I don't go to the imperial too often, but it's probably my favourite bar in Toronto. The Library upstairs is pretty good, but it's for students. The Aquarium Bar is another story. It's a little gritty but never mean. It's also totally picturesque if you like stained carpets, stained glass, and fishes--naturally, you do. It's a kind of an amazing cross-section of everybody - really, everybody - who lives here. And the lady bartenders have a tender toughness that's pretty irresistible.