Top 6 in the Six: Best Game Bars and Cafés
The last few years have brought a wave of game emporiums. Here's our pick of the ones with the best food offerings.
The Rec Room
255 Bremner Blvd
Whether you’re playing pool, shuffleboard or Mario Kart in this huge space at Toronto’s heritage roundhouse on Bremner Boulevard, there’s plenty of upscale pub fare to tuck into while you geek out. Choose from sharing plates, wood-fired flavours and handheld snack options at Three10 (a nod to Canada’s three territories and ten provinces); or head to The Shed for specialty poutines and pizzas by the foot. Handily, you can take your food and drink with you anywhere at Rec Room – so if your belly rumbles just as you’re closing in on a Pac Man personal best, you can play while you graze.
Snakes and Lattes
Multiple Locations
Toronto’s most popular board game cafe might not be news to you, but there’s more to Snakes and Lattes than Settlers of Catan and coffee (but don’t miss their Nutella Latte). With a wide selection of snacks, desserts, beer, wine and cocktails, their food game is now as strong as their 1000+ library of games. Food varies slightly across their three locations, but options like the Peruvian chicken and dark chocolate petite brownies feature at College, Bloor and Eglinton. Toast your victory with one of the many craft brews on draught or enjoy a homemade infusion like the Rose Bowl or Amaretto Sour cocktail.
The Pint Public House
277 Front St W
This Front and John drinking hole may be best known for its beer, bar food and live sports atmosphere (Wing Wednesdays offer $5 wings with your choice of 40 sauces), but its recent transformation gives guests the opportunity to upgrade from spectator to player. The Pint Public House has expanded and revamped their Upper Deck into a retro-inspired gaming space with one of the largest pinball collections in Canada. Head upstairs to relieve your childhood with a huge selection of games like Pac Man, B-Ball and Air Hockey.
Tilt
824 Dundas St W.
A super budget option – once you’ve paid the $5 cover fee at Tilt, play on all the machines is unlimited. The menu is cheekily divided into gamer-inspired sections. The ‘Start Menu’ kicks things off with apps like dill pickle fries, perogies and mini corn dogs, ‘Power Ups’ provide more gaming sustenance with burgers, hotdogs and sandwiches, while the ‘Bonus Level’ offers some sweet treats, like an ice cream sandwich featuring snickerdoodle cookies, sprinkles and crushed cereal, and a deep fried Mars Bar. Perhaps the best thing about Tilt is their awesome selection of local brews; choose from Junction Craft Brewing, Great Lakes Brewery, Beau’s Lugtread and Rainhard on draught.
Greater Good
229 Geary Ave.
Like it’s sister bar, Get Well, Greater Good knows the formula for making a worthy bar; a huge selection of constantly rotating craft beer, a tasty slice and (mostly) free-to-play video games. Their sequel builds on this bar rubric by separating the games on a mezzanine level so you can play Street Fighter, Tapper and skeeball in relative peace and quiet. While Greater Good doesn’t make their own food, lovers of ‘za will be pleased to know that sustenance is supplied by Brooklyn Pizzeria, as at their Dundas West bar. Pizza is available by the slice, by the pie or, if gaming fatigue strikes, as take out.
Lob
101 - 100 Broadview Ave.
The east end just got a new sport in the form of Lob, a cross between golf and bocce ball played on a nine-track course with humps and other obstacles. Once you’ve found your form and figured out the scoring system, saddle up your ball bag (control yourselves) and enjoy trackside snacks. Choose from apps like Pretzel Bites or a Sausage Board, or more substantial fare like the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich; a spicy sammie served with bread and butter pickles on white bread. With Saulter Street Brewery just a stone's throw away and Radical Road Brewing Co. also eastside, you can bank on some great local brews – all of which can be enjoyed anywhere in the game section of the space.
