The father, the sun, and the Holy Oak

Bloordale's a diverse neighborhood with tons of hidden gems.

You may be familiar with Parkdale, but have you heard of Bloordale? Bloordale stretches from Lansdowne to Dufferin across Bloor Street, and is the epitome of the multicultural cocktail that is Toronto. Unlike other neighborhoods that have been dominated by a single cultural influence, Bloordale is a true mix of new Canadians from across the globe. In this small stretch you’ll find Italians, Latin Americans, Sri Lankans, West Indians, Chinese, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis, many of whom speak a native language other than English.

Bloordale has been historically neglected by young Torontonians because of its lack of trendy shops, cafes, and accessible grocery stores. Even the cheap rental rates weren’t enough to attract and keep young residents sated. But, fear not, over the past five years this neighborhood has gentrified, and not in the over saturated Ossington kind of way. One of the founding cornerstones that catalyzed the renaissance of Bloordale was the arrival of the Holy Oak Cafe to the neighborhood.

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There’s something special about the Holy Oak that sets it apart from all those other trendy latte slingers. Sure, some places on Queen can paint a Klimt with foam, but the Holy Oak is more than just a run of the mill coffee house. It’s your grandma’s kitchen, it’s your work place, it’s a place for discussion, and a place to scream “JENGA!” all at once.

The Holy Oak is a café by day, a bar by night, and a light fare restaurant all times in between. The room is small, with about 10 mix and match vintage kitchen tables, a working stand up piano, and a glorious bay window that lets in enough sunshine to fight off those impending winter blues. Hanging houseplants and colorful wall art help to reinforce the comfortable, pretentious free, atmosphere. It’s also family friendly, so don’t be surprised when you see tots hanging out on a sun drenched Sunday playing with the complimentary toys.

Freshly baked goodies fog up their glass displays.

They offer Intelligentsia coffee (1.50$ espresso, 2$ americanos, and pricey, but delicious lattes at 3.75$– specialty lattes at 4$), a healthy selection Tealish teas (2-3$), Quebecois draft beer, and a small, but filling menu of edibles. The daily soup never disappoints, the portion is a healthy size and it comes with scrumptious rye bread, definitely worth the 6$. Other menu staples include stuffed naan, stuffed with your choice of curry chicken or vegetables for 5$, and various grilled cheeses (4.50$+). On weekends they offer simple brunch fare; the menu changes weekly, but you can expect eggs any style, bennies, french toast, & omelets, made with a focus on organic, locally sourced, ingredients.  Beware on weekends because tables can be scarce, so arrive early or be prepared to wait.

holy oak, batman!

The Holy Oak also has a plethora of board games, wonderful live music performances that are scattered throughout the day and night, and excellent hours. They’re open everyday of the week, save Monday, from early morning to the witching hour or later.

Because the Holy Oak straddles the line between café and bar the atmosphere on a Saturday night is somehow more civilized than your typical booze focused bar. There are the university students discussing Hegel in a corner, the friends catching up over beer by the window, the internet suffers answering e-mails and sipping chai, while the party of five argues over whether slang is Scrabble approved.

SERVICE 4.5/5
AMBIANCE 4/5
PRESENTATION 3.5/5
TASTE 3.5/5
PRICE $
HOURS Mon 8am- 7pm, Tue 8am- 12am, Wed & Thurs & Fri  8am – 2am, Sat 9am- 2am, Sun 9am – 12am
LOCATION, LOCATION 1241 Bloor Street West (at Emerson)

NOTEWORTHY

• Tuesday Night Local Prix Fixe. For 25-27$ you get a fantastic meal that focuses on what is seasonal, locally produced, and organic. The meal includes an appetizer, main course, dessert, and cheese plate, and there are always two options: carnivore or vegetarian. If you are interested in learning more about the Holy Oak prix fixe click here.
• Wednesday: board game night. Great atmosphere, but don’t fret, games are always available to those who want to play.

Not So Pour Boy

If you are feeling strapped for cash, but not willing to venture of to the periphery of Toronto to imbibe at moderate prices, think Pour Boy for the poor boy. Located at Manning and Bloor, the Pour Boy Pub is a snug, two story, bar that offers Greenroom reminiscent fare, and prices well below the Bloor average.

The bar is hard to miss, decorated with a giant mural of Hendrix and Dylan; it brings some great colour to the Bloor landscape. Inside, the decor is hippie grandmother’s dining room meets new age Buddhist.

The servers are very friendly and attentive, when they can be, but when this place reaches capacity it can be difficult to wave down a server, regardless of the full bar on each floor. The issue I had with their ambience was the music— while the music was a fun mix of well, and not so well known oldies, it was painfully loud depending on the track.

Their daily beer special, Pour Boy Choice, will run you less than 12$ a pitcher, 4 $ a pint (typically something like Pabst or Amsterdam).  Their other beer selections will run you 13.25$ a pitcher. The selection isn’t prolific, typical Ontario beer fare, but they do have Blanche de Chambly and Sapporo on tap for those feeling adventurous.

Pour Boy’s food is also incredibly affordable, with healthy portioned mains averaging 7$. Whatever cuisine whets your appetite Pour Boy has something to sate it—from pan Asian standards, to polish perogies, with salads, sandwiches and burgers in between.  Their Pad Thai was possibly one of the best I’ve tasted in Toronto in recent years. Their salads aren’t whelming, and their sandwiches are easily recreated at home, but if you stick to bar standards (anything with cheese and/or fried), and the pan Asian dishes, you’ll really feel like you’re living gourmet on a dime.

SERVICE 4/5
AMBIENCE 3/5
PRESENTATION 3/5
TASTE 3½/5
PRICE $
HOURS 10:30 am- 2 am, kitchen open late
LOCATION, LOCATION 666 Manning Street
NOTEWORTHY

• EVENTS
• Sunday Afternoon: 4pm – 8pm – Open Mic
• Sunday Evenings: 9pm – 2am – DJ UpBeatz (Hip Hop, Funk, Soul and House)
• Monday Nights: 8pm – Quiz Night