(the following is an actual text transcript. Initials used to kindasortanotreally protect the innocent)
A: "hey, you around? I'm at...wait for it...THE CURZON!"
B: "AGAIN? You're a regular...bonafide!"
*pausepause, 4AM text response*
A: "Curzon is my happy place, btw"
Let's not mince words: this place is great. Drinks are cheap, bartenders are high energy, and the music is grand (with DJs who accommodate even the most ridiculous of *cough cough Ja Rule duet* requests). It often just feels like I'm bopping around with friends in a dimly lit room with a lot of accessible booze. WHAT COULD BE BETTER?!?
The Curzon is not super slick, and this last Saturday - if you were dancing under a portion of the ceiling - you were regularly assaulted with drips of water from above (plumbing? A/C?). These are unnecessary details: what matters is that people head to The Curzon to have fun. And to encourage the whole bar to do 'the pony' along to the beats of Ginuwine.
It's rare to find a bar in Toronto that is cool without being pretentious, fun without being hokey, and friendly to the max. Never have I come away from a night at The Curzon without speaking to someone new; the vibe feels to me like we're all in on this little gem of a spot at 1192 Queen East together.
Yelp note: for some reason, I find the bathrooms spooky. They're down the back stairs, and I keep on imagining an opening scene out of CSI when I'm there. You can always do as I do: bring a buddy!