4.5 stars
After hearing the word for months, a conversation with Yelp sensei Vivek S served as the final nudge necessary for a skeptic to checkout the pillar of Toronto's emerging speakeasy scene! A short tour of NYC's ever bustling speakeasies will teach you that these watering holes can either serve as a not-so-cheap cheap amusement for tourists or rallying point for professional drinkers (ie Death&Co). Goodnight makes every effort to be part of the latter group despite what the hipster heavy crowd might have you thinking.
We were led to the bar area by a phenomenal barchef I'll hereby refer to as bigD (to avoid Yelp serving as a vehicle of namedropping!). While there is a good bit of seating, I'd have to agree with Vivek that Goodnight is a standup and mingle kind of place, so don't expect seating, especially if you arrive after 1030.
For our main course, Big D selected the 3 cocktails I tried and with the exception of the third round which was a bit too adventurous, his suggestions were absolutely spot on! In addition to what we ordered we were also asked to sample an as yet off the menu cocktail, and this just went on to show Goodnight runs its trade with some serious passion! The first cocktail was the classic Moscow Mule ironically using the Polish Belvedere as the base. What makes this cocktail especially fantastic at Goodnight is the use of an exclusive and highly sought after ginger bitter that gives the mule a pretty distinctive kick!
The second cocktail we tried was something similar to Pimm's Rangoon, with a very refreshing cucumber aroma, and slightly citrusy smooth taste. This would be a perfect summer cocktail!
What really made Goodnight a near 5* experience for me however was the service. Aside from the helpful suggestions, I was able to learn about the history of the bar and the ongoing attempt to reinvent and lead the Toronto speakeasy scene through keeping up with some of the big players in NYC.
The discussion did have some sad news as Goodnight is set to close sometime in the summer to make way for development/new condos in the area. The owners will likely move the bar closer to Bloor St. and all I can hope is that nothing changes!