Handlebar

Decided to try this place out as my second bar in my barhop adventure! Very hipster-​y and the crowd consisted of those in their early-​to-​late twenties. The bartender was said to be nice from the reviews I read, but he seemed too busy to really speak to us, let alone smile. Who knows, maybe he was having a bad day, but the cocktails he made were REALLY good.
I ordered some cocktail with bourbon, and I sat on it for the whole time we were there. I thought it was great that this venue provided open mic/​live music, and we enjoyed one stand-​up comedian and another guy playing some bizarre music that you would’ve heard maybe if you were watching a modern contemporary documentary on space travel. ANYWAY, it was great to experience these kinds of things amongst the locals, and I definitely would recommend any tourist to search for this gem. Besides, only the locals would know how to enjoy this beautiful city.

Great place to drink with friends, a mate or alone. Seems like a spot that you can always make new friends or get to know the regulars.
I came here from NYC to sit in and watch I am Robot and proud, a kool band you must check out if you don’t already know them. Awesome group and music, and this bar was a perfect fit. Cozy, chill and somehow felt special… I don’t maybe that’s the beer taking =)
We’ll comeback on my next trip.

Visited from out of town with my boyfriend. We arrived early enough to avoid paying a cover and got 2 really good seats near the front. The music was top notch, but still quiet enough to have a full on conversation.
I’ve never had a dark and stormy (rum, ginger beer, lime) before, but it was so good I had to get 2. Will definitely go back if I get the chance.

Fun spot. Good crowd. Good music. Cheap drinks. Nice little patio in the heart of Kensington market. What more could you ask for?

Handlebar has become our new favourite bar in Kensington.
The drink list is awesome with lots of fun local beers, cider, and mixed drinks (try the fantastic dark-​and-​stormy!). It’s a cool dive bar with super friendly staff and an awesome dark décor complete with couches and a pinball machine.
They have the best food menu we’ve seen at a bar: my fiancée loves the poutinette– a perfect cross-​hatched stack of thickly cut potatoes, smoked gouda, and red-​wine demi glas that’d be at home on a high end table, but served at a bar! Their dishes are an impressive selection of the better vendors in the market (Hooked, Sanagan’s, Thomas Lavers).
If you want a low-​key relaxed atmosphere with good drink and snacks you can’t beat hitting up Handlebar early in the evening. Later it becomes one of the better venues in town (the NXNE show we caught last year was incredible). While I miss the Avro, I’ve maybe grown to love Handlebar more.

I stumbled upon this place to watch OkStupid (an event where people get together and read out the worst conversations they’ve had on online dating sites) and absolutely fell in love with it.
It’s the kind of dive (ish) bar that actually has charm, love and a lack of stickiness. There’s a good range of local beers and the tastiest ginger beer (non-​alcoholic) I have ever tasted. Try the Dark & Stormy, very satisfying! And the prices are very reasonable.
Another great aspect about this place is the food. Once in awhile they’ll have specials where you can grab a delicious meal, very reasonably and very flavourful. Their regular food is alright but not always hitting the mark (stacking up fries like Lincoln logs for a poutine dish seems unnecessarily fancy and looks bizarre).
While the service is never rude, there’s certainly a bit more priority to their friends. Be prepared to wait awhile for drink service as there’s typically no rush on their end to serve.
I highly recommend this place if you want a low key relaxing night.

For all of my hipster hatred, I found myself at Handlebar last night and I had a wicked time! The atmosphere was dark and cavernous, adorned with old bicycles and the overall atmosphere was a super chill vibe. They had a dance floor and some wicked peeps spinning tunes. Being the Dancing Queen that I am, I was on that dance floor all night.
Bartenders were super friendly and made excellent cocktails. I’m not sure if all the people sitting down were eating??? But I’m assuming they have food here, too? When I’m dancing, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to sit so I deduce that there must be some other equally exciting activity to keep them in their seats.
Handlebar also has what is arguably the most space age bank machine I’ve ever encountered.
I would definitely come back here for drinks any time.

Came here with 3 ppl on a Saturday night. It reminds me of the hipster bars in Brooklyn. The ambiance was great, cocktails were average and music was a bit loud but I’d definitely recommend it.

This is my go-​to spot in Kensington. Dim lighting, comfortable booths, cool staff. I hear they have food now which I havent yet tried. They usually have some local beers on tap, and offer king cans which I enjoy. The music and theme are varied, but you can often find soul, motown, funk DJs and some indie bands too. Staff are friendly but as the night goes on you’ll probably have to fight for a spot at the bar to order. and be careful on the stairs leading down to the men’s room if you’ve had more than a few drinks.
I went early in the night with a lady friend and we sat in a booth. the volume was right and the lighting was good for us to catch up and have a real conversation, which was a huge plus for me. We left at around 10 when the place started filling up. Love this place!

I love this bar for its bike-​themed décor. I tried the Amsterdam Big Wheel Deluxe Amber Ale (new favourite!). Service was quick but I stopped in during a nonpeak time. The lighting in there is dimmer than most places… I feel like curling up and taking a nap in there. There is a mannequin that stands near the men’s washroom and guys wave to it on their way out. Is that a thing?

Like stepping through a time warp… good pricing on drinks… all things considered
Music is my only complaint…

Handlebar is a great place for meeting friends for a few beers in Kensington Market. The selection of beers on draught is quite good.
The vibe here is laid back and relaxed. It feels like the kind of place where anyone can have a good time. There is plenty of space inside, but also a nice west facing patio where you can relax after work.
The place opens at 6 p.m. on most weeknights.

This place has it all.
Kensington relaxed yet happening vibe, but the venue is larger than your typical Kensington nook in the wall which is nice.
Multiple friendly bartenders behind very large bar, caters to crowds on the weekend.
Great patio out front; doorman had to enforce capacity out there in the most official sense, because he has to. Has a really nice attitude and has on a number of occasions let me join my friends on the full patio for a smoke if I left my drink inside. More than reasonable.
The kind of small dance floor that’s just big enough to be there, in case some brave soul decides to bust a move so contagious that others follow, but small enough that no one is obligated – this is not club.
DJ playing funky groove-​to-​it motown dance tunes last couple of times I was there. Music is not so loud that you can’t hear a conversation.
Booths line the left wall, and your grandmother’s living room set is up front. Get drinkin, get chattin.

Cool little place. Intimate, laid back, and apparently date night always.
Really, it’s a nice little spot where you can get some good brews (but they need to get at least one ale on tap), decent selection of malts (though the scotch selection could be just a tad better).
The bartenders are phenomenal, the space is cool — not trying to be, overall, an excellent little gem in the city.

***NEW FAVOURITE BAR***
Owned by the same people who ran The Avro before it was rent-​jacked out of existence, this is a place where I heartily recommend spending all of your dollars.
They have movie nights, dance nights and pleny of just totally chill nights where they play music at the perfect volume for you and whoever to easily hear each other expressing distaste with the mayor’s latest performance art. Beers are well priced and the staff pay you just the right amount of attention.
There are pleny of booth and bar seats but easily the best place in the house is right by the front entrance where you can enjoy one of these small half-​couches. Each one has a detachable, small oval table that’s perfect for your drink.
When you really push your butt into the couch facing the front window you’re rewarded with a great view of the sky as framed by potted plants and illuminated by the lightbulb in the bicycle they have as part of the front display. For maximum value, have a beer in one hand (easy) and your other arm around a partner (hopefully easy, for your sake).
Wait, I want that seat all to myself. Why am I telling you about it?! Shit, why do I keep sabotaging my LIFE?
The one complaint I have is that the bar staff wouldn’t compliment my big ol’ dick, no matter how many times I asked them to do so. I will, of course, be taking this up with the appropriate government regulatory body.
Oh, I’m just kidding, the only thing lengthy about my dick would be the tragic poems it inspires on account of being so dang terrible.

This is my first time returning after the Elite event and I am pleased to say that the staff is still awesome and the atmosphere is still incredibly comfortable.
We came here for drinks on New Year’s Eve, while waiting for the Boat across the street to start letting people in again. (they were at capacity)
There is a great variety of drinks to be had and the service is friendly. The Hubster and I found an intimate little table and hung out there most of the night, but moved to the bar later on. I’m a big fan of any bar that has a hook for purses. Why don’t they all do this?
If this place were stumbling distance to my house, I’d be in trouble.

We came here for a friend’s birthday — I was planning it, and looking for some place chill, where we can just invite as many people that would come, and just have some drinks, maybe some snacks. A lot of places I called, asked for a minimum or bottle service, even though they were just a bar — but here, I emailed them and within minutes we were confirmed and ready to go.
The place is really chill, I would come back again to have drinks with friends and catch up. It’s small and narrow, with a back room which was private-​ish and perfect for our group. A small stage at the back. It was dark back here though, but your eyes will adjust.
They have lots of beer choices, and some wine. They also have Keiths Cider on tap.
When we got here at 8ish, the place a completely empty, and we were able to decorate a little. With one bartender manning the bar, he didn’t seem to know how the food menu worked which was a little disconcerting. We asked what type of food we can get. Realized it wasn’t much. Just some grilled sandwiches and nuts/​chips/​pickles on the menu. The sandwiches were custom, and we could choose from a bunch of ingredients, but then found out we were limited to only what they had in the fridge.
So we ended up with $ 6 Grilled Cheese and Chicken sandwiches on plain white bread. $ 2 Bowls of PC Regular Chips and bowls of Pickles. A little over priced for not really quality. It would be nice if they had a little more to munch on.
But the drinks were great. The service was friendly and super chill. They let us have the run of the place in the back which was nice. The music could have been more upbeat, but I’m sure we could have requested too.
Overall, it a great place for the party, and I’d come back for drinks and to catch up on life one day. Just wish they had more choice of food/​snacks.

Drink Here.
…actually. I had a tad too much to drink (thanks to Red) but I do remember the food being good too (some sandwich. and again thanks to Red). So…
Eat Here Too.

J’ai atterri dans ce bar dans le cadre d’un CMYE et je dois dire qu’on a été royalement accueillis ! Dans une ambiance intimiste et retro le handlebar offre une salle tout en longueur avec petites tables en bois et vélos accrochés aux murs. L’ambiance est parfaite pour discuter tranquillement et la musique n’est pas trop forte. Le staff est adorable et leurs tournées de shot de whiskey et bourbon sont terribles! Vous pouvez aussi commander des mini sandwichs qui sont délicieux!
I landed in that bar for a CMYE and I have to say we were welcomed like princes and princesses (not kings and queens yet). In an intimist and retro atmosphere the handlebar offers a huge space with cute tiny wooden tables and ho yeah bikes on the walls.
The atmosphere is perfect to chat with your drinkig buddies and music is not loud. Staff is perfect and their rounds of whiskey and bourbon are awesome. You can also order little sandwiches that are delicious.

Came here with some of the Unilocalers below and left pretty drunk and what needs to be said has been said already.
I would have stayed longer but honestly when a place is that dimly lit and I am under the influence my eyes just have trouble focusing. Its totally why I did not consider a career as batman.
Bonus points go to the service which was friendly, pretty cool they are using an ipad as a POS.
The back of the bar also looks cool with some classic cycles adding some awesome detail.
The toilet’s can be difficult to figure out unless your Brian from Paris then you just go wherever the hell you please.
Front patio is more of a random spare space with not one matching chair or table.
Sit here and watch the guys opposite train in muay thai then reminisce about what a nob Van Damn looked being drunk and dancing in the movie Kickboxer.

Dropped by here last night with some rowdy Unilocalers on a Kensington Pub Krawl. (Holla!) There were meant to be 2 stops after this joint, but the guys at Handlebar were treating us right. So a unanimous drunken decision was made to remain at Handlebar and continue to get drunk on whiskey, bourbon and great craft beer.
This was a dive-​bar crawl, but once inside Handlebar I realized it’s anything but divey. They have taken great care in decorating the inside with one-​of-​kind narrow wooden tables and bicycles.
They had a sandwich special which some people enjoyed, but I was on a strictly liquid diet. Bullet whiskey is delicious. You know what’s not? Keith’s cider. Keith’s cider tastes like the two litre ciders they sell at the Wine Rack. It’s really sweet and undwerwhelming. Avoid it.*
PEPPER POINTS: For their large front patio. Great for people watching.
PEPPER’S PISSED: About the AC. Turn it down, boys. I know you’re big guys but I was faaareeeezzzing. Going pee was akin to peeing in an outhouse. While winter camping.
*I’m from Nova Scotia and it pains me to diss a Keith’s product.