The Library Bar

Old school charm personified. Menus on old newspaper, stiff drinks, well costumed, friendly servers. This place is a throwback.
Great bar to settle in for a happy hour, hang out after dinner… or really go for any occasion. It’s a can’t-miss.

I love this place. The setting is awesome. It’s inside the Fairmont for one and secondly it’s just a really classy place inside and different from a lot of the new trendy fine dining spots in the city. The service was great. The hostess and waiter were both really friendly and at the same time not pretentious at all. The baked escargot I got was delicious if not exactly traditional. Think your regular escargot with a ton of delicious cheese baked over it. It’s slightly too salty but still amazing. I also got the bison burger with Caesar salad. The bison was cooked perfectly and the whole burger was just mouth watering because of that perfectly crispy bacon. The Caesar salad was also great. Pretty unique flavour along with some Romano cheese flakes I think. All in all a great spot for a date night.

Warm atmosphere and superlative service! 4 of us were visiting from out of town and heading back to our hotel after a Saturday night show. We stopped in for a drink and ended up staying until last call due to the cozy atmosphere (we were lucky to get couch seating), live music that was entertaining without being distracting, and FANTASTIC service from Gerd. He was attentive and personalized drinks for us in ways we didn’t know we wanted until we tasted them. A fantastic way to end the night!

My third time for high tea here and the experience has been progressively worse each time. This time it was the «festive» tea that came with an additional $ 10 premium, bringing the service to $ 60…for what, I don’t know. Maybe the «tour» they offered of mostly publicly accessible places (with the exception of the massive kitchen).
To book the gluten free high tea, one needs to ensure booking 24 – 48 hours in advance — I gave them a week.
For $ 60: the bread was cold, as though it came just from the fridge. Gluten free bread is hard at the best of times, cold it’s pretty unpleasant. 4 tiny triangle sandwiches. The single scone was flat, hard, crumbly and too sweet. It was like a cookie. The dessert tray consisted of more hard, dry, crunchy cookies (biscotti & ginger snaps), stale, dry chocolate cake and stale strawberry cake and a bowl of fruit. The tea pot smelled like it had had coffee in it at some time and tasted like it too.
The first time I went, I was given a massive piece of cake as my dessert selection and the second time a bowl of sorbet (in January). This time at least they offered the selection, sub par that it was.
If you’re looking for a great gluten free tea experience, go to the Shangrila. Theirs is worth what you pay. The fact that both the Shangrila and King Edward were fully booked for tea this weekend and next, but the Fairmont with availability should have been an indication.

I had a martini.
Nice furnishings. When I was there, fairly crowded. Extremely noisy, which ruins any chance at being cosy or intimate.
The martini was small and cost twenty f*cking dollars.
I’d give it four stars, but because of the noise and price, I’m giving it three (which may be generous).

Food was awful (lobster knuckle sandwich and Cuban pork sandwich with what seemed like Velvetta cheese). We both had stomach aches afterwards. Service was mediocre. Good news: nice décor; open late; lively crowd, including a couple making out heavily on a sofa

What an amazing evening at the Library Bar.
I was very busy when we showed up, quite the line to get in the place but the host had our table ready for us even tho we were a bit late… they had set us up at a great table with a view of Union Station. The manager (Brian) came over and greeted us and welcomed us with complimentary Champagne — it was very tasty !
We started out with a charcuterie and cheese board, it was amazing, the house made fig spread was amazing and so were the dried fruits.
We both ordered the prime rib sandwich which was recommended by the Manager, Brian. The sandwich was soon good, ! very filling ! tons of meat ! we both had to pack up the second half of the sandwich.
We had a couple different cocktails each, i recommend the Marmalade Mule — very tasty ! we also tried the new Apple Spiced Bourbon — it was perfect paired with the flourless chocolate lava cake.
Everything was perfect, we are looking forward to visiting the Library bar again soon.

Review for Afternoon Tea.
Facility: Parking. First things first. Pull onto Piper St behind the Fairmont and go into the underground behind the building on the south side). We stayed for Afternoon Tea on a Saturday from 12:00 — 3:00pmish and paid $ 11. You’ll come up the elevator to the «MM» level, walk towards the lobby and take another elevator down to the «L» level. On exiting, you’ll see the clock with winding stairs, turn to the right of it and you should see the Library Bar up a small set of stairs where the washrooms are located. The Fairmont Royal York is located on Front St, just east of York. Walkable distance from Union subway station.
The Library Bar is an opulent space with old-​world elegance. The atmosphere is generally quiet, most people speaking low. It’s quite intimate and romantic. Makes for wonderful photos. The hostess will offer you the coat-​check before seating you.
Food Quality & Price: Afternoon tea is priced typically for downtown upscale locations at around $ 50pp. All four sandwiches were absolutely delicious and we all wished there was more, rather than the large assortment of sweets on the menu. Scones were divine, warm and soft! The second level mousse cake and macarons were nice as well. But around that time, we all tapped out one by one from all the sugar and the richness. Don’t get me wrong, they were great, but the accumulation was just overwhelming. Most of us could not finish the little swan pastry and the cheesecake pop was simply too sweet. Devonshire cream was fluffy and light, just the way I like it.
Service: Service at tea was wonderful. Polite, full of smiles and a full explanation of every dish. We were informed during tea that there would be a tour of the hotel at 2pm, which we accepted. The group waited for us to receive and pay our tabs before departing on a lovely tour. The tour is different each week depending on availability of certain areas in the hotel. Ours was just a simple walk around of the mezzanine level to see the big halls where events are held and a walk through the lower level kitchens. Our lovely guide, Brian, said that on other tours they go see the royal suite where the Queen stays when she’s here. In other reviews, some go up to the rooftop.
Overall: A great place for afternoon tea. You’re not going to get a perfect experience, but you won’t be disappointed. I would return again.

Sooo after a relaxing hour in the jacuzzi my husband and I decided to have a little something to eat here! Let me get right to the point. The chicken curry potpie was sooooooo amazing! Oh My God it was probably the best we ever had so it’s a must for you to try. The French onion soup was amazing too! We also ordered club sandwich but could not finish it since we got full from the potpie and soup. The Sandwich was pretty good too. So good service, great location and Fab food

Came here for a couple of drinks with a friend, and was not disappointed!
We went on a Friday night, and the maître d’ was extremely attentive and polite. The place started to fill up around 9, but that did not stop their excellent service. The décor was beautiful and the atmosphere was cozy; in fact, time passed by without us realizing due to how comfortable we felt being there. Our drinks were well-​crafted and delivered in a timely fashion with some sweet popcorn, and we had an enjoyable conversation over delicious cocktails. Prices are on the higher end, but that is to be expected.
Overall had a great experience here, and would not hesitate to return for more.

Great place! Not overpriced! Will come back again! It has great service, cleanliness, and friendliness. Great place to go after a long trip!

Nice quaint fancy pants place to get a nice drink. Swanky crowd makes you feel like your rubbing shoulders with the local elites. Got the cocktails and they were interesting.

No matter how many times I have walked through the Fairmont Royal York on my way to Union Station, I have always found myself admiring of the grandiosity that is this grand old hotel, with its shiny banisters, fresh cut flowers and lush, lovely carpets. It is like stepping into a different time, where porters in red uniforms open the doors of taxicabs for guests, and greet every other passerby with a respectful «Sir» or «Madam».
It also never fails to surprise me, how the Fairmont Royal York, one of the oldest establishments in the city, oscillates between grandiosity and raggedness all at once.
Standing in the foyer outside the Library Bar, under the high and sweeping arches of the marble ceilings, I started my Afternoon Tea by asking the unsmiling hostess if my group’s table was ready. I was informed rather curtly that I was to wait another few minutes.
To her credit, the wait in fact, did not take more than five minutes. Once we were seated in the rather dark dining room, our waiter came around to tell us what on offer.
The menu he presented was quite your typical array of sandwiches, scones and pastries. Nothing quite jumped off of the menu, but then again, I suppose high tea isn’t exactly what one would call, adventurous.
Scarcely had he left us to decide which tea we would like however, when another server approached, going through the exact same spiel. It was like a strangely compressed Groundhog day.
If that wasn’t questionable enough, the server who had brought us our food sported a messy ponytail tied sloppily to the side of the head. Having taken tea at newer hotels like Deq, I have nothing against a more stylish approach to my tea time. Nonetheless, I have to admit, the manner in which the staff conducted themselves was not quite what I expected from a place like the Library Bar. As far as I know — in my limited experience — Afternoon Tea was supposed to be a slightly more sophisticated experience than having a drink at my local pub.
The tea itself:
My Breakfast tea never seemed to get hot enough, but that didn’t stop me from drinking two pots of it. On the sandwich plate, the lobster pretzel sandwich was the best thing on it. The turkey sandwich however, was dry and uninspired — as turkey sandwiches often are. Perfect Lemon-​Cranberry scones were accompanied by potted jam and clotted cream, though on a scale of Windsor Arms to Deq, it fell somewhere in the middle, quality and taste wise.
Melt in your mouth chocolate Mousse and too sweet Macarons were topped off with Choux (puff) pastry filled with custard, and shaped like swans — crowning evidence of how dated the menu really was.
The meal was finished with frozen white chocolate cheesecake pops, which would not have been out of place in Starbucks, and which I left unfinished and half crumbled on my plate.
After tea (and after we signed some disclaimer forms), the diners were brought on a tour to the rooftop garden. It was a journey that took us through an elevator lobby with cardboard boxes leaning agains the walls and a trip up many flights of stairs past several dust floors clearly still in construction.
The tour was quite ultimately worth it, especially as we were allowed to taste the organic strawberries the hotel grew. Ladies in heels, beware; one step off the paving stones, and your shoes will be ruined on the loose pebbles.
I wish I could say that Afternoon Tea at the Library Bar was special but the truth is, it wasn’t. It wasn’t bad either. For the price, it is exactly as advertised, no more and no less, which isn’t the worse thing in the world, except for the expectation it had built, given the locale and the hype.

Excellent all-​round spot for a wide variety of occasions.
Walk in and you’ll feel like you’ve taken a step into the past. In a good way. The furniture all has an old charm to it. I suppose it’s essentially Victorian era. The seats for many tables are actually large couches. The place isn’t overwhelmingly large. It is cozy and somewhat quiet, despite it being a weekday lunch period where I’d otherwise have expected a bit more of a corporate crowd here. It’s a neat and very welcoming atmosphere, topped off by fantastic service.
I came here for lunch. We were informed that the special was the prime rib sandwich. My colleagues opted for that while I decided to give the pizza a shot, for whatever odd reason. I was pleasantly surprised but how good the pizza was. Quality, fresh toppings generously laid out, excellent cheese, and a crust perfectly done. Only downside was it was on the greasier side (almost like Pizza Hut greasy), but because the pizza was so well put together, it was forgivable. As for the sandwiches, they were fantastic. My colleagues were very pleased by them, commenting that the meat just «melts in your mouth.»
Great experience here — it’s a good spot to meet up with a few friends for pretty much anything.

Fabulous. Great space and the bartender was very gregarious and helpful. Good drinks and good knowledge of booze. There was bar entertainment a guitarist who sang great. Comfortable atmosphere felt like a bigwig.

Classy high tea for a girl days!
I went with 2 other friends and we were seated in a corner with plush couch like chairs, the dark wood and antique looking furniture really brings a fancy feeling, You want to put your pinkys up! it was quiet and great for catching up and chatting. The service was good, not amazing but good enough.
We got the Berry Berry, which was really really red in colour. The Kea Lani Orange Pineapple tea was light and refreshing but my favourite was the Kyoto Cherry Rose tea, it was bold and floral. It came in floral tea sets which were beautiful.
The finger sandwiches were not bad, the best was the turkey with cranberry and cucumber and watercress. The pastry tower and cream puffs shaped like swans– pretty but didnt feel as fresh as they could be, a berry panna cotta which had great fruit flovour, the macarons were ok again not as fresh as Id like them to be. The scones were delicious and it was the best Devonshire Cream I’ve ever had.
Going in the summertime also has a great perk, you can go for a rooftop garden tour! After tea, we walked up a long flight of stairs, unfortunately the chef and our tour guide forgot the roof key and he had to go back downstairs to get it, leaving our group in the stairway which got really stuffy and hot. The garden has a great view of the CN tower and he took us around and showed us what they grew, we also got to pick some herbs and strawberries to nibble! They also have a bee farm up there (which scared me a bit haha)
Even though its a bit pricey it makes for a lovely afternoon outing!

The old city library now another of the many bars inside the Royal York aptly named the Library Bar offers up a more sophisticated environment to sit down and have a drink or two after work. The bar tender, Mike, is very friendly and has great suggestions if u want something different. There are 2 current specials for beer, one on tap and another bottled to celebrate the 85^th birthday. I also tried their hand carved roast beef sandwich and it was amazing! Buttery roll stacked with hand carved roast beef with au jus on the side. Very nice environment to wind down your day.

The Library Bar feels like a place that I would go for a drink when I grown up.
Big comfortable wing chairs. Dark Wood Interior. Classy Decoration.
Waitstaff polite and proper. Service attentive.
They do have a few draft beer available including Royal York Aivary Ale ($ 9.50) which is brewed by Mill Street especially for Royal York and a cream ale 1929 in bottle brewed by Double Trouble Brewing to celebrate Royal York’s 85 anniversary.
I would probably try a cocktail next time or even some of their whiskies next time.
Price is on the higher end as almost $ 10 for a pint? but it is after all inside a nice hotel.
+0.5 star as it is located in The PATH, great to meet up with friends that works in the downtown without even the need to going out in the cold during the harsh winter months!

I came here for afternoon tea with some girlfriends.
The service was great, but felt rather rushed. The tiers of dessert were already on display when we walked in so it didn’t feel fresh.
Scones were good, but would have been much better if they were hot. The sandwiches were simple. Overall the food was just alright, nothing blew me away.
HOWEVER, the highlight was definitely the rooftop garden tour after the meal. We were able to sample their herb and veggie garden. They had all sorts of neat plants — chocolate mint, mojito mint, purple spinach, etc. I quite enjoyed the tour over the food.

This was stop #2 for ST and I in our quest to hit up as many afternoon tea suppliers as possible without morbid obesity. We loved DT Bistro and had really high hopes. It’s the Royal York. They’d know afternoon tea, surely?
Booking was easy thanks to Open Table and we were both really looking forward to our girlie meet-​up. The welcome at reception was warm which boded well. I can’t say I loved the bar itself, unfortunately. It’s pretty dark and gloomy. Maybe that’s the atmosphere they’re going for, but it was more crypt than classy. Our server came over to us with menus almost immediately so that we could start into our important decision making.
The traditional tea is $ 39.50 and includes sandwiches, scones and pastries (
). Thankfully they also allow a la carte ordering. ST and I are like Jack Spratt and his wife when it comes to afternoon tea (we like different things) so we decided on one full tea with extra scones ($ 10) and tea ($ 5).
Sandwiches were fine. I ate the turkey and caprese ones. Scones were also OK. They’re tiny! Like mini scones. Two of them are equivalent to one normal scone I’d think. My Mum’s are infinitely better. Jam was Hero in little pots, not all fancied up in bowls or anything. The cream was apparently Harmony farms. It just seemed a bit over-​whipped.
I really liked the chocolate truffle cake! The macarons were decent and the mousse was pretty tasty. I wouldn’t really go out of my way to get it again.
My tea was kind of lukewarm and while they were technically loose leaf at one stage, they were loose leaf poured into a bag and put in the pot. The purists may take issue.
It took a while to get our bill, and when we did they’d charged for 2 teas. Thankfully they were quick to change it when we let them know.
Overall it was fine but far from spectacular. i wouldn’t go again. I’m giving a ³⁄₅ because I’m nice. ST has higher standards and reckoned it was a 2. With hashtag epicfail. Tough, isn’t she?