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Directions: Take the Yonge-University-Spadina subway to Queen Station. Exit and take the Queen Street streetcar east. Castro's is a fair way into the east end of Toronto, east of Woodbine Ave., on the north side of Queen. The Beach is an area where residents are very passionate about their neighbourhood. Many Beach beer lovers have asked for a section in the Bar Towel; I hope this will be the first of many pub reviews from the Beach. Having heard for quite some time about the merits of Castro's Lounge, I trekked out to the Beach on a snowy January evening to see what this pub was all about. What first struck me about Castro's was its size: it is tiny. As compared to the megabars of the Annex (The Madison, Pauper's), I was quite taken aback by Castro's space. There are probably no more than six to eight tables at the door, and the bar at the back of the room. No upstairs, no back area. What you see is what you get at Castro's. That being said, as soon as we wrangled some seating, it became quite a cozy and intimate atmosphere. Often folks like to be in bars that other people go to; Castro's succeeds in satisfying that requirement. For virtually the entire time at Castro's, there was not a vacant table or bar stool for more than a couple of minutes. Castro's remained packed for the entire evening. On to the beer. I had long heard that Castro's has the finest beer in the Beach, and this very well may be true. Castro's has over a dozen draughts, including McAuslan, Amsterdam and some rare imports (thankfully, no mainstream domestics). Castro's also has a bottled beer menu of about 100. All things considered, a good beer selection for such a small pub. During winter, Castro's is an intimate, albeit extremely smoky pub. In fact, it felt very much "Montreal": a dark and tiny pub, with snowdrifts coming in the door and patrons warming themselves with fine beverages. However, as with the Beach in general, Castro's undoubtedly improves during the summer months, its garage-door front expanding and opening up the space. There will definitely be a trip back to Castro's for a summer revisit. I am unsure if Fidel Castro is a beer connoisseur, but this intimate pub offers a fine selection of brews, ideal for any time of year.
Recommended.
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News Good Beer Pub Walks
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