But first, a few words of advice, studious ones: drinking during the week is where it’s at. Bars are less expensive, more fun and not as saturated with obnoxious douche-bags. Use your weekends to buckle down on your course load and initiate Monday or Thursday night drinking programs. It worked for me.
Avoid coming off as a total cheap-ass when you order. Try “Do you have any drink specials this evening?” instead of “Gimme your cheapest beer.”
Being broke is not an excuse to flake on a tip. Gratuity should be factored into your night out. If that means skipping a drink or two in order to stick to budget, then that’s what needs to be done. Remember, being an adult is about sacrifices.
Spirits and Cocktails
Souz Dal (612 College, 416-537-8755), a snug little bar in Little Italy, has $5 cocktails on to fuel your school week: mojitos on Mondays, margaritas on Tuesdays, Pimm’s on Wednesdays, caipirinhas on Thursdays.
All students eventually find their way to Toronto’s most famous diner, the Lakeview (1132 Dundas West, 416-850-8886). Four dollar wine, beer and mixed drink specials plus $4 Caesars and $3 mimosas daily add up to a big liquid student happy meal.
Hit the Drake Hotel (1150 Queen West, 416-531-5042) for Après Work, which might as well be Après Class, for cocktail specials and cheap sushi daily from 4 to 6 pm.
Free your Sunday evenings for F*ck Mondays at the Farmhouse Tavern (1627 Dupont, 416-561-9114), when specials on food and drink rotate every hour from 5 to 10 pm. I’m talking $6 craft beer and cider from 6 to 7 pm, $7 cocktails the next hour and $8 wine from 8 to 9 pm. Fuck, yes.
From 5 to 7 and 10 to 11 pm daily, east-end treasure Prohibition Gastrohouse (696 Queen East, 416-406-2669) pours premium spirits like The Botanist Gin, Patron, Ketel One and Woodford Reserve for $5 and change.
Starting in September, the Caledonian (856 College, 647-547-9827) offers 25 per cent off whisky flights on Thursday nights after 9 pm. With 260 whiskies to explore, you’ll be an expert in no time.
At its killer 5:30 to 6:30 pm cocktail hour, adorable east-end restaurant and bar Goods and Provisions (1124 Queen East, 647-340-1738) serves select (proper) cocktails for only $8, along with glasses of wine and $5 draught. Shocking amounts of fun can be had in one precious hour.
Cheap Craft Pints
Enter the Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton, 416-531-5833, themonarchtavern.com) at “Magic Hour” (5 to 8 pm Monday to Friday) to cop pints of craft beer for $5 and select discounted whiskeys to chase them down.
The Only Café (972 Danforth, 416-463-7843, theonlycafe.com) doesn’t mess around when it comes to beer – all craft draught (25 taps’ worth) is $5 on Sundays after 5 pm.
Responsible drinking happens in the afternoon – especially when there’s a long week of lectures looming. Barhop (391 King West, 647-352-7476, barhopbar.com) opens at noon on Session Sundays, when select pints of Ontario craft brew are just $5 all day.
Much more than a neighbourhood caffeination station, Northwood (815 Bloor West, 416-846-8324, northwoodto.ca) offers $2 off geeked-out bottles and cans of Dieu du Ciel!, Southern Tier and Stillwater daily from 5 to 7 pm.
Bar Volo (587 Yonge, 416-928-0008, barvolo.com) serves $5 pints on Mondays, a pretty sweet deal considering it’s one of the city’s best beer joints.
Wine On A Dime
KWV Contemporary Chenin Blanc
Rating: NNN
Why A fresh and balanced South African blend of Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay that has house white stamped all over it. A case will run you just over 100 bones.
Price 750 ml/$9.45
Availability LCBO 18689
Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontés
Rating: NNNN
Why Once you crack open this floral, citrusy Torrontés from Susana Balbo, one of Argentina’s star winemakers, it won’t be long for this world. Two bottles of luscious white for under $30 is a rarity in Ontario, so make room in your fridge for a few.
Price 750 ml/$13.95
Availability Vintages 1834
Mezzomondo Negroamaro Puglia IGT
Rating: NNN
Why Perfectly gluggable, this food-friendly Italian red is a great deal – especially if you upgrade to a magnum (1.5 litre) for $15.95. Decant it so no one will judge you for being a cheap-ass or stretch it in sangria.
Price 750 ml/$8.95
Availability LCBO 588962
A Week of Wine
SUNDAY
Globe Bistro (124 Danforth, 416-466-2000)
On Sundays, bottles are half price at this trim Danforth restaurant, recognized by both the Wine Spectator and the Ontario VQA Awards for its excellent Ontario-focused wine list.
MONDAY
Ascari Enoteca (1111 Queen East, 416-792-4157)
This east-end resto offers half off its entire bottle list on Monday nights. A bottle of Cremant du Jura for 32 bones? Split with a friend, that’s $16 for two and a half glasses of pure deliciousness.
TUESDAY
Böehmer (93 Ossington, 416-531-3800)
Drink like budget royalty at Böehmer, where bottles of vino are half price on Tuesdays and oysters buck a shuck. Did I mention $22 lobsters? Yes, child.
WEDNESDAY
Montecito (299 Adelaide West, 416-599-0299)
Get swaggy at Jonathan Waxman’s sprawling restaurant, where the Wine Wednesday deal is pretty damn sweet. All bottles on the list are half price, so why not try something new? (If craft cocktails are what you’re after, carafes are only $20 on Tuesdays).
THURSDAY
The Yukon (1592 Queen West, 647-348-8400)
This deep-Parkdale hang keeps its wine list short and accessible – even more so on Thursdays, when bottle prices are slashed in half.
