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| - Was driving by this place on a sunny weekday afternon and out of the corner of my eye saw STUDIO...it looked pretty cool, so I made an illegal turn and parked out front. I get pretty excited to see cool places pop up in Mimico, and this place has a good feel about it. Original art on the walls, laid back sleek couch hang out spots, tables to have a coffee and a pastry. Totally so unlike typical slum mimico venues, this place was airlifted from someplace way cooler and dropped on Lake Shore Blvd. West. Fantastic espresso machine and an artsy rive gauche cafe vibe. Advertising live music on a board outside. Immediately knew I was coming back.
Made it on Friday night, couple of bands were playing: a forgettable folksy duo with a romantic backstory, and Denielle and her Daddies - double bass, sax, guitar, drums. Did Edith Piaf and some unusual covers quite brilliantly. Husband liked the Edith Piaf I did too, but I really loved Anthropologie ... the band was tight --- impressive to see this level of talent in a small venue.
We weren't planning on eating but thought we'd try a dessert, but wasn't meant to be. The place would have sold tons more food and drinks if a waiter was available to move about and check on tables. Unfortunately, the waiter was also the cook (Carol is her name) and we couldn't get her attention. Had to walk up to the bar twice and try to get someone to mix us cocktails. I was drinking a martini off their menu called the Salvador Dali which was pretty good, but guy behind the bar didn't know what it was (it was off their menu) so clearly Carol was also the bartender. When it came time to do the bills Carol was clearly torn because her math was suffering if the next table was representative.
This restaurant/cafe/music spot loses a star on service and one other major irritant. The open kitchen. The extract fan is insufficient for the job of extracting a commercial kitchens fumes, which were billowing out overhead. The smell at times was overpowering. Either they need to get a commercial fan, or they need to close in that kitchen area or relocate it to the basement.
I'm giving it 4* because I think this is the coolest thing to happen to Mimico since the skating path.
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