As a basketball fan living in Toronto, there’s always competition against those lowly Leafs when it comes to TV screens in bars and restaurants. But I’ve managed to scout out a few places where to possibly watch basketball. Some of them are great and some are just good enough:
St. Louis Bar & Grill: The one I’m talking about is located on Blue Jays Way and Bremner Blvd near the Cityplace condos, however, this is a chain. Lots of screens, nice atmosphere and if they won’t put the Raptors on their biggest screen, they’ll put them on one of their several HD televisions located throughout the place. They also turn the volume up. The food is excellent and they frequently have specials on their chips and wings. If you like spicy wings, go here.
Food: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Hoops: Located on Yonge, just north of College. Don’t get fooled by the name, it’s not dedicated to basketball. On a night where both the Leafs and the Raptors are playing, you’ll find the Raptor game on a small fuzzy little screen where you’ll have to twist your neck just to get a glimpse. The main screen is a huge projection TV with really bad picture. The lighting is too dark to my liking. They have a smoking room right in the middle which would’ve been put to better use as a sitting area.
Update: They actually got rid of the Smoke Room and put some tables there. Much better ambiance and lot more HT TVs.
Food: 6/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Gabby’s Bar and Grill: Located on Bloor, just west of Avenue. They have two main screens, one’s a big projection TV and the other is 50′ HDTV. The food is reasonably good and there is a lot to choose from. They never turn the volume up, even if you beg them because they don’t want to disturb their other non-sporty customers. The bar area is nice and the view to the TV’s is good. They have the decency to put the Raptors on one of the big screens if the Leafs are playing on the same night.
Food: 8/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Sports Centre Cafe: West of Yonge on St. Clair. This place is amazing, go there. It has many huge TVs, comfortable chairs, great atmosphere and lots of high quality big screen TVs. Lot of basketball fans go here, at least that what I could make out last time I was there. Big menu where you’ll find something to eat, avoid the pizza though.
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Philthy McNastys: Yonge/Eglinton. They just dropped a new big screen. Great environment.
Fion Maccouls: Website. Decent pub food & a good selection of beer. TV’s are kinda small but it’s got a lively atmosphere.
WEGZ Stadium Bar: Website. Great environment. It’s up right near Vaughan Mills though. Gigantic bar, over 200 screens, TV’s in the bathroom, 800 seating capacity and a bunch of ROWDY folk!! Food isn’t that cheap though, so just warning you ahead of time.
…feel free to contribute in the comments, i’ll add it to the posting…