El Convento Rico
The Legendary MotherhouseAverage Reviews
About
El Convento Rico, located in Toronto, is a vibrant and happening Latin nightclub renowned for its dynamic drag performances, energetic DJs, and Friday night dance lessons. Established in 1992, it has become an iconic destination in the city's nightlife scene. This club is celebrated for being Toronto's longest-running Latin drag bar, providing a safe haven and a welcoming atmosphere for the LGBTQIA community. El Convento Rico is known for its inclusive and fun-loving environment, attracting a diverse crowd to its lively drag shows and dance events. The club plays a mix of Latin music, Top 40 hits, classics, and techno, ensuring a lively dance floor throughout the night. It's a popular spot for birthdays, bachelorette parties, and other celebrations, offering an unforgettable experience with its unique blend of music, performances, and inclusive spirit.
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Reviews
Based on 581 reviews
Valeria Solís
01:41 15 Apr 24
Nice Queens show!!! The place is not fancy but good for a girls night. The DJ must update their playlist. Getting a table is worth it as you can keep your jackets with you and kind of have your own dancing space.ali
16:53 16 Mar 24
I don’t eat club food so unsure of the rating. However omgggg loveee this club. I went 2 times for my birthday and the drag show is sooo captivating omg.Here’s some things that I have observed:The bouncers, coat check and bartenders are sweeeeeethearts and the DJ tends to play lots of classic/old Spanish music but it is a vibe and obviously a mix of dancehall and other classics. The only iffy thing about this place is there is ALOT of older men/weird men so make sure you are in a group because it gets really weird if you are female and alone but that’s all clubs! Besides that the bouncer Curtis is a sweetheart and it’s honestly just a vibeKat J
20:04 24 Feb 24
This club had a great atmosphere for a drag show. The security was fun and friendly and added to the positive space. The music here is pretty mid. The energy was quite low. There was also a lot of straight men at this club who stood to the side and just stood there watching the girls taking away from the vibe and the safe space. There are also a disproportionate amount of straight girls who did not respect the space. Cover was $15 and seemed a bit expensive for what they offerednixi
04:12 14 Feb 24
I love this place! The vibe is off the hook! Everywhere you look you'll see a friend, starting with the security to tickets to coatcheck to the bar to the dj and the rose guy who helps men become sweethearts. Check for the salsa nights because the couples tear up the floor, it's a pleasure to watch! The DJ always played my request - how cool is that! Thank you! And catch at least one show to the queens on a Saturday. If you want an incredible memorable night, this is the place!Come early for the best parking spots but don't sit on the bikes out front please while you're having a smoke.Muchisimas gracias El Convento Rico! Ustedes estan siempre en mi corazon!!!Beig C.
22:51 02 Feb 24
This club is literally a scam. The bouncers and bartenders lie to you and scam you out of money. Curtis at the front door told multiple lies. Any club in...Khalid Hernandez
06:06 28 Jan 24
The place is nice but they should find a better dj he plays old music all night and he’s rude doesn’t take any requests just ignores you. He must to update his music list.honesty there’s better place to go I’m not coming back againSher F.
18:48 14 Jan 24
This place is a scam! Drinks were listed at one price and the amount to pay was a different price, asked the bartender and she said those are old menus and didn’t change so she could had say before making the drinks, anyways she “reduced the price” for even more of what was supposed to pay. This place has changed lots is not like it was before, music wasn’t the best and the bar scam just turn me off and no just once on the other bar they tried to do the same. Never coming back here! even tho I love the drag show here. :/Ghalib Azam
22:54 06 Jan 24
My experience at the club was subpar. The atmosphere lacked energy, and the music selection was uninspiring. The staff seemed disinterested, providing poor service. The overall vibe was underwhelming, with a noticeable lack of cleanliness in the venue. The crowd was sparse, contributing to a dull ambiance. The pricing for drinks was excessive, not aligning with the overall quality of the experience. In comparison to other clubs, this one fell short in terms of entertainment and customer satisfaction. I hope this feedback encourages improvements in various aspects, enhancing the overall appeal for future patrons.Karoline Cox
18:14 25 Dec 23
Hi my husband and I were thinking of coming here BUT EE DO NOT WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DRAG SHOW. SORRY but we find this very very very off putting especially in an environment that is supposed to be about sensuality In the Latin culture. I know this will be offensive to some.but is their s night we can come without drag shows? I find men in skirts creepy, off-putting and at times violent when distaste is expressed ... are you a gay club?Bella Elle
12:32 18 Sep 23
Fun music, decent place. But watch your drinks and your debit card CLOSELY! Or better yet, leave your cards at home and only bring cash.Went this weekend and my debit card got skimmed after using the ATM. A few weekends ago my girl friend had her credit card skimmed here as well. Very disappointing.Prabhjot Kaur Nijjar
04:53 07 Aug 23
This place is so much fun. Entry ticket on door you can get for $15. Make sure you carry some cash. Drag show was lit lasted for like 45 minutes.Went on Saturday night.sa rob
15:40 31 Jul 23
Such a great place! Really cool vibe. I recommend the drag shows on Saturdays. A great queer friendly vibes. Mix of different crowds. As a queer person, perfect bar to bring your straight friends to go out with. If you ever decide to go. I would suggest to go before 10:30PM because you’ll have little chance to wait in line the whole night to get it.Marcela Guillen Rodriguez
13:16 25 Jul 23
Had my bachelorette here and I cannot complain! I had a large group and we were accommodated well with a large booth and good service. The show is wonderful and they do a good job at keeping it organized. Would highly recommend a girls night here!Anderson Z
08:27 20 Jul 23
A club with consistently good music, vibes, and staff.El Convento Rico is a latin nightclub that offers some of the best vibes in city. Located downstairs at the listed address, you’ll more than likely see a lineup formed after 11pm. What I like about this spot is that from the multiple times I’ve been here, whenever I’ve been willing to wait in line, I have not had a problem getting in with a moderate wait time. The security here are pretty chill and aren’t full of themselves like you’ll find at other clubs in the city.When you get inside, the layout of the club isn’t the best, but I do enjoy that it is a single room open concept with plenty of room for the dance floor. The washrooms here are usually pretty clean as well. Bartenders leave a little to be desired in regards to hospitality, but I feel that it isn’t a chore to get their attention and they are quick to take your order.The best part about this club is easily the music and vibes. Consistently this place will have a good playlist going with the DJs maintaining the vibe as the night goes on. Crowds will flood the dance floor and join in on singing to popular parts of songs, while some will take part in some pretty good latin style dancing.The club does host drag shows during the night, so if you are a fan I implore to come here for a night of fun. Personally I’m not the biggest fan of the timing of the drag shows because I feel it sometimes takes away time that could be spent dancing on the dance floor as the show will take up the entire centre of the dance floor at prime times of the night.Nonetheless, El Convento has become one of my go to clubs in the city. Do I think it’s the best in the city? No. But, would I agree to come here at the first mention of it? Yes, absolutely, I feel this place is just such an easy option for a night out that I know will not leave me disappointed.Andy Z.
01:29 20 Jul 23
A club with consistently good music, vibes, and staff.El Convento Rico is a latin nightclub that offers some of the best vibes in city. Located downstairs...Gloria Lau
01:19 20 Jul 23
Came here for the drag show, cover was $15 i think… the show was great! It lasted about 35-40 mins and started at midnight (we came on a saturday). The queens were so engaging and interactive and everyone was having a great time. It does get quite packed and a bit stuffy in there as the night goes by. It is very busy already at 1030pm and got extremely crowded at 11:30pm. I left at 1am and the crowds were still there. We had some sketchy people try and steal our bottle of alcohol from our table during the drag show - that was the only down side to the night.Rania Maroun
04:37 18 Jun 23
Only been there once and they had us pay cover when we asked about the drag show - without letting us know it would be on 4hrs later. We didn't end up seeing it. Lovely staff thou, might have been an oversight by the lady at the door.Appreciate the clean/plenty female bathroom situation.Cenk Yalçın
22:21 26 Apr 23
Cash only establishments always gives me sketchy vibes and this place is one them. Also, security guys are literal bullies, they grabbed the drinks off our hands when it hit 2.15 am by saying no more alcohol after 2 and we had 3 more drinks on the table which he swept away so fast like a pickpocketer…then we proceeded to head security looking guy to tell about this and he started to give us he can not be bothered by this with hand gestures and eye-rolling…overall whole experience was giving unregistered back alley club, so not worth going if you are looking for any qualityGenaro López Ambrosio
04:50 13 Mar 23
This is one of the most famous Latin bars in Toronto. There you'll find people from Latin America, enjoying and dancing.There's a queue to access.The place is the most common bar , just the way you'd find it in Mexico.The drag queen performance is nice, but the place used to be crowded, so it's really complicated to enjoy it.Izzy
15:48 12 Feb 23
A few things i found concerning about this venue. They give away table reservations if you don’t come at 9:30 pm.You still have to pay $15 even if you have table service. The staff at the front said you still have to wait in line despite booking a reservation.The lines at this club are very long. This club has excellent music and entertainment. The shortfall is the general customer experience. The bottle service experience was subpar. I have to say Erica was outstanding. She was servicing us, she was great tried to make our occasion special. It was a challenge to keep things stocked for example chase, limes, straws etc. Unfortunately there was another bottle service girl who was not helpful at all. They cleared our bottle table at 230am. There was still one bottle we were still working on that was taken which was really disappointing and the girl that cleared it did not seem to care at all and took no responsibility for it. She later just disappeared once i asked for a manager. Anywho, great atmosphere, maybe don’t celebrate an special occasion here. They don’t know VIP experience, and they don’t drive positive customer experience.Larissa Victoria
17:29 24 Jan 23
I was expecting much more from this place. This was my first time and what is interesting is the drag queen show in the middle of the night. The entrance is 15 CAD and you can pay by credit card. The bar only accept cash and a regular beer is around 8 CAD the DJ was OK. It’s a place worth a visit I’m not so sure if I will come back, people are smelly there. 😬Rafael R.
10:10 18 Jan 23
Paid for coat check and left my wireless headphones in my coat and they stole them. Place stinks.Josh lain
18:33 18 Dec 22
I have been attending this gem for the last decade and have always seen familiar faces and always felt welcomed. This place is filled with great staff including Melanie and Paolo. Both of these staff members make this place what it is in customer service and are the reason why I continue to come and always invite my friends and family. Jezabel is an incredible host and a great MC. She truly is a queen that deserves the crown year round. DJ Flames kills it every set and makes this place pop. I'm saddened to here that Paolo isn't there and I'm hoping that this is temporary as I would like to see him there behind the bar with a smile that can light up the whole room and the tentative and great customer service that he brings to the establishment. Everyone please check this gem out and ask for Melanie and Paolo.sabrina teles
01:54 13 Nov 22
The drag show was good, however the place was to packed and to hot inside.I was hoping to have more salsa and not only reggaetonMaria G
01:24 12 Nov 22
Finally a place with good music, fair prices, nice staff. The drag show was fun. It was a bit crowded, but the place didn’t get boiling hot which is great! You will see all ages which is great. Definitely would be back.A.L. C
21:06 10 Oct 22
The music is great, and of course the Queens always put on an amazing show. 2 stars because the men there are way too handsy and insist on trying to dance with you. It’s definitely not a comfortable environment for Queer folk even though El Convento promotes it as such. The majority of events held are Bachelorette or Birthday parties for straight people.Zina Afrin
07:15 26 Sep 22
Ever since coming to Conventos, I never desired to go to any other clubs in Toronto. I feel safe here. It does get very crowded, I recommend come earlier because the lines tend to get very long even by 10:30 p.m, but aside from that they play dance music which I love comparison to other clubs that mainly play trap music. Always good vibes here. Highly recommend it for any occasion!Astrik Golendukhin
15:27 03 Sep 22
Music was good but a lot of grabby dudes towards the end of the night which basically turned the night into a constant battle to keep our girls together. Went with a bachelorette party. They take cash only at the bar.L K.
08:20 24 Aug 22
Are you straight? Do you want to enjoy a night where you can "oooo & aww" at drag queens while not respecting their boundaries? Do you love a packed dance...Jayme Bricknell
00:33 23 Aug 22
Went for a bacherlotte this weekend! The bride had so much fun. Great atmosphere and music. Definitely would go again!! 🙂Claudia Santinelli
21:38 07 Aug 22
I rarely leave a review but I definitely had to. I had such a great time this past Friday. I booked a booth for 10+ people (highly recommended). All staff went above and beyond. A special shout-out to the bus boys and our server Erika!!!. They all made our experiment a memorable one.We will definitely be back!ty
18:59 28 Jul 22
Went for a queer event and ended up leaving bc the vibes were very straight and snobby. As another reviewer said below, "not for the gays & theys".*Edit* they responded saying they don't host queer events even though it specifically was a pride event that my queer friends & I (also a queer person), went to. Then they spun the issue as if my earlier comment was being exclusive of communities in some way. If you're going to queer-bait, you don't get to be upset when people in the lgbt community call you out 🙂Julian B
05:08 04 Jul 22
Good mix of all music. Deff played good reggaeton, merengue n salsa, along w top40 to please everyone. Drag show was great. Drinks were a bit water down, but otherwise a good time 🤗M Car
23:48 08 May 22
To the three beautiful girls who came this Thursday night for cinco de mayo… is it too late to buy you a drink :)?Melina Figueroa
03:10 08 May 22
Was there for an hour and they only played 1 Latin song and it wasn’t even a good one. Most of it was pop 40 with a added somewhat Latin beat. But if you like Britney this is the place to go. They played her 3 songs in a row.katherin campos
22:23 10 Apr 22
Good music and good vibes! Just heads up, it gets pretty packed. Go as early as you can if you don’t wanna be waiting in line for a while.L K
02:09 05 Apr 22
Are you straight? Do you want to enjoy a night where you can “oooo & aww” at drag queens while not respecting their boundaries? Do you love a packed dance floor filled with men who do not respect your boundaries? Where drinks are only payable in cash? This is the place for you!Shoutout to the queens trying to hustle in this establishment… but god help me I won’t put myself through this embarrassment of a straight club trying to add a touch of queerness in order to help soon to be brides & women in relationships enjoy a night out. Great for a bridesmaid party for sure, but it’s not a place for the gays & theys.Also try to leave here by 1am… since there always seems to be a major fight that breaks out then. This bar truly attracts some people w/ anger issuesPaola Lagos
23:14 03 Mar 22
I went on last Sat (Feb 26/22) and was disappointed the drag show is not the same as before, and the girl bartender was rude and really didn’t pay attention to me maybe because she was to busy speaking with some guys. There used to be a beautiful man at the front door who was very pleasant and stunning and now there is another guy who is also rude. the music was terrible just terrible I wouldn’t recommend this place anymore!Kyle N.
11:28 22 Feb 22
Cash only for bar and coat check in 2022 and the bartenders barely know how to mix anything. Drinks were very weak. I really don't like it when bars treat...Niah Pe
06:48 20 Feb 22
The cleanliness, covid scanning, and drag queens were all top notch here! Tonight though I was harrassed by multiple men and that was disappointing for me as a lesbian. I was really hoping for it to be a safe space but one particular man would not let me go despite me physically resisting him which really messed up my entire night. Hoping that less creeps will invade this space because it's honestly a great place!irem A.
00:13 02 Nov 21
Best thing about this place is Line, that is extremely fast, you don’t need to wait outside for a long time!Also music and ambiance are really good too😊Schitz i
06:44 29 Oct 21
Amazing style and grace. All the girls are amazing and stunning. Can't wait to go back again !!!Sharon Liu
18:08 03 Oct 21
This place is crazy. Super crowded and hot inside. No air ventilation. Washroom smells really bad. First time going there and saw a girl pushing someone to the ground on the dance floor. I don’t know if that’s their usual crowd but me and my friends didn’t feel safe. Just an unpleasant experience in general. If you’re consider going there, consider again.Eduardo HerNanMartí
00:39 27 Aug 21
Convento rico is an amazing place for party the only great thing it needs please convento please play circuit music 🎵 😭😭Look for Dj Alvarado 🙊🥺🥺Angelica
02:49 24 Aug 21
Made a reservation for a group of 10. You have to arrive early (9pm) to guarantee your reservation, but there were very few people until around 10. If you want a booth, you need to reserve it separately. Cover was $15 on a Friday night. Masks were mandatory except when drinking. Drag show was amazing as usual! I actually prefer making a reservation and limited capacity compared to "normal".Séana Stewart
07:20 14 Aug 21
This is a really great club. The staff do their best to make sure everyone is following the current mask protocol (obviously this is hard to contain with people drinking, so proceed with caution! Dancefloor is open and social distancing is nonexistent) Drinks are fairly priced, bar is cash only. Bartenders are friendly and quick! The drag shows here are fantastic as well, as they operate a bit differently than what you might see in the village. I always have a great time here, and I look forward to coming back soon! (If you don’t have reservations, I would recommend arriving early, as they legally can’t exceed capacity!) Big thanks to all of the staff who are working so hard during this strange, and transitional time. It is so great to dance again, and it wouldn’t be possible without the fantastic team!Simon Salazar
01:24 14 Aug 21
The place is great, you are going to have good time there, the drag show is amazing and the drinks are nice. The bad part is the customer service (no so cool) and you need cash to pay the drinks.Azziram A
13:05 08 Mar 20
The bright and teasing colour pink will greet you as you take the stairs down to the floor of absolute fun and just fun😁. There’s a place to deposit coats or bags after the stairs. Very busy on a weekend night so if you’ll come here for the show,better be near by the centre for an A+ view. The performer “Black Magic” was professional and respectful,the drags were beautiful and uniquely talented. If you wanted to touch,you better have cash😉😉😉 and what happens in El Convento Rico, stays in El Convento Rico.Rick P.
19:17 08 Feb 20
Nice venue, great music. Was a lot of fun. We stumbled into El Convento after being out for dinner and it was a pleasant surprise. Staff were friendly, bar staff were quick to serve and venue had great entertainment with a drag show!T.
08:56 10 Jan 20
It was such a fun experience. Clubbing can get pretty repetitive, but El Convento Rico was able to add things to make the experience more enjoyable ... We went on a Friday night and got to participate in a “dance class”, which was then followed by a dance contest, and then later around midnight, a drag show. It was so much fun. And we had a lot of laughs. The interactive nature of it all makes El Convento Rico a standout in MY eyes. I would highly recommend. Especially if you love Latin music!Megan Nadia
13:32 10 Dec 19
El Covento Rico is a place where everyone is welcome! You can just come and dance to your hearts content to the best music in Toronto. I always leave drenched in sweat. Cool drag show on the weekends at midnight. Great atmosphere. Definitely my favourite spot to dance in the city.N VK
19:27 27 Oct 19
I had the best time here for my birthday. The best music EVER and so entertaining. There was a dance contest and a great drag show. Bottle service was great and our waiter was attentive. They even gave us free poutine at the end of the night. I absolutely recommend you coming here to celebrate. It's seriously the best time ever. Thank you El Convento Rico for helping me have the best birthday ever.Junior B.
09:33 25 Aug 19
I went last night i waited over an hour and people were skipping in front of people bounces were not doing anything and small guy idk if hes the manager or...Jassie S.
23:27 23 Mar 19
Wack ass club. Waited in line for over an hour and ppl were skipping which the bouncers did nothing about. Thirsty ass ugly men in the club. I expected top...Julie L.
09:02 11 Mar 19
There was a small wait on a Saturday night. It was $15 for cover, which I found to be a bit more than usual. There was a sign indicating that they take cash...Jasmine N.
09:14 07 Dec 16
It's okay. The first time I went it was EXTREMELY hot. Not sure if they don't have AC or it just wasn't on but I couldn't breathe. The music was pretty good...
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