Woody Allen hangs in The Mugshot Tavern. So does Vince Vaughn. And despite the fact that they all passed away decades ago, Frank Sinatra, Janis Joplin and Elvis Presley are there, too.
There is no celebrity time machine in this unique watering hole just east of High Park on Toronto's Bloor Street West. As its name suggests, The MugshotTavern is decorated mainly with framed black-and-white portraits of famous folks photographed after their infamous arrests.
Jeff Kennie recalls the theme's conception, which began with a conversation he had with co-owner Scott Brewer. "We were talking about this photo studio that had all this cool vintage rock photography," he says. "And then someone mentioned Frank Sinatra’s mugshot, which is so iconic and people know from The Sopranos, and then we started looking at other celebrity mugshots, a lot of which have such interesting stories, and it just snowballed from there."
Since opening in 2011, The Mugshot Tavern displays hundreds of A-list mugs on its vibrant, crimson walls, stretching from the airy rooftop patio to the staircase that leads down to the renovated lavatories. Walls also feature sports collectibles like framed Maple Leafs jerseys. The bar even lets customers take mugshots of themselves against a police-style backdrop complete with an ID placard and serial number.
