Introducing: Batch, a new restaurant and brewery from Creemore

Name: Batch Gastrobrewery
Neighbourhood: Downtown Core
Contact: 75 Victoria St., 416-238-1484, batchtoronto.com
Previously: The Beer Academy
Owner: Creemore Springs
Chefs: Consulting chef Ben Heaton (The Grove, Citta) and chef de cuisine Tim Tutton (The Beverley Hotel)
Brewmaster: Andrew Bartle (Northwinds Brewhouse)
The food
Lunch, dinner and brunch menus featuring classic beer snacks (soft pretzels, fried pickles, chicken wings, pickled eggs) and heartier plates (smoked brisket, eggplant parm, rye gnocchi). Much of what’s available is made on site, including the bread, the house-ground sausages and all of the fresh-baked pies. As at any good bar, there’s wing night (Monday) and a roast dinner (Saturday and Sunday).

Malpeque oysters from P.E.I with a dill-pickle mignonette. $19 for six.
Devilled-and-smoked eggs with crispy chicken skin. $8.
Tomato salad with cucumber, olives, feta and basil in an oregano vinaigrette. $12.
The Ontario charcuterie board comes with a selection of cured meats (Pingue prosciutto, capicola and lonza on this platter), house pickles, a pickled egg and grilled sourdough. $17.
Pulled brisket flatbread topped with smokey onion relish and crispy shallots. $12.
Pork bratwurst on a house-baked buttermilk bun, with sauerkraut and caraway sour cream. Served with thrice-fried chips or a salad. $15.
The lamb burger comes topped with feta, charred red onion and red-chili mayo on a house-baked buttermilk bun. Also served with fries or a salad. $16.
Sweet potato pie with a bottom layer of dark chocolate ganache and a toasted marshmallow topping. $8 a slice.
Lemon meringue pie with rhubarb and lemon curd. $8 a slice.
Apple-and-cheddar pie made with Granny Smith apples and an Ontario cheddar crust. $8 a slice.
Coconut-pineapple cream pie made with pineapple jam, whipped cream and toasted coconut. $8 a slice.
The drinks
Beer, of course, and a lot of it is made on premise. There are six house-brewed beers (pale ale, cream ale, wit, IPA, Irish red, porter), as well as a few other offerings from Creemore Springs and a list of bottles from other Ontario brewers, including Leslieville’s Left Field and Niagara-based Smithworks. There are cocktails, too, some of which include beer-based syrups.
Flights come in fours. This one includes (from left to right): the witbier, the IPA, the Irish red ale and the porter. $14.94.
The Hopfashioned: Bulleit bourbon, Batch IPA and simple syrup. $12.
The Dublin Wit: Ginger Batch wit syrup, Jameson, lemon and egg white. $11.
The space
Two heritage buildings house four different seating areas: a main bar; the tank-adjacent café, which also has a coffee counter and a drop-down projection screen for big games; a back dining room with a stage for live performances; and a private room on the lower level that has its own bar. Also downstairs: more beer tanks, a Ping-Pong table and, soon, arcade and board games.

The main bar area.

Can’t stay for a pint? Grab beer to go.
