With the notable exception of Bay Street’s upscalebanker–bait, it’s been hard to imagine Toronto’s financial district ever becoming a destination for more casual fare. But with the recent openings of The Gabardine and Blowfish on Bay, and now Black Moon, a new resto-renaissance seems to be taking hold. “Most people who worked here would leave the neighbourhood as soon as they finished working, but that’s changing,” says owner Abdi Ghotb, also the man behind the Sandwich Box.Since opening last week, the glitzy resto-lounge is already becoming a go-to spot for Bay Street’s in-and-out lunch crowd as well as office castaways looking for a late-night libations.
The French-inspired sharable menu is very of-the-moment, with a focus on seasonal, local ingredients (beef from Wellington County, produce from Cookstown Greens) courtesy of 14-year Toronto kitchen veteran Kai Zyganiuk (Truffles, The Spoke Club, Cucina). Aiming for whimsical takes on classics, Zyganiuk serves Ahi tuna ceviche with watermelon and green chili lime juice ($15) and a caesar salad tossed in a smoked-bacon vinaigrette and topped with a soft poached egg ($9).
“I think anybody could come in here and find something on the menu that they’re comfortable with, and that they’d like to order,” says Zyganiuk. The trofie pasta (twisted lengths of noodle) with smoked chicken served in a pistou porcini broth and topped with a generous helping of grana padano cheese ($15) is an early favorite.
Pan-seared diver scallops with a meyer lemon confit ($17)
Interior designer Sasha Josipovicz has provided a space with sufficiently swanky flourishes to match the location. Telling detail: the three massive gold-framed mirrors that loom above the bar are castaways from the Trump Plaza.
Black Moon, 67 Richmond St. W., 416-603-3100, blackmoonlounge.com.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-black-moon-the-latest-excuse-for-bay-streeters-to-stick-around-after-five/&title=Introducing: Black Moon, the latest excuse for Bay Streeters to stick around after five&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/black-moon-interior.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_63216" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Inside Black Moon (Image: Daniel Barna)"][/caption]
With the notable exception of Bay Street’s upscale banker-bait, it’s been hard to imagine Toronto’s financial district ever becoming a destination for more casual fare. But with the recent openings of The Gabardine and Blowfish on Bay, and now Black Moon, a new resto-renaissance seems to be taking hold. “Most people who worked here would leave the neighbourhood as soon as they finished working, but that’s changing,” says owner Abdi Ghotb, also the man behind the Sandwich Box. Since opening last week, the glitzy resto-lounge is already becoming a go-to spot for Bay Street’s in-and-out lunch crowd as well as office castaways looking for a late-night libations.
The French-inspired sharable menu is very of-the-moment, with a focus on seasonal, local ingredients (beef from Wellington County, produce from Cookstown Greens) courtesy of 14-year Toronto kitchen veteran Kai Zyganiuk (Truffles, The Spoke Club, Cucina). Aiming for whimsical takes on classics, Zyganiuk serves Ahi tuna ceviche with watermelon and green chili lime juice ($15) and a caesar salad tossed in a smoked-bacon vinaigrette and topped with a soft poached egg ($9).
“I think anybody could come in here and find something on the menu that they’re comfortable with, and that they’d like to order,” says Zyganiuk. The trofie pasta (twisted lengths of noodle) with smoked chicken served in a pistou porcini broth and topped with a generous helping of grana padano cheese ($15) is an early favorite.
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Interior designer Sasha Josipovicz has provided a space with sufficiently swanky flourishes to match the location. Telling detail: the three massive gold-framed mirrors that loom above the bar are castaways from the Trump Plaza.
Black Moon, 67 Richmond St. W., 416-603-3100, blackmoonlounge.com.){kind=link}
We hosted a private party at this venue with a prix fix dinner to start and then post-dinner cocktail. the food was mediocre at best with our “rare” steaks arriving at the table cooked brown throughout, bland doughy chunks of gnocci, and dry over cooked chicken. That said, the food was not the worst part. The servers while polite knew nothing about food service or good customer service, serving in random order leaving every table with one or two dishes missing then filling in the gaps. They forgot orders, or bring entirely wrong items. I’m 8 months pregnant, ordered a virgin caesar and got a mouthful of vodka because the server for the virgin part. Were overall unprofessional, giggly and most of the time didn’t know what they were doing.
Then there was the owner who at the time of booking the event was very accommodating to our requests and easy going about our questions but came the night of decided he was going to overcharge for everything and impose charges on things that were not agreed upon. Overall, for a place located on Bay street, they should have better business sense than to nickel and dime a potential repeat client on a night that brought them more business than they’ve seen all season. I would steer clear from this place if you are hosting any type of function because it was an embarrassment to us hosting friends and family so I would never entertain professional clients here.