James Joyce Irish Pub

Rated this place:

386 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON, M5S1X4

All-day breakfast and beer: They have a ton of specials every night, including half-price appetizers, half-price on select drinks, and open-mic nights. There's a huge selection of imported beers, and domestics are usually half-price. There's a pool table that's free to use until 6 pm. But the absolute best thing about the James Joyce is the all-day breakfast - it's cheap, it's incredibly filling, it's tasty, and its probably terrible for your arteries, but it doesn't matter because it's amazing.

Rancho Relaxo

Rated this place:

300 College St, Toronto, ON, M5T1R9

Margaritas and bar: I don't even like margaritas much, but the ones at Rancho Relaxo are pretty impressive (not to mention huge). Drinks are cheap, crowd is hip and fun, and the decor in the restaurant is actually very nice.

Eat My Martini

Rated this place:

648 College St, Toronto, ON, M6G1B8

Martinis: Classy but relaxed, its sophisticated without being uppity. The martini selection is absolutely mindblowing, and for $5 a pop it's probably one of the best places in the city to pre-drink before clubbing, or just to spend the night getting blitzed on some really excellent, tasty drinks. The food is a step above your usual bar fare, too - the pasta and calamari are pretty excellent.

Green Room

Rated this place:

296 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON, M5S2M7

Title: The food is surprisingly tasty for the (very cheap) price, especially the pad thai. Some tasty vegetarian options too, which is a rarity when it comes to bar food. They make some mean martinis, the wait stuff are speedy and friendly, and the atmosphere is fantastically laid-back. It's a great place to whittle away an evening (or the whole night) with a couple of good friends.

Sneaky Dee's

Rated this place:

431 College St, Toronto, ON, M5T1T1

Nachos and beer: Sneaky Dee's may look pretty scuzzy at first glance, but it's a classic Toronto hangout. The nachos are fantastic, definitely try the Hawaiian with bacon and pineapple. It can get pretty busy in there, especially on the weekend after 10, but the wait staff really try their damnedest to make sure you get great service.

Butterfly

Rated this place:

2190 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4S2B8

Jewellery store: Has tons of different body jewellery, colourful plastic jewellery, silver jewellery, scarves, belts, leggings, necklaces, rings, earrings...plus hilarious things like Spiderman bongs.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• jewellery store

Annex Bar & Grill

Rated this place:

262 Dupont St, Toronto, ON, M5R1V7

Cheap eats: I work around here and I go to the Annex all the time. The couple who own it know me and my boyfriend and it's always great service and awesome cheap diner food AND Chinese food.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Cheap Eats

House Of Lords Hair Design

Rated this place:

639 Yonge St, Toronto, ON, M4Y1Z9

Hair salon: I've been going here for about three years, and I've NEVER had a bad haircut (even though some people I know have). I go to April now, who is awesome and knows exactly what I want, sometimes without me even asking. Plus a haircut is really, really affordable.

Pink Pearl Restaurant

Rated this place:

120 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON, M5R2H4

Barbeque pork buns: It's light and fluffy on the outside and it's ridiculously tasty on the inside.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Barbeque Pork Buns

Second Cup

Rated this place:

1 University, Toronto, ON, M5J2P1

Chai tea latte: I brought it back for a friend one day on a coffee run. As soon as I smelled it I knew I HAD to have it.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Chai Tea Latte

Silver Snail Comics

Rated this place:

367 Queen St. West, Toronto, ON, M5V 2A4

Comic book store: Silver Snail is legendary. It has everything you could ever possibly want from every single denomination of comicdom (anime, manga, American comics, artsy vinyl figures...)

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Comic book store

Penguin Music

Rated this place:

256 Queen Street West (Downstairs - Black Market), Toronto, ON, M5V1Z8

Used cds store: The location's recently moved (it's inside Black Market used clothing now), but it's still the same store, with the same incredibly knowledgable guy who owns it and the same awesome selection of CDs (some of which, like the stuff in the industrial section, I can't find anywhere else).

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Used Cds Store

Sushi Queen

Rated this place:

204 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V 1Z2

Tomago (egg sushi): I have no idea what makes it so good, but it's kind of sweet and that's my favourite thing about it.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Tomago (egg sushi)