Notable BYOW Restaurants in Toronto

We love us some vino at Notable, but your dinner bill can double or triple depending on how many glasses you consider kosher with your meal (or how many bottles for that matter). If ever you’re running on fumes, heading to a resto with your own bottle of wine is just what the doctor ordered, and here are a few of our fave spots to head for a meal after a trip to the LCBO.

Biff’s Bistro
Sunday nights at Biff’s is an awesome end to a weekend. The steak frites are great, the oysters cheap and plentiful, and you can bring your own wine and not worry about a corkage fee. It’s central, so getting there with the crew is easy peasy, and the atmosphere is chic and sophisticated. It’s high-end night out on a low-end budget. 

Table 17
We know, we know. We keep bringing up Table 17. But this Riverdale spot is awesome, and on Sunday and Monday nights you can enjoy corkage-free BYOW. If you head Sunday, you can also enjoy the table d’hote menu, a three-course prix fixe of some of the spot’s most popular dishes.

Crush Wine Bar
It’s one of the city’s favourite wine bars with an exceptional list running from affordable to baller vini, but on Monday nights Crush Wine Bar does $1 corkage for the cash-strapped discerning diners. One of the reasons we love crush – other than the ample wine list and pretty special menu – is the ambiance. It’s comforting but elevated, a relaxing spot. 

Wine Bar
Formerly Jamie Kennedy’s Wine Bar, the famed chef’s name may have been dropped since he left the establishment, but the no corkage fee Mondays are still on. The cuisine is still tight, too, with grilled sardines being salty goodness, the smoked duck breast being succulent, and the pulled pork poutine perfect for sharing a couple little bites with friends.

Paese
Paese does no corkage fee right: daily (except Saturday) there’s no fee for your first bottle. If you want some gourmet pizza – the funghi is superb – then head here with a bottle and enjoy a meal for less than $20. It doesn’t hurt that it’s centrally-located on King Street, and that the decor is kitschy modern.

Please note: While no/cheap corkage fee is great, it’s customary to still add extra tip when you BYOW. It’s only fair, you’re still getting the same service, just at a lower cost. Great service deserves 15 to 20 per cent, so when you bring your own, up that to 25 per cent. 

Photo courtesy Biff’s Bistro