Toronto’s Best Patios: The Ones With Dirt Cheap Food and Drink

Picture this: It’s mid-July. You’ve spent the beginning of patio season (and all your hard-earned cheddah) reveling in rooftop splendour and judging passersby all the while enjoying some of the best food and drinks in the city. The reality of your now-broke-ass situation settles in, and you have two options: retreat to your sad 14-square-foot “balcony” with a Mike’s Hard Lemonade 6-pack and some serious FOMO baggage, or get ready to rough it university-student-style on some of the cheapest patios in the city. Take your pick, but chances are we’ll see you on one of these budget-friendly badass patios, slinging back copper-tinged beers and processed finger foods like the renegade you truly are…

Java House
This Queen West staple boasts some of the cheapest brews in town. (A pint for under $5 including tax?! Are sleepover cots available?) Sure, the food is subpar, and the service, while friendly, calls for double-fisted ordering, but you’ll zig-zagedly walk away from an evening under the stars (read: landing Porter flights) with a mere $30 spent and an undeserved sense of financial stability.

Pauper’s Pub
A platter of wings for 8 frugal folks works out to about $7 each. Little else on Pauper’s Pub’s menu ascends beyond the $12 mark. Talk about money in the bank… or, rather… money staying in the bank. And if you’re a disciple of the Cult of Brunching, Caesars are only $3.50 a pop on Sundays.

Hemingway’s
It’s rare that a day basking in the summer sun at Yorkville’s Hemingway’s will cost you over, say, $60. And that’s after 4 hours, 7 pints, a tray of nachos, and a Caesar salad. Best part? There’s something like 17 patios here, so even if you’re told to wait like a commoner you’ll only feel like a second-class citizen for about 20 minutes or so.

Einstein Bier Hall
The patio leaves much to be desired, sure, as its small 15-seat capacity is, well, small. But, if you score one of the coveted spots you’ll be downing 1L pours of Amsterdam’s Natural Blonde Lager for only $8.50. Ready to get crunked…?

Madison Avenue Pub
Have $15 to spare? Grab two bottles of domestic and a half-priced starter at the Maddy before 6pm and fake it like you’re an aristocrat slumming it for the day. Or opt for half-priced Wing Wednesdays or $3.50 domestic bottles and bar rail Thursdays. No matter the prefix on whichever day, guaranteed you can check out of the Madison Avenue Pub with a purple bill left over from your two greens.

The Office Pub
Rotating events and a central location make The Office Pub an interesting zone most nights of the week. They’ve also got a pretty killer selection of daily specials, ranging from Pimp Your Burger Mondays to Wholly Craft Wednesdays. There’s always at least one drink on the docket for $5.50 or less, too, and weekends see $14.99 pitcher deals for all-day sit-ins.

Utopia Cafe and Grill
Head here on Monday evenings for half-priced wines and half-priced burgers while a balmy summer breeze plays tricks with your senses. The pitchers at Utopia are well-priced, too, as are the myriad of dishes on their comfort food-focused menu.

The Green Room
Sporting uber-cheap bar rail and no food priced over $8, The Green Room is a long-standing Annex favourite for those nights when you need to make a twenty stretch as far as possible.

The Wheat Sheaf
One of Toronto’s oldest watering holes, The Wheat Sheaf has dirt cheap eats and reasonably-priced pints. Sundays through Tuesdays sees their wings getting the half-priced treatment, and on Wednesdays opt for $14 pitchers and half-priced apps.

Lou Dawg’s (Church and Gerrard)
Maybe not the “cheapest” eats and drinks around, but totally affordable nevertheless. The reason Lou Dawg’s scores a prime spot on this list is the value-for-dollar that’ll leave a saccharine sweetness in your pie-hole. Most of the food tops out around the $13 mark (and is hand-crafted indulgence at its finest), and the Smoked Lemon Southern Tea is one of the most dangerous liquid concoctions we’ve ever sucked back.

Don’t forget to check out Toronto’s Best Patios: The Ones in the Back + Toronto’s Best Patios: The Ones for People Watching + Toronto’s Best Patios: The Ones on Rooftops!

What’s your favourite cheap-ass patio in Toronto? Comment below or tweet us @ViewtheVibe.