D & E Lake Ltd.

Incredibly rude merchant who agressively told my daughter and I that if we were to come into the store, that we were required to purchase something. That impression ruined our interest in locating some rare finds that we will quite happily find elsewhere. Do not bother to go to this place.

Unprofessional, rude, overpriced garbage of a place.do not give these clowns your business. As someone rightly said, the only thing you’re capable of finding here is an argument. Keep away at all costs.

Found this bookstore during my latest business trip to Toronto. Interesting mix of bookstore and curiosa. The shop is packed with books. From the floor up to the ceiling and in piles everywhere. Many old books including leather bound, antiques. Many obscure books but also classics. Bought the Dumas trilogy, Ivanhoe, The Iliad and several other books. Incredible as it is, the owner actually knows what is in store and where to find out. Lovely chap for a chat.

Thank you Don for the fast framing. Very good price, and fast service.
Books are amazing, especially USSR themes, post soviet /pre soviet. Interesting antique. Very interesting location. See you soon.
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Framed 4 paintings. Less then in Richmond Hill, great quality.
E. V. Richmond Hill, ON.

A true Canadian Art and Literature Institution. It is one of the last standing antiquarian book stores in the city. This family owned businesses has a very impressive inventory. The maps in the walk up are my favourite!

Walked into the store, was rudely told to get off my phone (there were no signs) I assume it was the owner and he was extremely unpleasant. I stayed to give him the benefit of the doubt and then he told me to take my backpack off as it would knock books off shelves?

can't help but feel racially profiled - as I was leaving he thanked me for going.completely ruined my day, i would never return.do not recommend and also don't understand his behaviour - he lost a customer, I've never walked into an independent bookstore and not purchased a book.

I have been there quite a few times and every time I got some thing to bring back. Once Mr. Lake shewed me his whole collection of rare and old books and let me stay there to choose and read. Sometime, he showed me other stuff which I am not agree with him.

Most of the time he is nice and I am glad to chat with him. But sometimes he is quite the opposite. Since he is the boss with hundreds of book that we love to buy, we have no choice. I still will go, but differently.

The rooms are not well organized and messy. Maybe it is common for antique book store. He maybe a successful businessman, I mean to make money. But not good for custom service.

Though not happy some time but still need to go buy. That is the reality. Right?

This is not a great place for browsing (too full, a little random in organization), but if you have a rough idea of something in mind, the owner will point you to many possibilities. It's also larger than it looks, filled with many books and wall decor items.

By far one of the best hidden gems in the GTA. If you are looking for rare books, check this place out. They also have alot of other unique and fascinating items including some fabulous art.
Sales staff are very informative and knowledgeable. Highly recommend checking this store out.

Owner is knowledgeable and informed about many issues and can point you in the right direction to many titles. Quite the hidden gem. Not just books! Artworks from Photos and paintings, to Sculptures and other unusual items (The Russian Doll of Soviet Presidents is a Favorite of Mine!) Worth a stop, or check them online.

What a great little shop. I'll reserve my final recommendation for when my framing is done, but it's a great bookshop too, with lots of unique titles.

I have been there quite a few times and every time I got some thing to bring back. Once Mr. Lake shewed me his whole collection of rare and old books and let me stay there to choose and read. Sometime, he showed me other stuff which I am not agree with him. Anyway, It is a beautiful experience to talk to him each time. I like his style of straightforwardness. I am going to visit him some day.

Met some friends here today, the owner was very rude as I exited the shop giving me attitude that I was talking in his store. I asked if I was talking too loud he replied no sarcastically. Totally ruined my morning. Will never return here. Very snooty unpleasant place.

Extremely knowledgeable and open-minded owner. There's a lot of people complaining about his "sales attitude". If you pay attention to what he's saying, you'll see that he's very committed and interested in learning and sharing books and knowledge. Yes he is upfront about selling, but guess what, running a book store is not a popular business in today's day and age. If you keep an open heart, you'll enjoy the company and will very likely learn a lot like I did.

I visited the shop hoping to find a purchase and left very disappointed.

Unless you’ve been a patron before, it would take a long time looking through the sections they have to offer due to clutter and number of books to examine.

The employees are not interested in assisting customers, they are only looking to sell.

It felt implied that you need to buy something in order to compensate for wasting their time. It’s a very off-putting feeling and definitely will drive away new customers.

There were a few good books there, but not worth the purchase considering the service you get in person versus going online.

Owner was too busy shilling a book he had read recently to help properly, liked the sound of his voice far too much and his half baked theories on geopolitics were quite uh.interesting shall we say.i browsed for about an hour trying to parse through the horribly organized mess until i was chased out being told the store is for selling not browsing.suffice to say i will not be coming back and i will not be recommending this place to anyone, i will also be avoiding their abebooks account.horrible experience.

Owner is very rude. Does not seem interested in sales, given that he constantly feels the need to remind customers he is here to SELL, if you have the audacity to browse for more than a couple of minutes. Won't be returning.

Excellent bookstore evocative of another time and place, outside of what you're likely to expect from the Indigos of the city. Requires a bit of extra etiquette but a very welcome book buying experience.

The King St.location is one of the rarest gems of this sort in this entire city. Mr. Lake is quite charming, competent, and knowledgeable for the most part. But this is not your mainstream chain bookstore - do not bring liquid or food into this delicate place. [Try bringing a coffee cup into a similar store somewhere in Paris/France - you will be chased out of the store immediately:) ]
The collection of antique objects (art/book/coin/stamp/maps) is formidable spanning hundreds of years of history - at times I feel this place is a small museum. I would highly recommend this store to anyone who truly respects the book culture - you will be surprised what you will find on the shelves.