Super Bargain
Super Bargain is a low-key neighbourhood bar serving cocktails with sides of Pringles and Hawkins Cheezies.
Operating under the guise of an old discount department store sign, this watering hole sat vacant for a year and half before transforming into the sweet little spot it is today.
This Cabbagetown haunt offers bare Tiki vibes, and somehow manages to be completely over-the-top and understated at the same time.
Seats are a fun mix of bar stools, wicker chairs and shaggy maroon affairs, bringing fun accents to the space, while vibrant leafy wallpaper and checkered floor complete the look.
Owned by the same couple behind the pizza shop Salt & Tobacco up the road, the bar marks the only spot on Parliament (that's not a pub, anyway) to grab a Paper Plane or a Blue Hawaiian cocktail.
With Cabbagetown becoming busier by the day—the area is burgeoning with new developments and in recent years, has seen a wave of families move nearby—it's nice to see that the bar isn't going all-out to make a mark on the neighbourhood.
Opening its doors at 5 p.m. daily, the menu is lean but perfect for either an after-work jaunt or intimate, late-night hang. You'll find around 10 cocktails (all priced at $12), some local draft beers, and wine.
There's no food offered here (unless you count $1 Hot Rods or $2 bags of Cheezies as food—I know I do) but what the place lacks for in meals, it makes up for by allowing outside food to be eaten inside.Maybe get some Mexican food to go with an Oaxaca Ol' Fashioned, which subs the bourbon for reposado and mezcal; instead of angostura, there's agave syrup and bitters.
A Dark 'N' Sour is a twist on the classic highball cocktail with rum, ginger liqueur, and egg whites.
The Paloma is another staple, with tequila, grapefruit and lime juice, plus soda.
The drink selection is solid, and as it turns out, Super Bargain's trifecta of Pringles, Hot Rods, or Cheezies is the trinity of snacks you wish every bar had.
Hector Vasquez