Cloak and Dagger has reopened

Ignateus · Post by **Ignateus** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 2:08 pm

We were down in Kennsington Market last night enjoying some of the great beers at La Palette and decided to drop by the Cloak and Dagger on College St. (394 College - Just east of Bathurst) to see if there was any hint of when it might reopen. The 'open soon' sign that was there for the last few months had us quite worried that this great spot might not make it to its second coming. It just so happened that the Cloak and Dagger was open and celebrating its' opening night. Lots of lovely brews on tap. 23 lines in all. Owners Brent and Collin were telling us that the problem was getting their liquour license. All the rennovations went to plan. But, you can't hurry up the bureacracy. We were quite happy drinking drinking Wellington County Ale and Holy Smoke when 2 kegs of Cameron's were dropped off. They were pouring quite nicely - Apparently, St. Andres' Doug Pengally cleaned all of their lines for them. They still need to have supplies dropped off for a few taps and hope to have a monthly or so 'guest tap'. I wish them the best of luck and not just because I can walk there from home!

swall · Post by **swall** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:30 am

It’s nice to see the Cloak reopened. It was always a “nice little pub”. I hope the new owners are successful in keeping the same atmosphere. What happened to the original owner, John? I use to live down the street but have since moved and miss all the goings ons.

lister · Post by **lister** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:39 pm

We're thinking about visiting tomorrow night. What's the food and crowd like?

ron.chan · Post by **ron.chan** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:00 pm

lister wrote:We're thinking about visiting tomorrow night. What's the food and crowd like?

Actually tried to get there a few days before christmas last month, and it was jam packed. I couldn't get in, but last night, I was in the area and decided to get it another go. Great place. Small little pub with lots of microbrews on tap. St. Andre, Cameron's (which were out unfortunately last night), Wellington, Steamwhistle, just to name a few. The food was reasonably priced as well, nothing over $10 and quite decent for bar food. A nice relaxed small little hangout with very friendly staff.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:04 pm

swall wrote: What happened to the original owner, John? I use to live down the street but have since moved and miss all the goings ons.

I've also moved recently and have yet to go back in since it reopened. John's departure from the Cloak is one that's best not detailed here. It's a personal matter between him and the current owners. When you're next in the pub ask there...perhaps they will fill you in. All I can say is that I wish him well.

lister · Post by **lister** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:18 pm

ron.chan wrote:Actually tried to get there a few days before christmas last month, and it was jam packed. ... A nice relaxed small little hangout with very friendly staff.

Thanks. I haven't been able to drop by yet. Tomorrow night may be a possibility...

lister · Post by **lister** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:00 pm

We went Saturday and didn't stay.

- no TV. That means no Leaf game to watch.

That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. Bad thing for me.

- limited food selection. While certainly better than most Montreal pubs, the selection was quite small compared to most places here and nothing really tickled my fancy. I'm a picky SOB most of the time.

- no wait staff. You had to order from the bartender at the bar. I hate that. If I'm out I want to be waited on. If I have to go fetch then I might as well stay home and fetch from the fridge.

The beer selection had lots of good stuff to drink though. The first two items above are really only negatives due to the requirements at the time. If there was no Leaf game on and I didn't either want a full meal or wasn't picky (rare occasion that!) then I'd have no problem visiting. I'd still be bothered by the no wait staff thing. (I only like sitting at the bar under certain circumstances, like at Victory where you get a good view of the TV.)

We wound up going to Victory Cafe, slowly I might add, the surface TTC on College and Bathurst sucked badly. No Denison's Weisse available

but Stonehammer Pilsner was newly added. Bounced between that and Welly several times. Some Oiler fans (or Leaf haters) showed up which made the game even more entertaining.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:16 pm

lister wrote:We went Saturday and didn't stay.

- no TV. That means no Leaf game to watch.

Might I suggest Hooters? Personally I thank God the place isn't swimming with sports watchers and blaring T.V.'s...there are conservatively several HUNDRED other bars and/or restaurants with sports playing (granted, not all with good beer) but thankfully the Cloak isn't trying to appeal to that crowd.

Don't get me wrong...I love soccer and I go to pubs to watch it but I just accept that the pubs showing it will have inferior beer and usually bad food OR a terrible atmosphere in which to watch the game...such is life. But I don't go to places like Volo, S.Joe's, and the Cloak wanting anything other than good beer (and sometimes food). I view the two activities as mutually exclusive and that's just fine by me.

As for the lack of servers...did you notice the size of the place? It's got a fire code capacity of maybe 40 people...why crowd the place with needless staff when you can order food at the bar the old fashioned British way? I would agree the food's not great but...it's authentic pub food (authentic meaning boring).

As for the trouble getting from the Cloak to the Victory on the TTC...if there was at least two of you it would've been cheaper (and likely faster) to hop in a cab. It's a $5 cab ride tops as the two bars are about 8 short blocks apart...or try walking, it's less than ten minutes!!! Lazy bugger

lister · Post by **lister** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:59 pm

Jon Walker wrote:Might I suggest Hooters? Personally I thank God the place isn't swimming with sports watchers and blaring T.V.'s...there are conservatively several HUNDRED other bars and/or restaurants with sports playing (granted, not all with good beer) but thankfully the Cloak isn't trying to appeal to that crowd.

I'm not going to Hooters. Never been, never going. No volume is perfectly fine as was the case at Victory's.

Don't get me wrong...I love soccer and I go to pubs to watch it but I just accept that the pubs showing it will have inferior beer and usually bad food OR a terrible atmosphere in which to watch the game...such is life. But I don't go to places like Volo, S.Joe's, and the Cloak wanting anything other than good beer (and sometimes food). I view the two activities as mutually exclusive and that's just fine by me.

Keep in mind the only information I've read on the Cloak has been here and that wasn't a whole heck of a lot so if I knew the size* and the fact there wasn't a TV I would have went to a more appropriate place. (But not Hooters or any sports bars. Bleah!) I would have had the same reaction if I had next to no info on Smokeless and it was my first time there. ie: Wanting to see the Leaf game and a full menu. I go to places like Smokeless and Castro's when I'm not seeking hockey or a full menu.

Volo is a different beast altogether. I wouldn't be expecting a TV since it's a full service Italian restaurant.

As for the lack of servers...did you notice the size of the place? It's got a fire code capacity of maybe 40 people...why crowd the place with needless staff when you can order food at the bar the old fashioned British way? I would agree the food's not great but...it's authentic pub food (authentic meaning boring).

Yes I did notice the size but if Smokeless can have several people circulating... I don't like the old fashioned British way of ordering at the bar. Never have. It irked me during our Montreal trip but we played the ignorant Anglos and got table service plus we also paid at the end instead of after each round. I hate that too.

As for the trouble getting from the Cloak to the Victory on the TTC...if there was at least two of you it would've been cheaper (and likely faster) to hop in a cab. It's a $5 cab ride tops as the two bars are about 8 short blocks apart...or try walking, it's less than ten minutes!!! Lazy bugger

Oh I hate cabs. I won't take them unless it's pretty much life and death. The decision not to walk wasn't mine, that was the fairer sex's fault. I walk all over the city, she however less so.

antirealist · Post by **antirealist** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:42 pm

Jon Walker wrote:I love soccer and I go to pubs to watch it but I just accept that the pubs showing it will have inferior beer and usually bad food OR a terrible atmosphere in which to watch the game...such is life. ... I view the two activities as mutually exclusive and that's just fine by me.

C'est What, the Bow and Arrow, and the Granite all serve good beer and show soccer. Personally, I wish the two activities were mutually exclusive...

lister · Post by **lister** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:46 pm

antirealist wrote:C'est What, the Bow and Arrow, and the Granite all serve good beer and show soccer. Personally, I wish the two activities were mutually exclusive...

Plus they have full menus of pretty good food (for pubs.)

I may very well go to the Cloak again in the future, with friends when we're in the area, no hockey to watch and one or two people in the group who don't mind playing fetch.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:04 pm

antirealist wrote:
C'est What, the Bow and Arrow, and the Granite all serve good beer and show soccer. Personally, I wish the two activities were mutually exclusive...

All good venues however...only good (generally) for matches that start after regular opening hours. Many Premiership matches start as early as 7:30 or 10am on Saturdays so finding venues is tricky (but there are several). Beer at that hour of the day isn't an issue (let alone legal). I'm also under the impression that the crowds out to watch at those venues aren't very big unless it's a cup final. I believe, if memory serves, that the Bow certainly gets crowded for Rangers games (especially the matches with Celtic)...I've never been to the Granite and the only time I went into C'est What there were only three people there to watch the match and about fifteen who either didn't care or would have preferred to watch anything BUT soccer.

However...I will start a thread in April or May to prepare for the world cup. I want to find the best and most "atmospheric" venue in which to watch the England matches. I watched Euro 2004 at Elsewhere, which was pretty good, and World Cup 2002 at Scallywags which was also decent.

But I digress...The Cloak is a solid venue with a great tap lineup and a really interesting and eclectic crowd most nights of the week...especially on the weekends.

JWalter · Post by **JWalter** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:21 am

Apologies for adding to this thread's meandering, but hey, why not...

- On the "British Way", I'm a fan! The first time I sent to the UK, I was a bit suprised, because it's not what I was used to. I walked into a pub, sat down, waited about 10 minutes, no one was forth coming, so I went to the bar, ordered a pint, paid, done... Hmmm... Once I got used to it, I actually prefer it, the only annoying part is when it's super busing and you have to line up / queue for a pint, in which case, order two!
- When I'm doing pub crawls with the boys, this is the only way to go, there are few things that frustrate me more than being finished, wanting to go, and having to wait around for your bill... If you pay as you go, there's never an issuing of arguing over the tab, etc...
- Jon: Good idea re: the World Cup thread. I work down at King/Peter, there's a sports bar, used to be Peel Pub, it's now changed to a Philty McNasty's, anyhow, the place is practically wall-to-wall big screen projection TV's (all new I think), this was a good spot for WC'2002 and Euro'04, for the run-of-the-mill matches. It tends to get pretty packed with supports regardless of who's playing and has a good atmosphere. As far as the best spot for England, my thoughts would be either Scallywags or the Duke (of Gloucester).
- On Cloak & Dagger, unfortunately I haven't it made it there yet so I can't comment on the place... Looking forward to giving it a try though...

swall · Post by **swall** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:51 am

The Cloak not having televisions actually appealed to me. It lends itself to more conversation. And as Jon Walker pointed out, there are several HUNDRED other establishments that cater to the sports fan. They actual do have a small tv tucked above the bar (at least they use too), they would have the Leaf/Soccer game on, but no one watched it, it was there as a score update. My opinion, there aren’t enough Dagger type pubs that know your name, know your beer preference and even know what sleeve you prefer to drink out of.

Not having wait staff is another plus. I order, I drink, I leave – end of transaction. A waiter/waitress does not dictate how long I am there. I use to live down the street from the Cloak and would nip in two to three times a week for a pint or two. Now that I live in the burbs, I long for a place with character and characters (Murf).

All this talk about the Cloak, I think I’ll drive in this afternoon…..

Philip1 · Post by **Philip1** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 2:52 pm

So the Cloak & Dagger has no wait staff and it doesn't specialise in food. Brilliant! I'll make a point of going there next time I'm in Toronto. I hate going to a bar and feeling like I'm in a restaurant. That's why bars in North America lack the atmosphere of those in Britain and Ireland. Everything is too formal.

I've pretty much stopped going to bars in my town. The last time was around March last year. I had finished my beer and had my hat and coat on for about five minutes before I managed to flag someone down so I could pay for my single pint. Yet when I was about two thirds into my pint she came over and asked if I wanted another. I'm tired of being rushed into finishing my beer then kept waiting when I want to leave.