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Club 22 attracts well-to-do – Metro US

Club 22 attracts well-to-do

george pimentel photo

Club 22 at the Windsor Arms.

Club 22 at the Windsor Arms

18 St. Thomas St.

416-971-9666

www.windsorarmshotel.com

Ambience: Just when you thought Yorkville had reached its capacity for trendy-looking watering holes for the city’s well-to-do, The Windsor Arms throws Club 22 into the mix. The lounge’s steely grey-blue interior is replete with banquettes and intimately-set tables that cater to the movers and shakers who frequent The Windsor Arms and neighbouring hotspots. But it’s not all smoke machines and mirror balls (thankfully there are none of the former and a subtly placed version of the latter). Club 22 is an inviting space that’s only as pretentious as the night’s crowd makes it. The numbers of which can fill the bar to capacity.

Crowd: When Hollywood quasi-royalty isn’t holding court, Club 22 is generally filled with a prototypical hotel-bar clientele — business players, hangers-on, younger women looking to get picked up by men in the midst of mid-life crises, not to mention the disgustingly rich. At least they’re fun to watch. Enjoy as you nurse your one martini while they pound through their second bottle of vintage cabernet sauvignon.

Dress code: Think designer at all costs. Under-dress and you will look out of place. But please avoid hipster or aspiring fashion photographer dress — those looks are just painful and are in no way ironically acceptable.

Should I dance on the bar? It’s not recommended, but I really wouldn’t be surprised if it happened some night.

Will I get lucky? Many come here thinking they will, but mercifully most do not. Not a bad place to start the night, however.

Best reason to pay a visit: The chance to eavesdrop on other conversations. Pay close attention to any potential stock tips or sellable celebrity gossip.

Cocktail du jour: Martinis, cocktails and top-shelf build drinks (scotch, vodka, etc.) are popular. The wine list by the glass and bottle are solid and offer some reasonably-priced choices, as well.

Hours: Monday through Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. (last call).

chris.atchison@metronews.ca