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Bistro 422 Bar & Grill
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
18 reviews for Bistro 422 Bar & Grill
18 reviews in English
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Review from Tiffany G.
Toronto, ON
10/2/2011
Back in the day this use to be the go to place for pre-drinking. Though, as of late their prices have increased a bit - especially with the shots. I swear they used to be a $1.50. But, they still do have some good prices. a cocktail pitcher (4 ounces of alcohol) sits at the low cost of $11.51 before tax...so really I should not be complaining.
Expect to hear "chug, chug, chug" in the background by large groups of drunk guys and to be served by a very surly man. It is not the kind of place you would bring a first date or your mother - but, a group a friends whose sole purpose is to get wasted - sure why not. -
Review from elffie t.
Toronto, ON
1/26/2011
Okay, i understand why there are really good reviews and why there are really bad reviews... but for anyone who has never been to Bistro 422, there are some things you should know.
- you have to go down some steep stairs to get in the bar... i'm surprised there hasn't been any accidents with drunk people on those stairs...
- its a small bar, dimly lit, crowded and very loud. i've heard there is a patio in the back, but i've never been.
- if you think the server will be nice to you, you're going to think he's an asshole. However, if you expect this man to be an asshole, then you'll be okay... Someone told me this the first time i went and i'm glad. often people get offended when he's short or impatient with them.
- you'll get ID'd. This is probably for the best, seeing as one of my friends told me she celebrated her 16th birthday party here years and years ago ...
- although the "house laager" is cheaper at 10$ a pitcher, you can get a pitcher of Steamwhistle for a dollar more, and it is much much better beer.
- Whenever i go in, i'm hesitant to order food, because of the questionable cleanliness of the place, but i will say that once i did order a plate of perogies, and didn't get food poisoning. i'm not sure if i was just lucky...? They were actually pretty tasty, and i know food is often cheap here too.
- the bathrooms are gross. mens or women's it doesn't matter which one you're in... be prepared to be grossed out, expect that, and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Personally, i love this place, its usually a good time, usually because everyone's drunk. I hope these tips help you! -
Review from Kim B.
ON
1/12/2009
If I was 19 years old and writing this review, I would have given this place five stars. But I'm not. I'm 27. And I'm afraid of germs to a certain point, meaning that I like my drinks to be served in at least a clean(ish) glass. Not too much to ask at any age.
Sure, this place has hole in the wall charm and of course CHEAP beer, but good god. Good. God. It is a f'in dive. It's washrooms need a wash. There is a smell to them that I cannot and don't want to define. The back "patio" makes you feel like you're in the outdoor rec area of a prison.
Plus everyone there is either really drunk or really big assholes. Sorry. Maybe I'm not getting something with this place.....but I think it's a piece of crap. -
Review from vivian v.
Aurora, ON
6/16/2009
You don't head to Bistro to have a nice, peaceful date. You go to Bistro to get drunk. There's just no other way to put it. Anytime I've gone it was because I wanted to get drunk and there is nowhere cheaper and easier than the Bistro.
The first time I heard of this place, I swear I pictured the bar from "Cheers" and boy was i severely disappointed when I walked in. It's small, it smells and the bathrooms suck. You have no idea how many poor girls I've walked in while inebriated. I've had enough curse words thrown in my direction to know the locks need to be FIXED.
As for the drinks, you can get pitchers of absolutely anything, which is a favourite for me as I can not drink beer for the life of me. So the pitchers of whiskey sours or vodka sodas are what keep me my happy-go-lucky self on those nights.
I'm a HUGE fan of the patio if you can get a spot back there. It's nearly impossible though, you've got to head out super early as it's uber cramped back there. But even a spot to drink and smoke and socialize is still great. Especially when it can be filled with some cute (and well, let's be honest: not-so-cute) hipster kids to keep me distracted.
If you want a fun, crazy atmosphere to just get hammered. This is beyond a doubt your place. -
Review from Anna V.
Toronto, ON
8/22/2008 2 photos
Bistro 422 is one of my favourite spots in Toronto!
The owner's name is Burger and he's super surly. But that's part of the hole-in-the-wall charm. It's located just East of Bathurst on the North side of College street, open 7-days a week and completely tucked away.
To get in, you have to walk down a steep set of stairs in to a basic hole of a basement with high bar tables on one wall, lined with a bench, and low tables on the other. At the end is a slip of a low-slung bar with Christmas lights for decoration. This is usually where you'll find a non-smiling, all business, Burger.
The attraction to this place is the cheap drinks. For roughly 10 bucks, you can get a mini-pitcher of whatever you want. Vodka soda, Jack and Coke, etc. Long island Iced Tea is my fav by the pitcher. They throw a straw in it and off you go.
Past the bar is what looks liek a kitchen, but I have never eaten there, nor would I ever. This is a drinking hole and nothing else. The bathrooms are decent, if you hold your breath the whole time. They always have toilet paper and soap though, so that's something.
To the left of the bathrooms is a door that seems to lead nowhere. If you peak around the corner at that door though you will find a narrow, broken staircase up to the very pleasant and inviting back patio, also strung with tons of white Christmas lights for ambiance.
They have raffles sometimes with shots and other drinks with funny names like "Slippery Nipple" and "Blow Job" as prizes and they get the whole bar to partake.
For all it's bruises and rough edges, Bistro 422 isn't trying to be anything else. It's a great community spot where the mixed bag of patrons (mostly young people from 20-25) co-exist happily.
It's also a great spot to hide out if you're on a secret date. -
Review from Melissa F.
Toronto, ON
4/12/2009
i knew i would have a like-hate relationship with this place as soon as i walked in.
As you go down into the stairwell you know that this is definitely a locals and nonlocals dive bar, and you KNOW it will be a dinge and dirt like no other.
aaaaaaaannnnd confirmed. check.
you then know it will be filled with underaged or just-got-out-of-high-school kids and the atitutde which often compliments this type of crowd is a broody bartender and waitstaff.
check.
that being said, beer is ridiculously cheap, and if you're poor or an underaged kid, i get why you would go here.
i highly reccommend not getting any food..this place looks like the health inspector forgot to check this one.
I would reccommend the beer if you and your crowd are strapped for cash (as a pre-drinking place only), but other than that I would try to avoid spending too many nights in this hole.
Do yourself a favour and order a pitcher of beer and opt out of any other likely-watered-down booze in this place. -
Review from Arun S.
Toronto, ON
6/11/2011
Worst. Bar. Ever.
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Review from Sophia K.
Toronto, ON
5/4/2009
Don't get me wrong, I completely understand all the one star ratings for The Beast, but with this place, you really have to know what you're getting into. I wouldn't venture in to Bistro 422 to spend a whole night drinking with friends in a nice atmosphere....because it's really not a nice atmosphere. But if the mission of the night is to get drunk, then give it a chance and you won't be disappointed.
I just can't get enough of the mini pitchers of Long Island Iced Tea, but you can pretty much get anything in a pitcher with a straw here. The service is awful....but I wouldn't expect anything more. The patio can actually be okay on a nice night. This is a straight up, no frills, you get what you pay for kind of a bar (hole).
I've always avoided the bathrooms at all costs, but I'm sure everyone's right in saying that they are unpleasant. Sometimes, I feel like drinking at a dive-y bar, and you can't stoop much lower than The Beast, it'll always have a special place in my liver ;) -
Review from Kaye H.
Toronto, ON
5/27/2009
Perhaps I'm a little biased in my opinion on this place because I feel as though I've never been here during a 'drama-free' night. But then I reminisce about the few times I've been to this overly crowded, elitist-induced, dirty, yet somewhat... comforting or familiar bar, and I realize that, no, that is not the case. I have been to this bar during careless stress-free nights, without any foreboding in regards to antics that might ensue or specific people I may have to avoid. Maybe, I've just convinced myself that it is these antics that have soiled the bar's image in my mind for me. But then again, no, this bar has soiled itself.
Yeah, so you can get pitchers of mixed drinks like whiskey sours, or screw drivers. But it is clear that they only provide you with a few ounces of booze, combined with a bucket-full of ice cubes, all in your little pitcher! And the washrooms? What happened there??
But, it is not all bad. There is a heated patio in the back which is pretty cool, especially when it is chilly out but you'd still like to enjoy the benefits of being outside whilst consuming alcohol. Plus, if you go during the week at night, it is not half as disgustingly crowded as it is on the weekend.
I just wish that the employees here were a little more kind, or pleasant, or even neutral. I do recall receiving service from one or two nice employees. I also wish that I was not bombarded by eerie, rude, leering, strange, etc., looks (which can lead to awkward, forced conversations during which the whole time I'm thinking, "Get me outta here!!"), when walking into or through this bar. It's a little unsettling, especially when you're a taaaad intoxicated, as I usually am, upon entering this vicinity.
And yet, I'll probably still go back here again in the future.
And I really enjoy that heated patio, especially when I am tempted to go outside by friends, etc., and it is freezing out. So there you go heated patio, two stars. There you go. -
Review from Dominique L.
Toronto, ON
2/7/2011
That waiter is really something else, isn't he? Completely unreasonable and condescending. We left 1/4th of the way through our planned visit because he was just waaaay too much.
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Review from Cass P.
Toronto, ON
10/28/2009
The Beast, the Beast, I love this bar. I've been going to it since it was so smoky that you couldn't see the front from the back. It is in no way a hipster-cool dive; it is a real, honest-to-God dive. It was a dive before dives were cool, and I suspect it will be a dive long after.
All of the reviews are accurate; the staff is both surly and friendly at the same time; the bathrooms are gross, but not the worst I've ever used (I guess I'm more adventurous when it comes to checking out dive bars than some of the other reviewers); and you only come here for one reason: to get drunk cheaply. Go somewhere else for the niceties. -
Review from Melissa J.
Toronto, ON
12/15/2008
Cheap booze. That's it. That's all you can expect from Bistro, or "The Beast" as it's more affectionately known.
Don't expect it to be clean -- especially not the washrooms, which make me want to jump in a pool of Purel upon exiting. Don't expect good service, because the two guys who work here are probably the rudest people I've ever encountered in my life. I get it, you deal with shitty people on a daily basis, they are usually drunk, but come on. I'm a nice girl, I'm not going to get rowdy, and I'm going to pay my bill, so maybe you should treat me as if I'm a human?
But my friends insist on coming here because of the cheapness, so this is where we end up sometimes. The back patio is fun in the summer, so give me a couple mixed drink pitchers and a straw and I'll try and forget about the jerks who sold it to me or the disgusting bathrooms. -
Review from Alejandro A.
Toronto, ON
11/21/2008
A good place to come if you're in the mood for cheap drinks. They sell pitchers of beer for something like $10, and it's this fact that draws the occasional crowd.
When you first walk in, you have one of those "what is this place" kind of moments. It's a basement bar that is small and old and you really wonder how long this place has been around and how it's survived for so long. The survival question is easy: the place is practically a bunker. It'd survive a bomb. The age question is another matter. I'd probably go with "no one knows."
The thing I like best about this place is that more than once when I've come in with friends, I've seen a group of 4 or 5 older folks (I'm talking grandpa age) sitting around with their mugs of beer playing cards. Instantly you think to yourself: regulars. Any bar that has grandparents playing cards is instantly cool in my books. -
Review from Catherine M.
ON
12/14/2008
If I ever walked into the Bistro sober (not terribly likely), I certainly didn't walk out that way. This tiny College street basement bar really shows the youngun's what a dive bar actually is.
The best thing for my money (and everything's cheap here) is the mixed drink 'pitchers'. Ten bucks and you get what amounts to like 2.5 cocktails in a big pitcher glass with a straw. Set me up with a couple of these filled with Long Islands and I'm good for the evening. The beer pitchers are equally popular and for the money what's there to lose (other than possibly the contents of your stomach).
The back patio is nice although insanely popular and just as cramped as the inside. If you don't like the steamy and loud qualities inside then waiting for an outside seat is a winning proposition. In the winter you are left with little option, but it lends a sense of camaraderie when you're all shoved in there like sardines. One caveat - the ladies' washroom is pretty terrifying, all told. Try to go before and hold it until you leave. -
Review from conor g.
Toronto, ON
1/7/2009
ok, ok, ok....
i know alot of toronto pubs have become popular, and busy for their no-frill style, relaxed atmosphere, and anti-corporate vibe, but I have to put my foot down right f'''''ckin now!!!
This Pub..i'm sorry, it is terrible. Don't get me wrong, I like alot of bars in downtown toronto that go for the take it or leave it service, cheap beer, bad food, loud music, dirty-ish surroundings.... Sometimes these places really can create a great little atmosphere..... e.g. The Wide Open, Sweaty Betty's, Crooked Star, 751 Queen west, etc, BUT....
NO, I WILL SAY IT RIGHT NOW!!!!
bistro 422 just takes the absolute piss... It should not be allowed to open its doors. God knows how they pass the health inspection.
I know this may sound quite posh of me, but im sick of these places getting rave reviews for being shit! give me a F``ckin break!
The bartenders are wankers, the drinks (pitchers of question mark beer) are for the dogs, and the place smells worse than a firkin carpet.
All in all, i really don`t understand when people tell me they like bistro 422. To be honest, I really think they are just kidding themselves in the hope of looking edgy, and off-beat in this uber-image conscious city that we live in today.
need i write more, i could, but i won`t.
thank you for reading ;) -
Review from Skipper G.
Toronto, ON
8/27/2008
Have you ever been rushed out of a bar before last call and said, "Man, I really wish there was a place close by that had cheap drinks at this hour! If there was I'd just buy like EIGHT pitchers and drink them all!"...believe it or not, I've heard this said many-a-times over the summer, mostly from bands I hang out with, and really really drunk girls.
Bistro 422 is the answer in this respect. Don't worry, the above was not an insinuation that they serve beyond last call, because they don't. I was merely referring to 1/100 times I had left Rancho Relaxo at around 1:40am and rushed to Bistro to catch an $8 pitcher of their house lager.
What I find funny about this place is it's commonly referred to as "That Shady place on College with the cheap-o beer!", and it makes me wonder; if they just fixed that downward staircase, would it still be so shady? Most probably. But hey, that's why I go there! Where else can you get a plate of fries and a pitcher of beer for less than $13?
Between the nights of Sunday and Tuesday, Bistro 422 offers discounted pitchers, and by discounted I mean $8 for a jug of reasonable beer. If you're like some of my more posh friends and you absolutely hate the idea of the house lager, you can splurge and go for Amsterdam for *ahem* $11 a pitcher. Also, Bistro offers these adorable baby sized pitchers of mixed drinks for a very low price as well (the exact price I can't recall). What I DO know is that they have every mixed drink from Long Island Iced Tea to Rye & Ginger -- all in a conveniently cute mini pitcher. The ladies tend to favour these drinks.
All in I'm definitely a fan of Bistro 422. The service is friendly, reliable and prompt. The beer is cold, cheap and effective. And talk about a convenient location! The only advice I have for them is turn up the damn music on the patio! When people get wasted they scream for no reason, hence drowning out any/all music. Then again what the hell am I complaining about. Let's go over the equation once more: 10 minutes away from my house, $8 pitchers, a patio where I can smoke....yeah. Bistro, you rock my world.
I give Bistro 422 a solid DELICIOUS.
Your Friend,
Skip -
Review from Matt K.
East York, ON
11/8/2009
Lets get one thing clear. This place sucks. The servers are absolutely rude, last time i was there i got fully confronted about not leaving eneough tip, even when the pitcher was rounded up in price. The washroom has a thing layer of piss or water on it at all times. the place smells terrible, and its right beside sneeky d's, my all time favorite bar in toronto. So why go? Ill tell you why, theres something to be said for that type of ultimate dive. The beer is actually palatable at an incredibly low price, you can become part of a problem at a place so greasy. You can bring all your friends there and leave without dinting your wallet. Well, i guess even with those few postivies it still is terrible, but i still find myself going back purely for the suds. I dont know if i will ever get over the tip comment, but hey, im a kid.
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Review from RICK J.
4/5/2009
been going here for 10 yrs. used to be a huge friendly group of people but now is mostly 18-24 yr olds. but the old crowd shows up now and then, dave is nicest owner and gives the best private xmas party. burger is BURGER! love him or hate him, he makes the bristro, matt with his black black humor adds more flair. nothing makes me laugh more then seeing a 18 yr old getting the talk down from burger. $9 mixed drink pitchers,drunk on 1, $7 beer pitchers. $1.50 shots. prize night thursdays is best. nice patio too, great for small birthday get togethers, only bar in toronto i can get drunk at. my best memories are hanging out here,
