The new crop of bars in Toronto let you kick back, whether you're looking for a fun night of brews and boardgames or eSports and cocktails. You can hit up on of these watering holes on your next Toronto bar crawl because our city's welcomed a whole new crop of promising bars in the first half of 2016.

Here are my picks for the top new bars in Toronto this year (so far).

The Greater Good
This new bar from the crew behind The Get Well boasts 18 craft beers on draft, a wide selection of tall cans as well as its very own North of Brooklyn pizza counter and Skee Ball.

Clocktower Bar
This intimate Summerhill cocktail bar pays homage to the former North Toronto Railway Station (now an LCBO) located just south of it. It's the companion spot to the original Boxcar Social, but the focus here is on expertly crafted cocktails like the Jalapeno Mint Margarita.

Good Game
To get your fill of eSports, head to this bar just south of Yonge and Eglinton. It's essentially a social club for gaming enthusiasts with walls lined with big screen TVs as well as craft beer and specialty cocktails named after WoW characters.

Swan Dive
Unpretentious, unadulterated fun seems to be the order of the day at this eclectic new Dundas West bar. Go here for tall cans, classic cocktails and comfort food, but stay for the good vibes. The bar is stocked with novelty sunglasses and soap bubbles, board games, books, and a TV screening old B-movies.

El Rey
A hand-picked collection of mezcal is the main attraction at this Kensington Market bar. Sip and savour flights of this unique spirit or sample from the collection of summery cocktails like the Mexploitation, a potent Mai Tai-like libation over crushed ice flavoured with pineapple and horchata-spiced Orgeat.

Thanks to Grolsch for sponsoring this post

Photo of Clocktower Bar by Jesse Milns.