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Martiniboys.com | Last Updated: April 22,2009 12:09:08 pm
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Working its funky juju, Lily seems to have sucked all the corporate poisons out of the old Gattonero location and left only the good stuff: tasty quaff, huge comfortable booths, and a cool, welcoming vibe.
You must visit Lily, one of the city's fresh lounging and dining venues -- a self-proclaimed "boutique" bar, resto and lounge; a shiny College Street hot spot that reflects the people who dine and lounge in this part of town. Naturally, the Lily location has an easygoing mix of 20- or 30-somethings dressed expensively casual.
The crowd intermingles, trading handshakes and stories, and there's a natural respect for everyone. The location has a decidedly club-like feel. Patrons run a little younger, most are in their 20s, and the dress is a bit more upscale. Not many people in jeans and flannels here. Just like the neighborhood, the people inside the bar can be a little haughty. Not much co-mingling early in the evening, but it's a good bet that once the vodka starts flowing, most people in the bar will drop the act.
The College Street location has a creative International Tapas menu and serves most food items until close. The main floor dining area fills early evening, and downstairs, the subterranean Über lounge gets going much later in the night as waiters and cooks come in after their places close. The lounge starts hopping after 10 p.m. The space may get cramped on weekends, but you won't experience the rude pushing or shoving found at other trendy night spots.
The bars on both levels are very well stocked with an assortment of top-shelf liquors and imported beers. The bar also features a variety of specialty drinks such as unique martinis, which are enhanced with superb infused vodkas from Cocktails Inc. Drink prices at Lily are relatively inexpensive as far as College Street is concerned. And heavy on the creative side -ever tried a Bowl of Beauty (vodka-laced Jell-O), a Pollyanna (Stoli’s raspberry vodka, strawberry juice & Prosecco), or a Midnight Passion (Beefeater gin & black Sambuca). The martinis are “Li'ly” themed, and named aptly.
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 AT A GLANCE
Lily
656 College Street, Toronto, ON
416-532-0419
Tapas
College Street
Venue:
Restaurant
Hours:
Thurs. to Sun.: 9:00pm - 2:00am
Price Range:
$$ (Affordable)
Payment:
Master Card, Visa, American Express
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THE BUZZ
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IN THE AREA
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9 Reader Reviews | Anything that was good about Lily a couple of years ago is long gone. Too bad - we used to kick it pretty hard in the basement on Saturday nights. Now, it's just penne and plastic.
1. Anonymous's Review :: February 20, 2009 Anonymous's Rating: Stars |
What a dump....
2. Tammy's Review :: January 02, 2009 Tammy's Rating: 1 Stars |
Went to this place for my first time to celebrate NYE. In light of the other positive reviews, I'll just have to say that Lily was unprepared for this venture.
Venue: After paying $91 at the door ($70 price was advertised), our group was crammed into a table directly below a speaker playing generic house music at a volume which prevented being heard without yelling. The floor we were on was being constantly swept with a freezing breeze every time people entered through the front door. Eventually, after enough complaining, the staff agreed to close the inner door to prevent us from freezing. Coat check was 'closed' (what?) when we arrived, forcing us to pile our coats on our chairs. Once open, we were shocked to find that the coat check price was not included in our already hefty entrance fee.
Service: The servers were not friendly, no doubt due to the fact that things were going very wrong in the kitchen (more on that in a moment). However, rather than taking the effort to apologize for or even acknowledge the problems to come, they instead compounded the unpleasantness by being snappy, stressed and downright rude. Apparently, our concerns were not as important as theirs.
Dinner: Here's the kicker. After paying $91 for one weak cocktail, a half plastic cup of champagne and a meal, one might expect the meal would be on time. Sadly, this was not the case. Our meals arrived an unbelievable 2 hours after our sitting time. Moreover, the meals came out staggered over a 20 minute period so that the ones first served had actually finished their meal before the last few starving souls were served. Some people didn't even get desserts and many of those that did, didn't even get their choice. By that point, no one had the energy to argue with the snarky servers.
Finally, after our 'dinner' the servers began harassing us to pay the single bill for all of the extra drinks we had ordered. No one had a problem paying for their drinks, but the bill was not even itemized and requests that it be broken down were refused.
All in all, a disastrous night and a total waste of money. Couldn't wait to leave. Happy New Year Lily.
3. Anonymous's Review :: January 02, 2009 Anonymous's Rating: 1 Stars |
Went there two weeks ago...hadn't been there in a while. The place looks great! I had an amazing time. Went for a birthday. There was a group of 20 of us. The food was awesome and we partied all night after dinner downstairs on the dance floor.
4. Stefanie's Review :: November 28, 2008 Stefanie's Rating: 4 Stars |
My experience at Lily was awful! We were in a group of 15 people, we had ONE server who got most of our orders mixed up, she completely forgot about mine and my friends food. We finally got our food after everyone else had finished eating, we ordered the penne and it was HARD not cooked.THe salad that one of my friends ordered never came..cofee machine was broken, gingerale tasted like water and the calamari tasted like the chef dumped a bowl of salt on it...The dj booth was right beside our table, I felt like I was at club while waiting 2 hours for my dinner. The service here was terrible and overall experience was the worst we have ever had in a long time. Going here for drinks may be a different experience but dinner NO WAY!!!
5. Aliyah Khan's Review :: September 13, 2008 Aliyah Khan's Rating: 1 Stars |
Terrible overpriced food. Poor service. Restaurant was empty while patios up and down the street were packed - I guess they knew what I didn't. Would not recommend or return.
6. James's Review :: August 02, 2008 James's Rating: 1 Stars |
Mediocre food. Poor service; very disorganized and extremely slow. Poor seating arrangement with pretty junky little formica tables. Not exactly "chic" or upscale.
7. Esco's Review :: October 30, 2007 Esco's Rating: 1 Stars |
Went here last Saturday with some friends. We didn't try the food but the drinks were strong and tasty. There was a gorgeous female DJ downstairs playing the most amazing house music I've heard in a long time. The place was packed so it took a while to get a drink but the staff and crowd were friendly, at least, unlike a lot of places on College. We will definitely be back!
8. Anonymous's Review :: June 09, 2007 |
Went here last Saturday with some friends. We didn't try the food but the drinks were strong and tasty. There was a gorgeous female DJ downstairs playing the most amazing house music I've heard in a long time. The place was packed so it took a while to get a drink but the staff and crowd were friendly, at least, unlike a lot of places on College. We will definitely be back!
9. Steph Murphy's Review :: June 08, 2007 Steph Murphy's Rating: 3 Stars |
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656 College Street, Toronto, ON |
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