LCBO – Chinatown

LCBO — Chinatown: «Serving homeless people everywhere, one beer at a time.»
As you open the door to the building that is oddly hard to see into (it must have been built during the time when Toronto considered alcohol a sin), you’re met with a fresh scent of urine. I think it comes from the people both shopping in the store and from the aforementioned homeless that have peed on the building before their shopping expedition.
Inside, it’s small and depressing – similar to other LCBO’s, but even more so. The staff here are less helpful than on average. Several different cashiers I’ve had here have made the LCBO top 10 list for showing disdain for their customers… that’s a pretty high bar. I feel like I’ve landed in one of those dry humour British television skits, where the employees are impossibly rude and deadpan; and yet they’re speaking with equally impenetrable bizarre Canadian English accents.
The Vintages section is small, yet out of other stores that are this small like the one on Yonge near Wellesley, the selection is better. Very few cold wines. They’re focusing on single-​serve beers here for their target demographic.
If you can go to another LCBO, go to another LCBO.

The entrance to this small LCBO, located in the heart of Chinatown, is also the «see and be seen» hang out spot for an array of the most sketchy characters in downtown Toronto.
It has a decent selection considering how small it is. It gets the job done.

Walking around Chinatown, we decided to drop by.
Store is neat. They have a nice selection of brands. Employees are kind. Prices are decent. Store is on the smaller side. A good place to visit if you’re looking for some alcohol and in the area.

LCBO in Chinatown is nicely nestled in with a legacy of low end eateries and works well as a neighbourhood fixture anchoring other businesses around it. It adds colour to Spadina attracting buskers and characters in the summer asking for cash as people exit the cheesy 60s style storefront. There is an awkward staircase as you enter with a wheelchair or stroller lift on the right side if you can’t do the stairs but you have to ask for assistance with the lift. When there was slush afoot recently, and I saw a guy do a serious wipe out descending the stairs even though the stairs have non slip mats on them. A staffer heard the clamour and quickly shouted, ‘Everything alright?’ and the answer was ‘Yes, OK’. It was nice to see concern over patrons and their heavy bags of liquor. The lines at the til are not the fastest moving, but the capacity and stock level at this outlet go well with the area and serve Chinatown and neighbouring Kensington Market and U of T. It’s an LCBO best enjoyed while shopping on foot and ducking into one of the well known restaurants next to it. Tried and true, this Spadina LCBO has a genuine feeling that is not felt in many places in the same way.

As far as LCBOs go, this one has a pretttttyyy sketchy exterior. It’s weirdly tiled and has an interesting crowd that likes to hang right outside. However, going in it’s not as bad — it’s clean and pretty organized, like LCBOs usually are. The staff here, I’ve found, are generally very nice and helpful. Small selection because it’s a small store — also, it tends towards the cheaper end of the spectrum since they are so close to the University. They have quite a selection of beers and cheap wines, and is more than adequate for your daily needs.

this is your typical over used LCBO. They are well known in the community and thus are heavily frequented by UofT students and locals alike (though really whats the difference). the size of the store is limited by the amount of room chinatown can offer and thus their selection does suffer a bit in all of their categories. If you’re looking for some common drinks then this a good enough location though they may have already run out of stock. any of the less common brand names will require a trek out to the LCBO at bay and dundas.
Cheers!

Wow just wow! This is a tiny tiny LCBO in a crappy part of town. The selection is small with all the basics.
I give this place a 1 star for an LCBO but 4 star for entertainment value due to some of the drunk dudes in there! Always guaranteed amusement.

Doesn’t an LCBO at Dundas/​Spadina just scream «BAD IDEA?»
As others mentioned, be wary if you dare enter this location. I’ve been a few times and I don’t think I have had an eventless experience yet.
Drunks…bums… drunk bums… they all hang out here.
It’s worth the extra effort to walk to either the King/​Spadina LCBO or the Yonge/​Dundas location.
Otherwise — Be Alert. Stay Safe.

Don’t tase me bro…
I wasn’t even up the stairs in this LCBO when and the store manager and a security guard tackled some guy down the stairs and proceed to tase him. LCBO security guards carry tasers?! Weird! The guy was clearly a riffraff and stole some bottles of booze for his buddies outside.
A few minutes later, some crazy woman starts screaming «can you believe this?! *incoherent mumbling*» I picked up a bottle of wine and while in the lineup and noticed that hubby and I were the only sober ones there.
I don’t mean people were a bit tipsy… I mean everyone was trashed!
They got an extra star because as Horace M. has mentioned they have an impressive array of Korean, Japanese and Chinese selections.
Final verdict is that if you really want an LCBO go to the one at King and Spadina… otherwise this one is good for people watching!

I find that the spirits and wine selection at this particular LCBO is, while not to my utmost satisfaction, is nevertheless interesting. Korean Soju, Japanese plumb wine, and Chinese GodKnowsWhat line the shelves. One thing strikes me, however, and that is the contradiction in the sherry section. It is chock full of so called «Sherry» from here in ontario, australia, and all over the godforsaken earth, but there was no Fino sherry from bloody spain! There were 8 rows of canadian sherry for $ 7.35 for the drunks who wait outside for enough change to buy a bottle… so what is the purpose of this socialist organisation? To bring me my afternoon sherry or to encourage the drunks? Perhaps one in the same thing, now that I reflect on it… ok, 3 stars.
By the by, the canadian sherry was god awful, but did the trick… reminded me of passing a bottle around a crowded train car on the Dakar express from Bamako during the war…