With bass-thumping techno music blasting away and a naked woman on stage, three city councillors walked into a dark Etobicoke strip club yesterday, took a tour and sat near the stage for lunch.

On a break from a community council meeting, Councillors Frank Di Giorgio, Giorgio Mammoliti and Cesar Palacio took an "industry facility tour" at the invitation of the Adult Entertainment Association of Canada, a group representing many of the city's 21 strip clubs.

"I think we made constructive use of our lunchtime," Di Giorgio said. "We basically came over to see what the facility was like – what kind of facilities they have for the girls that work in there, whether everything was clean, whether they had space to store their materials.

"And everything was okay in my estimation," he added.

A steady contingent of tall women performed while they were there, but the councillors said they didn't watch. "Absolutely not. We just took a tour of the facility," said Di Giorgio, when cornered by the Star outside the House of Lancaster on The Queensway.

Mammoliti, who co-chairs the West Toronto crime task force along with Palacio, defended the visit. "We had lunch, which we paid for. We spent about 20 minutes in here," he said.

It was closer to half an hour by a reporter's watch. It's unclear what they ate, but the menu features "finger me foods" and a "seafood sex platter."

Tim Lambrinos, executive director of the association, said the community council had been invited to visit – free transport and food offered, but apparently not accepted – so they could better understand issues involving strip clubs when they come up at city council.

Lambrinos said he was properly registered as a lobbyist at city hall.

"It's open and transparent," he said, noting his group has organized similar visits for politicians in Ottawa and Mississauga. "I thought it was very productive. I thought it was essential."

He compared it to other site visits a councillor might make to better understand an issue, such as to a sewage treatment plant or a manufacturing plant.

"You can't draft it in a report," he said.

The visit was no surprise to a senior employee, who had been peering out the front door before the councillors arrived, as "Ride On" – vintage AC/DC – played in the background.

"Apparently we have special guests," said the bartender.

While the invitation promised transportation to and from the Etobicoke Civic Centre, where community council was meeting, the councillors said they paid for a minivan taxi that waited for them. They were late returning for council's 1:30 p.m. start, causing a delay.

The other eight community councillors who had been sent an invitation turned it down.

Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby immediately rejected the invitation, she said. "I have no interest in that particular business. I don't want to go."

Councillor Doug Holyday said he quickly declined the offer.

"I can't think going to a strip club is appropriate," he said. "I don't need to go. I have a fairly good idea what goes on there."

Holyday added that if officials had wanted to discuss issues, he would have welcomed a meeting at the civic centre.

But Palacio defended the visit.

"It's truly important to understand within the adult entertainment facilities whether they are complying with regulations," he said, adding that if something was not in order, inspectors could be called in. "We were invited to come and check the conditions. There is nothing wrong with that."

And to emphasize their argument, Mammoliti moved a request at the end of the community council meeting to ask city staff and police to report back on the number of illicit activities in a wide range of establishments including strip clubs, massage parlours and holistic centres as well as bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the Etobicoke York district within the past two years.

No other facility tours are planned for councillors because most of the city's 21 strip clubs are clustered in Toronto's west end.