Descriptions such as welcoming,
laid-back, or whimsical rarely comes to mind when envisioning nightlife in
the King West area. Rather I think back to evenings of waiting in line wearing
hemlines that were embarrassingly short, hoping a stern looking bouncer or
person holding a clipboard is in a good mood.
Hence, when Early Mercy’s media invite arrived with images
of its brightly lit rustic environment, I was intrigued and happy to see that
it wouldn’t be another so-called exclusive and dress-code driven establishment.
The bar is huge and situated squarely in the middle of the
room. With the ample frontage, the wait was never more than one person deep and
I didn’t see people trying to wedge their way between others to claim real
estate on the bar’s ledge.
Although I’m glad my dating days are behind me, Early Mercy
would be a great venue for first dates: there are plenty of elements in the
room to keep conversations flowing. For example, the word wall where sayings
such as “in your wildest dreams” can be deciphered or you can start a drinking
game using the portraits of Che Guevara, Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy and
Winston Churchill hanging above the plaid booths (thank me later for giving you
four to start).
Of course, when all else fails, knocking back a few of their
easy-going cocktails, named after famous personalities, can help boost your
courage and keep things interesting. The Lincoln is a vodka lemonade that’s
spritz up with ginger ale.
Under normal circumstances, Early Mercy will have a rotating
menu curated by Toronto caterers and on a weekly basis invite in local food
trucks. For the event, Provisions served up small easy-to-eat bites where you
could quickly pop it in your mouth and get back to mingling. Their take on
popcorn shrimp (a fritter laced with pieces of shrimp and spices) and
deep-fried grilled cheese (a crunchier mozzarella bite) were fantastic and had
me reaching for more.
The venue is also available as an event space for corporate
and social functions – the 3,500 square foot lounge area holding up to 400 and
patio squeezing in another 150. As for the food, you’re welcomed to use one of
Early Mercy’s preferred caterers or bring your own.
Once Toronto enters into the summer months, I can’t wait to
go back and check out their large street-side patio. People watching with a
cold drink in hand sounds so enticing right now.
Early Mercy’s name stems from the establishment’s motto:
sunrise forgives. With that in mind, listen to the word wall and “push your
luck” and “try to forgive” when someone admits that they “crashed your party”.
After all, who knows what exciting things will happen that night? Remember, if
you make a fool of yourself and no one catches it on their phone, the sunrise
does forgive.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 540 King Street West
Address: 540 King Street West
Website: http://earlymercy.com/
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