BSMT254 — Restaurant in Toronto

This place is low key, strange experimental multicultural vibes that are really nice for global music lovers. In Toronto, it's rare to find this mix of international community, and people who feel down to earth. It's also helpful to be around people who travel, and give a comparative reality, diplomacy, and deep insights. It's a third space for connecting anomilies. People are looking for a place to feel safe, understood, and invest in authentic multicultural neighbourhood spaces, but not like, 'hipster' stuff, that's performative. It's hard to get here, and it's so so expensive, and still unsafe to be alone. My sisters and I don't go to to many places with this male-based society anymore. When I've expressed concern, I havent felt supported by woman who have djed here frequently. I worry it's getting normalized, and it's all marketing, and really designed to manipulate an audience or attract amazing woman, who are not often paid, or mentored for a longer value to develop place, and community, unless they are still presenting white. Everything in this city has been shrowded in darkness of being exploited, being really cheap, and not really valuing knowledge and true community. In my family, we are like the career focused, Toronto-based woman who carved a space for marginalized, and working-class communities, and are family and friends oriented. We should be enjoying this amazing jawdropping culture, making connections, and feeling a longerterm sense of inclusive Canadian produced space. But, we are used for our unique ideas, and manipulated to think we arent worth what we are valued frequently, and in a scary way, around things we arent exposed to that is heartfelt darkages times. There are so much politics behind each bar, space, event, but this city is an overcrowded sense of saying a lot of things to develop inclusive culture, yet I felt safer paying $50 to drink sacred cacao in a small town venue with 'Awaken' at an expensive almost all white ecstatic dance. I need a sign that this place respects people for more than for being pretty, globally oriented females and attracting colloquial dudes, cause Ive had so much chaos instead of just understanding Im busy, and I dont like dicks disrespecting that Im more than a popularity contest, and they need to actually make an investment in my safety. In fact, let some of us come, for free! And, post honest bios.. For most people who dance well enough to watch, we grow to understand that club culture is more than just dancing and hooking up- it evokes Papa Legbo. It's a spiritual, sacred, constantly manifesting unique place-based culture. Nightlife is a mask for formally supporting culture that is ostracized, criminalized, and even driven underground to please divisive authorities. Look around this club, and you'll see imporant really smart people. I know, for sure, this event space knows how to obtain it's value, and creative authetic ingenuity. Maybe it needs to be a bit more ingenious, sneaky, cheap, feelings boi, and not just so low key, colonial.. I met Vas and Alex at Bunda Lounge akwardly, and I thought they were curious. I have learned from living around them, but not without a lot of hippy's bullying me, and being hit on in confusion, at a loss to my mental health (I am nerd!!). I probably should have avoided them and remained worldy and devout to my white feminist friends to be more normal. But, Im addicted to the music and quieter city corners, and this led me to strange places. My parents raised me on their CD collection from their lives living around Yonge St. There's critical connective Canadian peace studies and multiculturalism in this dark, dilinquent dude's tavern, but it's distressing, as much as it can be a learning experience- at least that's how I experience it (e.g. being told I am actually queer and should date woman, my blond highlights are me wishing I was white, Im from a fancy neighbourhood, and so on). Be prepared. It should be a constant postmodern torment to curate, dears....

Whenever they host DJ or EDM events the bass from their sound systems can be heard in neighbouring homes. Wish they were more mindful of their sound levels and how it can effect residents trying to sleep at night, because when they do have an event I can hear their bass going constant at night until about 3am.

Update: I posted this review in November 2023 and it’s now September 2025. Tonight the bass was so loud it pretty much sounded like I was in the club’s bathroom - and I live a block down from this venue. And their subbass is so loud that it vibrates my apartment until 3am nonstop. I can’t sleep at night without feeling the vibrations from their soundsystem even if I try to drown it out with a white noise machine.

It’s been years and it’s disappointing that the venue hasn’t gone about addressing or fixing this issue. If anything it has gotten worse over the years. It would be great if they would contain their music to just be in their venue.

If you are an event organizer of electronic or live music events, please consider hosting at another venue. This venue doesn’t have the appropriate space or soundproofing for their style of music. And there are many venues in Toronto that care about their neighbouring community! But unfortunately this isn’t...

Whenever they host DJ or EDM events the bass from their sound systems can be heard in neighbouring homes. Wish they were more mindful of their sound levels and how it can effect residents trying to sleep at night, because when they do have an event I can hear their bass going constant at night until about 3am.

Update: I posted this review in November 2023 and it’s now November 2024. Disappointed that the venue hasn’t gone about addressing or fixing this issue, especially considering they are a music venue that operates exclusively at night. It should be their responsibility to ensure you can’t hear it in your home, by keeping the levels down, by keeping their doors closed, or by installing sound insulation if they want to play very loud music. I can still hear bass and vibrations coming from this venue at night, 3-4 times a week, from 10pm-3am. It's incredibly hard to sleep at night with repetitive and sometimes aggressive sounding basslines going for hours without stopping. It'd be great if they would contain their music to just be in...