ost major cities have a nightlife scene in its downtown core but there’s always a strip outside that region where the hipsters and trendsetters flock. In New York, one of those stretches is St. Mark’s Place between Avenue A and 1st Avenue in the Lower East Side. In Montreal, it’s St. Laurent Boulevard above Sherbrooke Street on the Plateau/Mont-Royal and here in hogtown, it’s the West Queen West area.

With condos cashing in on the burgeoning boom amongst the galleries, boutiques and hip hotels, Boom Shiva is a welcome addition for folks who care more about good food, a vast selection of beer and mixed drinks and a vibe that’s conducive for carefree lounging.

If the name conjures up images of bohemian individuals in Birkenstocks and hemp attire gone wild, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that nothing here connotes a granola style environment. Boom Shiva is the perfect spot for people who want to socialize in a hip, but unpretentious setting and couldn’t care less about who’s too-cool-for-school. After chatting with Greg Moyer, the really calm and laid-back owner, his mandate (along with partner Ian Brock) is to “have a space for people to meet and mingle and who care more about eating well and sampling the array of microbreweries we have available.”

Minerals were put into the paint and the curvy cement bar with aluminum ends. Energy rods were inserted over the door and under the split-level portion of the floor in the front to enhance relaxed lounging. This energy helps mask the fact that the mish-mash of furniture (1950’s dinner table, a leopard print couch and miscellaneous old school wood chairs and tables accented with a touch plant life and flowers) is not even an issue.