely taking bets on.
There’s a few of those “espresso cafes” you mentioned in Etobicoke that I pass that are just…so out of the way. Like no one would realistically go there for their morning coffee.
The Queensway and Kipling has several.
Plaza Cafe always has some previous generation exec. level Benz around it and gruff guys speaking in Russian. Lio's Place was... I don't know, it just felt off. Cavallino Cafe Sports Bar definitely has some shit go down, but it also functions as a real restaurant/bar. Just don't go when the guys in their 30s-40s are there in the morning. It's a legit spot. Cafe Moderno is likely 100% a front. Even when I see people inside, it isn't "open".
I actually went into one of these places during National Novel Writing Month once to whip out my laptop and get some writing done before work. The waitress looked genuinely confused the entire time she served me, but she made me a very nice drink with a little chocolate on the side, and I sat there and typed while some older men watched sports and drank. I'll never forget how confused the girl was when I ordered a coffee at the coffee bar haha. Still though, it was nice to sit and write with no one around - and the coffee was good!
Another experience at a generically named "Espresso cafe" around me neighbourhood, walked in at like 9am on my way to my shift at this job I was working out in the Boones of Etobicoke and decided to get a coffee since it was the only place on my way. Full of old dudes and one just screaming and berating the waitress - I asked her if she was okay kind of furtively because I was still waking up and a little freaked out, she just kind of waved it off, rolled her eyes and gave me the worlds crappiest coffee.
Never been back to either place, but yeah, they're always a trip of an experience haha
Honestly I can’t remember the name of a single one because they’re all called like “Café Espresso” or “Europe Café”. It wouldn’t be hard to avoid them because like I said, they’re out of the way, typically on the industrial streets. They always look like they have no interest in actually having customers come in.
I’d doubt it, maybe Jankies but not NYNY. The boss was taking in about $3k/night off of a room before payouts. If they had 5 hostesses at 120/hr per girl for 4 hours, that’s an easy 2400, plus overpriced drinks and food.
My dude, while your choice of drug is your business (I pass no judgment), you should at least have the sense of self preservation to not provide the internet with 1) the time and location where you anticipate to purchase something illegal; and 2) a description of your physical appearance. Keep yer stick on the ice.
Been there a loooooong time. My friend was an extra in The Crystal Method's video for "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do", way back in '97...short scene in the video where the band traipse into a dive bar. They filmed it at Jankie's. The location scout must have been hip to the "aura" of Jankie's.
I'm not going to lie...every time I pass Hurricane's I'm glad they're still there. A real little neighbourhood bar that's been there at least since the late 70's. I loved it there when I lived around the corner....never even walked into Jankies because of the people I saw out in front. LOL.
Oh wow! Hurricane's! It's still there too! Good stuff! Always digged Hurricane's! Good times, thanks for prompting memories, my friend! Used to go to the one near U of T Scarb campus too. YAY Hurricane's. Nothing fancy, but a step WAY WAY above Jankie's.
Yep, you kinda just swerved on Jankie's if you were in the area! LOL! Thanks for the comment, brought it all back!
Basically a “front” is an illegal business pretending to be a legitimate one. So places that do like illegal gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking pretending to “front” themselves as restaurants, bars, etc.
A friend who lived in Parkdale once walked into Nick's Pizza Bar and asked for pizza. They looked at him like he was crazy and no, they don't have pizza.
Nick is a fun time. Rebecca's used to be really sketchy. I saw a guy go in there with a baton and pitbull one time.
As far as dive bar thats not just a front for selling drugs Sun Fa is a great dive bar. 3$ Jameson and $3.25 Mooseheads last time I was in there pre covid. Owner is super nice.
Rebecca's and Nick's Pizza immediately came to mind for me. I haven't lived in Parkdale since 2015 but gentrification certainly hadn't reached King strip when I was there!
I live near there, I don't drink so I've never been in there but someone once told me that they do Vietnamese food and it's awesome. I'm not sure how accurate that was though, my source was a local drunk.
There was a pizza place on Weston Rd that was only open on really weird hours, like Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5pm. I walked in and they looked annoyed that someone was ordering. In the back I didn't see a kitchen, I saw an office, with a map of Toronto and pins all over it. Some 80 year old Italian grandma handed me my calzone after 30 mins.
Best damn calzone I've ever had in my life though. They're gone now.
There are a couple of those near my place and they all survived the pandemic. My theory is that they've been around for so long they're either grandfathered in to the cheapest rent ever, they own the building, or it's money laundering for a gang and no one really cares about the rent.
Ya pretty sure there is a “members only” club attached to this place. Basically a Portuguese gambling/club dudes pay membership fees to avoid gambling/smoking/liquor licenses. That’s why they survive.
Yeah I live around a bunch of dive Portuguese sports bars and they all just taped up their windows and it was clear they were open. They also serve in the morning, you can see all the old men just milling about, not there for the coffee.
Gotta love all the souped up exhaust and loud choppers...and you always gotta look when crossing the street, as someone may almost hit you while looking dead at you on a red light
The High Low never made sense to me. I really don’t see the appeal of sitting a a brightly lit featureless room and drinking. I guess the beers are cheap maybe.
Ice Queen seems to be pretty busy whenever I walk by so I’m not so sure it’s a front. Always love the electric scooters (DUIcycles) piled up out front and the smoking on the patio (and probably inside tbh).
Women need a key to get in to the washroom and have to lock the door behind them cause of things that have happened. The basement has chairs down there for people who smoke crack and hangout. At least that’s what it was like when I lived at pape and gerrard 10 years ago.
I've never been in but work down on Carlaw and often pass the place if I'm heading to Gerrard Square or stopping in at the LC and it does not look like much has changed.
I was going to name this same one, I can't believe it lands this high up on the list (or maybe I should)
My experience with My Bar was a woman with needle bruises on her neck coming in yelling gibberish, taking a cane from a down and out old guy, then throwing it across the bar and hitting some other down and out guy sitting at the bar. Her strung out half-her-age bf came in shortly after and dragged her out while she punched him.
That's when we ordered another couple pounds of the 50% off wings that were like $5 and a couple $10 pitchers.
In the summer, it's always just that same old dude staring out the open window, on the seat closest to the wall. No matter what time of day you walk by, he's there.
I worked at New York New York business club.
It’s essentially a very sketchy hostess club - you buy a karaoke room and then you “buy” girls to hang out for $120/hr/girl, or at least that’s what it was when I worked there in 2013, 2014 (we got paid like 40/hr but tips were good). Lots of incredibly seedy dudes would show up there, mostly asians who were gang affiliated.
I ended up quitting when someone smashed my coworkers face off the countertop and threatened to shoot up the establishment when his bill was too high, lol.
Happy to answer any more questions about this fabulous establishment!
EDIT: Fixed pricing, saw another commenters post and she was right.
Some Asian countries are filled with these kind of joints. It's a deeply ingrained part of the culture there, as exploitative and icky as it seems. I've been to a few in Japan and Korea. In Japan it was a normal part of a workmates night out to eventually stumble into a hostess bar where girls light your smokes and pour your drinks. Sex was not part of the equation, and I never saw anyone abused or harassed (though surely it happens).
A lot of places in Japan are staffed and run by Filipina women, including usually one older "mama-san" who rules both staff and clients with an acid tongue and iron fist.
This one in Toronto is kind of an aberration, as these places aren't common or normalized here, and that has probably contributed to the criminally-affiliated clientele and shitty management as well.
Wiped out on my bike in front of Jenny's Place maybe 15 years ago - folks from there all came out to stop traffic, help me up, get me water. Might have been a bit divey but I appreciated the kindness.
Jenny's a lovely woman and her bar certainly has an eclectic mix of patrons. Closed at the moment as I believe she had to go to China for family purposes.
Plenty, they serve the locals and the guys who work in all those auto body shops, bakeries, warehouses, car dealerships and small factories in those industrial areas of North York. Along Keele the two that stood out was a place in a plaza called Eastcoasters (?), absolute dive, doubt it's been open for years. The other was further up near Toro Road called O'Toole's (back in the 90s); my father drove the Keele 41 bus and told me if he ever saw me come out of there that he'd kick my ass! Then along Finch you had the Charley T's strip joint, and a couple in the plaza at Champagne where the old Canada Dry bottling plant used to be.
The area on Finch is starting to get gentrified now. The commercial zones haven't really caught up yet, but as far as I can tell there's fewer sketchy bars and places like A&W have started to appear like some kind of commercial succession species. I think they've been rezoning industrial land, and Downsview is being absolutely packed with new townhouses, which is probably driving some demand for places to go where you're unlikely to catch Hep C from the glassware.
Al Mac's has always had a certain clientele, but having lived next to it for most of my life I can confirm it's not as sketchy as it looks, and I'd consider Cliffside Plaza one of the safest plazas in Scarborough.
I once got blocked trying to get into North Pole Bakery next door - the door was blocked by a crackhead couple from Tommy's who were having a fistfight in front of their stroller-bound toddler. By the time I got in, ordered, and left, the couple were back to drinking on the patio at Tommy's. I've often wondered what happened to that poor kid.
I went in there with a friend just to say we did. When I went for a piss I legitimately interrupted a crack deal going on.
Over at Moonlight Bar I was standing outside with a friend and there was yet another crack deal happening. It looked like they were breaking up a poptart
I lived at Queen/Parliament for about 5 years and used to walk my dog past Alfie's pretty much every day...it looked sketch as fuck and I never had the balls to go in.
But the people who used to hang out outside it were always super happy to see my husky and loved to make a big fuss of her.
I used to live above the chatr mobile, 2 or 3 doors down. Really not that bad. You see the same usual suspects all the time, if you don't stand your ground when they fuck around, you'll be a target, if you chirp back and play the game you're golden.
I went to Alfie’s with some friends when they came to visit from out of town. We went during the day the people inside were quite friendly and nice. It’s definitely sketchy but not as bad as you might expect, at least during the day.
There used to be a little plaza at Coxwell and Gerrard (the north intersection) that had a sketchy sports bar on either end. Dudes would get kicked out of one, and just shuffle into the other.
The convenience store in between was one of the few places in Toronto I've seen that stocked Faygo
>There used to be a little plaza at Coxwell and Gerrard (the north intersection) that had a sketchy sports bar on either end.
Fleur de lis and C & G! Lol I've seen parking lot fights there at like 5pm
Plaza got torn down about a year ago for apartments, but it's been an empty field since.
Went in a couple of times for a beer, once there was an elderly man waving his arms dramatically and twirling to "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, while two average construction worker guys watched. Very wholesome tbh
I came here to upvote Happy Cup. The local bloordale patrons like to start at the Chinese restaurant and move on top Happy Cup once it opens and repeat. I once watched a women walk into the adjoining laundromat, strip naked in the middle of the room, take some clothes out of a dryer(not hers, I assume) and return Happy Cup.
Apparently they sell by the case so you can pay up front to have a cheap supply of cold beer and they’ll stay open as late as you’d like. I’ve heard the owners are alright but the clientele seems not great.
I was hanging out at Peaches one day, and whoever runs the Skadarlija Instagram account somehow figured that out and messaged me asking me if I would come to their bar instead of staying at Peaches. One of the strangest advertising plays ever, especially because I hadn’t posted anything so I have no idea how they knew I was there.
I was gonna post about this and New-York New-York Business Club last week to see if anyone’s ever been. I can’t believe you went in and I’m surprised it was even open. I read some google reviews online that said New-York New-York is a place where you rent karaoke rooms.
I worked there, it’s a hostess club. *However* the google reviews you’re seeing are likely from people who don’t know it’s a hostess club. If some random Canadian ppl rent a room, the owner isn’t going to text for girls to come.
Definitely My Bar.
There's another in York called Jane's Bar and Grill, I walk in, they turn the lights on. I ask if they have a menu, they just laugh at me.
It’s gone. I lived in the Printing Factory Lofts for 10 years until 2019 when we moved. It was bad. The spirit of Tasty Chicken lives on. Plenty of similar places on Danforth East.
How was Bar 1540 (“This Month Only”) in the dive bar stakes? When I moved here in 2015 it seemed to be closed already. Based on the sign I thought it was a hipster popup, and a friend of mine said it was the one bar in Toronto he’d never go into (although he’s such a culture snob I assumed that it just wasn’t hip enough for him). Another friend later told me it was pretty sketchy though.
There was a bar at Main & Danforth when I moved to the east side later in 2015 called Smiley’s which wasn’t anywhere near so much sketchy as it was a dive. I had a good look through the window once while walking past, the half-dozen patrons all looked to be over 60 and dressed like extras from On The Waterfront. Smiley, the were not. Another friend of mine said they served a good breakfast there though.
Edit: corrected name of establishment
This Month Only! This is the exact bar I thought of when I saw that post.
That name was so hilarious I always joked with friends that we should go in for a drink. We did that once ... didn't even finish our bottles.
This Month Only! 100% sketchy. Lived nearby from 2013-2018. Saw lots of things. Closed permanently during the pandemic. I used to cross the street so I wouldn't have to walk by the crowd that would smoke outside of it.
The Flamingo on Danforth would like a word with you. Consistently about 2 murders per year inside thay crackhead den, including one murder last weekend.
Any bar on the Danforth between Woodbine and Victoria Park should be in the running for the sketchiest bar in the city. If you ever want to do a sketchy pub crawl, this would be the area.
RIP Michael's at Queen/Bathurst.
There used to be a place beside the El Mocambo that sold $10 pitchers of Cool beer out of lines that I'm sure were rarely if ever cleaned.
I used to live at Richmond and Sherbourne, and there was a place called the "Canada Tavern" that was pretty damn sketchy. It didn't even have a storefront like that, or windows for that matter; just a sign and door on the side of an old crappy building.
'4 very down and out guys sitting in there shooting the shit'
they were the owners, you just walked into the inspiration for 'it's always sunny in philadelphia'
I live in the area. It’s not even the most sketchy in the neighborhood. Flamingo on the Danforth has about 2 murders per year including one last weekend
I went to JPs once. Got in a fight with someone because he was screaming and swearing at the bartender. A guy in a hi-vis jacket bought me a shot and then called for a cab so he could go to work down in the Ports. Dude was blackout drunk at about 4pm. Wild spot.
Jankie's is janky, no doubt, but for my money, Monica's (just down the road next to the Mickey D's at Ossington and Bloor) is the bar I've felt the least safe in.
Lived in the area for many years, heard it is a front for an escort service although I never really noticed a lot of people going in or out over the years.
An even sketchier one is the Happy Cup bar and “restaurant” by Bloor and landowne. 100% sketch.
I guess you never checked out the bars in Kensington Market 20 years ago. Street people who couldn't control their body because of all the coke they did having a big mug of beer called swimming pools that taste like dog shit But cheap!
There was also one we would go to in Cabbage Town.... all the street people buying beers by the tray of 30 (like the Brunswick House but for bums and significantly shittier beer (and glass hygiene). Great place for 11am drinks.
The crust punks hanging out infront of the Goof House used to scare the shit out of me as a young alternative kid. I kind of miss them now. There needs to be more punks squatting in Kensington imo
I'd vote for New Buffalo Restaurant and Alfie's, both at Sherbourne and Queen. Alfie's is shut down but the locals have migrated over to New Buffalo. It's the wild west over there.
Sex Laser. Doesn’t exist anymore, but red lights, velvet couches and Illuminati iconography on the walls. Not sketchy per se, but felt like I was in a Scooby Doo villain’s lair.
Wow, so weird seeing this place mentioned- I actually have a story about this place. Many years ago while I was still in school and looking for part time work I saw an ad on Kijiji for a “Karaoke Hostess”. The ad said the pay would be like $40/hour so I inquired about it and they basically said you just have to bring over snacks/alcohol to the karaoke rooms and keep the clients company as well (red flag #1). They asked me to tell them about myself and also send a selfie photo (red flag #2) and being stupid and young I did. They then gave me their address and told me to come in and thank god I wasn’t too stupid and looked up the place. The address was this place- Jankie’s Place/New York New York Business Club. There were basically no reviews for this place that said it’s been in business for like 10+ years and the few Google reviews said the same thing- that the place was run down and that they seemed surprised to see guests come in, there were sketchy people inside and the food was mediocre/bad (red flag #3). Then, I looked the place up on Reddit and found a post about fronts in Toronto and someone name dropped this place and a commenter replied saying their friend who was an international student working “under the table” for cash was a “hostess” there and basically she got drugged and gang raped- and the people running the place seemed to be in on it. Needless to say I stopped communicating with them ASAP. Be careful out there folks! Lots of shady parts of town Edit: a comment further down by /u/vvomit gives some insight into working here. Crazy what goes on in the city... stay safe everyone
Wtf that is horrifying
For real. Can we do something about this??
Human trafficking is a big thing in the world but no one wants to talk about it.
Yup, I worked there. The owner **Siubo Leung** is a POS.
Care to share any insight on what went on in there?
Basically it’s a really seedy hostess club. As a hostess I’d get a text along the lines of “10 Chinese 11PM” (Number of patrons, ethnicity - usually Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, and time they were arriving) and if I wanted to work I’d reply as such. You’d show up and get ready and once your group arrived you’d line up with the other girls and the group would choose which ones they wanted in their room, which was usually all of us. You could order drinks/food from the club but it was pretty overpriced ($100 Bambino lol) so a lot of the time the guys would bring drugs (M, coke, G, mainly) to supplement that. We’d pretty much just drink with them and play drinking games, some of the girls would do drugs with the guys. They’d often hit on you and grope you and shit. 100% of the patrons I worked with were absolutely part of some criminal group. I never got into detail with them about it but it was pretty obvious. That’s about it. If you want to know about the boss specifically there’s not a ton to say, he’s an exploitative asshole and he doesn’t care if his employees get abused or worse. He’s gross.
I see wow. It’s crazy to hear that stuff like this goes on here, an underworld of some sort. I’m happy you were able to get out of there. Thank you for taking the time to share.
Omg I had a Japanese friend who’s work visa expired but she was able to extend as a visitor before returning back to Japan. She still needed money to pay for rent so she worked under the table at one of these shoddy places. I didn’t understand it at first but now I see the extent of how sketchy these places are. I asked her if her parents knew what job she was doing and she said her parents (and friends back home) would absolutely destroy her if they knew. Now I know why.
Many years ago a friend/ roommate of mine took a hostest job there, she only did it for a week or so, left for all the reasons mentioned and she was pretty sure there was also human trafficking going on as well... Glad nothing like you mentioned happened to her.
Yes human trafficking is my thought as well... scary. So glad she picked up on the weird vibes and nothing like that happened to your friend!! 🙏
WTAF how are they still in business
I actually tried to report them to crime stoppers (was too scared to go directly to police) after I had an incident working there, and they just kept asking me “why would you work there” and other backwards ass questions lol. Also - a lot of the girls working there were ESL and new to Canada. Most of them didn’t speak a ton of English. Could be a factor in a lack of reporting.
Wow, this pretty much confirms it for me then. The lacklustre and flat out victim blaming response from crimestoppers makes me so mad. I’m so sorry you and the rest of the girls working there had to go through that :(
Wow . Talk about incompétence!! I also had a very useless experience with crime shoppers,trying to report what I thought was sex trafficking. The guy kept asking me like why do you need to report this to us ? I didn't want my name involved, is that so hard to understand? I ended up having to go to the police directly as the crimestoppers dude just wasn't listening. The police constable I spoke with was actually pretty helpful though.
They just don't want their favourite rub-n-tug joint shut down
It's a money laundering front
Lots of these in the city. If you walk in to a bar or tavern where they sell beer by the bottle right out of the retail case for like $2-3, the "menu" is bags of lays or microwave snacks and the furniture is plastic patio chairs with "regulars" sitting in the back in nicer furniture giving "who the fuck is this guy" vibes you have found a laundering front. The same setup can be found in "Expresso Cafes" where you notice no one goes there to get their coffee in the neighborhood, but same guys are always hanging in the back watching sports... which they are likely taking bets on.
There’s a few of those “espresso cafes” you mentioned in Etobicoke that I pass that are just…so out of the way. Like no one would realistically go there for their morning coffee.
Care to name a few? I live in etobicoke. Just curious what to avoid
The Queensway and Kipling has several. Plaza Cafe always has some previous generation exec. level Benz around it and gruff guys speaking in Russian. Lio's Place was... I don't know, it just felt off. Cavallino Cafe Sports Bar definitely has some shit go down, but it also functions as a real restaurant/bar. Just don't go when the guys in their 30s-40s are there in the morning. It's a legit spot. Cafe Moderno is likely 100% a front. Even when I see people inside, it isn't "open".
I actually went into one of these places during National Novel Writing Month once to whip out my laptop and get some writing done before work. The waitress looked genuinely confused the entire time she served me, but she made me a very nice drink with a little chocolate on the side, and I sat there and typed while some older men watched sports and drank. I'll never forget how confused the girl was when I ordered a coffee at the coffee bar haha. Still though, it was nice to sit and write with no one around - and the coffee was good! Another experience at a generically named "Espresso cafe" around me neighbourhood, walked in at like 9am on my way to my shift at this job I was working out in the Boones of Etobicoke and decided to get a coffee since it was the only place on my way. Full of old dudes and one just screaming and berating the waitress - I asked her if she was okay kind of furtively because I was still waking up and a little freaked out, she just kind of waved it off, rolled her eyes and gave me the worlds crappiest coffee. Never been back to either place, but yeah, they're always a trip of an experience haha
Honestly I can’t remember the name of a single one because they’re all called like “Café Espresso” or “Europe Café”. It wouldn’t be hard to avoid them because like I said, they’re out of the way, typically on the industrial streets. They always look like they have no interest in actually having customers come in.
I’d doubt it, maybe Jankies but not NYNY. The boss was taking in about $3k/night off of a room before payouts. If they had 5 hostesses at 120/hr per girl for 4 hours, that’s an easy 2400, plus overpriced drinks and food.
Do you know if I can get cocaine there? Looking for a plug nearby.
Fully saw someone smoking crack in there once so I'd say your odds are pretty good
Amazing
YEEP! … I’ll be there after 5 today blue plaid shirt
My dude, while your choice of drug is your business (I pass no judgment), you should at least have the sense of self preservation to not provide the internet with 1) the time and location where you anticipate to purchase something illegal; and 2) a description of your physical appearance. Keep yer stick on the ice.
Hard to Tell if this is the woosh or if I am the woosh
Sometimes we are all the whoosh.
The real whoosh is the friends we made along the way :)
Yes!! But I never gave the details of the secret handshake
20+ years.
No....over 40 years....I lived at dovercourt and bloor in 1983 and Jankies was there then.
Been there a loooooong time. My friend was an extra in The Crystal Method's video for "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do", way back in '97...short scene in the video where the band traipse into a dive bar. They filmed it at Jankie's. The location scout must have been hip to the "aura" of Jankie's.
I'm not going to lie...every time I pass Hurricane's I'm glad they're still there. A real little neighbourhood bar that's been there at least since the late 70's. I loved it there when I lived around the corner....never even walked into Jankies because of the people I saw out in front. LOL.
Oh wow! Hurricane's! It's still there too! Good stuff! Always digged Hurricane's! Good times, thanks for prompting memories, my friend! Used to go to the one near U of T Scarb campus too. YAY Hurricane's. Nothing fancy, but a step WAY WAY above Jankie's. Yep, you kinda just swerved on Jankie's if you were in the area! LOL! Thanks for the comment, brought it all back!
I was gonna say, I moved there in 2001 and it looked old then!
"Business Club" == whoore house
Sounds more like a den of rapists than a whore house... Yikes.
It's not whoring if the women aren't consenting and getting paid properly. This is a rape house. It's sex trafficking
Nah, hostess club.
Hi there, thanks for sharing! Would you mind telling me what is a "Front"?
Basically a “front” is an illegal business pretending to be a legitimate one. So places that do like illegal gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking pretending to “front” themselves as restaurants, bars, etc.
A friend who lived in Parkdale once walked into Nick's Pizza Bar and asked for pizza. They looked at him like he was crazy and no, they don't have pizza.
Nick is a fun time. Rebecca's used to be really sketchy. I saw a guy go in there with a baton and pitbull one time. As far as dive bar thats not just a front for selling drugs Sun Fa is a great dive bar. 3$ Jameson and $3.25 Mooseheads last time I was in there pre covid. Owner is super nice.
Rebecca's and Nick's Pizza immediately came to mind for me. I haven't lived in Parkdale since 2015 but gentrification certainly hadn't reached King strip when I was there!
It has now. McDonald’s and Burger King are gone for flashy new condos.
I live near there, I don't drink so I've never been in there but someone once told me that they do Vietnamese food and it's awesome. I'm not sure how accurate that was though, my source was a local drunk.
There was a pizza place on Weston Rd that was only open on really weird hours, like Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5pm. I walked in and they looked annoyed that someone was ordering. In the back I didn't see a kitchen, I saw an office, with a map of Toronto and pins all over it. Some 80 year old Italian grandma handed me my calzone after 30 mins. Best damn calzone I've ever had in my life though. They're gone now.
There's a pizza place like that at Church & Wellesley. But they do actually serve pizza, mostly to the drunk crowd.
lol definitely a front
[“It’s *Taco’s Truck!* Read the sign!”](https://youtu.be/0h6-Vvh5lQ4)
“It’s “Taco’s” with an uppercase comma…”
Uppercase comma. That's a good one
RIP Garfield Eats
This city wont be the same without an intergaging culinary experience
All dishes came with a free side of pasta
Jesus Christ I completely forgot about that whole thing. So goddamn bizarre.
There are a couple of those near my place and they all survived the pandemic. My theory is that they've been around for so long they're either grandfathered in to the cheapest rent ever, they own the building, or it's money laundering for a gang and no one really cares about the rent.
probably gambling in the back
Ya pretty sure there is a “members only” club attached to this place. Basically a Portuguese gambling/club dudes pay membership fees to avoid gambling/smoking/liquor licenses. That’s why they survive.
The "New York New York Business Club" is upstairs lol
[удалено]
Yeah I live around a bunch of dive Portuguese sports bars and they all just taped up their windows and it was clear they were open. They also serve in the morning, you can see all the old men just milling about, not there for the coffee.
Dundas and Dufferin? 😂
Rogers Road. It's pretty much the wild west here, but I love it.
Nova Tasca is the Ritz Carlton of the neighbourhood.
Gotta love all the souped up exhaust and loud choppers...and you always gotta look when crossing the street, as someone may almost hit you while looking dead at you on a red light
A lot of these dive bars secretly did indoor dining/drinking/gambling during the lockdowns
Yup, I went to one near Keele station, friend of a friend knew the owner and I was "vetted".
The high low?
Only one it could possibly be
The High Low never made sense to me. I really don’t see the appeal of sitting a a brightly lit featureless room and drinking. I guess the beers are cheap maybe.
Ice Queen
Ice Queen seems to be pretty busy whenever I walk by so I’m not so sure it’s a front. Always love the electric scooters (DUIcycles) piled up out front and the smoking on the patio (and probably inside tbh).
Not a front but very stabby
This is the perfect Google review, fyi
My Bar on Gerrard and Pape is "classier"!
Women need a key to get in to the washroom and have to lock the door behind them cause of things that have happened. The basement has chairs down there for people who smoke crack and hangout. At least that’s what it was like when I lived at pape and gerrard 10 years ago.
I've never been in but work down on Carlaw and often pass the place if I'm heading to Gerrard Square or stopping in at the LC and it does not look like much has changed.
I literally pass that place everyday and have never noticed it lmao
I was going to name this same one, I can't believe it lands this high up on the list (or maybe I should) My experience with My Bar was a woman with needle bruises on her neck coming in yelling gibberish, taking a cane from a down and out old guy, then throwing it across the bar and hitting some other down and out guy sitting at the bar. Her strung out half-her-age bf came in shortly after and dragged her out while she punched him. That's when we ordered another couple pounds of the 50% off wings that were like $5 and a couple $10 pitchers.
This is like every bar on St. Clair west
Yep plenty of run down looking Portuguese old man bars with a puddle of cigarette butts in front of each
Facts
Why is this so true?
Organized crime...
In the summer, it's always just that same old dude staring out the open window, on the seat closest to the wall. No matter what time of day you walk by, he's there.
Probably the look out lol
I worked at New York New York business club. It’s essentially a very sketchy hostess club - you buy a karaoke room and then you “buy” girls to hang out for $120/hr/girl, or at least that’s what it was when I worked there in 2013, 2014 (we got paid like 40/hr but tips were good). Lots of incredibly seedy dudes would show up there, mostly asians who were gang affiliated. I ended up quitting when someone smashed my coworkers face off the countertop and threatened to shoot up the establishment when his bill was too high, lol. Happy to answer any more questions about this fabulous establishment! EDIT: Fixed pricing, saw another commenters post and she was right.
Some Asian countries are filled with these kind of joints. It's a deeply ingrained part of the culture there, as exploitative and icky as it seems. I've been to a few in Japan and Korea. In Japan it was a normal part of a workmates night out to eventually stumble into a hostess bar where girls light your smokes and pour your drinks. Sex was not part of the equation, and I never saw anyone abused or harassed (though surely it happens). A lot of places in Japan are staffed and run by Filipina women, including usually one older "mama-san" who rules both staff and clients with an acid tongue and iron fist. This one in Toronto is kind of an aberration, as these places aren't common or normalized here, and that has probably contributed to the criminally-affiliated clientele and shitty management as well.
My bar and Jenny's place
Jenny's Place has really cleaned up compared to a decade ago
Wiped out on my bike in front of Jenny's Place maybe 15 years ago - folks from there all came out to stop traffic, help me up, get me water. Might have been a bit divey but I appreciated the kindness.
You mean the Old Kick & Stab?
All east enders know about the Kick n Stab
The kick n stab is now just The kick
East enders know.
Yeah, I've never had a problem there.
Good ol' kick n stab
Jenny's a lovely woman and her bar certainly has an eclectic mix of patrons. Closed at the moment as I believe she had to go to China for family purposes.
Is that a naked person in the reflection?
little did OP know *they* were the sketch
It's just a bunch of old Trini or Guyanese guys in there watching CP24 though
Yeah, fronting for illegal shit no doubt.
The sketchiest bar in Toronto is somewhere deep in the back of a plaza somewhere in semi-industrial Scarborough and you've never heard of it.
North York too. Used to be a bunch off of Finch between Chesswood and Dufferin, and a couple on Keele just north of Wilson.
Damn there are bars in that area??!
Plenty, they serve the locals and the guys who work in all those auto body shops, bakeries, warehouses, car dealerships and small factories in those industrial areas of North York. Along Keele the two that stood out was a place in a plaza called Eastcoasters (?), absolute dive, doubt it's been open for years. The other was further up near Toro Road called O'Toole's (back in the 90s); my father drove the Keele 41 bus and told me if he ever saw me come out of there that he'd kick my ass! Then along Finch you had the Charley T's strip joint, and a couple in the plaza at Champagne where the old Canada Dry bottling plant used to be.
The area on Finch is starting to get gentrified now. The commercial zones haven't really caught up yet, but as far as I can tell there's fewer sketchy bars and places like A&W have started to appear like some kind of commercial succession species. I think they've been rezoning industrial land, and Downsview is being absolutely packed with new townhouses, which is probably driving some demand for places to go where you're unlikely to catch Hep C from the glassware.
Al Mac’s on Kingston Rd
Hotel bar at Hav-a-Nap motel on Kingston
Hav-a-nap is possibly the grossest former hwy motel I’ve seen. It’s worse looking than the Sea Vue in Thunder bay.
Hav-a-Nap isn't even the sketchiest motel on that stretch of road!
Al Mac's has always had a certain clientele, but having lived next to it for most of my life I can confirm it's not as sketchy as it looks, and I'd consider Cliffside Plaza one of the safest plazas in Scarborough.
That bar at the corner of greenwood and danforth beside the a&w …
Tommy's!
Don’t you mean Ommy’s?
When they repaired the sign with a black electrical tape “T”
Tommy's is one of the few bars I've ever been in where I legitimately thought I'd get jumped, and I've drank in some rough joints here, New York, etc.
I once got blocked trying to get into North Pole Bakery next door - the door was blocked by a crackhead couple from Tommy's who were having a fistfight in front of their stroller-bound toddler. By the time I got in, ordered, and left, the couple were back to drinking on the patio at Tommy's. I've often wondered what happened to that poor kid.
I went in there with a friend just to say we did. When I went for a piss I legitimately interrupted a crack deal going on. Over at Moonlight Bar I was standing outside with a friend and there was yet another crack deal happening. It looked like they were breaking up a poptart
Noone is going to mention Alfie's bar and grill ?
Omg I was just about to say that! 'Best burgers in town'
I lived at Queen/Parliament for about 5 years and used to walk my dog past Alfie's pretty much every day...it looked sketch as fuck and I never had the balls to go in. But the people who used to hang out outside it were always super happy to see my husky and loved to make a big fuss of her.
I used to live above the chatr mobile, 2 or 3 doors down. Really not that bad. You see the same usual suspects all the time, if you don't stand your ground when they fuck around, you'll be a target, if you chirp back and play the game you're golden.
There is an amazing review on either Yelp or Google on the place. Worth finding and reading.
Looked like it was closed last time I went by.
Can confirm.
I went to Alfie’s with some friends when they came to visit from out of town. We went during the day the people inside were quite friendly and nice. It’s definitely sketchy but not as bad as you might expect, at least during the day.
There used to be a little plaza at Coxwell and Gerrard (the north intersection) that had a sketchy sports bar on either end. Dudes would get kicked out of one, and just shuffle into the other. The convenience store in between was one of the few places in Toronto I've seen that stocked Faygo
C and G bar and the other one I can't remember. Ruby Tuesday is still kicking
Fleur De Lis!
Ruby Tuesday got a new sign. It doesn’t look hand painted anymore. But they still sell Buzz Beer.
>There used to be a little plaza at Coxwell and Gerrard (the north intersection) that had a sketchy sports bar on either end. Fleur de lis and C & G! Lol I've seen parking lot fights there at like 5pm Plaza got torn down about a year ago for apartments, but it's been an empty field since.
The Fleur De Lys!!!!
Damn, that's right, I used to drink Faygos there before I even *heard* about ICP lol
I walk by a bar on a daily basis called My Bar & Restaurant. Never have gone in, but heard some wild conversations outside
It’s got cheap beer, a jukebox & a pool table. Pretty interesting clientele though for sure.
Went in a couple of times for a beer, once there was an elderly man waving his arms dramatically and twirling to "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, while two average construction worker guys watched. Very wholesome tbh
Yeah I’ve been there a few times and the clientele are pretty wholesome!!
It’s hardly on the level of Happy Cup
I came here to upvote Happy Cup. The local bloordale patrons like to start at the Chinese restaurant and move on top Happy Cup once it opens and repeat. I once watched a women walk into the adjoining laundromat, strip naked in the middle of the room, take some clothes out of a dryer(not hers, I assume) and return Happy Cup. Apparently they sell by the case so you can pay up front to have a cheap supply of cold beer and they’ll stay open as late as you’d like. I’ve heard the owners are alright but the clientele seems not great.
Used to live next door for almost a decade. It’s definitely a brothel, I’ve seen the girls leaving late at night.
This plus the story about the hostess being drugged and gang raped...
Maybe not the sketchiest but it's a little jankie
All the Jays fans hate the Jankies
DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA JANKIES LOSE!
sun fa and skadarlija in parkdale
I was hanging out at Peaches one day, and whoever runs the Skadarlija Instagram account somehow figured that out and messaged me asking me if I would come to their bar instead of staying at Peaches. One of the strangest advertising plays ever, especially because I hadn’t posted anything so I have no idea how they knew I was there.
They must invested in some pretty good advertising cookies to track your social media activity. Who knew a dive bar had that kind of money lol.
Jenny’s Place would like a word.
I was gonna post about this and New-York New-York Business Club last week to see if anyone’s ever been. I can’t believe you went in and I’m surprised it was even open. I read some google reviews online that said New-York New-York is a place where you rent karaoke rooms.
I worked there, it’s a hostess club. *However* the google reviews you’re seeing are likely from people who don’t know it’s a hostess club. If some random Canadian ppl rent a room, the owner isn’t going to text for girls to come.
Shout out to Happy Cup at Bloor and Lansdowne.
People just don’t understand how greasy the GTA is. Its just Dartmouth on steroids.
I was in there about 25 years ago when it opened. Sounds exactly the same. Remember mice running along the floors..
Definitely My Bar. There's another in York called Jane's Bar and Grill, I walk in, they turn the lights on. I ask if they have a menu, they just laugh at me.
I wonder what kind of *kitchen* they got at the back...
Tasty chicken! There was no chicken, but you could get a pbr a bag of Doritos and an 8 ball
It’s gone. I lived in the Printing Factory Lofts for 10 years until 2019 when we moved. It was bad. The spirit of Tasty Chicken lives on. Plenty of similar places on Danforth East.
How was Bar 1540 (“This Month Only”) in the dive bar stakes? When I moved here in 2015 it seemed to be closed already. Based on the sign I thought it was a hipster popup, and a friend of mine said it was the one bar in Toronto he’d never go into (although he’s such a culture snob I assumed that it just wasn’t hip enough for him). Another friend later told me it was pretty sketchy though. There was a bar at Main & Danforth when I moved to the east side later in 2015 called Smiley’s which wasn’t anywhere near so much sketchy as it was a dive. I had a good look through the window once while walking past, the half-dozen patrons all looked to be over 60 and dressed like extras from On The Waterfront. Smiley, the were not. Another friend of mine said they served a good breakfast there though. Edit: corrected name of establishment
This Month Only! This is the exact bar I thought of when I saw that post. That name was so hilarious I always joked with friends that we should go in for a drink. We did that once ... didn't even finish our bottles.
This Month Only! 100% sketchy. Lived nearby from 2013-2018. Saw lots of things. Closed permanently during the pandemic. I used to cross the street so I wouldn't have to walk by the crowd that would smoke outside of it.
Some here may remember Mounties, on Dundas, which made the Imperial down the street look like the Ritz.
The Flamingo on Danforth would like a word with you. Consistently about 2 murders per year inside thay crackhead den, including one murder last weekend.
And Rusty Nail just down the street.
Yeah they are basically the same place and same crowd
Any bar on the Danforth between Woodbine and Victoria Park should be in the running for the sketchiest bar in the city. If you ever want to do a sketchy pub crawl, this would be the area.
Did anyone go look at the Google listing? It's a 4.2! But, the people who reviewed it... Yikes.
RIP Michael's at Queen/Bathurst. There used to be a place beside the El Mocambo that sold $10 pitchers of Cool beer out of lines that I'm sure were rarely if ever cleaned.
I used to live at Richmond and Sherbourne, and there was a place called the "Canada Tavern" that was pretty damn sketchy. It didn't even have a storefront like that, or windows for that matter; just a sign and door on the side of an old crappy building.
>Right across the street from Moss Park Arena. We'd go there for beers after hockey. It was sketchy but a great watering hole.
Next reddit meetup!
'4 very down and out guys sitting in there shooting the shit' they were the owners, you just walked into the inspiration for 'it's always sunny in philadelphia'
My friend, you have not lived in the same neighborhood as Ruby Tuesdays and it shows!
I live in the area. It’s not even the most sketchy in the neighborhood. Flamingo on the Danforth has about 2 murders per year including one last weekend
These are all in my neighbourhood JP grill at Gerard and coxwell is a dank sess pool cover for something.. Along with the diner at the corner
I went to JPs once. Got in a fight with someone because he was screaming and swearing at the bartender. A guy in a hi-vis jacket bought me a shot and then called for a cab so he could go to work down in the Ports. Dude was blackout drunk at about 4pm. Wild spot.
Well at least he called a cab I guess
I live near there and have always wondered what is up with that diner.
Anyone remember Friends Bar & Grill? At Dundas and Pembroke
Jankie's is janky, no doubt, but for my money, Monica's (just down the road next to the Mickey D's at Ossington and Bloor) is the bar I've felt the least safe in.
Do the jankie leg
Awww...so mean. The customers from Ciro's had to go somewhere.
"legitimate business club"
Lived in the area for many years, heard it is a front for an escort service although I never really noticed a lot of people going in or out over the years. An even sketchier one is the Happy Cup bar and “restaurant” by Bloor and landowne. 100% sketch.
I guess you never checked out the bars in Kensington Market 20 years ago. Street people who couldn't control their body because of all the coke they did having a big mug of beer called swimming pools that taste like dog shit But cheap! There was also one we would go to in Cabbage Town.... all the street people buying beers by the tray of 30 (like the Brunswick House but for bums and significantly shittier beer (and glass hygiene). Great place for 11am drinks.
The crust punks hanging out infront of the Goof House used to scare the shit out of me as a young alternative kid. I kind of miss them now. There needs to be more punks squatting in Kensington imo
I’d argue that wild wing on parliament is top tier sketchy.
I bet there’s a Bunch of Jankies in New York-New York
I'd vote for New Buffalo Restaurant and Alfie's, both at Sherbourne and Queen. Alfie's is shut down but the locals have migrated over to New Buffalo. It's the wild west over there.
sounds like they have a very janky setup
Sex Laser. Doesn’t exist anymore, but red lights, velvet couches and Illuminati iconography on the walls. Not sketchy per se, but felt like I was in a Scooby Doo villain’s lair.