Sports Bars: Champs In The League

Though I don’t have a problem with a visit to The Sports Centre Café or a trip to Hoops, I’m not a huge fan of their ESPN meets family restaurant aesthetic. Sure the food’s tasty and the waitresses are hot, but half the TVs in the place are tuned to golf or NASCAR. I prefer a bar that features real sports; hockey, football, boxing… even baseball will do. Sports that people have been watching in bars for years, back to the days when your only choices were bottle or draft, pretzels or nuts. It’s not that I want to watch the Leafs on a vintage 13 inch B&W with a bowl of unshelled peanuts, but I’d appreciate it if the atmosphere was a little closer to the type of joint I drink in every other night of the week; dark, worn in and comfortable with a unique local charm.


Over the years I’ve settled on a few spots that deftly balance the ratio of flat screen plasmas, chesty broads and beer promos with a great wing recipe, dim lighting and a clientele that loves sports and serious drinking in equal measure. Toronto’s Main Event is good, as is Tiff’s in Barrie, but my favourite by far is Champs in Montreal. Believe it or not the ladies discovered this one. We boys were off in Ottawa watching the US get trounced by Slovakia at the World Juniors. Imagine our pleasant surprise when les filles texted us their location midway through the 3rd period, a franco tavern, tucked away on the second floor of a building on St. Laurent. We met them there later in the evening for the start of the Flyers game and immediately fell in love with the place. It’s difficult to quantify the experience, but I’ll begin by saying there is a living room lounge by the front window that has couches, recliners and more than a dozen TVs, each tuned to a game of your choice. If that’s not enough to sell you on the place, there’s an off track bookie upstairs and enough Habs memorabilia to fill a museum. Don’t even consider showing up sporting a Leafs jersey though; us anglos have historically handed the frogs their asses but these guys clearly weren’t on the battle lines. They were too busy putting away quarts of Cinquante and plates of poutine.

New Day Rising: Hurricanes

When The Tap introduced grilled paninis I knew our time together had drawn to a close. Don’t get me wrong, The Tap remains one of the best bars in Toronto. You can still enjoy cheap pints of 50, shots of Jager and spirited table hockey matches overseen by four Elvis busts in full Kiss Army regalia. You’re welcome and encouraged to revel in their unholy marriage of professional sports and indie rock, but it’s just not for me anymore. I’ll miss Moe Berg’s Saturday night DJ set, but when the sandwiches came, my beloved bartenders, Chris and Jay, went. I’d wish I could say I’ve followed them to a sweet new haunt but sadly they’ve gone to lesser bars; Chris to the reviled Madison Pub and Jay to The Crooked Star, a trendy spot on Ossington which is surely less objectionable than the Maddie and its roofie slipping freshmen, but still less than inspired.



Instead, I’ve moved on to Hurricanes, which though not really a tavern, most certainly lives up to its billing as Roadhouse. I’m not exactly sure what Rubin Hurricane Carter has to do with the place, but his signature is proudly displayed on the wall beside my usual table. Hurricanes is much like The Tap was when I first visited years ago; a little rough around the edges, but comfortable as all get out. Lots of promotional clocks, neon signs and various sports bullshit adorn the walls and they’ve got an impressive collection of stubby bottles from the old days above the worn wooden bar. The clientele is largely neighbourhood folks; construction works, older men and sports fans… which doesn’t do much to explain the well stocked juke box (both The Replacements and Sir Mix a Lot) and hot punk rock waitresses. The service is friendly and attentive and they serve a good variety of beer, including 50, Bud and a nice selection of dad drinks (imports and micro brews). I’m just waiting for the night that Moe Berg discovers the place and moves his weekly gig over to Ossington and Bloor, then the transition will be complete.

Other amenities: covered patio out back, NHL Centre Ice