The Monarch Tavern

Brand new kitchen after the departure of Baju. Bunz is Asian street food plus a healthy smattering of pub favourites. Had the Bao. Damn good.

I’m really quite surprised by all these good reviews. Just off the beaten path of the bustling College Street nightlife, you’d hardly notice that this place exists. From the outside, it appears closed — no lights, no one outside, and a barred doorway. Things don’t get much better when you finally do find the open door that leads to the upstairs. There were a few tables full of what appeared to be college kids and some unmemorable music playing in a dingy open room. Our server couldn’t have been less interested in serving us and rarely came by the table even while our glasses sat empty. When we finally decided to leave, we couldn’t even find the server as he was sitting down having a pint at the bar. Shitty service, shitty atmosphere. I wouldn’t go back.

A old Toronto landmark The Monarch is still a friendly, comfortable authentic old neighborhood watering hole.
Bring your sandwich upstairs!

Cheap and nice local. Good bartenders, cozy vibe, can’t go wrong.

Great neighbourhood pub. Friendly bar staff, reasonably priced drinks and BEST OF ALL, amazing pizza and meatball subs at the pizzeria opposite and sandwich shop next door that you can eat in the comfort of the lovely Monarch?! Truly winning combo!

Things not go FatCats way recently. FatCat not able to get appointment with Dr. Phil to discuss his personal issues so FatCat have to find some other way to deal with problem FatCat having.
Chicken wings not enough to help FatCat get over this one, so FatCat come to Clinton House to drown his sorrows in buttermilk fried chicken, 3 pitchers of beer, and Karaōke muzik. (see review for crown & dragon for FatCat’s chicken wing episode)
Things FatCat like
— Buttermilk chicken taste like it have gravy under skin — delicious!
— Many brave souls getting up to sing karaōke — FatCat see much singing talent in this bar. FatCat also belt out a few tunes and planning to come back here after he step up his Karaōke game.
Things FatCat not like
— Potion sizes a little small, but not too expensive so not big deal. FatCat just order more food.
— FatCat wishing he living in hood so FatCat can make this local watering hole. No luck for FatCat there.
Mission accomplished for FatCat. Dr Phil missing opportunity to collect gigantic service fees from FatCats very deep pockets.

Friendly staff and well priced drinks are always a winning combination.
The house’s sound system is unfortunately underpowered for the room though.

Years and years ago I made a mental note of the Monarch Tavern and pizza place across the place as I was still new to the city and strolling down random streets in an effort to get to Toronto. I think my reaction was something like, «Wow, this is kind of a random location for a pub… neat. I’ll have to come back some day.» Even in those early days I had noted that almost all of commercial stuff, save for the lone corner store, is kept on the main streets in Toronto.
Anyway, I finally went back this past Saturday for «Empire», their monthly Britpop night.
I only saw the downstairs (main floor) but liked what I saw. Actually, as a pub, this is a great space – lots of tables for seating, lots of dance for shakin’ and lot of bar space for drinkin’. Overall, the downstairs feels spacious but is still cozy enough.
There were a couple of birthdays taking place so it seems like a good place if you are looking for somebody to host yours.
Bathrooms were easy to reach and clean.
The selection of taps is good and $ 7 a pint is spot on.
The crowd was fine – not really sure who was there for the music and who was there for the birthdays; I am unsure if this is the kind of place that has regulars that just show up no matter what is happening. (Also, have no idea what their other Saturday nights are like).
And what about «Empire» specifically? It was fine – I’d certainly return. The problem with trying to do a Britpop night these days is that it only ever attracted a narrow slice of audience and now most of that audience is older, where «older» means married, with kids and likely living out of the city. People will come out for the annual Blowup! party but getting enough people to show up for a monthly gig is tough. Somehow it looks like «Empire» at Monarch is pulling it off. Lots of classics were played (Oasis, Blur, Pulp) along with a good mix of less obvious tunes. Good times!

Really nice, large, laid back pub with old, local atmosphere and some new, fancy flat screens all over the place (not a big fan of TV in bars). There is nothing wrong with this place, except the bathroom that needs to be reworked. And payments though cards aren’t available yet so you would need to use the $ 2 fee ATM if you don’t have cash in hand.
I can’t really judge the place on all days, I don’t know the first floor as it’s always closed or reserved for private event. But the large room upstairs is definitely a place to bookmark. Some small tables for couples, some large tables for groups, a basic kitchen that provides basic food and a large drink menu of beers, cocktails at good prices. A pool table, a flipper game, nice variety of music playing in the background. You have all the set required for a good atmosphere with no pressure of service, crowds or noise. Tavern is a well chosen name.
I usually go there with a group of people, we like the ability to chat without loud music (music can be loud sometimes though). I see some couples and some lonely workers bringing their laptop to refresh their last work. It is for me definitely a landmark to go in the area of Little Italy, as long as the service remains at the same level.

Went here last weekend to meet some friends I had not seen in ages. They had a lot of good beers as well as a special double rum and coke for cheap. Good staff and good deals

Good Beer. Friendly staff. Apparently a Karaōke night, which gets them one extra star! There’s also a pool table, a pinball machine, and great tunes as well. Local hangout.

Guys! Monarch Tavern has a super selection of draft beers (including special monthly cask choices), a chill vibe, friendly staff and… wait for it… METALLICA PINBALL!!! Also, if you check in using the handy dandy Unilocal app there’s a special Unilocal discount in it for you.

I’ve only been to «Upstairs at the Monarch» but loved it. It’s a great place to go if you’re a fan of sports and they have huge t. vs on every wall. The best sports bar I’ve been to, it doesn’t have any of the cheesy gimics. Everytime I’ve been the chef comes around with samples of meat based food (I’m vegetarian), my boyfriend assured me the sample food was amazing — he’s definitely wants to go back just for the food now! The price of the beer is just average — $ 7 — with no daily offers other than a beer and food for x amount, but they have a good selection and the bartenders are really friendly.

An awesome place to BHA in Toronto. What’s BHA you ask? Beer, Hockey, and Apologize… It’s the Canadian GTL.
Why is it a great place to BHA you ask? They’ve got a great suds selection of both bottles and drafts. There’s plenty of TV’s and great music as entertainment, and the crowd is completely local so you’re going to get nothing but sweetheart Canadians chatting you up as you sit at the bar.
Highly recommended for a chill Sunday drink. Ask for Alesia if she’s around. She’ll her sassy charm will make your visit.

I come here for Wednesday Choir! Choir!Choir!
If you don’t know what that is, google it.
If you want to come, join the FB page and learn the damn songs :)
Cheap 5 $ pints and some good service behind the bar.
Great space that I’ve never been to on a regular day– but an intrigueing enough hidden location that I would TRY to find myself back here on a regular weekend.

What an interesting, odd place. Ngl, when I looked up vegetarian and gluten-​free in Toronto, I didn’t expect a pub to be one of the first places to pop up. But it did, and we checked it out!
I almost drove right past it getting there. It is in the middle of a residential neighborhood around Little Italy. Such a throw back to the neighborhood corner pub. That definitely added to its charm and our experience. As we went early, it was a little quiet but that was fine since we were just looking for a bite to eat. They lived up to expectations– gluten-​free bread was available for every sandwich option and the Poutine came with vegetarian gravy. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to try this oh so beloved national dish. Which might have been a good thing actually… greasy fries drowning in rich gravy topped with melting cheese curds??? Whoever said being vegetarian is healthier was wrong! But that’s neither here nor there. It was tasty and I was really happy to have been able to sample some local flavour. Got a couple of hard ciders as well which were delicioussss. Music was a little loud for the middle of the day but it’s a bar so yeah. The dark wood interior was pretty swanky and from what I saw they had a pool table and some darts and the like.
Huge plus is the neighborhood. Come here and have a drink and take a stroll around. So much to see and do, and an opportunity to walk off that Poutine I know you just had to try ;)

as a gluten free foodie, sometimes life can be rough! but monarch tavern is THE GREATEST PLACE EVERRR!!! im kind of obsessed with it. visiting from texas with my family, this meal was my favorite the whole time we spent in toronto.
its a really sweet old historic dive bar. great vibes. the owner was so friendly and knowledgeable about gluten free. they have a great gf beer (locally brewed nickelbrook) and they have gluten free poutine, grilled cheese, fried pickles, burgers, GRILLED CHEESE BURGERS… omg. i dream of this place. can’t wait to go back. can’t say enough good things. if i lived in toronto i would come here to eat or just drink and hang out all the time.

Dope little upstairs tavern in a residential zone. Truly a neighbourhood bar. Pool table, Buck Hunter pinball and karaōke night — what more can you ask for?
They have one of flavours of the month on tap: Spearhead IPA. When I went back to the bar to grab a second round, the bartender told me he accidentally overcharged me on my first round and discounted my second round. Stand-​up bartender in a unpretentious neighbourhood bar. I like it.

The Monarch Tavern is a great Toronto institution. There is usually a lot of room for big groups, the beer is pretty cheap, and the entire bar is a good environment for hanging out with you friends. They also have really good food. In particular, COME HERE FOR THE GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES AND NOT THE OVER-​HYPED «GRILLED CHEESE» AT KENSINGTON! (Ahem, got a bit too enthusiastic there). My favourite of them all is one that has caramelized onions and mango chutney, though the one served with wasabi mayo is also quite yummy. All grilled cheese sandwiches are served fries and a small salad, filling you up nicely after.

Great atmosphere, relic of «old» Toronto, good draught beers.
I’ve been coming here for years with my dad/​uncle/​cousins/​brother/​grandfather when looking for a dark upstairs cavern to enjoy some early afternoon brews (while also scarfing down the delicious hot veal sandwiches from San Francesco’s next door, which you’re allowed to do).
Apparently, based on stories from my dad and uncle who used to frequent the Monarch back in the 70s and 80s, it used to be a «no-​ladies gentlemen’s club» where all sorts of pranks and shenanigans between beers went down. In it’s present manifestation, the environment is much more tame (though smug patriarchy still oozes through the walls), while the furniture, mostly well-​worn leather, dinged hardwoods, and scuffed felt, give the aura of times past. It’s a decent sports bar with a few tvs, a pool table, and tons of hockey memorabilia hanging from the wall (things like autographed Bobby Orr photos, etc). Beers are no longer 25 cents a mug, as legend had it, but you can still get an ice cold Boddington’s or Keith’s for an average price.