Hitch

I went here with some coworkers and the food was fresh and delicious (we had nachos and fries), drinks were awesome ($ 5 for beers and certain cocktails), and the service was some of the nicest I’ve ever experienced. The general atmosphere was very friendly and unassuming. :) Hitch is a great place with an awesome menu and a heart of gold. (Side-​note: It’s quite loud, and you have to kind of yell to people — even if you’re right beside them. Perhaps not the best place if you’re looking for an intimate night out. However, the service, menu, and atmosphere MORE than make up for that.) I’m excited to come back soon!

$ 5 beers between 5pm — 7pm. Sizeable back patio. Small but decent craft tap selection. Large wall projector. Excellent service from the barkeep.
I dig this joint. It looks fairly new, but has a nice unforced casual, cozy vibe. It seems like most of the patrons are dropping by for a quick drink alone around the bar. Nice mixture of folks in a communal setting and lacks that ‘sad old alcoholic’ vibe that you have at some other bars.
I’m frankly a bit confused why people say this place has a ‘hipster’ vibe. I guess it does take some cues from the hipper bars in town — but it felt unforced and unpretentious. Service was warm on our early evening stop here. And if this is what is considered hipster on Queen East — then sign me the fuck up for the QE fan club.
The back patio looked and the front windows shutter up, so you can still get that open air experience without being outside.
The only critique is the tap selection is limited to 5 selections (from Beau’s and Left Field), but the bartender did have more canned/​bottled selections.

A small bar in Leslieville. My review is unfortunately going to be short, as my party stopped here only briefly for a drink before moving on to another place — we did a Leslieville bar-​hop, and I wasn’t drinking so I cannot comment on the selection or quality.
The décor was cute, there was a projector projecting paradise images on the wall. The seating is large tables and benches, so be prepared to cozy up to your neighbour. My husband commented on the awesome attitude the bartender had, he gave me a complimentary alcohol free ginger beer since I wasn’t drinking, and it was quite tasty.

By the northwest corner of Queen and Leslie, Hitch fills in adequately the void left behind by the closure of Riverside’s The Avro in a way that Hi-​Lo has not been able to, although it is a short stretch further east.
It’s a relaxing and unpretentious bar atmosphere that tries to add a sense of a fun community amongst Leslieville’s growing young population. Definitely not heavy on the vintage embellishments and reclaimed wood décor you’d find in a typical hipster bar. There’s a small patio out back, a garage door front, and awesome friendly staff. A small handful of craft brews on draft too.
They got regular events like bring your own vinyl nights, and a projector that’ll air anything from live soccer games to movies on VHS on Sunday nights. To hell with DVRs; VHS is where it’s at.
If you got nothing better to do on an afternoon or evening, forget about grocery shopping; you could stop by and watch the Leslievillians go by.

Tiny but very spacious if you go at the right times like Monday-​Thursday early afternoons. Loved the hostesses who are so proud of east Toronto. Service was great, didn’t feel any pretention. Seriously a cute little patio. Recommend it for small groups of friends!

Went to hitch last night for the first time. I was super impressed with this place. The bartender was playing perfectly curated vinyl. The draft beer selection was small but delicious. They also had some very interesting bottles of beer, I didn’t get a chance to try any but might do so next time.
The vibe was great. Kind of a West-​end feel without all the crowds and pretension. They have a small selection of bar snacks. We manchego, chorizo and baguette which was tasty and perfectly sufficient for a fill your tummy bar snack.
This place really doesn’t look like much from the outside but what a shocker upon entering. I will definitely be back.

I don’t like going to hipster bars, but this place I found to be a bit more tame when it comes to not over doing it. I’ve walked by it many times and it always looked empty, but on a rainy afternoon I found this to be the perfect place to sip $ 5 beers during their happy hour period which is between 5−7pm.
The selection is not huge, but they have Beau’s on tap, and a limited edition option which I found funny cause the hipster bartender was so proud to big up this information — making it seem like no other place in TO sells this type of brew. That aside, he was a real nice guy, friendly and not stuck up at all! I like the crowd at this place, mixed…
I also like their tiny snack menu, Manchego Cheese and Portuguese Chorizo with a bit of sliced baguette hit the spot to soak up the booze, and for $ 7 a pretty good deal — it’s good to know that they’re just serving straight up snacks, nothing over the top to try and be different; Manchego & Chorizo were being enjoyed in Toronto during the 90’s while most of these modern types were suckling on their mama’s titty.

really nice little bar. cocktails are thoughtful and strong, servers are genuinely nice folk, ambience is excellent. the snacks are serviceable when you have a buzz on, though nothing to write home about. and a mighty fine selection of whiskeys at reasonable prices.
good little haunt

A much Lesser 416 Snack Bar. They have decorated their place exactly like it. modern, wood finishes, candles etc. i really wanted to like this place but no sparkling wine, no real wine glasses.
i liked that they carried lagavulin scotch. and my boyfriend had his Dalwhinnie scotch whisky. Still I’d rather order it from Ceili Cottage a block east with some oysters or chicken pot pie.
the food here sucks. they’ve done everything decorative right down to the little mason jar pâté order, but what a disappointment when you take a bite.
and god help you, stay away from the dark and stormy. Gross
I love Kracken and I love ginger beer but it does not make for a good combo.
If you want to go in for a beer I guess you’re safe but i must emphasize theres much better places to go on the block.
Really hope they improve because many times they’re the only place open.

We definitely hit Hitch on an off night. I went there with my husband for a drink before dinner on my Birthday this week and the waitress was extremely rude to us. The wine we ordered was hot, as if it had been sitting in the sun all day. Not to mention it was served to us in small mugs. I don’t care how hipster it is to serve wine in a mug … it needs to be in a glass for proper enjoyment. Will try once more in hopes for a better experience!

I like Hitch, though it can be a little hit and miss some nights. There’s either a big, loud crowd or the place is almost a ghost town. Being at the eastern end of the Leslieville strip on Queen means that you’re far enough from the crowds at the bars around Queen & Broadview but you’re still on Queen which draws in the culture for the area.
I’ve tried a couple of their different cocktails and my favourite by far is the Dark ‘n Stormy. Its nice and spicy and they use Kraken rum which adds great flavour over a traditional dark rum.

This bar, although minutes away is from the same guy who owns Mercury Espresso (Doug). A friendly and intimate space, although the patio out back is not open as of yet. Staff is wicked awesome, laid back but professional. It will be a great dive bar in 40 years.

I wondered why I couldn’t find a website or menu anywhere before blindly arriving at Hitch, but once there I realized, what is there to know?! This comfy, squeezy bar does drinks. And they do them well. Classics like a bourbon sour and an old fashioned, made as stiff as the deer busts on the wall. A fairly large bourbon selection and service that made sure your bourbon never ran low.
I love the opened garage door, especially when summer feels like it is finally here to stay. They have about 8 nibblies on the menu, served up from local loves, like Get Hooked. Get the trout, its delicious and smoky. Don’t come hungry, that’s not what Hitch is about. Come thirsty, ready for some great conversations, and a Cheers-​y meets hipster feeling that this could be your place where everyone knows your name.

Strong delicious cocktails, laid-​back vibe, friendly service. It’s great to have another opition in the neighbourhood when I want a bourbon sour.

Great little east-​end spot with a west-​end vibe to grab a drink with a friend or a small group.
Wished for a little more creativity in the cocktail menu which consisted of mainly classics, but that’s just personal preference and I appreciate the purist stance they’re taking. Everything I sampled was excellent though. Nice selection of beer considering the size of the establishment.
The staff is friendly and laid-​back, the drinks stiff, the ambiance cozy — what more could you ask for? :)

This place has a small menu, but four for drinks alone and one for some small snacks. It’s small, so it does get quite loud. I could hardly hear those across from me. You can take that the way you like it.
The drinks, I had two Old Fashioned’s. It was served on the rocks the first time and then straight up the second, I didn’t ask for either so they took it upon themselves. Again, don’t know what that means. However, it’s strong as it should be and it goes down easy.
Most of the drinks are of the bourbon Mad Men style.
It’s not too crowded at all, the bench style might make it a little intimidating if there is someone on each end and the only seat is the middle. Well the way the table is (against the wall), you gotta ask someone to get up to get in. That’s a bit irritating.
I’d come back here for a drink. One Old Fashioned is $ 11.50. All mixed drinks seem about that price.

Hitch just opened this week and is already proving to be a great addition to the roster of neighborhood bars.
Atmosphere: Nicely laid out, not too crowded. We sat at the communal picnic bench style seating across from the bar.
Décor: All the way Hipster chic. Taxodermy? Check. Mason Jar lights? Check. Edison bulbs? Check. Reclaimed wood tables with industrial steel accents? Check. Concrete grey walls punctuated by ironic art? Double check.
Drinks: Classic cocktails made with the upshelf versions of booze (ie, four roses not jack; kraken not bacardi; hendricks not tanq), good beer selection.
Staff: Friendly faces from the neighborhood.
Will definitely be back!