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Neutral
Category: Nightlife Dance Clubs Dance Clubs [Edit]
A-349 College StreetToronto, ON M5T 1S5
Neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Kensington Market, University of Toronto, Downtown Core
(416) 926-1212
- Hours:
Tue-Wed, Fri-Sat 10 pm - 3 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- DJ, Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Wed, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
8 reviews for Neutral
8 reviews in English
-
Review from Renata R.
6/19/2010
OH MY GOD. I was there yesterday for a NXNE event and some of the bands had nothing to do with the place. This place is paradise. I felt young again when the DJ was playing (or very old, who knows)
Every DJ on earth who plays Love Will Tear Us Apart on a set will have my eternal love. If s/he plays Depeche Mode gains bonus points, so I'm in love with Neutral and I want to go back there TODAY, TOMORROW, every single day of my life.
The downside, they don't have more elaborate drinks, and I love girly drinks. But ok, you can have fun outside and go there just to dance. It really made me feel like the old clubs I used to go when I was young.Listed in: Party Time
-
Review from Ellerey L.
Toronto, ON
4/17/2011
I attend karaoke at Neutral every Tuesday night. It's an odd night for karaoke, but the vibe is so unique.
When you first enter, you notice it smells like a dingy basement. The lighting is poor. The chairs are strewn about the room - but then the staff start talking to you. You start mingling around the room, drinking REALLY reasonable priced alcohol - and skimming through karaoke books with nearly every song you could imagine... from The Beatles B-sides, to Richard Cheese. Of course, they have Top 40s too.
You will run into some very kind, very interesting characters there. For example, the first night I went there was a conga line and Salsa dance along to somebody performing "Shake Senora" by Harry Belafonte.
If you don't work Wednesdays, or even want an hour or so out of the house for some fun on Tuesday night I recommend Neutral. The staff are sweethearts, the regulars are interesting, and the song selection is fantastic - as well as some good, cheap beer! -
Review from Melissa J.
Toronto, ON
1/8/2009
I've spent many a Saturday night at Neutral for Brit Pop fun times. At first, I wasn't crazy about the place, but it's started to grow on me. As everyone's said, it is a little bit like a cave, with a tiny stage that you can go dance on if you're drunk or daring enough.
The music is usually great, and the crowd is decent. I've had a couple encounters with exceptional douchebags here, but sometimes there are just douchey people at good places. If you want to go out and you don't want to take a gamble on the music, come here with some friends for 90s classics and decently-priced drinks.
Two notes of warning: They allllways do bag checks so don't try and sneak booze in, and if you've had a couple too many, be careful coming down the stairs. -
Review from Emily T.
Toronto, ON
11/24/2008
Forget Richmond St! Neutral is a great, dark, sparse dance bar located in Kensington Market. (A little hard to find; you enter off of Augusta just south of Spadina avenue). There are four fantastic nights of fun to go check out:
Tuesday's are alternative, retro and karaoke.
Every second Wednesday is a killer psychedelic trance event
Friday nights are my favourite; a live DJ spinning a mix of rock, goth and industrial and Saturdays usually have live acts of Indie, Brit and Electronica.
Neutral is cheap (cover usually about $5), fun and non-pretentious, athough, it probably isn't for everyone. You won't find valet or coat check here. It isn't fancy. The lighting is dark and intimate and it's a place for people who just really want to dance and have a good time! If you want to dress up, go goth on Friday's, or just come as you are! -
Review from Fabio N.
Toronto, ON
6/27/2010
Ok, right off the bat: Neutral gains points with me because it reminds me of the seedy places I used to go to in my early twenties. Weird people and great music is a combination that just works.
I went there during the NXNE and watched two bands performing*. The sound was simply not good, but it was clear to me that it's not a live venue. Maybe this was a mistake by NXNE's organization, who knows?
Anyway, I heard before that this is a kinda sorta goth place, and the DJ who played after the bands just confirmed that. The sound system is actually pretty good (but not for live shows, it seems...) and the music selection was fitting. I had fun and this is what matters, isn't it?
The bar is clearly the weak link here. There aren't that many drink options and the prices are definitely on the expensive side. They served me the tiniest vodka shot ever - I almost asked if that was a joke.
Either way, be sure to go to a bar or drink at home beforehand and you're sure to have your share of fun amongst an interestingly weird crowd dressed 100% in black.
BONUS: PROPOSED EXPERIMENTS!
- White clothes. Whoa.
- Or maybe electric pink? With colored glasses it could work. Try the hipster outfit for maximum awkwardness!
- Total sobriety. On a second thought, scratch that.
* Barton Fink - the band, not the movie - rules. They're from Montreal and deserve your googling. -
Review from Anna V.
Toronto, ON
9/7/2008
Neutral is exactly like what I thought clubs looked like when I was far too young to go to clubs.
Friday nights is the only real dark or goth like night with DJ Osaze. The Psytrance night that is referred to here, is actually bi-weekly. Kensingon station is a Brit-Pop/Electro night every Saturday with DJs Lawrence and LaMerde and it's the most popular. There's also a regular Tuesday night Karaoke night with Steve-O.
It's located right at the corner of Augusta and College in Kensington market. Drinks are cheap, bartenders are friendly and the crowd is a good mic of young and old (and by old I mean post 25). It's hard not to have a good time in this joint. It's big enough that it has a club feel, but not so big that 905ers have taken the damn thing to the drivethru level. -
Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
12/1/2008
What a weird cavernous place. While watching the pre-dance night band in here, I felt like I was back in high school, replete with me sitting off to the side with my fellow awkward peers, wishing I was somewhere else.
We went for the Indie/Brit night and were pretty excited about it. Perhaps I'm just not hip to the scene anymore; I was hoping to climb over groups of mop-headed boys in zip-up track suits, but my dreams failed me. Still, I would've been fine with larger groups in general. Had there been more people there present -- mop-headed boys aside -- it may have been a more engaging place to hang out, dance, and listen to music.
Just didn't work for me that night. -
Review from Matty K.
Toronto, ON
8/14/2008
Neutral is known to the locals and the underground "dark" scene. Has a wicked psytrance party on Wednesday nights for the earth-toned hippies. Usually lots of room to dance even though it is a smaller venue. A tad sketchy but that's what makes it dirty and sweaty.
