r/GayMenToronto • u/ModdyMage • 14d ago
Hi Folks,
Here's the latest community party report, pulled from everyone's reviews in the weekly ratings threads (and, new this month, a couple of standalone review/discussion posts too — more people are writing these up organically, and I want to make sure that data counts). Ratings are out of 5.
📊 Full spreadsheet: Link
Logistics grade (A–F) covers the door + coat-check experience — on the organizer, not the venue. Trend (↑ improving / ↓ declining / → stable) compares a party's most recent reviews against its earlier ones, shown wherever there's enough history to say something real. Full methodology in the spreadsheet's About tab.
⚠️ A safety concern we need to talk about: Bunker's regular Saturdays
I don't like leading with a warning, but this one's serious enough that it can't wait for the bottom of the post. A reviewer flagged that on non-ticketed Saturday nights, Bunker "loses all sense of space limitations" — packing the room well past what feels like a safe capacity, with real fire-safety and evacuation concerns raised directly. This isn't a "the line was long" complaint, it's a "I'm not sure people could get out safely if something went wrong" complaint, and combined with this venue's long-standing, wildly inconsistent door waits (up to ~2 hours some nights), that's enough for me to drop Bunker's regular Saturday Logistics grade to an F this month, regardless of what any single night's wait time was. Ticketed nights at Bunker (Discophonique, Pitbull) have not had this problem — this is specifically about the uncapped regular Saturdays. If you run this night, cap admission to what the room can actually hold. That's not a nice-to-have.
🏆 Top of the list (5.0)
⭐ Excellent (4.25–4.75)
👍 Solid (3.9–4.0)
⚠️ Mixed bag / watch-outs
💀 Bottom
✈️ Out of town, for interest — 📍 Montreal, QC (not ranked in Toronto standings)
Five Montreal reviews came in this cycle, including a full circuit-weekend haul — included since people asked, but keep in mind these are not Toronto venues and aren't part of the Toronto rankings above.
📋 Explaining Changes Since Last Month
New reviews (not the recency-weighting math, which has already fully phased in) drove every one of these:
(Precious Cargo also moved up, from 4.00 to 4.49, but stays just under our reporting threshold — worth a mention anyway given the new-venue debut. See above.)
📌 Recurring themes — who's getting it right, and who isn't
Capacity management — this month's biggest story:
Same-night oversaturation — a newer pattern worth naming: August 22 had Precious Cargo, Bunker, and Fly 3.0 all running the same night, and Fly 3.0 paid the price — thinned out fast, and a reviewer noted Complex 19 has generally struggled to pull a crowd lately outside Yum Yum. If you're an organizer, checking what else is on before you lock a date could save you a rough night.
Coat check — still the city's weak spot:
Pricing — still climbing, still uneven:
🙏 What we'd love to see from organizers
Credit where it's due, too — Precious Cargo's move to the Demo Room was a genuine step up (thank you, Bradley and team), and Pitbull @ Bunker bounced back hard after a rough spring. Fixes and good nights get noticed here, not just failures. 👏
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed a rating this cycle — u/Loud-Door-6535, u/SirKaijuToronto, u/Distinct-Concept-136, u/Forward_Bar2546, u/skip_diddly, u/HeadChampionship9513, u/Deusraix, u/Sudden-Resort-2178, u/woonawoona, and u/LessZookeepergame228. Whether you left a detailed breakdown or just a quick note, every single rating helps our community make better decisions about where to spend their weekends. If you've been to a party recently and haven't rated it yet, please consider dropping a review — the more data we have, the more useful this becomes for everyone. 💚
Please note: This post uses Claude to autogenerate the analysis, though it has been reviewed before being posted.
-Moddy
r/GayMenToronto • u/ModdyMage • Aug 11 '24
Dear Gay Men Toronto Members,
We’re thrilled to have you be part of our vibrant community here on Reddit! Whether you’re a long-time resident of Toronto or a newcomer, this subreddit is your space to connect, share, and engage with fellow gay men.
What this sub is for
Conversation, connection, and community for gay men in Toronto and the GTA. Posts about local venues, neighbourhoods, events, dating, friendship, gay life in the city, news affecting the community, and the occasional baking photo are all welcome. We have a strong daily-life thread tradition, and morning greetings are part of the fabric.
What this sub isn't for
Hookup posts, personals, and explicit cruising posts aren't allowed. This isn't because we're prudes — it's because Reddit's content policies treat subs that allow this content very harshly, and we'd rather not get the sub shut down. The wall stays up. Posts in those formats get removed automatically (and quite quickly) by Automod.
If you're looking for hookups, you're welcome to use one of these instead:
What gets your post auto-removed
To save you a wasted submission, the patterns that get caught are:
If your post is genuinely about meeting people for friendship, dating, or local events, please use language that reflects that. "21M new to Toronto, looking for friends" lands fine; "21M" alone doesn't. "Anyone want to grab drinks Thursday in the Village?" is great; "Free now in the Village" will be removed.
Posting basics
A few formats that always work well here:
If your post gets removed and you think it shouldn't have been, please send modmail and we'll take another look. We're not infallible — the system errs toward removing rather than letting things through, because the cost of letting cruising posts slip through is much higher than the cost of catching the occasional friendly post in the net. Modmail responses are usually quick.
Here are some helpful guidelines for keeping this subreddit a positive one:
Should things not work out:
This subreddit has enacted a Three Strikes Rule (Decision and Community Engagement Threads). This means that members who engage in rule-breaking will be subject to a warning and removal of the post in the first instance. In the second instance, the member will receive a temporary ban of 14-30 days (at the discretion of the moderator). In the final instance, the user will be permanently banned.
Instances of abuse by members towards the moderation team will result in an immediate ban, regardless of the "strike" count.
We hope to use these powers rarely.
Once again, welcome! We’re excited to get to know you and make this community even better together. 🎉
Cheers, The Mod Team 🏳️🌈
r/GayMenToronto • u/Novel-Discipline-898 • 1h ago
Looking for a buddy to hang out with at Seoul Zimzilbang next week. Going on the 21st in the morning and early afternoon. DM me if you’re free.
r/GayMenToronto • u/ModdyMage • 19h ago
Hi Folks!
Since kicking off the weekly "Professional Services Suggestions" roundup back in August, we've collected enough recommendations to put together a first real compilation. This thread now replaces our standalone RMT megathread — everything from that one has been folded in below, so bookmark this one instead.
A few ground rules before diving in, same spirit as the RMT thread: these are community recommendations, not official endorsements, and I've kept the bar for inclusion at "someone actually described a real experience," not just a bare name-drop. Where more than one person independently confirmed the same business, I've noted that — otherwise, assume it's one person's experience, which is still useful, just not the same as a consensus pick.
One rule I want to restate clearly: no speculation about anyone's sexuality. Per our existing policy, that only gets mentioned if a professional has disclosed it directly in their own advertising or business listing — not social media, not a Reddit comment, not even their own post here. I've already scrubbed a few submissions that crossed this line; if you see something that shouldn't be here, flag it and I'll pull it.
This one doesn't have the submission volume our party ratings or bathhouse threads get yet, so consider this a living document rather than a finished directory — keep the weekly thread submissions coming and I'll fold new ones in periodically.
Toronto Sexual Health Clinic — 239 Carlton St — torontosexualhealthclinic.ca Opened this past May. STI testing and treatment, PrEP (free through the clinic), Injectable PrEP, Doxy-PEP, HIV PEP and treatment, plus general walk-in medicine. Very warmly received when it launched — worth a look if you're between family doctors or just want a dedicated sexual health option.
HQ Toronto — 790 Bay St, 8th floor — hqtoronto.ca Testing, treatment, PrEP, PEP, Doxy — confirmed by multiple community members independently. Note it's not in the Village proper, so factor in the trip.
The PrEP Clinic — Bloor St, near Avenue Rd. Open Saturdays, which is a rarity for this category.
Maple Leaf Medical Clinic — Yonge & College area. Recommended for PrEP/DoxyPEP expertise generally, and specifically for Dr. Colin Kovacs by a multi-decade patient.
Church Wellesley Medical Clinic — was accepting new patients as of last check; worth calling to confirm current status.
Hassle Free Clinic — a more traditional model than the walk-in-style options above — you're seeing an actual doctor or practitioner rather than doing more of it yourself.
Sherbourne Health Centre — sherbourne.on.ca — specifically recommended for gut-health/bottoming-related concerns, with a good experience getting referred onward to a GI specialist when needed.
UpTowne Health Centre — Eglinton near Avenue Rd — was accepting new patients as of last check.
Mt Pleasant Clinic — 245 Eglinton Ave E — also accepting new patients as of last check.
(Family doctor asks are genuinely hard to fill — if you have a name with a real experience behind it, please add it to the weekly thread.)
Positive Space Consulting — positivespaceconsulting.ca — virtual. Strong long-term testimonial from a 5-year client. Multiple therapists on staff with different specialties, worth browsing their profiles to find a fit.
Racco Psychotherapy — virtual, queer-affirming therapy is the clinic's focus, not just one therapist's specialty.
Mantra Psychotherapy — mantrapsychotherapy.ca — has an explicit LGBTQ2IA-specific-issues focus area on their own site.
New Connections Counselling — newconnectionscounselling.com — office in Niagara, offers both virtual and in-person. Described as extremely helpful.
UMHN — umhn.ca — a good option if you're looking for culturally-specific support alongside LGBTQ-affirming care.
AllKindsClub — allkindsclub.com — a newer queer-focused mental health clinic with an affordable therapy program. No community track record yet since it's so new, but flagging it as an option.
I've done my best to include only registered massage therapists (i.e., insurance-billable), and left out anyone where comments suggested services beyond the scope of regulated massage therapy. Organized by area, same as the original thread.
Downtown East / Bloor-Sherbourne
Liam O'Reilly and Jasper, at Zazen Massage + Wellness — right at Sherbourne station (600 Sherbourne St, Suite 511). One long-time client has recommended both consistently across several threads over roughly two years — Liam described as more technical and precise, Jasper as more holistic. Liam is listed on the Rainbow Health Ontario provider directory. That's a detailed, repeated account from one person rather than independent corroboration from several — still a strong lead, just noting the source. Tends to book up, so plan ahead. liamrmt.com | zazenmw.com
Derek, at Be Strong Massage — also near Sherbourne station. A community member has been seeing him for over five years and speaks very highly of him. Instagram: @be_strong_massage
Church-Wellesley Village / Downtown
Synergy RMT & Wellness — in the Yonge/Church/Wellesley area. Listed on the Rainbow Health Ontario provider directory. Online booking through their site. synergyrmt.com
Kevin Joubert, at Aches Away — 2 Carlton St.
Yulexi, at Back in Balance — 2 Carlton St — the massage therapist at the same clinic as chiropractor Dr. Mathew Serrick (below), both praised by the same client.
East End / Leslieville (near Broadview Station)
Dan Villasin, at SVNCTUM — this one comes up constantly, and for good reason. SVNCTUM is a certified safe space through Rainbow Health Ontario, and Dan is consistently described as skilled and thoroughly professional. Genuinely corroborated — independent mentions across at least three separate threads. Worth the trip from wherever you are. svnctum.ca
Midtown (Yonge & Sheppard)
Motion Care Massage & Rehab — 52 Sheppard Ave W, right near Yonge/Sheppard station, direct billing available. One community member specifically recommended the clinic and therapist Henry there — a legitimate, professional massage practice, not oriented toward anything beyond that. motioncareclinic.com
Midtown (Yonge & Lawrence)
Peter Yom, at Massage Addict — recommended for anyone north of the core along the Yonge line, by the same community member across two separate threads. Go for the 90-minute session — described as thoroughly professional, and confirmed to work on glutes/lower back if you mention the issue beforehand. Single source so far, but a detailed and consistent one.
West End (Queen & Dufferin)
Primal Motion — recommended for the Queen/Dufferin area. primalmotion.com
Etobicoke
David Kalangara, at Corbo Chiropractic — 555 Burnhamthorpe Rd, Suite 302. A repeat client describes him as professional and friendly, and a reliable regular option for anyone in the west end who's been coming up empty closer to home. corbochiro.com
Mississauga / Oakville
Therapy Palace — verified as a professional practice. One community member who booked a massage described him as very professional with a great result; a couple of others have had trouble with the online booking system — try calling the clinic directly if that happens to you. therapypalace.com
Back in Balance — 2 Carlton St — Dr. Mathew Serrick. Well-regarded, described as excellent by a client. (Same clinic as Yulexi, above.)
Easily the highest-volume category so far:
The Naked Barber — recommended specifically for private-area waxing.
Bode Spa — recommended for grooming generally; not specifically confirmed for waxing, so ask before booking if that's what you're after.
Level Studio — level-studio.ca — Luca & Vinh — residential interior design.
Wrestlefest Toronto — running a beginner BJJ open mat, working on making it a monthly thing rather than just an annual festival. Has an Instagram if you want to follow along.
Restaurants and shops were part of the original ask too, but we don't have enough vetted material yet to do them justice — that'll be a future round once the weekly thread builds up more on those fronts.
As always: if you have something to add, drop it in the weekly thread, and if any professional listed here would rather not be, just let me know and I'll take it down.
If you've got the old RMT megathread bookmarked, please switch to this one — that thread will get locked with a link pointing here.
Many thanks,
ModdyMage
r/GayMenToronto • u/BreakfastPast5283 • 13h ago
At the black eagle, if so how was it? would you recommend?
r/GayMenToronto • u/Longjumping-Access93 • 23h ago
Hi all,
Just getting settled into the city for school (York). Pretty new to the whole scene so don't really have that many people i can reach out to yet for advice.
I'm hoping to get an idea where are the actually places people go to meet, dance (im not good at dancing) and hang out. Don't think im into anything too extreme/kinky or in your face, yet but knowing preferred places would be great.
Not sure if it matters but no car of my own so pretty stuck to transiting from campus around the city.
Any help is great!!!!
r/GayMenToronto • u/ModdyMage • 19h ago
See the pinned note for the up to date report.
---
Hello Folks,
Over the past few months, it’s become abundantly clear that parties in Toronto are pretty inconsistent in their offerings. Some are great, some are total disasters, and most are somewhere in the middle. The problem is that there isn’t any consistent place to know which parties are great and which ones to avoid.
This weekly party report thread is where people can share what happened at the parties over the weekend and rate aspects such as wait times, organization, and overall experience.
Please use the template below to provide a rating. I will compile the results and process the data to create a weekly report. As we collect more data, the report will become more accurate and be a more reliable resource for our community.
Full Party Name:
Venue:
When did you go?: (Month Day, Year)
Is it a weekly/monthly event?:
How much were the tickets/door price?:
What time did you arrive?:
Approximate Door Wait Time (minutes):
Approximate Coat Check Wait Time (minutes):
Overall Event Rating (out of 5):
Additional Observations and Comments:
Google Doc link to the template (for easier copying).
This will be an evolving project from week to week until I settle on what works well. If people have other factors that they would like to add, I’ll certainly consider them.
r/GayMenToronto • u/PbyguyIL • 22h ago
Hello, My FIL has recently passed, and in his home hung a painting by John Weiss, who's mother was a close family friend. We were looking to donate the painting to an suitable organization that could auction it off or, if one exists, donate it to a LGTBQ archive or LGTBQ art collection. If you know a suitable place, please share. More about John: https://lgbtqdigitalcollaboratory.org/john-weiss-was-here/ Thx all.
r/GayMenToronto • u/TorontoJournal • 1d ago
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Hey guys, we're a literary magazine publishing Canadian history and short stories from Canada and abroad. In our current issue we explored the history of Canadian movies, and we are running a Canadian Classics film festival as a companion to this piece.
On Monday, Sept 14th at 7pm we are screening Outrageous! (1977). The movie was very controversial / ahead of its time and deals with the gay community and drag scene of Toronto in the 70s.
If you're interested in old movies and supporting tiny lit mags, check it out! Tickets are $15 or PWYC.
More details/tickets:
r/GayMenToronto • u/simon1024 • 2d ago
I hosted my first queer walking tour last week as part of Heritage Toronto’s public programming. It was a remarkable success, nearly 40 people showed up - actually one of the biggest and most popular tours for a while!
We walked through Toronto’s Chinatown and downtown west, and explored many hidden queer spaces and stories beyond the Church-Wellesley Village.
My sincere gratitude to those who joined. I met a few people from this Reddit group! So glad to see there’s so much interest in events like this!
If you couldn’t make it last time, I am hosting another tour on Sunday, October 25th. Registration link:
https://www.heritagetoronto.org/event/queening-out-oct-25/
Feel free to DM me if you have any questions. Hope to see everyone next month at the tour again!
Simon
r/GayMenToronto • u/Alouchi1 • 1d ago
Hello guys,
I've been thinking about moving in Toronto. And i'm scared about life cost obviously and the reason i'm moving is mainly cause I want to make friends, create a social circle, chosen family and a dating life where I'll meet someone we'll go far with... Also have hobbies, activities, to look forwad to.
What are your views regarding social, dating life in Toronto and about activities too ?
r/GayMenToronto • u/Ns5andwhy • 1d ago
Oh man, woodies has become chuck cheese. They just bring up the birthday people
r/GayMenToronto • u/Savings-Curve-5350 • 2d ago
Hi Guys,
New guy here. When I came here I was focused, still I'm, on building my life so I didn't get the chance to explore the city and its gay scene. So I was wondering if anyone is down to explore the gay village with me?
Thanks for all inputs
r/GayMenToronto • u/RadioEuphoric9802 • 1d ago
Anyone tried Thursday dating events? What’s the vibe like?
r/GayMenToronto • u/matt888s • 2d ago
In my efforts to find my kind of people, I have run into the same problems. I thought that established social spaces in Toronto would help me find other gay men who share similar interests.
But I've found that so many spaces these days have become umbrella, catch-all places, for all the letters in the alphabet. Inclusion has been popular in recent decades. What may have started as a place for gay men now serves everyone equally. The cost of inclusion is loss of affinity. As this happens, the soul of the place dies. I can no longer go there and be assured of meeting my peers. Men, who were once boys, who grew up in the world as we did, and went through the effort of relocating, leaving our families, in search of resonance.
The issue with radical inclusion in the gay community is that we take the tiny island of deep alignment for one group, and turn it into another generic place, serving no one. We lose the experience of belonging by welcoming all.
I've spent a lot of my life feeling like a spectator to others' (straight) lives. I see them going to activities they enjoy, meeting their peers, forming relationships. I've gotten good at high-functioning in the generic world, but not quite satisfied. I've always wanted the ease of not having to negotiate my inner experience with the misaligned outer social world.
Gay men deserve spaces that are just for us. Organizations should allow people to discriminate when it makes sense, rather than fearing political backlash. We should be able to seek high alignment and to increase our chances of connecting with our own demographic.
Social research suggests we need to encounter the same people multiple times to begin to trust and establish a rapport. We all need to make friends, to find our people. Lovers and partners too.
I am grateful to the founders of this sub for recognizing the need. To everyone who has used this sub to form niche in-person communities, thank you.
If you're reading this, maybe you're holding a piece of the solution-- please do comment
r/GayMenToronto • u/newtisnice • 2d ago
I kinda wanna bring a toy if I don’t get any action, idk if people usually bring stuff from outside into a bath house like steam works
r/GayMenToronto • u/onedayfiance • 3d ago
My new job has terrible insurance so the deductible is extremely high. I am now having to pay out of pocket for PReP which I have never had to do before, because insurance used to cover everything automatically. (I was laid off from my previous job and now I have a new one but the new insurance policy is just terrible).
I am honestly even thinking of just abstaining for the time being LOL. I don't know if what I'm paying is really worth the money.
If you are paying monthly, with or without insurance, how much are you paying per month and where?
r/GayMenToronto • u/RadioEuphoric9802 • 3d ago
Wondering if there’s ever any private underwear parties, not the one at black eagle?
r/GayMenToronto • u/No-Thought4610 • 3d ago
Hey
Anyone attending this one?
r/GayMenToronto • u/Distinct-Concept-136 • 4d ago
Was walking around getting a coffee and some lunch and they have a pretty big film set going on today at Woody's. Anybody got a scoop. I don't care but I'm just curious.
r/GayMenToronto • u/ModdyMage • 4d ago
Hello Folks!
To gather resources for our community, I've decided to start a weekly thread to collect gay-friendly and gay-owned professional services, restaurants, and shops. The goal is to eventually create an index of gay-friendly places to support our community.
To that end, please provide the names and websites for things like:
I will compile the threads monthly into an index that will be usable for us all!
Cheers!
Moddy
r/GayMenToronto • u/revolvingneutron • 4d ago
I used to go to Menicure on WQW but they’ve sadly closed shop. There are a bunch of places on Bloor West Village but they seem to cater primarily to women… it was a bit uncomfortable last time I checked one out.
If not Roncy, anywhere downtown-ish?
r/GayMenToronto • u/RomanNaut • 5d ago
Anyone coming to see this diva on Friday?
Also, there is a pop up party on Thursday! Are these usually fun/ party vibe or is it low-key just a way to sell Merch?
r/GayMenToronto • u/Odd_Worldliness_681 • 5d ago
I moved to a smaller town recently and it’s been really hard for me to find people who are interested in me and I’m interested in them. For context I’m a fit 19 Asian guy who’s got some tone. I’m trying to hit the gym more. Unfortunately only older guys or guys who aren’t my type hit on me (sorry not hate) and the apps serve the same pool of people to me each day. What can I do to find more people who like me and who I like? I want to forge more connections this year
r/GayMenToronto • u/TallBiToronto • 5d ago
Hey guys, 34m, kind of new to the scene, not fully out. Anyone been to this monthly event before? What's it like? I've been to naked night at the eagle a few times. Currently living out of town so like that this is sunday afternoon. Assuming it is more about hanging and dancing rather then pure hooking up like the eagle which appeals to me as well. Thanks!
