Name: Darwin Bistro Bar
Neighbourhood : Little Italy
Contact info: 651 College St., 647-348-9347, Facebook Page, @DarwinBistroBar
Owners: Husband-and wife Junaid and Neeman Rahman, and Junaid’s brother Ryan Rahman
Chef: Jean Regis Raynaud, previously of Le Paradis and Paris’s Hotel Costes
The food: Modern French cuisine with international flavours, with starters like moules frites in a tom yum soup ($12) and curried shrimp cocktail with creamed avocado ($10). Mains include five-spice braised pork belly on madras rice ($18) as well as more traditional bistro fare, like a classic steak frites ($25).
The drinks: Julian Watson’s (Mistura) cocktail menu consists of tweaked classics, like an old-fashioned with maple syrup ($10) and a Darwin martini ($12), made with black cherry vodka, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice and prosecco.
The place: Darwin’s haute-rustic interior, designed by Neeman Rahman, will be familiar to patrons of L.A.B., which previously occupied the space. New barn board wainscoting has been added to complement the wide plank floor and exposed brick walls. At the back of the tiny dining room, a large wine barrel stamped with the restaurant’s name sits on the back bar.
By the numbers:
• 32 seats inside, with additional spots to come once the patio opens
• $25, the price of a three-course prix fixe on Sunday industry nights
• 9, the number of cocktails for $10 or less
• 3 beers on draught, 6 by the bottle, including local craft brews like and bistro staples
201613 Pomegranate Margarita ($14): Clase Azul Plata tequila, La Pinta pomegranate tequila and sweet and sour mix (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-01.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-01/ introducing-darwin-01 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201614 Maple Old Fashioned ($10): Crown Royal, maple syrup, orange twist and bitters (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-02.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-02/ introducing-darwin-02 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201618 Hot Damn ($10): Hendricks Gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, cucumber, Tabasco and a float of soda (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-06-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-06.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-06.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-06/ introducing-darwin-06 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201622 Bread pudding ($8)<br />
(Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-10.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-10/ introducing-darwin-10 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201621 12-ounce striploin Steak Frites with tartar sauce ($25) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-09-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-09.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-09/ introducing-darwin-09 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201620 Almond-crusted trout on celery-apple mash with orange foam sauce ($26) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-08-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-08.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-08/ introducing-darwin-08 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201619 Spicy tomato soup with smoked chorizo, bell peppers, chipotle and onion ($8) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-07-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-07.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-07.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-07/ introducing-darwin-07 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201617 Avocado shrimp cocktail with mangoes and coriander ($10) (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-05.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-05/ introducing-darwin-05 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201616 Darwin’s bar (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-04.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-04/ introducing-darwin-04 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201615 New to the space: the large mirror and barn board wainscotting (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-03.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-03/ introducing-darwin-03 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201624 Chef Jean Regis Raynaud (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-intro-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-intro.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-intro/ introducing-darwin-intro 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
201623 Darwin took over the space formerly home to the molecularly inclined restaurant L.A.B. (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar Introducing: Darwin Bistro Bar https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-11-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-11.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-darwin-11.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/darwin/slide/introducing-darwin-11/ introducing-darwin-11 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
Going to be a great place. Looking forward to trying it out!