LCBO – Maple Leaf Gardens

I give it a 4 only because it was convenient (next door to hotel) and at maple leaf gardens… The staff i dealt with was polite but had an I’m better than you attitude…
I would go back only because it could’ve been an off day for the person but waiting until then to recommend to people!

Not the best LCBO, nor the worst. A perfect 3 star equivalent of booze buying.
It’s pretty big and has a pretty wide selection of beers to choose from. Admittedly a lot of my preferred craft choices are not carried here, but I’ve always been able to find enough to keep me appeased anyways.
I will say that being located over a grocery store makes dinner and a complimenting bottle of wine one easy trip. So that’s a benefit.
ADDITIONAL PRO TIP: Spend $ 20 and you can have your parking validated for the underground parking.

The service here is terrible, the pimply faced staff go out of their way to be antagonistic towards customers and enforce so called liquor rules to an absurd extend.
I’ve seen one woman with two kids asked for id and actually refused service, she was clearly 35+ More recently both my girlfriend and I were both asked for ids because one of us was buying alcohol, by a very rude and unprofessional employee looking like he was late for an audition for an 80s hair band. When I asked for an explanation I was told «because I asked you too». Where do they find people with so much self entitlement?
If you have another option for a bottle store elsewhere I recommend taking it.
And to the managers of this train wreck: please get your staff some basic customer service training and show them how to exercise a degree of common sense.

A perfectly average little LCBO located conveniently adjacent to Loblaw’s flagship. Nice to be able to get your groceries and your wine on the same trip.
The GOOD: They have a generally pretty friendly staff. There are a few women on the staff that actually know the wine. That’s a plus with the rotating selections. This store has a medium-​small Vintages section, so it’s better than the one near Yonge & Wellesley with no Vintages, but not nearly the selection of say the Manulife LCBO.
The BAD: Well, like every LCBO it’s expensive. It can also get painfully crowded. This store is way too small for the location, especially given the drawing power of the Loblaw’s. An expanded store with an expanded Vintages section would be commensurate with the shopping available below.
The UGLY: Their hours suck sometimes. Why can’t they just match the hours that Loblaw’s is open? That would just make life too easy.

Functional and a decent location to serve this area.
Selection is above average for a small sized store. Entrance is a bit complicated and they even have a sign trying to point the customers to take the proper route.
The place was a bit busy even though it was daytime I can imagine it getting slammed on the weekend or later in the evening as it will get a natural flow of people when they finish shopping downstairs.
Hmm this place will do well as there is a captive market here.

Some schools of thought would say the best LCBO store is the one nearest to you.
When it come to the basics I guess that statement rings quite true. However it really depends what kind of spirits\alcohol purchaser you are.
Personally, I always compared all LCBO’s I visit to the flagship store at Summerhill. Now that store is what I call a good store, it’s big with comparably good selections.
The truth however is this, from a world selection perspective, we are fairly limited with the choices we get at the LCBO –really limited. In the end what do you expect of an entity that was formed to curtain the use of alcohol after the Canadian prohibition –true fact, check it, 1927!
I digress, this store is located on the second store on top of the Loblaws and although it might it is not the best one when it comes to selection, it does beat the smaller stores like the one at Yonge and Bloor and Yonge and Wellesley, both of which have a severe shortage of many grapes like Rieslings and Gewurztraminers.
However this locations vintage section is okay, and the spirits section is bound to cover most users. Definitely above average from a LCBO perspective. Beer selections is alright, but not as good as the Yonge and Dundas location.
Yet, since this is the closest store to me, well, I would say it is one of the best! ;-)

There were only 2 mickeys of vodka left on the shelf. I asked if they had more. she brought out 6 bottles. perfect! I needed 8! ha! Nice clean store. Staff were friendly.

«Bring me more wine,» is most likely what I would roar upon entering this LCBO location if it weren’t for the fact that this location is staffed with some of the nicest, wittiest staff in the province. I’ve been here 4 times now and continually encounter staff who are happy to be at work, know many of their customers very well, and go out of their way to be helpful and fun. Yeah, you can get your Stella just about anywhere — but these folks are just happy to see you and will tell you about the great new Malbec they tried on their last trip to NYC.
It’s clean and brightly lit with enough cashiers on so there are no long lines. Plus it’s proximity to the Lablaws makes for some tasty one stop shopping when you are being lazy for dinner.

Conveniently located on the second floor of the new Loblaw’s at Maple Leaf Centre, the newest LCBO location in Toronto’s core district offers the same selection as other locations, but in a more modern and spacious store. Unlike the closest store to this location (on Yonge Street; south of Wellesley) this store is not as crowded and has more checkout lanes. Perks such as Air Miles (and the occassional bonus miles offers) still exist. Located next door to the Joe Fresh apparel shop, it’s worth a visit if you’re in the mood to buy alcohol for a special occasion or just for fun.

The beer selection at this LCBO is roughly average. It doesn’t quite match what you can find at a suburb-​size store, but it bests its downtown core siblings (not including that behemoth at King and Spadina). In addition it never gets that busy, even during booze-​buying crunch time.
So: better selection than Yonge and Wellesley, and not rammed to the tits like Atrium on Bay. Plus, you know, the gigantic Loblaws it sits upon.
–1 star because it closes at 9 pm, despite the Loblaws staying open until 11 pm.

I thought it would be big like the Loblaws but no. One woman I talked to was helpful in choosing wine and I got a couple of her suggestions. Another guy didn’t know anything about wine at all. I asked if he could show me the Gewurztraminers they have and he asked if that was a type of wine. He tried to be helpful by looking stuff up on the computer but only pulled up a long list and from there didn’t know what to do and did nothing to be helpful. I was frustrated with his incompetence and ended up eventually finding someone else to help, which took a while because hardly anyone was on the floor. The next lady I got help from showed me the ones they had but I was looking for something better than the $ 15 range and from France.
If you work at an LCBO you should at least know what your stock is and what you have. Even if you don’t know what something tastes like and have no opinion, you should know where to find it. If you don’t know, get someone who does. I shouldn’t have to run around trying to find someone.
I wouldn’t go out of my way for this one.
If you drive, both the LCBO and Loblaws validate your parking on some confusing time schedule, i.e. spend a certain amount, get this much time of parking free.

I was surprised at the size and selection at this new location. They don’t have everything, but there’s more than what you need for the average booze run.
The look is very spartan. Different shelving than what I’ve seen at many stores. They had tons of staff working the day I went in, though it was day two after opening so they were probably making sure they had all hands on deck.