he rusted, copper globe dangling over the entrance is the first thing I notice whenever I walk through the door of Souz Dal. Second, the dimly-lit, domed ceiling, inspired by the cathedral domes of the Russian city the bar was named after.

Third - and it’s always in the same order - is the music rocking the small room: heavy deep-bass beats eternally played too loud for a bar that size. It’s all good though. It feels like I've been magically transported too a Middle Eastern coke den, or maybe to the set of some red-toned Blade Runner sequel. But, not Russia.

Wherever. If I’m at Souz Dal, I’ve landed in Cocktail Nation: The College Strip - where busy Little Italy goes cheek-to-cheek with industrial chic. Where the pierced, tattooed and six-figure-income run the show. And that show doesn't start until well past the average middle-aged bedtime. That's when College Strip’s black-on-black loungebars, like Souz Dal for example, opens its doors to the young and the restless.

These days, the candlelit space is often crammed with requisite hipster types. But Souz Dal was a hip place to go for a drink long before a time when you’d use ‘Hip’ and ‘College Street’ in the same sentence.

"Souz Dal landed on College Street before the street was re-born as cool," explains the charming bartender/owner, Sid Dichter as he hands over our precisely made cocktails. "Back then, it was just the copper-globed bar within this cross-section of Little Italy."

Dichter wasn’t the original owner, though, when it opened in 1992. He wouldn’t make his entrance until 1994, when he wandered into the odd-looking bar on a first date. That date was such a spectacular success, he married the date and bought the bar! (Lucky for his wallet there wasn’t a stay at the Four Seasons that night.)

“This bar is used as a first date place for many couples,” he explains. “The term ‘closure bar’ keeps coming up from couples fine-tuning their date.” A fine reference used by chronic daters, for a date going well and one more stimulus is needed to stamp that sure thing.

Throughout the years, with the landscape of the College Strip changing wildly, the Souz Dal venue has virtually remained the same; not terribly exciting, but all the elements of a bar in a small space but with wildly original drinks - there are roughly 40 cocktails and martinis on the menu. Among them is the Havana, a suddenly popular rum cocktail - and offering the tools and hi-quality sound system to get the small room pumpin'. A solid concept.

Of course the greatest irony in all this is that Souz Dal has become a victim of its own coolness. The downtown kids who have taken over the College Strip come seeking hipness - meaning new drinking spots that often emulate Sous Dal’s sweet setting. They could be big-budget projects built to look like converted warehouses, their faux-industrial chic as transparent as that of a GAP or a Starbucks. But with the excitement of a new installation, it’s so easy to forget the authentic College Street loungebars that inspired the whole craze.

Remarkably, Souz Dal soldiers on with a few senior retainers to remember the last of the original clientele and to beguile the thirtysomethings and Gen-Xers who have recolonized this boite. Newer fancy schmancy bars have since come and gone, and Souz Dal has maintained its solid hip quotient all along.

Upshot: Go early-ish for a local flavour, later on for something a little more downtown. - DE


Review this place
Reader Reviews

June 14, 2003
Amy Dueshka, Toronto, ON
My new favorite hangout. The staff is incredibly friendly. . . the bartender and DJ was rocking some old school R&B hits. So fun!


Sous Dal
April 18, 2004
G. Gordon, Toronto
Sid and his staff have been serving great drinks, providing cheer along with a great selection music to spend your evenings at Souz Dal!!