Toronto gay bars: The top 5 you need to visit
Stefan and Sebastien, a gay couple from London and France who run travel blog Nomadic Boys, have shared their picks from the Toronto LGBTQ+ scene. They say…
We love the gay scene of Toronto. It has one of the largest in North America, with a one of the best Pride festivals in the world, with over 1 million people attending.
The majority of the gay hangouts are in the gay village in Toronto’s downtown. The heart of it is at the intersection of Church and Wellesley Streets, which has several pedestrian rainbow crossings.
These are our 5 favourite gay hang outs in Toronto’s gay Village we loved the most.
1. Woody’s
Woody’s is an institution here. It has been around since 1989, making it the first bar in the village. For us it is the staple bar to start the night. We love the drag shows here as well as the “best” competitions on the weekends – “best chest”, “best ass” etc, where contestants are judged and winners based on who gets the most applause from the audience.
Woody’s is also famous because the North American version of Queer As Folk was featured as the main queer hangout for the boys.
2. Crew & TangoS
Crews is our favourite drag bar in Toronto. The shows here are hilarious and run every night of the week.
Crews also doubles up as a dancing venue with 2 rooms with a mix of house, pop and hip hop.
3. Fly club
Fly is one of our favourite gay clubs in Toronto. It’s one of the largest, with 4 rooms split over 3 floors with around 800 gay boys here partying on Saturday evenings.
Fly is another famous location in the village as the club scenes in the North American Queer As Folk were filmed here.
4. Buddies in Bad Times
Buddies is a gay theatre house in Toronto. By day they have a mix of queer shows including some of the best musicals. It’s famous for being the largest and longest running queer theatre in the world.
On weekends, Buddies transforms into a busy nightclub. It’s a fun less hectic alternative to Fly, with cabaret shows, drag queens mingling with the crowds and live DJs.
5. Black Eagle
Black Eagle is one of the most famous cruising bars in the Toronto gay village. It’s a fun bar to come for drinks. It has the obligatory dark room, dungeon, cages and more. Some daytime events to look out for include “Spanking Social” and “Regal Beagle Bingo”.
In the summer months the Black Eagle has a BBQ every Sunday from 3-9pm on the outdoor patio, which is worth checking out.
For more of Stefan and Sebastien’s travel stories visit the Nomadic Boys website.
