The Beaver has been a Queen West staple since before the street’s westernmost reaches were deemed cool. The low-key space, fit with a long bar, wooden tables and a large picture window — perfect for people-gazing — is full of freelancers and café dwellers during the day. Come sundown, things get a tad rowdier, with some nights witnessing karaoke and others resulting in a raging party on the tiny dance floor.
A short ‘n’ sweet cocktail menu is perhaps best experienced on a quieter night. The El Diablo ($8.50), a Mexican number, combines gold tequila with crème de cassis and ginger beer over ice, making for a blackcurrant-tinged drink with a subtle kick.
Sip on the back patio as summer draws nigh.
The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W., 416-537-2768
Karolyne Ellacott is a features editor at Post City Magazines. She pedals around town in heels, eating sandwiches and drinking cocktails. She writes about that, and about about other stuff too. She is also on Twitter.
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