This used to be my hood and sadly... and quite strangely, for the most important intersection in our fair city, this area is seriously lacking some good R&R locales. There are some alright restaurants but no great chillout locations like you would find on Queen or King Streets.
Burgundy's and The Pilot are more like simple, old fashion bars, good places to go with your buddies but not a date or to just relax with someone. The Spotted Dick is a horrible dive that should be better specially due to its location and Peridot has great potential if it was not to the fact they are money hungry and will "stop" serving pints of beer after 10:00pm in order to get a few more bucks out of you.
Jack Astor's has a more modern look to it, and tries but ultimately sort of fails...But why do you ask? It is kind of small, which is understandable due to the fact that it was carved out of a corner of a business building and space is limited. More importantly the food is alright but definitely nothing special.
There are what I could call 'way too many TVs' for such a small place and it can get a bit loud regardless of where you sit. Again, beggars can't be choosers so a lot of people come here out of desperation so it can get crowded... Specially by office drones from sector 7G (let's see who gets that one) and from the Bell and CIBC buildings nearby.
About the best thing this bar has is it's patio which of course has limited space and a limited season. However if you can a table during the Summer and a few cold ones then it is not too bad and a decent spot for people watching. Still though, the food? Meh.
In the end, Jack Astor's is ultimately bland and inoffensive (read: mainstream accessible) hence there are so many in the suburbs and this hoods needs it.
As I said, beggars can't be choosers.