| rev:text
| - The Good: Food for everyone || The Bad (and I mean BAD): The entry system during club portion of the night (especially if you're racialized, male, and not up to the pre-determined "look" they want in their venue). I hate to bring race into this, but evidently when you're inside, you can clearly see the homogenous groups of people that are let into the venue and clearly isn't representative of the people trying to get in or partying in the city.
Went here for a big group birthday celebration on Saturday night. No real complaints about the dinner service which was prix fixe and portions were plentiful and good tasting. Everyone had a superb time for dinner. However, the evening portion was a bit frustrating as we had friends joining us post-dinner / during the club hours.
When they begin to transition into the club night portion of the evening they remove many of the dining tables off the floor. Apparently, if "you're not on the guest list or have bottle service, you're not getting in". Even though they claim to let people in by guest list, this guest list is almost impossible to find. Our 4 friends (three males and one female) were told the above at 10:45pm.
I've worked in the industry for almost 9 years and have never seen or heard of such douchey, race-based, and preferential treatment of guests in my life. The managers of the venue can be seen at the rear bar drinking with other industry people and having fun, while bouncers at the door are the biggest problem (who obviously uphold what the managers tell them).
Anyways, our friends waited two hours in line from 10:45pm. TWO HOURS for a place that wasn't even full until past midnight. I ran into two friends that happened to be female, and they mentioned that they got into the club in a few minutes and got free drinks because they knew the manager. So to Pedro the Manager, who responds to most reviews on Yelp and Facebook, you're clearly lying and deceiving ANYONE who reads these reviews by saying that the venue doesn't play favouritism and is "fair". It's a lie, and you and the other managers need to really think about the poor image your venue gets when people are refused at the door and blatantly lied to.
In summary, and I think I'm being fair here: go here for the food and dinner. You get awesome food and don't have to pay any cover or coat-check if you stay for the party portion. Keep in mind the slightly pricey menu, but not bad.
If you're coloured, male, or don't have enough females in your group, didn't purchase $350 min. bottle service or on their "guest list", then avoid at ALL costs to avoid the disappointment. Seriously. The bouncers and management basically hope that those criteria flush out anyone that isn't fitting the look they want in their club.
I'll be sure to contact the Better Business Bureau and Toronto's Municipal Licensing & Standards offices regarding The Citizen. Venues like these put a bad taste to Toronto's entertainment scene and it's a perfect example of how exclusionary clubs and venues can be.
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