The Dance Cave
529 Bloor St. West
416.532.1598

I’m pretty sure The Dance Cave has been around since before dirt. It’s situated above famed live-music venue, Lee’s Palace, and it’s about the same footage and layout-a big square, but without a stage for bands.
It’s got that late-80s boho Queen St. vibe that the Bamboo had and the Horseshoe has in spades. The walls are even decorated in a Keith Herring rip-off paint job of black squiggles that go nowhere.

Pros: Fridays and Saturdays have had a line up four deep and a block long for over a decade. It’s only $5 and they play great music that doesn’t follow the trends like: Blur, The Beatles, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and other great full-songs.

Cons: The bartenders couldn’t find friendly with a map and a dictionary. They serve drinks in tiny plastic cups and everyone is perpetually in first year university.

But, it’s a Toronto landmark in night life and one of the best cheap, messy nights pound for pound in the city.