Nightlife in Brantford

Since its Toronto location opened in 1976, Yuk Yuk's has been a collective launching pad for such comedy heavyweights as Jim Carrey, Rick Moranis, and Russell Peters. All of Yuk Yuk's laugh-establishments invite seasoned jokesters and up-and-coming comedians to their stages every weekend for up to three days of high hilarity and three nights of cozy lodging atop their cocktail tables. Many Yuk Yuk's locations offer drinks, dinner, or bar fare during the show, but those interested in dining should contact their club of choice to find out about reservations.

While the diners of Krazy Cactus Restaurant & Sports Bar watch sports or play XBox 360 games on one of 13 plasma TVs, they keep coming back to sample the restaurant’s 75 wing flavours. Ranging from mild to extra-hot, the sauces include traditional barbecue and jerk selections to more distinctive options such as dill, gravy and cheese, or pineapple mango curry. To complement these finger foods, chefs mould dough into pizza crusts and fire-grill chicken souvlaki until it gains the charred texture needed to complement lemony flavours or look at home on a fireman’s nightstand. On Friday nights, the staff turns down the volume of the game to accommodate the live bands that serenade guests until the bar closes.

Paintings of dogs playing poker gaze down from the walls of Dawghouse Pub & Eatery, presiding over the plates and draft-beer pitchers that clatter onto tables. In the kitchen, chefs sculpt 8-ounce burger patties from fresh chuck and bathe tender chicken wings in eleven different sweet, savoury, and spicy sauces. Canine statues, figurines, and dolls of all shapes and sizes pepper the pub, and personal televisions on every booth assist numerous big-screens in broadcasting exciting athletic competitions and attempts to break the world record for pretending to be asleep. Bartenders distribute mugs of Molson draft beer, which fuel chatter on a newly renovated patio during the warmer months. The staccato clicks of caroming billiard balls drifts from the pool tables, and trivia games test the depth of patrons’ knowledge. In lieu of parrots raised by commercial-jingle writers, the bar hosts live bands and karaoke every week.

It isn’t hard to find something to do at Stroker’s Billiards. The staff hands over slices of pizza and frosty mugs of beer to patrons and then lets them loose to test their skills at 1 of the 16 9-foot billiard tables. Stroker’s also populates its floor with six snooker tables and eight bar-box tables, which give players the chance to adjust their angles to fit different table lengths, or quickly destroy miniature replicas of the Colosseum.

Bernie's Bar and Grill answers the greatest question in life—"What's for dinner?"—with a truckload of pub food. Its kitchen cooks up something for everyone—barbecue burgers, Reubens, chicken burritos, falafel, torpedo shrimp, pizza, and steak. Though beer is in great supply here, Bernie's is equal parts family restaurant and sports pub. At each location, the cozy booths and tables where parents and kids share potato skins and sundaes are joined by a wood bar, where TVs broadcast sports, athletic jerseys huddle in corners, and pennants hang overhead.

The London Tap House's exposed brick walls absorb the nightly sound waves of DJ-spun tunes as revellers shake it across an expansive dance floor. Staffed by experienced party planners, the venue is frequently host to birthday parties, stag and stagette nights, and workplace gatherings. Their specialized party packages often include accoutrements such as food-and-drink bundles as well as elaborate entrances comprised of limousine arrivals followed by choreographed tango numbers with the chauffeur. Once inside, guests can raise a champagne or beer toast in black leather booths, request a DJ shout-out, or save the last slow dance for the in-house dance pole.