Introducing: Speakeasy 21, a new Bay Street cocktail bar with a soon-to-come 3,500-square-foot patio
Name: Speakeasy 21
Contact Info: 21 Adelaide St. W. (main floor of Scotia Plaza, North entrance), 416-601-0210, speakeasy21.com, @speakeasy21
Neighbourhood: Financial District
Chef: Andrew Wilson, former chef de cuisine at Colborne Lane and Origin North
Bartender: Dave Moore, who’s worked the bar at Brant House, Easy and The Fifth
The Food: Sandwiches, tacos and small plates, including beef tartare with prawn chips and a Niçoise-inspired tuna crudo with black olives and anchovies. Lighter snacks, like buttermilk potato chips and cauliflower hummus, are designed for nibbling with a drink.
The Drinks: The cocktail menu lists 45 different drinks (or “libations”), ranging from classic mojitos and manhattans to less conventional concoctions (something called a “Breakfast Martini,” for instance, which lists marmalade as an ingredient). There’s also a tight beer selection and a 38-bottle wine list.
The Place: Housed on the main floor of the Scotia Plaza, the massive room is decked out in rich leathers, lacquered woods and brushed aluminum—an aesthetic that should appeal to the area’s post-work tippling crowd. Decorative steamer trunks speak to the speakeasy theme, as do the trio of 1920s-style phone booths. The 3,500-square-foot patio will have covered cabanas and a raw bar (projected opening date: May).
The Numbers: • 4,000 square feet • 3,500-square-foot patio coming this summer • 60 phone-charging stations • 4 giant mirrors that function as flatscreen TVs • 3 Art Deco-style phone booths (one of which contains a working vintage phone)
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