We love the gay scene of Toronto. It is home to Canada’s largest gay community and welcomes visitors from all walks of life.
Just like the gay scene of Montreal, the gay village of Toronto is huge. It is located at the intersection of Church and Wellesley Streets, and therefore nicknamed the “Church and Wellesley Village”. This is where the majority of the best gay bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes and clothing stores can be found. It is also ground zero for the annual Pride week in the summer, which is one of the largest pride festivals in the world.
These are our 5 favourite gay bars and clubs in Toronto, which you can also check out in our vlog about gay Toronto at the end of this article.
Woody’s
Woody’s is an institution in Toronto. From the outside it looks like 2 separate bars: Woody’s and Sailor’s. Inside, they connect and merge as one. This iss the staple go-to bar to start the night, with some of the funniest drag shows in town. It’s been around since 1989 making it the first bar in the village.
We love their “best” competitions on the weekends like best chest and best ass, where contestants are judged and winners based on who gets the loudest applause from the audience.
Woody’s is famous because the North American version of Queer As Folk was part filmed here as the main queer hangout for the boys.
Woody’s is open everyday from 1pm till late and is located at 467 Church Street.
Fly 2.0 Nightclub
This is one of the most popular gay clubs on a Saturday night in Toronto. It has 4 rooms split over 3 floors with a capacity for 800 people.
Just a word of warning when going out to a club in Toronto – security is extremely strict with ID, and everyone needs to bring an original passport or ID card with them, otherwise no entry will be permitted. Another claim to fame – this was the setting for the club in Queer As Folk.
Fly is free before 11:30pm on Saturdays and has a cover charge after. It goes on till just after 4am and is located at 6 Gloucester Street.
Crews & Tango
Crews is celebrated as the place in town with the best drag shows. They are hilarious and a lot of fun to watch, taking place every night of the week.
Crews also doubles up as a dancing venue with 2 dancing halls with a mix of house, pop and hip hop. They have a themed party happening every day of the week here, and also do karaoke on some nights.
Crews is open everyday from around 8pm till 2am and is located at 508 Church Street.
Black Eagle
The Black Eagle is the famous gay cruising bar of Toronto, complete with dark rooms and an underground dungeon with cages.
It used to have a strict leather dress code, but this has now been relaxed, so you can go wearing jeans and T shirt.
Some daytime events to look out for here include “Spanking Social” and “Regal Beagle Bingo”. In the summer months, they have a BBQ every Sunday from 3-9pm in the outdoor patio.
Black Eagle is open daily from 3pm till 2am and is located at 457 Church Street.
Buddies in Bad Times
Buddies is a theatre by day then on weekends 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.
The theatre is impressive, featuring some of the best queer musicals and more. It’s famous for being the largest and longest running queer theatre in the world.
Buddies in Bad Times is located at 12 Alexander Street. Check out their website for what’s showing, and on weekend evenings, look out for the gay parties here.
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