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The Raq
Categories: Nightlife Pool Halls Nightlife Bars Pool Halls, Bars [Edit]
739 Queen St WToronto, ON M6J 1G1
Neighbourhoods: Niagara, West Queen West
(416) 504-9120
- Hours:
Mon-Wed 5 pm - 1 am
Thu-Sun 4 pm - 2 am
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Music:
- DJ
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- Yes
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
12 reviews for The Raq
12 reviews in English
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Review from Cara L.
Toronto, ON
2/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
Good selection of beer and interior design is so hip, as in hipster fedora hats.
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Review from Shiona R.
5/22/2012
Saturday night:
Out for a friends birthday, bar/pool hall/dance venue.
Venue: I liked it! Really good sized space with a decent patio. Quite alot of seating space, we had a reserved booth with table service. Fair number of pool tables...maybe around 8? Dance floor is not big so gets very busy.
Did Air Con escape this place...it was so hot and sweaty, pretty disgusting! (due to how gross and hot this place was -1star, seriously switch the AC on already!).
Staff: Lot's of staff, bar service when I used it was fast. Table service was fantastic and our server was on the ball
Music: Generally Top 40, some 90's/80's and R'n'B. Music was pretty damn good as I recall...I was barely able to leave the (small) dance floor.
Drinks: For 3 shots and a Vodka/mixer I was $24. Drinks seemed reasonably priced for Queen West.
Crowd: A little 'douchy', had a bit of a clubbing district feel to it...which is not what I like to Queen West. -
Review from Coy W.
12/30/2011
A pool hall with riff raff you say? I thought that was mandatory for every pool hall!
I come by The Raq for a few games of pool when I'm bored and I like it here. I mean you can't go wrong with:
- Clean pool hall
- Equipment in GOOD condition.
- Ok price beer
- Music
- No cover
- Dress code so you don't get as much riff raff (I should really take a star away for this
:) )
- Patio in the summer (there are smokers)
- Couches away from tables for people in your group who don't want to play
I like this place. I feel safe in this pool hall. It's far from many pool halls I've been to were you feel like you have to be extra cautious because a fight might break out any minute.
I don't know which days or time are more packed but it seems to be random so I can't recommend a day or time to visit when it's busy or not. You'll just have to take a chance! -
Review from Lauren M.
7/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
I love you Tony F....but this place is not my scene!
I would only suggest going here if you are honestly just looking for somewhere to play pool. But don't expect any peace and quiet. Between the douchy patrons and the horribly mixed Top 40 music, it's pretty hard to concentrate.
I could see it being a decent venue for a private party but since it's all rather open concept, it's ruined by all the other people. Raq N Waq had a beautifully finished interior with a very "King West" look, yet was horribly overrun by the 905er "Entertainment District" crowd. Overall I felt it was very out of place for it's Queen West location.
Make sure to drink heavily if you go here because it was difficult to handle whilst sober. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
7/22/2011
The Raq is not a bad place, maybe I am getting a little too old for the scene?
The music is just too loud to the point of deafening... I cannot even carry out a conservation with anyone unless I scream into their ears! I am not that crazy to be scream at for sure.
No cover is great though and they really straight with their dress code as I saw people being turned away.
I ended up chilling out on the patio for a little while... but this is not the nicest patio to hang as it is full of smokers.
This place was not even busy by the time I ready to call it a day... 12:30 AM... no action, might as well go home to sleep!! -
Review from Mauricio A.
Toronto, ON
6/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
Been coming here for about 4 years now, mostly for large parties. The reason? Because this is one of those locales that seemingly has it all!
Pool tables, large patio, DJ (HipHop, House, Top 40's) and a few black leather couches for that lounge vibe. The decor is modern/industrial with a few metal gears as center pieces and exposed brick.
Saturdays are generally better than Fridays as they get a bit more packed. Now having said that, The Raq's clientele can vary from week to week. One week the place will be almost empty with the bulk of clients just chillin' and playing some pool while on other weeks it can be so packed you can't even walk and there is a line up just to go out to the patio(!). I have yet to decipher the pattern for that because whether it be summer or winter the amount of people here does vary heavily.
As a rule of thumb though the crowd thickens out a bit after 10:30pm after the DJ starts spinning. Although again, sometimes the floor will be packed and at other times there might just 8 girls rocking the dance floor.
Beer is around the $7.00 mark and if you are celebrating a party or with a large group, you really can't go wrong here as long as your people are happy with themselves and are not depending on a crowded place as you can never be sure. I had parties of over 50 people were we are the social hub of the place.
Also over the years I have noticed they are trying to go a little bit up market and away from say, a sports bar by having an age restriction (21) and a dress code, no ripped jeans, caps, sneakers, etc.. Which I do not mind since it does not affect me. Also, it is great to know they don't charge cover although during the winter months they will on a whim charge you coat check ($2-$3) Which can be a bit awkward if you have told your guests there is no fee to pay to get in.
Now something I have noticed recently, (I hosted a party and one of my best friends celebrated his birthday there) in the last couple of weeks, "The Raq" is under new management and are not very good at following up with reservations and other inconsistencies.
For example, I called to make a reservation for 25 people, I was told to call back and leave a detailed message with everything I needed for them to make the reservation and that we were a go.
Found it odd since I never had been asked to do that here but sure whatever, I figured that way they have my reservation on record, so I did.
Left a lengthy message, and then showed up on the day, looked up my section and.... "We haven't heard of you." What?!?! And the area I had asked for had been reserved for a girl's birthday party.
Their answer was, "Did anyone call you back to confirm?"
Me: "You asked me to leave my reservation on your answering machine. Plus no on told me they would call back to confirm. Besides would you? I spoke to someone directly and told them what I wanted they agreed and asked me to leave you a message."
Luckily they had some extra space where they could relocate my party but still, that's not cool. Also my friend ended up having a bit of the same issue with his party.
I later spoke to one of the staff in private and he said that yeah, they had some issues keeping things straight. And that they were working on those. Personally I might wait a while before I use them again. I am just sharing this with you as a FYI. Also I might change my rating to 4 where I originally thought this review should be at once things get straighten out.
If you go with 5 friends or so, then you will like this place.Listed in: My Reviews
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Review from Rafi N.
Toronto, ON
7/13/2011
The Raq is a noisy and very confused pool hall and bar. I came here as a last stop on a night of eating and drinking.
*** DRINKS ***
I ordered a pint of Rickard's White. The beer was good, although I had already been drinking by the time I got here.
*** ATMOSPHERE ***
The venue is pretty big, but you stand for the most part. There are seats along the walls if you're inside the pool/dance hall. The dance floor is empty for the most part and there are some colorful lights shining from above on the floor. There is not disco ball! The main room is warm and very loud. The DJ was not particularly good - I made a joke about him being ordered from a Groupon deal. There is another area cordoned off for people who smoke. It's not quite a patio but it's got a large open window almost like a balcony. We spent most our time here, because it was not as loud and was less warm. The patrons seemed to range in age from early 20s to mid 40s.
*** SERVICE ***
Service was pretty much what you'd expect from a busy bar surrounded by drunks and predrunks. The bartender looks at you, you order, you get your beer and you leave. This was the only interaction I had with the service. Nothing bad, nothing to tell really.
*** PRICE ***
The price is what you'd expect:
* Pint of Rickard's White | $6.50 *
*** RACK 'EM UP ***
The Raq would be a good place to go if you were very young and didn't know any better. People do play pool here, but it seems out of place with the loud dance music. The dance floor is redundant since no one uses it. People 25 yrs old and up probably wouldn't like this place. I didn't like it and I won't return.Listed in: Noise 'n Poison
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Review from lole d.
Toronto, ON
12/12/2010
Pool Tables and Cues always in good condition
Fun atmosphere, nice decor clean
Loud music and live DJs (good mix)
I like the fact there is a dance floor to boogie on
Always had good to great service
I've been a customer since 2004ish -
Review from Laura C.
Toronto, ON
8/7/2010
4.5
Omg this is now going to be my new go to place.
Got there around ten, and place was empty and although I made reservations (no one confirmed) didn't matter that early. We some couches near the back. It was a great place grab a drink and chat, until they turned the music up around 11, it got a bit loud.
Best reasons to go here:
- no cover
- great music and dj takes requests almost instantly
- when he listens to u, he turns down the speakers near him- no need to shout
- big spacious dancefloor
- pool tables are great, but becomes secondary to the experience
- staff super friendly and nice. Makes sure food is good, drinks are topped up. Even told us she was going home for no reason
- the dj was giving shout outs and requests and couldn't find one of the guys. The waitress went out to the patio together him
- he also makes somewhat a good transition into new songs, and creates some mashups along the way
- there is a posting at the dj booth of the top 40 songs to help jog my memory for what I want to request
- mr bean greets u at the men's bathroom
- decor nice and modern not pretentious at all
My mission was to find a hybrid bar/dance club that played good tunes and has seating. This is the place.
Also free parking after nine on the street. And not slot of club near by so ample paking available.
I don't know why more people dint come here. Minus half a point bc it did stay quite empty, and although enjoyable, but not so much for my single friends looking. I'm going to assume the crowd is hit and miss.
The food was also good. I mean, where in a club can you order drinks and food throughout the night! Wings were tender and juicy. Samosas and potato wedges yum. 2 drinks+food per person was $30 !
Defintely will come back.Listed in: After Dark
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Review from Tony F.
3/26/2010
Way back in the day, this was on my circuit for a hang-out joint. The foods pretty decent, the pool tables are alright, music on the weekend, a great deck overlooking Queen west, and super flirty waitresses who knew the right things to say to me and milk me for a large tip. What else could I ask for?
I've managed to throw a bunch of events here, and the staff have always been very accomodating to me. I had my 30th Birthday bash here and a 5 year anniversary celebration of that party here as well. If I lived closer and played as much pool as I did back in the day, I'd still be hanging out here.Listed in: Date night
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Review from Jay G.
Toronto, ON
4/21/2009 2 photos
The Raq as it's called now is a pretty cool pool hall. On the weekends there's a DJ and dancing where girls outnumber the guys, at least it seems that way. Pool rates aren't expensive and the drink prices are fairly reasonable. They have a great rooftop deck that overlooks Queen St., I just wish they didn't encourage smoking there as it gets pretty warm inside and I'm not a smoker so I don't enjoy inhaling other peoples' exhaust fumes. There's a 360degree bar and service is fairly quick considering the amount of bartenders. Crowd shows up for a good time on the weekends.
The interior is pretty nice with dark wood floors, black leather chairs, white leather banquettes, fireplace, meal and glass accents, and of course multiple pool tables. Scoring a lounge area is sweet especially on a weekend as it can get really busy. Come on a weekday for a nice relaxing night of billiards.
Overall, The Raq is a good place to play pool and grab a few drinks. Weekends offer low key dancing without need to dress up, the site says "Upscale Casual" that basically means no "gangster" wear, and it is great for groups. Service is quick and servers a very friendly, super friendly. ;) -
Review from Michelle P.
Toronto, ON
6/19/2010
I've been to Raq n Waq several times and honestly, I've never been disappointed. We've celebrated a few birthdays there. The prices of drinks are reasonable and the DJ is AMAZING! He plays amazing music on Saturday nights. You don't have to pay to get in but there is a mandatory coat check ($2). The crowd is pretty good-down to earth people. Never had any problems there. The food is ok and the pool tables are not bad either. The outdoor patio is nice, you get a cool view of Queen St. West. Friends and I know that if we plan on going to Raq n Waq on a saturday night we never leave disappointed.
