La Perla Bar & Cantina

On Saturday night some friends and I were looking for a chill place for some drinks and conversation. Walking down Queen West we noticed some activity above Milagro’s restaurant. As we slowed to take a look the gentleman at the door introduced the establishment as La Perla and invited us up the stairs to check out the new spot.
The room has great atmosphere – I’m a sucker for exposed brick and low-​light, and I liked the red theme. They were playing a good mix of music that wasn’t too loud that you couldn’t talk over. The overall attitude was relaxed with a a crowd of mid-​to-​late 20-​somethings.
We grabbed a few tables along the wall and enjoyed some Mexican pints and margaritas. The staff were friendly and helpful. The gentleman who enticed us into the bar frequently checked to see if we were enjoying our time (I got the feeling that he was the owner).
Although we didn’t take advantage of what looked like a great late night menu of Mexican favourites, I did notice that the portions seemed to be quite large. Definitely try the awesome guacamole! For $ 6 you get a soft-​ball sized serving; we had to ask for more chips to finish it off.
The only downside is that the washrooms are located all the way in the basement, below the restaurant.