ome summer, I’m about as easy to get into a neighbourhood bar as that closed-in Emily Dickinson. Phobic and no kind of fun, I’d rather be at home writing heavily sweet prose about expectations and fluff, or perhaps drinking alone sitting on the kitchen floor. This is part of the reason I head to West Queen West to expand my horizons, to get out and support a lukewarm attempt at misanthropic, self-medicating alcoholism at a little bar called Chino.

It's bright, to say the least. Chino is just filled with light from the street. Still, the eclectic Chino could be just the spot to have a few cocktails and maybe a bite in the back room; whether it’s the banter of the authentic expats behind the bar, the ‘70s couches or the Thai and Vietnamese fare served up in the back dining room, it’s really, really hard to resist the urge to down just one more Tsing Tao before heading home.
Try to imagine the middle-class feel of a bar like Mercer Street’s Schmooze, and then scale it back 10-fold. Replace some of the furniture with kitschy pieces like a 70s-style couch covered in Asian characters and clear cone chairs to juxtapose the long marble bar and dark wood. A parquet floor nicely unifies these contrasting elements. Now you’re starting to get a feel for what West Queen West’s latest watering hole is all about.

The dining room is austere by comparison, with a slate grey tile floor, simple picnic-like benches and a few smaller couples-oriented tables with white leather chairs. The lighting is a bit moodier in the back, whereas the bar is lit up by funky mini chandelier-style hanging lamps. Pull across the dark drapes and you’ll have a nice spot for a private dinner party.

Having just opened in mid-May, director Don Phu says Chino is a place many of the area hipsters have been yearning for on the Parkdale strip of Queen West; wander off the strip and you might start to believe there are enough people to make this diamond in the rough carve out a niche.