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| - Cocktail Bar is a new... ummm.... cocktail bar opened by the folks who brought you The Black Hoof and as can be expected per the reputation of its sister establishment, it is pretty great.
The bar is located directly across the street from The Black Hoof in the space that was formerly the Hoof Cafe. The advent of this cocktail bar at this location was not originally in the cards as the space was slated to become BHCO, a sister restaurant to the Hoof that would take reservations and feature nightly tasting menus; apparently BHCO is still set to open but it will now only do so in the spring of 2012.
Lest you worry about Cocktail Bar being a short-lived venture however, don't, as it's my understanding that once BHCO opens, the bar (or some variation thereof) will be moved across the street to space adjacent to The Black Hoof.
Anyway, that was a lot of background. Still with me? Good.
The menu is divided into classic and modern white and brown cocktails. The classics are self-explanatory (Manhattans, Vieux Carres, Negronis etc) and the modern ones are new and interesting recipes featuring your favourite brown and white tipples.
In our short visit, my wife and I tried the Old Fashioned (which was textbook and served with a satisfyingly giant sphere of ice instead of cubes), a Blanco Bronco (which was a cumin rimmed tequila cocktail with cilantro and lime) and another delicious cocktail made with gin and lavender who's name I can no longer remember.
All of the cocktails were expertly prepared and the care that went into them was obvious. The prices ranged from about $12-15 per drink.
The staff was friendly and fun and the atmosphere of the place was hip without being pretentious. I loved that the bar was playing some old-timey jazz from the 20's and 30's - it really played off of the feel of the place with it's vintage furniture and tin roof.
We also had an excellent cheese plate for $15 that featured a mild blue, a hard sheep's cheese and Riopelle (a great Quebec triple creme). The plate was not listed on the menu so I'm glad we asked about snacking options.
Other Relevant Miscellany:
1) Beer and Wine are also on offer
2) The bar doesn't have any vodka based beverages (which I applaud) and given owner Jen Agg's public musings on why she thinks the etnire category is dumb (http://www.charcuteriesundays.com/2011/02/vodka-is-stupid/) I wouldn't expect that to change anytime soon.
3) Ask about the (somewhat secret) barrel aged cocktails.
So to wrap this all up, this establishment stands on its own as one of the few good true cocktail bars in Toronto (Barchef, the Park Hyatt and to a lesser extent Goodnight being a few of the others) and I will definitely be going back.
Also, if you haven't gone to The Black Hoof yet you really need to. I had one of the best meals I've had all year there and the restaurant is really doing some interesting and unique things. Check out my Black Hoof review for more details.
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