As I'm wandering Kensington Market trying to find this bar, I wonder if I've been punked. I wonder if my friend made up this bar and faked all the Yelp reviews. This bar is legitimately kind of hidden...I don't think I should give away the details, but make sure you know the exact address, and fortune favors the bold when searching.
What's even weirder, is when I open the unmarked door for Cold Tea, you see an Asian woman selling dim sum...now I'm sure I've been punked. But no, this is part of the schtick.
What makes this place rock: Awesome microbrews (think Great Lakes and the like) for about $7/pint. It used to be noticeably cheaper than other bars, but that's changed a bit. Also many of the bartenders are quite good at mixing a complicated cocktail with hard-to-find vermouths, but don't wrinkle up their faces at those that order a G&T.
The vibe: Dirty, hipster, but in a cool way. It's trendy, but not quite so trendy it hurts.
The staff: super friendly barstaff
The booze: About 5-6 taps of pretty good stuff, tons of crap in a can to satisfy the hipsters, and a pretty good selection of hard liquor.
They have an awesome patio in the summer, which can indeed get a bit crowded.
In any case, this may be one of my new favorite bars. It might be yours too...if you can persevere and find it ;)