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The Drake Underground
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- DJ, Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
13 reviews for The Drake Underground
13 reviews in English
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Review from Marie F.
5/12/2010 2 Check-ins Here
My friend's band, The Jilted Lovers Club, was playing last week at the Drake Underground as part of their Elvis Mondays. The show was free and packed with awesome indie bands. I love that the Drake goes out of their way to help infuse Toronto with its own brand of culture.
The location is dark, intimate and provides just enough seating to encourage drunken dancing. The bar doesn't take debit, but there is an ATM right outside the door.Listed in: God save the Queen...…
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Review from Lizzy B.
Toronto, ON
1/27/2012
I do enjoy the Drake, its got wonderful interior, very trendy and cool. I guess as a university student, however, this wasn't my scene.
I was there for Trivia once, hardest Trivia in the world by the way. You have to pay to play which is kind of lame? Drinks are a bit pricey, as I will elaborate.
In accord with Anna V's post, you do pick your place (whether it be the sky lounge, the main floor bar or the underground), the Drake is indeed multifaceted.
On the sky lounge yesterday I ordered a Manhattan, and the bartender oh-so-casually hands it to me and says "That'll be $13"... I moved down to the underground and stuck to the $6 pints of Labatt 50 the rest of the night to say the least. P.S. They don't do pitchers!
In the Underground, it was an OK scene on a Thursday night. I enjoyed myself, but I wouldn't rave about this to my friends. Its really trendy and up on style, so it'd be a nice place to go when you're feeling swanky. -
Review from Terry H.
Toronto, ON
11/18/2010
I've only been here once and didn't like it. I thought it was pretentious and dark. I was there for a poetry reading (Shane Koyczan--who was fantastic), and only a few rows of chairs were set down in front of the stage. The majority of us had to stand through the whole show, it was very uncomfortable. Luckily I had managed to secure a tiny portion of bar space to set my drink, but to my chagrin as soon as my eye was turned an employee grabbed my drink (which still had some in it, by the way) and ran. Irritated, I went back to the bar to get a replacement, and this time it cost almost a dollar less! The bartender was different the second time. The first bartender was not only rude but ripped me off.
It will be a sunny, rainless day in Vancouver before I ever visit this little crap-hole again. But Shane was awesome. -
Review from Anna V.
Toronto, ON
9/5/2008 2 photos
Here's the story with The Drake Hotel.
it was a total dive in a crappy area known as Parkdale and then five years ago, they did this hot revamp and turned it into a boutique hotel.
It ignited West Queen West as a hip artist area, and drove the dive-inspired Parkdale past the bridge. It also brought Starbucks and a ton more night club spots.
So it's a hotel, and it's a restaurant, lounge, rooftop patio and there's the underground. Each has different night life programming that suits the crowd, but the underground is where all the good jams happen. Basically, it's become a weekly mix of monthly parties featuring a healthy mix of local and out of town acts. They also book it for screenings and private parties, but generally there's something doing every Friday or Saturday down there.
The room holds about 250 with a small stage and screens for projections. There's one bar, and it's a basic square. It's also the same level where the bathrooms for the Lounge/Main Floor and the Underground are, the coat check and the ATM machine.
The cover at the Drake is usually $5 to get into the building. The general rule of thumb is: Suits on the roof, rich kids and waspy uptowners in the Lounge and party kids in the Underground.
Pick your floor, seal your fate.
All in all, this is like a meat and potatoes meal as far as decent nightlife goes. There's something for everyone, and it's easy to have a low maintenance good time on any given night. -
Review from Noel D.
6/1/2009 25 Check-ins Here
Ah, the Drake. The venue itself is quite beautiful. I remember the first time I ever went I was completely blown away by the atmosphere and thought the Sky Yard was a thing of beauty... But this is a review for the Underground so I will stay on topic.
The Underground is where you will likely see the best side of what the Drake has to offer. A few years ago I saw M.I.A. perform there and I know they have had some other pretty legendary performances. When the place is packed it's almost impossible to get a drink seeing as they have the one bar at the back, but lately they have opened a side bar with limited drinks, but the popular ones so you're pretty much set.
The sound can get pretty intense down there but if the music's right then things are tight. They have DVD projections on three screens which definitely adds to the atmosphere. They used to have a video jukebox near the back bar but that's long gone.
The crowd can be very mixed. Pending on the event you can get the hipster locals who just want to have a good time, and then you can get the club crowd who dress up super fancy and aren't down with the program. I guess the Underground gets the spill over from the Lounge but overall the crowd is down there to dance, dance, dance. And everyone can appreciate that, right?
Oh, and the staff is usually pretty amazing. They definitely are there to work and get the job done, but they are also friendly and efficient at the same time. I once fell down the stairs with a full pint of beer and the bouncers came over to make sure I was alright. That made me happy. -
Review from Alejandro A.
Toronto, ON
12/12/2008
Most of my experience in the Drake Hotel has been in the underground. They have an excellent concert space in the basement which is pretty much in constant use by local bands. Occasionally something a little more outside the box will occur, like a cabaret, or a cabaret for the dead.
Every Monday, the Drake is host to Elvis Monday's, a long standing event that's been happening in Toronto for a really long time (like 15 years I think?) It's been hosted in several venues over the years, but lately it called The Drake home. Elvis Mondays, in addition to offering free local music, offers free food! There's usually a delicious stew or something equally wholesome available to everyone.
Drinks here are a bit pricey, in the 6-7 dollar range for a beer, and about the same for a mixed drink I think. -
Review from Kat F.
4/3/2009 1 photo
The Drake Underground is a pretty decent venue for live acts and DJs. It's also played host to a lot of secret shows and afterparties. On weekends it gets pretty chaotic because there are usually multiple events going on upstairs in the lounge and on the patio, and people are milling between the venues when they only have access to one, so security can be a bit of a pain and the washrooms (shared with the first floor and basement) can get crowded. It's best to stay put.
There are cute guys, fun dancers, lots of places to sit down and relax, two bars and decent sound. The Drake is also one of the few bars in the city that is able to extend its licence when there are special events like TIFF, Nuit Blanche, etc., in town and serve until 4am on those nights. As long as you stay downstairs and avoid the weekend crew that usually migrates to the main floor bar from the 905, you're sure to have a good time!
If you have the misfortune of being separated from your friends or 'meeting up later' at the Underground, forget about using your cell phone to get in touch. There is absolutely ZERO cell phone service downstairs and sometimes it takes a while before you get it back, even after you've left the building.
Also, user beware: the photobooth in the lobby is finicky and doesn't always work. Luckily it's only $2 so it's worth a whirl. Just don't cry if your pics don't turn out! -
Review from Catherine M.
ON
12/11/2008
The Drake isn't my favorite place, but if something cool is happening in the Drake Underground I might be swayed to check it out after all. The underground tends to have more arty happenings, although lately it seems to be a lot of random DJ nights I'd just as soon skip. There have been some key screenings, comedy shows and other events that have hit the underground, especially around TIFF time.
While I find it a little unfortunate that the Drake tries to be all things to all people, it's a sure bet that there will always be a crowd present for whatever happens there. I think the slick, upscale vibe of the Drake probably appeals to just as many people as it does to offend me, but that's why we all like different things.
One thing I would watch out for is going to the Drake during the key busy times, they have been known to essentially eject people who have stepped outside to talk or for a smoke, and literally not let them back into the building except to retrieve their things. This has happened to a few people I know, mostly guys. I imagine this is because, as we all know, the rich guys upstairs were running out of 20-year-old blondes to creep out, so they needed to kick some dudes out in order to keep below capacity. :) -
Review from Tiffany G.
Toronto, ON
2/14/2009
Came here randomly one fabulous Friday evening . There was this electric energy in the air and whoever the DJ was that was spinning seriously took it to another element. Loved it! Danced the night away and will be returning.
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Review from Whitney L.
Vancouver, BC
4/12/2009
3 levels, 3 diff DJs, variety, roof top patio=great scene and a fun night out
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Review from Shawn B.
Oshawa, ON
8/2/2010
Cell phone reception be darned, this basement bar features great bands almost nightly and is worth the communications failure. Go easy on the beer though - it's a little on the pricey side.
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Review from Amanda A.
Toronto, ON
4/2/2009
My boyfriend took me here for my 20th birthday-- we first ate dinner on the upstairs patio-- in the beginning of December! I had spaghetti and meatballs, and I swear to god, it was the best I had ever had... It was so good. My boyfriend ordered the bison burger-- he said it tasted amazing, but stopped eating it halfway through because he didn't think it was fully cooked. I am sure it was cooked right through, it was just the lighting.
We ate our dinner with champagne (who the hell knows what kind?) and the waitress was always around to fill our glasses for us!
The atmosphere was super friendly. The place, even though it was classy, wasn't filled with snobs.
Afterwards, we went to go to the basement to a hiphop show-- we were told that it was free admittance because we ate dinner upstairs. When we got there, they told us it was a 10 dollar cover each regardless. Even after speaking to someone, they said we do have to pay. We did anyways
It was great music downstairs, but our evening ended short because my boyfriend lit up a joint in the middle of the dance floor!
The bouncers were super nice, and simply told him that it was time to go. It was probably good because by that time we were both pretty trashed...
To sum it up: it's worth a visit. -
Review from John M.
2/12/2009
rad for shows. great programming. saw a burlesque show here for work, once.
