The Definitive WORLD CUP PUB thread

[Broton]

The Cup is in Germany... any German restu/pubs in Toronto? They make some tastey beers too!

-B

[Uncle Bobby]

The Cup is in Germany... any German restu/pubs in Toronto? They make some tastey beers too!

-B

The Musket in south Etobicoke is the place for Germany supporters. It's a restaurant very near to the Dimpflmeier bakery. Never been, so I cannot comment on the beer selection -- know it only by reputation. But it is where the local TV stations always go when Germany begins to near the finals. You may also wish to call the Danube-Swabian Club in Scarborough (Ellesmere east of McCowan) -- they have a restaurant there.

Otherwise there are German restaurants throughout the Golden Horseshoe.

20 years ago there used to German-affiliated clubs all over downtown. The biggest one was on Sherbourne St., just north of what is now the Phoenix. But they have all moved out to the suburbs, if they exist still at all.

-Uncle Bobby

[Forest]

The Rampant and rose in Mississauga on Erin Mills Parkway just notrth of Dundas shows a lot of Englosh games and has a good selection of beers on tap.

[tupalev]

Welcome to the site Forest.

I am not familiar with the Rampant. When you say a good selection of beers, are we talking Ontario Micro's, or more along the lines of what we might find at a Firkin pub?

[GregClow]

I am not familiar with the Rampant. When you say a good selection of beers, are we talking Ontario Micro's, or more along the lines of what we might find at a Firkin pub?

Looks like the latter:

http://www.rampantandrose.ca/ontap.html

[Trafikker]

The only specific German establishment I know of is the Musket in Etobicoke, but it's tucked away in an industrial area near Kipling and Queensway and the bar there is a bit of an afterthought. This is definatly a restaurant first and a bar second.

[jmcnally]

Great thread! I'm new here (thanks Toronto Star) but would also recommend Scallywags and the Bow and Arrow. Scruffy Murphy's was a good spot during the 1998 World Cup (Eglinton east of Yonge).

[JerCraigs]

The Rampant and Rose was a popular lunch spot when I was working in Mississauga. The beer selection is not really catering to beer geeks, but the food is pretty good, and they almost always have some kind of great special. I went over the holidays and had a delicious red pepper soup.

[JWalter]

Welcome to the site Forest.

I am not familiar with the Rampant. When you say a good selection of beers, are we talking Ontario Micro's, or more along the lines of what we might find at a Firkin pub?

Dude, it's Mississauga... Unfortunately Ontario Micro's don't exist, I can categorically state that I have a better selection of Ontario Micros in my beer fridge on any given day than any bar/restaurant in the city... and that's not saying much, I'd probably only need to have 2... Hahahaha... Wait a minute, that's not funny... It's sad... I'm depressed now...

I think I'll go out, oops, I mean home and have a beer.

But in answer to your question, and to get back to the thread, the Rampant is definitely standard pub fare for beer, Tetley's, Boddingtons, Guinness, Harp, etc... I have a good buddy (Man City supporter) who goes there regularly to watch matches, apparently their full english breakfast is excellent. I'll be heading to the Mad Hatter (also in Mississauga - Eglinton & Hurontarioish) on Saturday to watch FA Cup, it's a bit bigger, with bigger TV's than the Rampant... I was at the Hatter in 2002 for the England v Brazil match, the place was PACKED at 3:00am, amazing atmosphere, not so amazing result... Geez, now I'm depressed again...

[Steve-E]

Yeah, the Rampant is an old McDonalds actually. The food is much better now!!

They do have 1 big screen and a couple TV's but that's it. The Hatter, has more TV's, 2 or 3 big screens, and a great atmosphere. They regulalry show Italian, Spanish & Premiership matches. But once again, it's your typical selection (Guiness, Harp etc) of beers. But it's always busy during the matches.

Now if only someone would open a place in Mississauga with good beer...

[midlife crisis]

For those in North Toronto, I ventured into the Safari Bar and Grill last night on Avenue Road at St. Germain. Fairly typical draught selection, only Wellington County Ale and Creemore beyond the usual Guinness-Stella-Keiths. But they have a beautifully clear 50 inch Sony Wega hi-def TV over the main bar now (the Olympic hockey looked great on it). They also have a 110 inch rear projection unit upstairs in the billiards room which they use for "special occasions". So this might be a World Cup option.

[Josh Oakes]

My goal is to gather up a beer from every country, but that may prove pretty darn difficult...even with the lagers of the world emporium known as the LCBO.

I'm guessing you are going to have a little bit of trouble with Saudi Arabia and Iran. Another good idea though!

Josh Oakes actually found a couple of non-alcoholic Iranian beers at a halal grocery in Vancouver:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/delster-na/55124/
http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/golden-delster/12704/

I wouldn't be surprised if they were available at some little hole in the wall grocery somewhere in Toronto or the GTA. Just a question of finding out where...

Yup, those are rare indeed. I'd check Lawrence Ave E, heading towards Radek's old place there's a massive Arab neighbourhood...but you can cheat a bit.

In Kensington Market I remember the Iranian grocer had Delster Lemon....not qualified for Ratebeer but aside from the regular Delsters the closest thing to Iranian beer. Who knows, maybe now the have the ones I found. It's the one across the street to the west of Casa Acoreana, right by Segovia Meats.

The same place...or maybe it was someone else down there...had some Dutch NA beers that were made for the Saudi market, with the Arabic labels and all. Per's been to Riyadh and reports that those are as close to Saudi beer as exists.

Those African ones, on the other hand, will be tougher. I only see (non-Castle, non-Tusker) African beer once in a blue moon. Try cooking a dish from those countries instead.

[GregClow]

Those African ones, on the other hand, will be tougher. I only see (non-Castle, non-Tusker) African beer once in a blue moon.

A couple of Ethiopian restaurants in Toronto have recently started selling Bedele. Something to keep an eye out for the next time you're in T.O. - or maybe check the Ethiopian joints out there?

[JWalter]

Hey Gents, a co-worker just dropped off today's METRO newspaper (June 1st), there's an article called "WHERE TO GET CUP BEERS", all about places in Toronto where you can get beer from the various World Cup nations...

Here's a link to the electronic version, watch out, it's a big PDF (43 pages):

http://www.metronews.ca/uploadedFiles/M ... 1_2006.pdf
page 20:

or, if you can't be bothered, here's a copy/paste of the text of the article:

Soccer and beer — my two favourite
things. (Oh, stop. Besides that.) For Germany’s
World Cup, which begins next Friday,
you can never have enough time to plan
where you enjoy suds from World Cup countries
at one of the fine establishments listed.
England: At Scallywags (11 St. Clair Ave. W.),
order a pint of Boddingtons ($6.86) and
squeeze your elbows in when England opens
against Paraguay on June 10. It’s a haven for
Liverpool supporters, but football supporters
of all nations are found here in front of the
multiple screens on all three floors. There’s
room for at least 300. No need for red-card
behaviour at the door — there won’t be a
cover fee for the World Cup (local feeds).
Italy: Il Gatto Nero (“The Black Cat,” 720 College
St.) will be the place to watch Italy vs.
Ghana on their 52-in. screen and many others
on June 9, owner Carmine says. Cheer for
the Azzurri while sipping Perroni, Moretti
and Nastro (about $5.50 per bottle).
Australia/Holland: This pairing of supporters
can be found at Hemingway’s (142 Cumberland
St.) watching all of their heroes’
games. Enjoy a pint of Foster’s or Heineken
(both $6.45) while watching the game. Manager
Skye Johnson will have an eye out for her
Aussie compatriots.
There are four patios,
with screens on each
floor. When the
Dutch open against
Serbia-Montenegro
on June 11,
the bar will have
a draw for a
foozball table.
Goooooooalll!
Portugal/Brazil:
The question is in
this bar’s name: If
(1212 Dundas St. W.). What IF
Portugal wins it all? What IF
Brazil repeats as champions? Discuss over a
bottle of Super Bock or Sagres from Portugal,
or Brahma from Brazil (all $5) on the patio or
inside this café run by siblings Nancy and Paul
Coelho. Screens are 42 and 56 inches wide.
Germany/Czech Republic/France/United
States: You’re more likely to find Americans
at Beerbistro (18 King St. E.) than Germans,
Czechs or French, but this place has fine
beers to reel them in as well as folks from 14
other countries. The Cup’s host country’s
Aventinus Weissenbock in a 500-ml bottle is
$6.99; Czechvar is $6.49 for 500 ml. ‘Bistro’s
French beer costs more than a disciplinary
hearing — a 750-ml bottle of La Tour d’Ostrevant,
with 8.3 per cent alcohol, costs $20.99.
And then there’s the American beer the LCBO
can’t keep in stock — Dogfish Head 60-
minute IPA from Delaware. A 355-ml bottle
is $5.85. Enjoy all the games on their 42-in.
screen with surround sound.
Mexico: Corona is an easy beer to find, but La
Romana (1286 St. Clair Ave. W.), run by Argentine
Carlos Ojeda, a former Spanish second-
division footballer, is packed with South
Americans. The beers ($4.50 a bottle for imports)
will be sucked back by Argentines,
Costa Ricans, Ecuadorians, Mexicans and
even Portuguese football fanatics. Two big
screens (62 and 68 inches), and three 30-inch.
Angola: How many Angolan bars do you
know in the city? Well, now you know at least
one — Yauca Sports Bar (1173 Dundas St. W.).
All games will be shown, and expect Angolans
and other Africans to enjoy them with you in
this dark, modern eatery. Sorry, no African
beers. But you can enjoy the controversial official
beer of the World Cup — Budweiser.
How the Germans are
happy about that one.
Sláinte!

[sstackho]

Similar article in eye this week. But how could he not know where the Brazilians (and the Portuguese, by the second round) hang out?

eye - June 1, 2006
World Cup Pub Crawl

BY MARK MEDLEY

For 31 days in June and July, this city will be engulfed in civil war. Friend will turn against friend, husband against wife, neighbour against neighbour. Those who don't give a damn about the World Cup of soccer will just have to stock up on food and fresh water and ride out the storm. The Copa Mundial begins June 9, and as Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, we'll have supporters of just about every country clogging our streets, honking car horns and waving flags. This also means there will be lots of places to watch the games.

This year's tournament takes place in Germany, and for fans of the host nation who can't make it to Deutschland, there are a few options here in Toronto. The Goethe Institut (163 King W., 416-593-5257) will be showing all weekday games for free live on the big screen. And the consulate generals of Germany and Poland have organized a World Cup party on June 14 at the Blue Danube (1686 Ellesmere, 416-290-6186) to coincide with the Poland-Germany game, a key first-round matchup for both teams.

The Italians are perennial favourites, but this year they enter play under the cloud of one of the biggest game-fixing scandals since the Chicago Black Sox in the 1919 World Series. Start off in Little Italy and drop in at Il Gatto Nero (720 College, 416-536-3132), where they'll be broadcasting all the games. If you can't find a place inside, try your luck on one of the patios. Café Diplomatico (594 College, 416-534-4637) will be the centre of the action on the College strip. They'll have 10 televisions on the patio, a 100-inch TV inside and a 50-inch inside a private room that you and 20 of your closest friends can rent out for one of the games.

Head north to Corso Italia on St. Clair West, where the community will be hosting St. Clair Kick It! (www.stclairkickit.ca). It runs from June 2 until June 18 and features film screenings, food and a four-on-four tournament for the St. Clair Cup. Then there's Corso Italia Toronto Fiesta (www.torontofiesta.com), which gets under way July 7 -- meaning that if Italy somehow puts all the controversy behind them and makes it to the final, this promises to be the biggest party in the city.

While Italy may be a perennial favourite, jolly old England is a perennial choker, searching for its first title since 1966 (my grandfather played for England, so I can make fun). The squad may be suffering through the injury to star striker Wayne Rooney, but that doesn't mean we can't still get drunk. The cozy Duke of Gloucester (649 Yonge, 416-961-9704) will likely be standing-room-only, though you can always head outside and watch the TV they have on the patio.

South Korea was a co-host in 2002, and they shocked the world by making it to the final four. The karaoke bars on Bloor West should be rocking, but, for a traditional bar, check out the game on the big screen at Clinton's (693 Bloor W., 416-535-9541) and indulge in beer, wings and soccer, a combo that, scientifically, has yet to be beat.

Little Portugal (a.k.a. Dundas West) is sure to be busy during the tournament. Proving that even the fanciest restaurant can't escape World Cup mania, Lisbon by Night (802 Dundas W., 416-603-6522) will be broadcasting all of Portugal's games. So you can take your significant other for a romantic date and keep your eye on the score at the same time.

Having absolutely no idea where fans of Brazil hang out, I contacted the Brazilian consulate. They say you can follow Ronaldo and company on the big screen
at Rio 40 (1256 St. Clair W., 416-654-6363) and Cervejaria Downtown (842 College, 416-588-0162), who are bringing in extra TVs to accommodate the number of fans expected throughout the tournament.

For those of you with no allegiance, there are some great neutral locations to watch the games. McSorley's (1544 Bayview, 416-932-0655) is like the basement of your best friend's sports-crazed dad. With close to 20 TVs, it's an ideal place to watch a game. The Bottom Line (22 Front W., 416-362-7585) has the best wings I've ever tried. Throughout the tournament, the chef will be preparing meals each day depending on which team is playing. It's the self-proclaimed "classiest sports bar in Toronto," so your orange Dutch jersey might look out of place next to all the Armani in the room.

Remember, it's only a game, so who cares who wins and loses, as long as we all share a beer and have a good time. (Go England!)