Civil Liberties

No Menu, No Problem

4 of 5

Civil Liberties has no menu, and that is not a pose. Since 2014 the bar at 878 Bloor West has run on a simple contract. You name a spirit, a flavour you like, maybe a mood, and the person behind the bar builds you a drink. The owners did the renovation themselves, turning an old dive into a room of industrial bones and vintage furniture, and a pineapple on the sign is about all the advertising it does.

The no-menu thing scares some people. It should not. It is the most democratic system in drinking, because nobody is upselling you a story printed on heavy card stock. The bartenders make their own liqueurs, and two have names you will remember: Free Pizza, which is herbal, and Heisenberg, which is blue enough to make a chemistry teacher nervous. The Nitro Espresso Martini is the drink people leave talking about. Early in the evening the room is a symposium for alcohol nerds. Later it becomes a party, and the staff handle both crowds without changing their faces.

In 2025 a burst pipe flooded the place and shut it for half the year. Plenty of bars would have quietly folded. Civil Liberties came back with new seating and kept the broken pipe on display, which tells you most of what you need to know about the people who run it. It landed fourth on Canada's 100 Best for 2026. Midweek, settle in at the bar and give them something to work with. Co-owner Nick Kennedy is a Guinness man, and he will tell you the left tap pours the creamiest pint.

Order this: Tell them a spirit and a mood, Nitro Espresso Martini, A taste of the Free Pizza liqueur, A Guinness from the left tap
The damage: $$
Go: A weeknight, early, at the bar
Find it: 878 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1M5