Sportsman's Club looks like a tavern your grandfather would have recognized: taxidermy on the walls, a long wooden bar, no cocktail menu posted anywhere. The bartenders are among the most knowledgeable in the city, and every drink arrives seasonally inspired and priced below comparable cocktail bars in trendier neighbourhoods.
The back patio opens in summer and transforms into one of the city's better outdoor drinking spots. This is a genuine hidden gem in the truest sense.
Ask what they are excited about that week. Order the off-menu house shot. The old-fashioned variations are consistently excellent.
Weekday evenings for the full bartender-interaction experience. Saturday afternoons for patio season.
Serious cocktail drinkers who do not need to Instagram their drinks. Neighbourhood regulars and anyone who prefers conversation to theatrics.