Bistro 422 Bar & Grill

Three girls walking around The Annex looking to drink and eat junk food and they ended up walking down to College. They were already inebriated to begin with. They stumbled upon this place randomly. This dingy, grimey, dark-​looking basement bar, filled with glowing neon lights and tropical ficus. These girls were very chill and had a don’t-give-a-fuck attitude. They walked in had some nachos ordered a couple, three or four pitchers of Steam Whistle and Amsterdam Blonde, and they were happy.
They said that the secret patio out back is bangin’. The price of their bill also was amazing. I mean, 11 dollars or so for a pitcher?
Basic bitches will be repulsed by this place. So do go.

Made the mistake of leaving a glowing review a few weeks ago when I was actually treated like a person. Drinks are cheap — expect nothing more, unless you enjoy Jekyll/​Hyde personal attacks from the unhinged bartender, regardless of how much you overtip. Oh, and if you dare to leave for a few minutes, he WILL throw out your pitcher. Just go to the Crown and Tiger next door — drinks are even cheaper, it’s not in a dank basement, and the servers are efficient AND pleasant.

the pitchers are 11 bucks for the house beer. Don’t come for anything else. The snarkness of the old dudes who work here is also a plus

If you serve pitchers of gin & tonic, you’re A-​OK. If my foot sticks to your floor, you’re A-​OK. If you’re subterranean, you’re A-​OK. Everything about this drunken, fluorescent-​flickering-​lights place is A-​OK in my book of sticky floor dungeon dives.

«Maybe I’ll get a burger» said a young man who hadn’t been to The Beast before. The five Torontonians who accompanied him all shook their head laughing «NOO. No food.»
Anyone who came of age in Toronto spent many University nights getting drunk in this basement hole.
They have personal pitchers of all mixed drinks for cheap and on Thursdays they do draws and you can win things. Great things, like peach schnapps. Be prepared to pay as you go throughout the night. The men in crew neck sweaters don’t trust you.
Among the worst bathrooms in the city. There are no words.
PEPPER POINTS For their hidden back patio.

cheap cheap beer. the house stuff is better than youre expecting, certainly beats pbr. the bartenders are complete unreasonable assholes. no excuse to behave that way. the bathroom is a piss sauna, but props for the ad from the back of Now magazine left on the toilet lid for cute japanese models with 36E’s.

This is «the beast. ro». It was one of the first places around the area to have cheap ‘mini-​pitchers’ of rum and cokes, long island iced teas and other highballs. «3 oz» of liquor in each, and I say that loosely as it’s probably eyeballed (or was, once upon a time). Very tasty, very fun. Their food was actually surprisingly decent, we got breakfast-​y type foods a few times and thought they were pretty decent. Nothing special, nothing awful. A great place to get loaded at. The atmosphere is pretty cozy too, especially when full. Even at capacity it’s not obnoxiously loud, unlike a lot of other bars around. I regularly meet up with people here. :)

Bistro 422 is a polarizing place, you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I love this place.
Located in a hard-​to-​find basement near College and Bathurst, Bistro 422 looks like your stereotypical dive. The interior is dark, brown, and slightly depressing. The waiters, although very efficient, have been known to act surly towards more than one customer.
However, as with all good dive bars, Bistro 422 offers dirt cheap drinks and an awesome no-​nonsense atmosphere. Pitchers of beer are available from 11 $ (tax included), and you can get yourself a pitcher of a mixed drink for not too much more. The crowd is very laid-​back and unpretentious, with Friday and Saturday nights filled with groups of friends simply having a good time.
People who have a preference for something more «refined» will not enjoy this place. But for those who like dive bars, Bistro 422 is a go-​to place in Toronto.

I don’t know why this is getting such low ratings. People, it’s a dive! There should be no expectations whatsoever when one goes to Bistro 422. You don’t go there to eat; you go there for their cheap pitchers (minimal selection of beer and some cocktails).
The crowd is quite a mix; I’ve seen students, 25+, and even some older middle age people. It doesn’t matter who you are when you hit up Bistro 422 and no one there cares who you are/​how you look anyway.
«Bistro» is probably the most inappropriate name to have for a place like this so I can understand if you get fooled by it thinking that you’re going to a legit restaurant with waiter service. Despite that, service there is still pretty good if you ask me. Prompt and checks with patrons throughout the night.
The place is small and dingy; somehow that makes me feel quite comfortable and at ease. Maybe that’s my way of subconsciously telling myself that the crappy condition of this place makes up for the cheap price? Either way, two big thumbs up from me.
Oh do expect it to get very loud as the night progresses. Shouting is required.

Pull up a chair pilgrim:
It’s a Dirty Dive.
In.
Drink.
Out.
I wouldn’t trust the food — I played it safe and got the bruschetta which was just diced tomatoes on bread, which isn’t much to complain about… I’ve had worse bruschetta!
Barman was friendly — if he had a cape on I’d give an extra star. Not the best watering hole in Toronto but there are some that are WAY worse that fall short — this hits the bar… on its toes.
²⁄₅ for Unilocal
⁵⁄₅ for Going to a place to get cheap drunk and hide away from the outside world.
SEEE YOUUU THERE *creepy grin*

Ce bar a un énorme potentiel et j’étais surpris de le voir déserté un lundi soir.
Montez l’escalier au fond du bar et profitez du patio !
Les bières sont pas chères et le cadre est très reposant, allez-​y!
This bar has a great potential and I was surprised to see it empty on a monday night.
Climb the stairs at the back of the bar and you will discover a very nice patio!
Beers are cheap and the atmosphere is so peaceful, go to bistro 422, you will not regret it!

Bistro is one of those places that people love to hate. But that’s only because they feel morally outraged that they’re having such a good time in a place that has $ 10 pitchers. But you shouldn’t let yourself be too influenced by them — if they want to pay $ 16+ for the exact same beer elsewhere, who are you to tell them how to spend their money? These are likely the same people who will pay $ 30 dollars for a plain white t-​shirt and then get all bitchy and defensive («It’s about QUALITY, not quantity!»)* when you tell them that you picked up five of them for $ 10 on sale at Old Navy.
In other words, it’s the most fabulous place ever if you’re looking for a cheap drink and don’t give a shit whether the waiter gives a shit about you. Oh wait, but most waiters don’t give a shit about you anyway; the moment they get back to the kitchen or bar they’re gonna talk smack about you, regardless of whether a pitcher where they work costs $ 10 or $ 20, so why not just cut the bullshit and put your money towards more booze instead of a fake smile?
You come to Bistro for one reason and one reason only: to down their cheap beer. Do yourself a favour and pay a dollar more for their premium pitcher (one of Amsterdam Blonde, Steamwhistle, or… something… I forget — I only ever get the Amsterdam anyway) because their house pitcher tastes like chilled piss, but slightly more watered down. Then do yourself another favour and order a plate of fries, because those are seriously the most awesome fries you will get (outside of those smarmy gourmet places where they grow their own potatoes for french frying in their organic city farms), and they’re only $ 4. I don’t even mean «awesome for $ 4» — I mean «awesome as in awesome». TRY THEM.
Sure, the waiter will barely indicate via his facial expressions or body language that he’s heard your order (if at all), and will likely only acknowledge your existence if you get indignant that he didn’t hear you the first time around, but who cares? The beer will be served in a couple minutes and then all will be forgotten. You pay when it comes but I kinda like that; settling up at the end is always more of a hassle.
I’ve been here 3 – 4 times now in the past few months and have had a smashing time every single time. So get off your high horse and start enjoying the fuck out of Bistro already.
*Um, no, darling, not when it comes to plain white t-​shirts.

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.

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 16^th 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!

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.

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 über 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.

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.

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 ;)

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.

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.

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.