Wvrst to open on King West in TO

[Swordsman]

I like how Wvrst has a large white board near the windows, showing their beers, specials and the date the draft lines were last cleaned. More places should show that.

[El Pinguino]

Is the music still at ear-blasting volumes?

It was pretty loud last night, but I just chalked that up to it being Sat. night downtown. Is it like that every night?

Music wasn't too bad when I was there, but it was loud overall....could still chat across the tables, but if I was wit ha crowd of people it would have been too noisy....I think it's partly poor acoustics when lots of people get in there.

[zane9]

..I think it's partly poor acoustics when lots of people get in there.

Wvrst has a formidable acoustics problem, and it's one that's built into the interior design of the space. It's a rectangle entirely composed of hard, reflective surfaces. The walls, floor, tables, kitchen area etc. have no acoustic dampening. Music played at a volume above "normal conversation" level just makes things worse.

Ironically, when the place is full of people this will help dampen the reflections. Trouble is, when the place is filling up and conversations get louder, the music volume is increased!

I really like Wvryst, and I'll go there often. Duck-fat fries!

[cratez]

This is my review on BA (took me forever to get around to it):

3.98/5
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Came here with the lady and a group of friends in October 2011.

Atmosphere: sleek modern beer hall, vibrant colours, barebones layout with tons of seating, clearly visible tap list and lots of branded glassware on display. I like how they post when the draught lines were last cleaned.

Service: had to wait a while for our first round but eventually the bartender picked up the pace. Patrons are friendly as several people gave us their tokens for a Leafs ticket raffle that was going on by the bar.

Selection: solid mix of Ontario micros and European lagers on draught and a small but respectable bottle list that includes LCBO standouts and direct-from-brewery offerings (like Church Key Barley Legal). I had a Dieu du Ciel! Rosée D'hibiscus on tap and a can of Central City Red Racer IPA; my girl enjoyed her pints of Stiegl and Pilsner Urquell.

Food: delicious sausages with wacky toppings and dipping sauces are the main attraction here. We shared the Bratwvrst with Dirty Duck Fat Fries and Jimi's Sweet Chili sauce, everything tasted awesome. Prices are steep but worth it.

Overall: WVRST offers high quality homemade sausages and an impressive range of craft beers in a fun and approachable beer hall environment. The selection keeps improving and they're now hosting Beer Schools, so I think the best is yet to come from this place. It's a great option for beer geeks and foodies alike, and I'll gladly return when I find myself west of downtown. Check it out.

[Cass]

And now WVRST is also opening one in Union Station!

I think this is great news, not only as I frequent Union Station from time to time and there is a dearth of places for a drink. (I know CW etc. is close by)

A positive step for a public hub like Union where the new hospitality options won't be the same old.

Congrats WVRST & excited for this!

[Tapsucker]

And now WVRST is also opening one in Union Station!

I think this is great news, not only as I frequent Union Station from time to time and there is a dearth of places for a drink. (I know CW etc. is close by)

A positive step for a public hub like Union where the new hospitality options won't be the same old.

Congrats WVRST & excited for this!

I hope they manage better acoustics. The King location is just bloody loud. Between the often loud music and the ceramic tile walls, it's just an unpleasant place. Especially when full.

[Cass]

Well, it is in one of the main corridors linking the GO Trains to Union Station, so there's going to be a ton of people walking around. We'll have to see how open it is to the thoroughfare vs. enclosing it.

I walked by it this week and it is a pretty sweet location, right near the GO train tracks. It's right across where the Union Chicken or whatever it's called is going to be.

[cratez]

Well, it is in one of the main corridors linking the GO Trains to Union Station, so there's going to be a ton of people walking around. We'll have to see how open it is to the thoroughfare vs. enclosing it.

I walked by it this week and it is a pretty sweet location, right near the GO train tracks. It's right across where the Union Chicken or whatever it's called is going to be.

This is indeed great news. I always take the GO train to access downtown bars so I will be frequenting this place pretty often if it's comparable to the King Street location. Fantastic development.

[El Pinguino]

So, it WVRST King Street closing?
It seems there was a tweet, since deleted, by WVRST that essentially said this, then some chatter about the King West pilot and business being down....Bar Hop jumped into the conversation.
Anyone know what the deal is?
I don't stop in that often....I like the place, but always found their beer prices too high.

[jp_jkl]

So, it WVRST King Street closing?
It seems there was a tweet, since deleted, by WVRST that essentially said this, then some chatter about the King West pilot and business being down....Bar Hop jumped into the conversation.
Anyone know what the deal is?
I don't stop in that often....I like the place, but always found their beer prices too high.

WVRST has quieted down whatever backlash they had against the pilot and posted a photo of improvements the city is trying to make. I can't see them closing the King W located, but who knows?


As long as they don't put an ice sculpture of a middle finger, I'll continue to give them my business.

[Bobsy]

So, it WVRST King Street closing?
It seems there was a tweet, since deleted, by WVRST that essentially said this, then some chatter about the King West pilot and business being down....Bar Hop jumped into the conversation.
Anyone know what the deal is?
I don't stop in that often....I like the place, but always found their beer prices too high.

WVRST has quieted down whatever backlash they had against the pilot and posted a photo of improvements the city is trying to make. I can't see them closing the King W located, but who knows?


As long as they don't put an ice sculpture of a middle finger, I'll continue to give them my business.

Do a lot of people drive to bars in downtown T.O.? I would have assumed that faster transit would increase business, not decrease, but I could be wrong.

[Cass]

I was going to ask if WVRST or Bar Hop had said anything about the pilot. I did see that tweet (the one still live) so suspected they had an opinion on the situation, but not nearly as vocal as some of the others in the cheesy part of the strip.

I just can't imagine that a decrease in vehicular traffic correlates with a reduction of people walking on the sidewalk (and therefore going to street side restos). Driving along King was ridiculous and parking was nonsense as you couldn't park during rush hours anyway. And as Rob said, who drives to a bar (at least in TO) nowadays.

King St. is almost like a pedestrian-only zone nowadays (you can almost walk down the middle of the street) - usually that's great for biz.

[Belgian]

Do a lot of people drive to bars in downtown T.O.? I would have assumed that faster transit would increase business, not decrease, but I could be wrong.

A few observations: The City & the TTC always cast a rosy light on their 'initiatives.' Of course they would. But talking to some other business owners, a few per cent loss in revenue (even from things like excessive card fees) can cost a business their whole sustainable margin. It really is that close to the bone, and these chess-games that our municipal leaders play with business are not cool, these can have a damaging and permanent effect. Look at how many Roncesvalles businesses were destroyed by the big street dig a few years back. You can hardly recognize the east side of the street. Reportedly King now suffers a big drop between typical lunch and dinner hours, so that's not rush hour.

Also it's been observed (Toronto Star) that the King corridor is just being avoided, entirely because drivers fear opportunistic traffic-ticketing that will cost them not just fines/court dates but also likely insurance and driving record penalties for years. Drivers are right because the city has been observed to be very uncritical of how they 'catch people out' in order to gather ill-gained revenue. The disingenuous and crafy ticket traps and parking traps here are astounding, so the City deserves little trust from those protecting their insurance rates and driving records. Ouch for business!

Plus talking to a few people it's been observed that the 'faster' movement of transit on King is partly due to would-be riders' unfamiliarity with the new stop locations. It's not really more efficient, the drivers are just not picking some people up when the lumbering red streetcars whizz by. You know that feeling?

Personally I'd scrap most/all streetcars & be happy to pay hundreds a year more in taxes for good subways. The continued investment in surface rail is maddening. Our current transit operation policy and transit initiatives are utterly pretentious & ultimately wasteful, not only in maintaining the antiquated infrastructure (street track rebuilding every few years) but also the huge opportunity costs we lose by staying in the 19th century of transit technology. We could be a far more prosperous city, financially and culturally. No way would I drive so much of we had great transit - this is something we should do rather than try to graft on 'King street' type initiatives to bandage a gaping wound. Clearly some people are not serving the city well...

[JerCraigs]

I agree more subways would great. The Downtown Relief Line should be a priority. Step 1 - Toll the DVP and the Gardiner to pay for it. Traffic in Toronto is going to be horrendous long before a DRL gets a shovel in the ground let alone finished. The King street changes costs next to nothing and can be implemented immediately.

Honestly, I have no patience for the complaints. Of the businesses that have been whinging about it Wvrst and Porchetta and Co were the only two I would have ever visited. Via streetcar. The drivers on King St getting "caught out" are routinely observed to be driving like idiots. I would bet heavily that the weather has had a much greater impact on business on King St than anything else.