Saturday night out. After having dinner at a cute Italian place (Cinquecento Cafe) my friend and I wandered North towards home looking for a bar to have a drink or two before we called it a night.
Getting to Queen street we headed East and ended up in the centre of the rock bar/club district. I love the vibe and the music blaring out of all the venues, people littering the sidewalk smoking, wearing dark clothes, chains, lace, and oh so fun items I have grown to adore. We stopped at Barchef and upon my friend's remark of "never been," I dragged her in.
We entered the darkened room full of people who clearly didn't fit in with the rocker vibe of Queen West. I noticed people seemed to be slightly dressed up, as my eyes trailed along the lush fabrics, and modernized victorian decor. We maneuvered our way through the packed room; headed for the bar. Deep smells of herbs, oils, and fruit filled my senses, as loud fifties dance music pumped from all walls.
All the patrons have smiles, and I noticed a giant screen playing black and white Charlie Chaplin-esq films. This made me smile… as did the two seats that opened up at the bar directly in front of us.
Sitting down, I wrestled a menu from my distracted neighbours and began to see the beauty of true mixology. House-infusions of molecular gastronomy, and flavour combinations of eccentricity, sent a tingle up my spine in excitement.
It took us about ten minutes to get the attention of a bartender and we ordered our first round. Given, I understand it also takes ten minutes to make certain cocktails.
I decide on the "Four Seven Two" which is a deliciously smooth bodied bourbon mojoito with cola bitters. My friend ordered the "Strawberries and Lavender", which takes a little more time to prepare. Upon smelling it, the lavender was in the forefront with the strawberries to follow. When tasting, it was the complete opposite, strawberries filled your mouth with a remanence of lavender for a pleasant moment afterwards. This drink is geniusly created with strawberry infused gin, Lavender infused grand marnier, with fresh lime, elderberry bitters and a lavender sugar rim of delicious.
As we wait for, and enjoy our first round of drinks, I notice the "very" busy, good-looking bartenders. They all are wearing fifties-esq apparel, with Modernized vests, fedoras, and collars with ties. All three of them are tossing, and preparing quality cocktails as fast as they can.
I watched one make the "smoked manhattan". He used a blowtorch to ignite a dish of hickory vanilla wood chips. As the wood chips burned, he took a chunk of ice and hand-carved it to the perfect size. Placing that it a cocktail glass, he mixed the manhattan, which contains crown royal, cherry vanilla bitters, vanilla cognac, and hickory smoked syrup. The wood chips finish burning, and he placed them into a container that allows the martini to sit on a platform above the smoking wood chips. The dome (of the container) is closed and the smoke stays incased inside. The drink is then served to guest further down the bar, who looks excited. Once most of the smoke is dissipated from the dome, a server removed the drink and gave it to a guest. Once this drink has been served, the bar is left with the ambrosial fragrance for a pleasant while. Although I was incredibly tempted to try this concoction, my wallet would not allow me to do so ($45 for the manhattan).
The man to my left strikes up a conversation about the establishment, and seems completely fascinated. He is a visitor to the city, and the three of us have some decent conversation. He's not creepy or trying to pick us up, just genuinely having a good time.
I got playful with the busy bartenders at one point or another, and they were friendly enough given how busy they were. Overall we had an absolutely great time. I highly recommend this place to absolutely anyone who has an interest in mixology as an art form. This cocktail menu is leaps and bounds away from a rum and coke, that will leave any liquor lover begging for more.
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