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| - What a quaint little cafe... and yes, the Indie Passport is the one reason that brought me here as Lansdowne and Bloor is one of intersections of the city I generally tend to skip altogether.
Don't get me wrong, there is the odd and quaint dive bar nearby, the interesting restaurants that seems to be starting to spring up here and there and... Who can forget that strip joint adjacent to the church just west of Lansdowne? That setup is golded and definitely a one stop shop for the local sin-ridden-strip-joint-lover. However it is hard to fight the slightly soul sucking vibe you get when hanging around this hood for too long, SPECIALLY at night.
No, I am not being snobbish, in fact, this used to be my hood for a few months back in '03 and I knew the hood well and let just say, gentrification has ways to go.
Anyway, this cafe is trying to go all out, and transcend being just a mere cafe. Oh yes, they are going for the "artistic venue" approach normally found in larger locales like the Tranzac, Victory Cafe and to a lesser extend The Central.
As a word of warning, The Oak's website is a bit half-cooked but you can see they are keeping themselves busy with ongoing live music, dj fueled nights and even a live dating game show? For real?
However this 'dive cafe' is just one room in size and cannot compete when it comes to sheer space to other venues and as such they try to make due with what they go. So, don't be surprised if you are having a latte at 8:45pm and all of the sudden the staff beings taking adjacent tables to the back to make room.
Also they are LCBO licensed, and before I left they were setting up a DJ as it seems they stay open past at least midnight and wait for the ringing techno music to lure willing dancers to chill the night away.
Now, the place is very low key, with rickety looking tables and chairs. Heck, my chair felt as it might actually break on me, so expect for everything to have that retro, Queen Street West cheap look with some random painting/photos hanging from the wall.
Sadly, my latte was really 'meh,' and although the staff seemed more than friendly, I would more likely recommend this locale as a place to hang out with a beer than with a coffee.
I do applaud them for trying to be a far more diverse venue than just a cafe, like El Cafecito, located just east of here and in fact, I might check them out again if there something in their calendar which sparks my interest. But fix your website though.
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