The Painted Lady has been my favourite bar on the Ossington strip this year, which all started when I ended up there on Easter Sunday only to hear a DJ spinning the very best of '90s hip-hop. At first it seemed odd that a bar looking like it was uprooted right from pre-Katrina New Orleans would have a hip-hop night, but when you take in account that a) on any given night the music here varies from Hendrix to Springsteen to Arrested Development, and b) owners Nicky Potter and Sam Papatragiannis are actually themselves uprooted from New Orleans via South Africa and Scarborough, respectively, then the combination makes sense.
The idea for a bar actually came from living in New Orleans, when they wanted to open a place where all the hookers could mingle with regular folk (outside of the brothel I guess). It seemed the next best thing was a bar across from a former strip club on Ossington, and naming it after the infamous "painted ladies" of New Orleans. Not to mention the practicality of it, as both Potter and Papatragiannis live above it and simply wanted a bar they would love to go to.
From its dark-finished wood, beautifully ornate bar stocked with liquor from classy (nice scotch and tequila) to crazy (plans to get absinthe - the real stuff you can't get at the LCBO - are in the works for the coming months) and the wall of around 50 or so paintings and photographs of various women, they've created a space that is as welcoming as your local dive bar, but impressive enough to bring a first date. Be sure to get there early though for a coveted spot on the small front patio or the open air sofa, as it fills up around dinner time.
Speaking of food, the menu is more than your typical bar as well, with everything homemade and, for the budget-minded, nothing over $10. There's the pulled-pork with original bbq sauce, the skewered Korean kabobs or the white trash nachos (Fritos, homemade chilli and Cheez Whiz, which looks a lot better than it sounds) to highlight just a few.
The 12 taps offer a good assortment of Canadian microbrews like Mill Street, as well as some staples and obscure euro imports, like the wheat ale Weihenstephan, to round it out. They've even had a mixologist (AKA fancy bartender) design an assortment of signature drinks (2 oz for $12.50), the most interesting being the Painted Pink Lady, with gin, brandy, lemon juice and an egg froth on top. Regular cocktails are $8.50.
With plans for a backyard patio, as well as new summer hours to cater to the weekend brunch crowd, the Painted Lady is definite must-stop venue on any Dundas West/Ossington bar crawl.
Writing by Jesse Kinos-Goodin
Additional Details
- Beers on Tap:
- Mill Street, Creemore plus 10 more
- Signature Drink:
- The Painted Pink Lady
- Bar Snacks:
- White trash nachos, pulled pork
- Patio:
- Yes
- Music/Genre:
- Various local djs spinning a huge array of music; Sunday is vinyl preservation night; Wednesday is acoustic night.
- Live Music:
- Yes
- Who Goes There:
- Ossington bar-goers tired of Baby Huey's
- Hours:
- 5pm – 2am daily
Discussion
7 Comments
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the best part about this place is that so far it seems to have escaped the douchey vibe that some of the other places on ossington have recently acquired. not to mention the bartenders and staff and all SUPER nice and friendly - and they make a mean pulled pork sandwich for a place without a kitchen!
I agree. Because it's new it's not as high up on the radar for those not too familiar with the area
I love the bar in this place! Gorgeous wood work! Anyone know the designer? IT just invites you to sit at the bar....
have to say I really am not a fan of this bar. I find the drinks (esp. wine) to be over priced. With all the other amazing bars in the area I will not be returning to this place
Dear mr,
Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. However, a fact is a fact; Our drinks are very reasonably priced. You've either never ordered a drink at The Painted Lady, or perhaps you haven't set foot in any other Toronto bars to get a sense of what the going rate is for wine, beer, whiskey etc... When you do compare our pricing to that of other Toronto establishments, you'll find that your comment on this topic is unfounded.
As well, the team here at The Lady works very hard every day to ensure kind, attentive, friendly service. We love what we do, and we really care about each and every person that walks through our doors.
The Painted Lady
Well, you can tell from the response that the Painted Lady returned to a constructive criticism opinion from Mr. that they really don't treat everyone with kind attentive friendly attitudes they claim, seeing how they get so defensive from one comment. So as to believe the rest of the comments on this board are just from friends of the bar to give the bar more social media hype to try and make it a larger venue.
"Mr." is right this bar is overpriced, that wine would be reasonably priced at 6.75 if it was a standard drink size but the bar masks it behind smaller glass wear and giving you about 2 ounces to the standard 5 ounces other bars would serve for the same price.
The venue is Tiny, on a friday or sat night good luck trying to move as it can legally hold 100- 125 but factually may only be able to handle 50 but they fill it to the legal level if they can. the bartenders them selfs are kinda as ever as long as your tip is just as kind, but by 12-1 am they are so drunk them selfs that customer service goes out the door.
I was warned by several people before going to the bar that they water theyre liquor down. so to put the bar to the test I ordered a dry martini, and with out being asked was made a very dry dirty martini, not my cup of tea but never the less you can defiantly tell the vodka is has been watered down for sure.
The venue it self is fitly from sticky chairs that are never cleaned, to having mice greeting you in the basement well on your way to the washroom.
The venue has great music, a little louder then you would like for the size of the venue, but all in all the sound is great, and always different style from pop 40s one night to jazz. You never know what it will be when entering the venue.
Over priced drinks, questionable quality of liquor, pour customer service, dirty as a college dorm, all in all the painted lady seems like a perfect fit for the old style of Ossington bars but will not last in the new upscale scene that is now becoming of Ossington. I would expect to see a new venue here in the next year or two.
I would rate this Bar an easy 4 out of 10, and wouldn't recommend it to most.
The Bar Blogger
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