Ciro's House of Imported Bier

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 11:00 pm

Riding the bus up to the Lansdowne subway station this afternoon, I noticed a new sign out of the corner of my eye. (I assume it's new, anyway, as I ride that bus at least once every week or two, and I've never noticed it before.)

I looked over and saw that a rather non-descript looking bar/restaurant on Bloor just west of Lansdowne that I've never been to is now calling itself "Ciro's House of Imported Bier".

This reminded me that a couple of months ago, I was talking to an acquaintance who lives in the Bloor & Lansdowne area, and she mentioned something about a bar near the corner having a selection of good and reasonably priced beer. Since she is not a beer geek, and since Bloor & Lansdowne is one of the grottiest intersections in the city, I figured that "good beer" probably meant Sleeman or Amsterdam, so I didn't bother investigating. But this sign suggests that there might be something more interesting going on.

Since I was on my way to run some errands downtown, I wasn't able to stop in to check it out today. But I will defintely do so soon, and will report what I find.

[ This Message was edited by: GregClow on 2003-12-21 23:02 ]

Muskoka · Post by **Muskoka** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 1:59 am

I believe I know this place and from what I remember it carries Camerons and Stella....I think they only have 3 or 4 taps. I am interested to hear your report though.

borderline_alcoholic · Mon Dec 22, 2003 8:03 am

I have been there once or twice. They carry an extensive range of Belgian bottled beer. I was drinking Rochefort 10 and Orval last time I was in.

[ This Message was edited by: borderline_alcoholic on 2003-12-22 08:07 ]

the.brewer · Post by **the.brewer** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 8:45 am

Greg,
My wife and I bought our first house near Bloor & Lansdowne (on Wallace Avenue, and it cost $82,000!). It was a great area with strong Portuguese flavour but while we were there for 8 years we watched it decline. Some examples were the "Good Samaritan" murder (kind man in bus shelter helps out woman who is getting pushed around by a guy and ends up getting killed); too many needles left on our front lawn - not great with pets and young children; Hooker screaming for help in the middle of the night waking up the kids, etc. Funnily enough though, the last straw was a fairly innocent matter - we started to get unilingual flyers through the door and I seem to remember one even from the school, and they weren't in English!
Michael

[ This Message was edited by: the.brewer on 2003-12-22 08:45 ]

esprit · Post by **esprit** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 11:07 am

Well, I'm very familiar with the area living not far away but also having spent most of my adult life in the area as well. The area certainly has had it's share of problems but the days of hookers and drug addicts are long past. The police have kept a close eye on the neighbourhood forcing the low lifes to move elsewhere. Now there are a lot of condos going up in the area and it has for a number of years been home to a lot of artsy types who occupy various lofts in the area. Ciro's has been around for 30 or 40 years changing ownership a number of times. The current owners, Frank Lee and his wife Debbie, are both into craft beer and their fridge includes many of our best offerings including a wide asssortment of Belgians and Trappists. The crowd is eclectic with someone tossing back Coors light at one end of the bar and someone else savouring a Rochefort 10 at the other end. Good, basic bar grub as well. A bit off the beaten path but the farthest westerly outpost for our type of product in Toronto...and the prices cannot be beat as they are undoubtedly the lowest in the city...give it a try if you're in the neighbourhood.

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 12:03 pm

Thanks for the info, Peter. I thought that borderline was pulling my leg with his comment about drinking Rochfort and Orval there until you piped in.

While the neighbourhood is better than it used to be, it's still kinda shady, especially at night, so I really didn't expect a place on that corner to have such a great selection. I will definately check it our soon, probably this week.

borderline_alcoholic · Mon Dec 22, 2003 12:24 pm

On 2003-12-22 12:03, GregClow wrote:
I thought that borderline was pulling my leg with his comment about drinking Rochfort and Orval there until you piped in.

You have little faith...

I like the place. While there, I chatted to Debbie who is very friendly and seems very interested in beers and spirits, with something of a leaning to the more extravagent and esoteric examples of each.

I would be there more regularly, but it is a little out of my way.

[ This Message was edited by: borderline_alcoholic on 2003-12-22 12:25 ]

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 2:21 pm

On 2003-12-22 12:24, borderline_alcoholic wrote:
I would be there more regularly, but it is a little out of my way.

Well, it's only a 5 minute bus ride (or in nice weather, a 20ish minute walk) for me, so I have a feeling this may become my regular haunt...

mds · Post by **mds** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 7:51 pm

I've been living in the area for about 4 months now and hadn't noticed the place until 2 weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to go yet.

I'm literally a 5 minute walk from there, just East of Lansdowne on the south side (St. Clarens Ave).

As for the neighbourhood, it's not really that bad anymore. There is the occasional vagrant every now and then on my way to the subway every morning, but nothing in terms of crime or immediate danger.

[ This Message was edited by: mds on 2003-12-22 19:53 ]

the.brewer · Post by **the.brewer** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 10:16 pm

I should have mentioned that we moved from the area 15 years ago. Seems like the other day, of course. I know that the area has improved a lot in recent years, but it didn't look too promising at the time (1989). I also lived at 290 St.Clarens Ave. from '79-'81.
Michael

Publican · Post by **Publican** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 11:36 pm

A co- worker of mine moonlights here as a bartender. I'll ask her to provide me with the current bottle line up.

DougShoemaker · Post by **DougShoemaker** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 4:43 pm

I dropped into Ciro's this afternoon, spoke briefly to Debbie, hope to meet You next time Frank, and they do have a great lineup of beer. They still have some Maudite on tap, their last keg, by the way. As for esprit's comment on the low prices, Peter is not joking. The Rochefort 10 I enjoyed, was $9.50! That's the price in U.S. funds at Premier Gourmet, and it's a short subway ride for me.

A nice little place, Happy Hunting, Doug

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sat Dec 27, 2003 12:29 am

Well, I still haven't made it to Ciro's, due to my being sick with a bad cold most of this week (what a great way to spend the holidays... sigh...), but I hope to pay them a visit next week.

Doug (or anyone else, for that matter) - let me know if you'd like to meet up there sometime for a couple of bevvies.

DougShoemaker · Post by **DougShoemaker** » Sat Dec 27, 2003 3:36 pm

Greg,
Sorry to hear You are not feeling well.
Yes, I'd like to stop in at Ciro's again, perhaps in the New Year.

All the Best, to You and Sheryl, Doug

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sun Dec 28, 2003 11:41 pm

Sheryl & I stopped by Ciro's tonight after dinner, and we were really impressed.

As promised, they have an excellent beer selection with a strong leaning towards Belgians, Trappists & Unibroue, and equally excellent prices. They could do with a couple more stouts & porters - all they have available is Guiness, Dragon & Royal - but otherwise, it's a pretty solid line-up.

The menu looks great as well - lots of burgers & sandwiches and a nice list of stir-frys (all of which are available in vegetarian versions, which made us very happy).

Frank was there tonight and proved to be a very friendly fella. He & Sheryl swapped stories about Bloor & Lansdowne in the early 90s, when it was probably the worst intersection in the city for drugs, hookers, and other fun stuff. It's certainly a lot better than it used to be.

We'll definately be back there soon, hopefully with some friends in tow.

[ This Message was edited by: GregClow on 2003-12-28 23:42 ]