2 Cats

Had a blast at 2 Cats on the weekend! It was packed and everyone was having a good time. The large bar with seating is in the centre and the small dance floor is at the back. There are some small tables on one side if you can get one. You pass coat check as soon as you walk in ($ 3).
There wasn’t a ton of room to walk by the bar, but we managed. Service was pretty good considering how busy it was. Music was 90’s and the crowd was loving it. Good times!

I don’t know exactly what it is about this place that I love, but I do. I really do. I live dangerously very close to the bar, so it makes for a great last minute decision when I want to go somewhere but don’t want to think about it. Or when I shouldn’t be going out at all…2 cats is a temptress!
No cover! Amazing… granted sometimes the line is ridiculously long.
The bar is small and kinda divey, but not really. People are cool. Not too hipstery or anything which is nice. You can wear anything… dress up, casual, business. Whatever goes.
Music is eclectic, but fun. Makeshift dance floor always a good time.
Tip…if you lose your friends, just walk counterclockwise. Eventually you’ll find them as the place is so small.
Oh, and cheap drinks before 11pm!

Locals favourite. Thursday nights are always full of people who let happy hour turn into a good night, older music that’s fun to sing along to and a mixed crowd, usually a line up and busy on the inside (which is small) I’ve never been disappointed with the energy levels

Cool place to hang on a night out after work. Great music and usually a fun crowd

One of my favourite bars downtown that’s got its own unique niche cornered. If you like to dress comfortably, have cheap drinks, smile and dance the night away listening to everything from 80s one hit wonders, the Stones, Paul Simon, the Boss to some random country splashed in this is your place. No cover and friendly bar staff with a back area that turns into a dance floor. Used to be half the size but they had to renovate due to demand. One warning though most Thursday’s it’s empty at 10 and there’s a line up down the street by 11 so be early to be safe. Cheap drinks until 10 as well I believe. Bit of a suit crowd on Thursdays but that’s gone Friday and Saturday nights.

What I learned from my experience at 2cats:
How to Pick up a Lady:
Step One: Find target (don’t be picky just go to the closest one) and do the polite thing which is to talk incredibly close to them.
(Hey you gotta make sure their breath smells ok).
Then proceed by yelling «WHAT’S YOUR NAME!!!»
Step Two: When the girl replies «Sorry but I am having a conversation with my friend», ask them if they are lesbian. Because they must be… right.
When they quickly answer yes, move on to next target. Right next to the previous target to show them just how smooth your lines can be.
Step Three: Wear something like huge glasses (with no lens) that will get you noticed. They will be so preoccupied with them they will not even hear your cheesy lines that impress your buddy that is doing the same.
Step Four: If the reply is «I have a boyfriend», assure them that you have a girlfriend. And that you just want to show them your place.
Also note to them that you are especially good at certain specific activities. that will definitely reel them in!
Then finish the night off with spooning with your buddy with many drunken conversations that include «I love you man». Aww.
All in all, this place plays excellent music (good rock tunes) and has a really great staff. Bartenders were friendly and drinks were perfectly priced. It is also the only place I have ever been where you need to take cover every minute you are there, in order to avoid the monkeys. Have to say it is entertaining to watch them though.
If you are a non-​monkey guy my advice: go to this place, watch the monkeys, and swoop in and save the day. Maybe you’ll teach them a thing or two.
Will be coming back but sorry monkeys. no banana for you.

LOUD. MUSIC. LOUD. MUSIC.
I was basically screaming into people’s ears whenever I needed to communicate with them. I had to yell my drinks at the bartender four times before he heard what I was saying.
That said, it makes for a really fun atmosphere if you’re there to dance. (Bring that talk elsewhere!) The area is quite spacious and the crowd seems like a nice, tame mix. Mostly younger people, some suits, some casually dressed. Again, like everywhere on King West it seems, interior is all woodsy and cozy-​cabin-​hipster.
— Line was killer on Saturday night. Took like an hour to get in!
— Coat check was $ 2.50. Drinks are reasonably priced, $ 5 – 7.
— You are allowed to go out for a smoke or a breath of fresh area; bouncer will let you back in.
Overall, made for a fun night. Would definitely come back again!

I have been here quite a few times and LOVE this place on the weekend. It can get a bit packed but generally has a good crowd and awesome music. It’s a nice change from the usual King West places and there is no cover charge. I wish it were a little bit bigger but I really like the social atmosphere of this place. I always have a great night!

Went out here one night and had such a fun time ! We went really early after the comedy show and they were just ending happy hour. There wasn’t many people in the place yet but, by the night went on, the place was filled ! I think there was even a line outside when we left. The bartenders were nice and were having fun while chatting it up with us.
Drinks were reasonably priced and has a homey feel to it like your regular local bar back at home. We hung out here for a few hours and they played awesome music. Majority of the crowd was singing with the songs towards the end of the night. A lot of fun and highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a casual fun time !!

Used to be an amazing spot for casual conversation with about every person in there! Renovations are great, but it seems like the crowd has changed since. Went there on a Thursday and the majority was suits. What???
I hope that’s a Thursday thing! Will try the weekend and update…

First off, the website and sign on the door says that they open at 8. Not so. When we arrived just after 8 we were told to leave as they do not open until 9. Fine. We came back at 9:30 and went to the bar to get a drink. The two female bartenders were engaged in what was surely an in-​depth intellectual discussion as they completely ignored us for ten minutes! They kept looking at my friends and I but ignored us completely. When we did finally get served the bartender was rude and didn’t bring change as if I were going to leave her a ten dollar tip. The crowd was cheesy, low brow and the place completely sucked. So many other great places to go. Will NEVER be returning there.

I’m a girl who wears jeans with heels, drinks beer and grooves to Bowie and the Boss, so I’m a big fan of this spot. It’s nice to be out on King but not have to deal with the pretention — the crowd is very diverse and friendly, generally a good place to mingle and meet new people. The back corner becomes a makeshift dance floor, but this gal makes one anywhere she goes and no one seemed to mind. Its also pretty great that you don’t need to pay cover. It also fills up fast — in the course of 15 minutes, usually between 10:30 — 10:45, the place can go from empty to a line at the door. There are tables to sit at until it gets busy, if that’s a concern for you (nobody wants to be ‘that guy’ at the bar). Overall, a pretty laid back place to spend a night.

Haven’t stopped by this place in years, but was persuaded by some new friends to join them on a recent Thursday evening, after cocktails at a couple of other spots.
As I said, I haven’t been here in years, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that the renovations have actually made it significantly larger than it used to be.
The music was quite good, lots of retro stuff. However, it was a bit loud. The wine we had was meh.
Overall, it was ok, in that we got there early enough that we didn’t have to wait in line and there was no cover. That being said, I’m not sure that I’ll be rushing back there anytime soon, when there are so many other spots in the city,

My favorite bar in the city. Staff are very fun. Crowd is great and music is awesome.

This is definitely for the 35+ crowd… if not 40+. Gack. I have no idea how people communicate, it’s damn loud in there and damn packed. Maybe it’s super loud because of the older crowd (who are presumably hard of hearing now??)
Fun times can be had with it being packed and booze being cheap for king west BUT I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here. I think there’s a line-​up to get in only because it’s so damn small inside. I hear there is happy hour from 5−7pm here. If you go here on Thursday, make sure you get there by 9.45pm or else you will wait in line for a good 30 mins or more. You don’t want to do that in winter. And when you get in, you’ll be underwhelmed («I waited that long for this?!»)

this is a good place for a casual drink. it gets super busy, and has an odd narrow shape to it (ie. max width between wall and bar is 3 – 4? people wide… and most of the bar extends down this way. its fine really, just dont expect to go in there and spread out in some chairs. standing room only.
music was lame! country? 80s? i couldnt figure out what theme they were going for.
at this point you are reading my review and wondering what exactly did i like about the place. well, for being on the main entertainment/​theatre strip, it was not overly touristy or generic. it was a casual feel and a good mixing of people (the narrow layout is good for forcing us to mix in, haha)
id go back for a couple drinks. oh i had a gin and tonic, well made.

2 Cats. Don’t really get why it’s called 2 Cats but that’s OK. Traveling on business to meet CIBC, I ran into a fella who happened to be staying at the Hilton Toronto and he was staying on my floor. We decided to go to 2 Cats to meet some of his girls there. Crazy thing is, he had a ‘law’ exam and he wanted to go out, drink and do drugs. Now 2 Cats ended up having a line but we were able to get in fairly quickly. Once I was in, I was a bit disappointed because the place looked fairly run down. The music was blasting and there was a small dance floor in the back. It’s like a local dive bar back in the bay. Another disappointing aspect was that the ratio of women and men was a bit teetering because I didn’t see many made up women there. The bathroom downstairs was really grimy and small. All in all, this place is alright but I can also imagine it being great if you want something low key and fun. This was my first bar experience in Canada let alone Toronto so I was a bit disappointed but you know what, the drinks were cheap and the place wasn’t too bad.

A nice casual, cozy place to have a drink.
A few things to note:
— wine is over priced here, stick to speedrail drinks and beer. I actually saw a guy carrying a 6 of Corona in the cardboard case you buy them in.
— there is a step down from the front area to the bar area. If you don’t know this, you may catch your heel on the step and fall completely flat on your face, requiring someone to pick you up by the arm. The crowd gets points for not openly laughing at the completely overdressed chick bailing at the crowded bar.

A very nice atmosphere… not pretentious and super music played over a clear sounding sound system. Narrow bar area is great for socializing; you can start the conversation with, «Sorry I stepped on your foot!» Nice area for socializing and talking in the front of 2 Cats. Great drink prices before 11:00PM ($ 6 for two beers… is this Toronto?). No Frills, All Thrills… this is 2 Cats

If you’re into casual drinks and conversation with little attitude, this is your place. Not for the high roller /​gold digging crowd. Cheap drinks on Thursdays before 9 with oldies but goodies when it comes to music… anything from Simple Minds to Depeche Mode.